This audio accompanies the blog post at www.comebackgirl.com entitled "Should Your Job be the Main Provider of Your Sense of Purpose?. I have learned over time and in particular the last few years that we possibly ask too much of ourselves and our jobs. Of course, it is vital to find work which chimes as much with your values as possible, but you can discover a sense of fulfilment along the way. You don't have to wait for the perfect job that will serve your life's purpose! Take the pressure of yourself.

This is the new podcast format for Comeback Girl; the format is an accompanying audio to my regular blog post on the Comeback Girl website.

https://comebackgirl.com/

I am talking here about the new expectations you should have from an employer in terms of wellbeing, job progression, hybrid/remote working, recognition and out-of-office rules. We have all changed as a result of the hardships of the last two-ish years.

We look more holistically at our jobs and what we need from them. Statistics prove it is not just money we are looking for. The new hybrid working environment has changed everything and the Great Resignation means that good employees are harder to find. Good news!!

We can be more discerning in the conditions that we expect.

I've interviewed myriad people and I know what is at the heart of what we need. This audio accompanies my first blog post of 2022 on the website. The best is ahead!

http://wrpn.womenreturners.com/sarah-b-story/

http://wrpn.womenreturners.com/women-returners-conference-2019/

https://camawise.org.uk/

https://www.mottmac.com/

http://stemtosteam.org/

Can work shadowing help you find the right role for you? Short answer: Absolutely! Long answer, in her podcast Chartered Occupational Psychologist Lucy Standing describes the evidence base to prove it. Listen to this pragmatic, humble innovator here.

As founder of social enterprise Viewvo, Lucy is creating a market for returners or career pivoters to encounter a life in the day of their dream job. Carefully vetted "experts" will allow them to experience their ideal job field. The results are remarkable and in each case stop clients wasting precious time being fearful of making the wrong move or indeed any move.

Here are the highlights of the podcast (with timings):

Just Do It

1.35 – I need to do my best to change the status quo –I tire of people whining and not taking action

We Need to Change The Way We Are Recruiting

1.44 Our decisions are improved by having an experience of whatever we are deciding about before we do it, not with a general mental ability/integrity test and a job sample (current model)

3.07 Work experience in the form of internships and apprenticeships is becoming more popular. Gives people a chance to prove themselves

3.44 At Chase Manhattan Lucy introduced internships. On every single metric the interns were more successful in the medium term due to work shadowing

4.56 Nurses who had a chance of work shadowing in their trainings were 60% more likely to complete their diploma so (getting some experience) was incredibly powerful

5.05 I am giving people a chance to test drive the work they think they want to do e.g. a guy from a private equity firm who looked at a micro brewery; and invested hundreds of thousands before deciding against it as a career after work shadowing

6.17 From a day of working with a fashion designer, Mary now has a factory and ten staff!

How Viewvo Work Shadowing Helps You Find a Job

7.15 Each "expert" crafts their own experience of real life e.g. the author

8.4 Viewvo has come to help someone who does not have social privilege, who may be taken less seriously. e.g. Rosetta who is continuing a working partnership with her “expert”

12.2 How Vive works: will feed Viewvo as an outplacement service

How Lucy Manages Her Portfolio of Work

14.08 –Everyone is supportive of each other at the ABP. Forging trust and being tolerent of each other is key

15.39 We are driven by drive to learn, defend, acquire and bond. They change in emphasis through life so our career preferences change

Sometimes Passion can Cloud Performance

17.09 There may not be a market for your passion. I cannot necessarily guaranteed myself a job out of my passion

18.35 Success (who will get promoted) is not predicted on passion rather: proactivity, extroversion, conscientiousness. Passion is not the predictor

How much Can You Actually Glean in a Day’s Shadowing?

20.00. We apply our developed “taste buds”and the number of skills you can apply to any job are quite limited

20.48 Evidence would seem to be work shadowing helps you establish whether job is right or not e.g. Vanorama call centre

Too much emphasis is placed on knowledge and experience

22.22 Emphasis on knowledge and experience are incorrect. We should be putting emphasis on transferrable skills

24.03 Pigeonholing people into vertical sectors is very non-2019

Two Things that You Know for Sure That Bring Success

24.25 Two things I know for sure that you need to pivot in your career are:

1) take action,

2) be prepared to fail. We are so hung up on not admitting that we are perfect. It it so much easier to be vulnerable….your buddies will be more interested in you not whining...and will big you up anyway. The startup world is heartening…..there is failure everywhere..

Catch Lucy through Linkedin and the Viewvo website

Welcome to the Comeback Girl podcast This week, I am talking to entrepreneur Rebecca Newenham, founder of Get Ahead Virtual Assistant agency. How would you like to do what you love working from home, around all of your other priorities your smartphone as your office? Or finally run your own franchise with a proven toolkit and a ready made blueprint for success?

Notes:

(2.20) Left retail buying in London for 8 year career break – strategic decision. It wasn’t until Robin, youngest started school that she thought “I’d love to be doing something but I don’t quite know what”. She had been chair for the local pre-school and was loving being a mum. "It was part of my career but just not working in a professional sense".

(2.5) “Inspiration to run something for myself came from my mum who had run a tutorial agency when I was young, I benefited from her flexibility”

(3.09) Rebecca researched lots of jobs, she wanted to have her own thing. She also didn’t want to sacrifice travelling.

(3.3) Had heard of VA concept, strong in US. Did day’s training course and set up business.

(4.00) The excitement was that it opened up lots of doors. My fourth child! Didn’t feel panicked (she gave herself time )….found course really interesting.

On Networking

(5.00) She was good at telling people what she was doing in her existing world of mums. Advice: be open in talking to people and you suddenly realise who you know, ask: “What do you think”? Networking is “a more grown up version of a playgroup where you have to talk to people you don’t know”.

(6.47) What did Mum pass on? E.g. really defined space if working from home…Be very disciplined.

Methods of self-care

(7.53) Self-care: breakfast with girlfriends, it’s looking at you as an individual and how best you work… “I love a list”. For mental health: podcasts. Running as an escape.

Finding Purpose

(9.41) Mum said “ you will find your thing”…I was looking at people appearing to have found “the job”. I didn’t want to be controlled by some big hairy boss …this let me play to my strengths

(10.5) On having a professional family… can have thousands of connections but Instagram perfect life is not real.

Integrating Family and Work Life

(12.2) Big on planning her week…goals to work towards, family goals, big planner everyone fills in…"I need visuals".

Advice in taking step back into work:

(12.5) Ask “what are you wanting to achieve?” e.g. money, not thinking about it outside work hours…. understanding our motivations. Look at Talented Ladies Club website…

(13.44)I have seen a lot of people in 8 years who are not around anymore, they didn’t know what they wanted to achieve and waste energy in wrong directions.

(14.36) Networking is listening to needs… whether you can provide it yourself or refer it on.

Your elevator pitch

(15.3)About having a confidence, never apologising for your story, bringing something alive (about yourself). What brought you to where you are

Limiting beliefs about Returning to Work

(17.00)One limiting belief: “Why would they want me” – it should be totally the other way around!

What does a VA do?

(17.50)VA is a freelancer, they manage their own tax and insurance, beauty of us is that we provide our team with clients that they find interesting. Often all you need is access to a PC and a printer for remote working.

Overriding benefit is interesting work and can manage own diary.

They help a business owner to focus.

Life of a Getahead VA Franchise Owner

(25.00) e.g Fiona, Leeds franchisee wanted a move from corporate life….2 children….. she has something she could run, Getahead VA has the toolbox. She does the business development and there' s a core team that can support. Fiona like that we researched everything ,e.g. providing website. “Professional family”. Men as well.

Won’t it be great when legislation supports men taking long career breaks!

(26.00)Say to anyone, your purpose is out there!

https://www.getaheadva.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/get-ahead-va

Kenny runs his own podcast called Why Work. He works at PA Consulting

from his Linked in profile:

"My passion is for innovative learning experiences – particularly in terms of leadership and culture - that people remember, that change them and even – sometimes transform them. That’s the goal: transformative experiences.

I started out my career as a creative arts and ethics teacher by day, performer by night. As a professional session singer/musician, I shared the stage with artists such as Westlife and Leona Lewis before eventually focussing on learning and education.

Over the last 13 years I’ve worked across private and public sectors, including Vodafone, Johnson & Johnson, Aviva and most recently leading a series of culture change experiences for a large global manufacturing company.

I’m a licensed practitioner of the employee engagement tool, Motivational Maps. Deep interest in philosophy, psychology and anthropology. A lover music and, I hope, guided by not only by my professional expertise but my Christian values."

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktem1/?originalSubdomain=uk

In this episode, I talk to author and academic Emee Vida Estacio about her Amazon No1 selling books:, 'Change your Life For Good' and 'The Impostor Syndrome Remedy'. She shares her tested methods for overcoming self-doubt and understanding and managing your inner critic. Her trademark is PAME: Living with Purpose, Action, Momentum and Energy. Listen here, notes below.

Emee is a chartered psychologist and university lecturer. She wants individuals and communities to flourish in self-confidence and in life. YES!

Highlights from the podcast with times:

Emee suffered guilt, panic attacks and possible post-natal depression after her baby was born. She lost identify, a “bit of herself”. After maternity leave she experienced chaos and felt very low. She made a decision to turn her life around. (3.18)

(3.22) She knew she was capable of “achieving great things “as she had done it before. And decided she wanted to share her process with others and have freedom with her time to write books. (3.41)

(4.08) Emee describes her portfolio career

(4.45) She felt like a hypocrite wirting a book about Imposter Syndrome. “There will always be self-doubt”. The difference now is that she is aware of her imperfections and the triggers that exacerbate it.

(5.41) She is not stuck in the “self-doubt” any more

(6.15) Difference between the Imposter Syndrome and the inner critic?

(7.10) Experiencing Imposter Syndrome when it is not an inner critic, it is an external critic (others’ comments) or environmental factors.

(7.45) The effective TLC technique- are our thoughts True, Logical, Constructive?

(8.5) 70% of people suffer from Imposter Syndrome. Does if affect business people?

(9.3) Mangers and staff must be taught about Imposter Syndrome, it is particularly hard for new joiners who do not have an internal network to encourage them. This could really limit commercial success. It should be embedded in business training.

(10.5) Emee explains the PASTEL technique – we need a firm foundation/rationale for our actions. PASTEL technique stands for PAssion, STrength, LEgacy.

(11.51) What are you passionate about, you think about it and there is a spark?

(12.2) It’s important to lean into where you have strength.

Legacy: Reflecting on what you want to be remembered for? Seeing the end and living a life towards that end. Could just affect 2 peoples’ lives… it is STILL a LEGACY!

(15.5) Emee has been criticized for having a mission to increase confidence in a world full of “super-confident people”. The book, however is for those who do not believe in themselves.

A bit of Imposter Syndrome is good, it is a matter of balance.

(17) You don’t have to stay in the cycle of Imposter Syndrome but acknowledging it is a catalyst for growth.

(17.28) Concept of the servant leader – the leader reaches out for a goal for the good of everyone. Not just to gratify the ego of the leader.

Women coming back to work from a caring role will be expert servant leaders, it is inherent in you. You become one as you look after others, have compassion, goals and agendas for everyone. It is for a more noble and common cause.

(19.3) Emee shares how she has gone about approaching people she does not know for mentorship

(22) Emee gives an example of reaching out to a life coach on Linkedin to mentor her – don’t use a template to approach people! Make it personal!

(25.18) – Gratitude brings expansion to your life; as you reflect on what is good in your life your focus shifts.

(26.50) What you can expect from 30 days of working through the free book: it is a remedy not a cure, but the 30 days will improve awareness of triggers so you are in a better position, you see the performance interfering thoughts (PITS)

(28) – Emee collaborates with the Frida Project – an online resource to support women

Emee's website

http://thepamecode.com/

Emee's free Facebook Group

http://thepamecode.com/facebook-group/

In this very special edition of the Comeback Girl podcast, I chat to Michelle Gyimah of Equality Pays

Michelle (who was heavily pregnant with her new baby girl when we recorded this interview) is dedicated to helping people get what they're worth, and this podcast is full of practical advice about not only how to ask for what you want, but how to really take notice of what's being offered, how and when to negotiate, and how important it is to have a dialogue with your own family during the process. From Michelle's website:

"So many women struggle with believing that it is ok to ask for the things they need to enable them to keep their career on track, earn decent money and manage their loves outside of work. Even more struggle with hearing 'no' from their employers and fall into the trap of believing that they should just continue to do what they can with less than what they want.

There are a number of factors that contribute to the gender pay gap, but I want to concentrate on one. Helping women to be bold enough to ask for more and to keep asking until they get what they want."

https://www.equalitypays.co.uk

I hope you enjoy this episode. You can follow me on:

Twitter https://twitter.com/C0mebackG1rl

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/c0mebackg1rl/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/c0mebackgirl/

I talk to journalist/editor Jess Spiring about her prolific career in magazines and newspapers, why she thinks print will never truly die and how there's a season for everything.

In this podcast, recorded via Zoom webchat, I talk to Amanda Newman, founder of the successful Facebook group The Career Mum, about the choices she's faced in her own career, and why it's been so important to her to bring others along with her. She is a champion of Diversity and Inclusion, Women in STEAM and EVERYONE' s individual expression at work.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheCareerMum/