Grow Your Own Career | The Career Farm

Our guest this month is Aliya Ali-Afzal. Ali-Afzal has been a career coach for more than 15 years and is currently a freelance career coach with The Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA Program. In addition to her coaching, she's also author of the recent book, Would I Lie to You?, and is a creative writing mentor at Jericho Writers.

In this episode Ali-Afzal describes how she went from having no background in writing to obtaining a two-book deal from a leading publisher. What's remarkable is she's done this while maintaining her career and while raising three children.

What you will learn in this interview: - Developing your career while being a working mother - Acquiring a literary agent and landing a book deal - Aliya's writing process - Issues surrounding redundancy   Quote:

"I think we know that a huge key to a lot of the things that we do, it's not our ability, it's not even our motivation, sometimes it's like a mental block and you need that coach. I really had to just give myself permission to do something for myself as well, irrespective of whether I would sell it or not, because it was enough that it made me happy and it was something I wanted to do." - Aliya Ali-Afzal

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Twitter- @AAAiswriting
Instagram- aliyaaliafzalauthor   To find out about creative writing mentoring sessions from Aliya
https://jerichowriters.com/our-services/121-support/mentoring-service/%E2%80%AFaliya-ali-afzal/

Our guest this month is Paul Hargreaves. Paul is the founder and chief executive of Cotswold Fayre Ltd., which is a specialist and fine food wholesaler supplying nearly 2000 retail outlets in the UK. He is also the author of 'Forces for Good' and the recent book, 'The Fourth Bottom Line'.   In this episode Paul explains how he grew Cotswold Fayre from the cellar of his home to a leading UK food wholesaler. We'll also talk about why Paul made Cotswold Fayre a B Corp in 2015 and the benefits of running a B Corp.    What you will learn in this interview: - How to start a business that has a social impact - Advice on launching a food brand in 2021 - The advantages of B Corps - Lessons in leadership   Quote: "If we need one characteristic in this world for leaders, I think it's compassion." - Paul Hargreaves   Subscribe: Apple Spotify   Follow us: Instagram- @thecareerfarm Twitter- @thecareerfarm Facebook- @thecareerfarm    

 

We are delighted to give you our new Hiring Trends Report so you can see what sectors are hiring.

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Our guest this month is Janie van Hool. Van Hool is a RADA (The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) trained actress and corporate communications specialist. She's worked with many different companies (Vodafone, Nationwide, Sainsburys, London Business School, Imperial College) and leaders to improve their communication skills. She's also the author of the new book, The Listening Shift: Transform your organization by listening to your people and helping your people listen to you.

Her book is a constructive toolkit for raising the game in communication, providing the tools you need to create a listening environment where colleagues are heard and acknowledged, and yet understand clearly how to move forward.

What you will learn in this interview:
- How preparing like a performer will improve your interviews
- A breathing technique to prime you for an interview
- How to use silence to your advantage
- The best ways to interrupt someone
- How to be listened to at a meeting

Quote:
"I think listening carefully is the thing that gets hijacked when we are under interview pressure.” - Janie van Hool

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In this episode, Jane analyses Bill Gates' new book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need.

Jane talks about what opportunities there might be in the future of work, not only in terms of innovative businesses, but also in terms of the type of work that might be available in the future.

She then discusses the emerging markets addressing climate change, including international agricultural research and global green technology. Finally, she highlights one innovative company working to make a difference.

Blog Post: How to Avoid a Climate Disaster? A Career Opportunity in the Face of a Crisis

 

Clinical psychologist Dr Candice Seti joins Jane to discuss self-sabotage, with questions taken from the audience watching via live stream.

In her specialist field helping people with weight loss and weight management, Dr Seti became aware of the overarching theme of self sabotage, which she defines as "standing in your own way".

She cites imposter syndrome as one of the many causes of self sabotage, and how important it can be to admit to what we don't know, rather than try and bluster our way through unfamiliar territory.

Jane and Dr Seti discuss their own self sabotaging voices, giving them names and finding ways to externalise them to make it easier to combat. They also talk about ways to combat procrastination, using Dr Seti's writing process as an example.

In this episode, Jane talks to tax specialist Josephine Bush about her corporate transition into the world of ESG.

Josephine started life as a solicitor, focusing on accounting early into her career and navigating the change to a more client-focused role. After finding a niche delivering tax services for renewables businesses, working within Ernst & Young, Josephine was able to carve out this niche at a time when fewer people were thinking about renewable energy.

As she began to work within the sector, her passion for environmentalism and her sense of purpose grew. Since then she has pursued a certificate in ESG investing through the CFA Institute, and enrolled in a sustainable finance course with the Cambridge Institute of Sustainable Leadership,

Josephine believes that no business or individual is immune to the effects of climate change, but sees a wealth of opportunity for people who want to apply themselves to roles within environmental, social, and corporate governance.

Jane is joined by Territory Manager at Shell, Thomas Hughes, to discuss finding work based on your passion, and making the most out of an MBA.

Thomas' first job at the age of 16 was washing pots for a banquet hall. He originally applied to study archeology, but instead chose to study international relations at Sheffield University. He was then offered a US internship to work at a lobbying company, then returned to his original occupation in hospitality.

Feeling it was time to change tack, Thomas then applied for an MBA, which encouraged and empowered him to look for work based on the impact he wanted to make in the world, rather than the industry he wanted to work within. This led him to an interview with Shell, where Thomas' passion for environmental issues saw him through the initial video interview, to the face-to-face interview, to eventually working as Territory Manager for the company.

Thomas provides his advice for students taking an MBA, and to anyone newly entering the world of work.

Going forwards, Thomas is committed to helping Shell continue its mission towards sustainable energy and electric vehicles.

Jane discusses sustainable seaweed farming with Director of SeaGrown, Wave Crookes.

Former navy man and fisherman Wave and his marine-scientist partner Laura were working on a ship Antarctica, they came up with their seaweed farming business, as a way of allowing them to work in marine biology.

When Wave originally applied to join the Royal Navy, he was told to finish his studies before re-applying, which he did, and doesn’t regret. After working in the oil and gas industry, Wave wanted to focus his company on “giving something back”. Now SeaGrown is one of only a small number of larger-scale seaweed farms.

Technology is a leading trend in hiring, likely to continue into 2021, so this month, Jane is joined by technologist and former kindergarten teacher, Jeremy Schifeling.

Jeremy interned at Apple, gaining the internship by demonstrating how he was able to apply the knowledge and experience he’d gained as a teacher, to a new and different field. He now works as Principal Product Marketing Manager for Khan Academy, and developed Break into Tech, a set of resources that helps people looking to change their careers find new pathways to working with technology.