Next Step Vet: How to Create a Meaningful Career

You’re a clinical vet.

They said it would be a “dream job”.

Any yet:

The work is unrewarding.

Your clients are demanding.

And you’re reaching the end of your days drained of energy.

You NEED to take action in your career, but you’re not even sure where to start.

You think about changing jobs after YET another exhausting day of work, might look up jobs online, or join groups on social media that give career tips, but then maybe you get distracted. 

You watch a funny video on social media, and before you know it, that thought was forgotten, and another day has passed.

Another day stuck in a job leaving you little energy for anything else.

How DO you take action in your career?

In this episode, you’ll learn how

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YOUR NEXT STEP: Rocket Ship Countdown

Do you know that countdown that goes off whenever a rocket ship is about to launch?

Whenever you consider taking action, what you’ll normally do is ponder options, daydream, get distracted, and possibly do nothing.

Anytime you consider taking action, instead of thinking about it. Do it. 

How?

Next time you’re thinking about taking action in your career, imagine the rocket ship countdown going off in your head.

When you reach one, do something. It’s an effective way to take action. You won’t always get it RIGHT, and it is still helpful to seek guidance from a career coach like myself, but doing SOMEthing is ALWAYS better than nothing.

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If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe on your listening app.

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Next Step Vet COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nextstepvet/ 

Learn more at: https://www.nextstepvet.com

Or reach out to: [email protected] 

In the last episode of Next Step Vet, we spoke to Julie Cappel about how to improve your confidence at work. This week, as promised, we're dropping in an episode of Julie's Veterinary Life Coach Podcast, into our feed.

As you continue to design a career that works for you. I want you to receive different perspectives from just my own.

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As vets, most of us suffer from some level of perfectionism. In this episode you’ll learn why progress is not perfection.

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If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe on your listening app.

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Guest link: www.juliecappel.com

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Next Step Vet COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nextstepvet/ 

Learn more at: https://www.nextstepvet.com

Or reach out to: [email protected] 

You're a vet considering making changes in your career.

Deep down you know you need to change jobs or even careers. But you might be lacking the confidence to actually make change.

You don't really know what other career options are out there, especially close to where you live, and finances are probably holding you back too.

How do you gain the confidence to make change in your career, when you don't even know where to start?

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Our guest this week: Julie Cappel (veterinarian and life coach)

Julie is a clinical vet, who has had the confidence to branch out, becoming an author, speaker, as well as hosting her own podcast. She's also a certified life coach.

Confidence is something she aims to instil in her clients.

And today she's going to help you.

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In this episode you’ll learn:

1. Why it's normal to lack confidence in some areas of your life.
2. What do you need to focus on, if you're going to improve your confidence.
3. Why doing the inner work will help you avoid making the same mistakes (again and again) in your career.

And I'll give you one simple step you can do today, to help you improve your confidence.

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YOUR NEXT STEP: Practice Confidence

Confidence is something that is earned.

Practice it.

There are three easy ways you can practice confidence.

1. In the same way you might practice a speech, if you're going to be having a challenging conversation with a colleague or boss, rehearse it. Rehearse out loud. What you're actually going to say, at least three times before you actually say it.
2. Practice little and often. Spot opportunities to practice in low-risk situations.
3. Help people with their confidence. There are areas of your work where you're more experienced than others. Helping others build their confidence in thee areas will help you build confidence in yourself.

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If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe on your listening app.

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Guest link: veterinarylifecoach.com

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Next Step Vet COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nextstepvet/ 

Learn more at: https://www.nextstepvet.com

Or reach out to: [email protected] 

At work, do you feel like you’re not expressing your whole self?

In the veterinary clinic, there’s likely aspects of what you do that you’re good at, but you feel like there’s large parts of who you are, that have to get left home at work.

What if there is a way you can find work better suited to your strengths?

In this episode, you’re going to find out how.

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In this episode you’ll learn:

1. Why identifying your strengths matters.
2. How to know what types of work are best suited to your strengths
3. How to trial jobs that interest you, without having to commit prior to knowing what the job is actually like.

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YOUR NEXT STEP: Change Your Job Description.

Under the assumption you’ve listened to our previous episode and identified your strengths, a simple achievable step you can take today is to implement your strengths in your current job. Tell your manager a strength of yours you’d like to use more of at work, and ask how you can add this to you role. This will not only help you enjoy your current job, but help you prove you’re living your strengths when future job opportunities arise.

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If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe on your listening app.

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Next Step Vet COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nextstepvet/ 

Learn more at: https://www.nextstepvet.com

Or reach out to: [email protected] 

Chances I you've gone to veterinary school, got a very respectable degree and job and yet aren't satisfied in your current career.

Something needs to change.

So many vets have doubts about their careers.

How do we find meaningful work while still paying the bills?

In order to design a career that works for you, you need to identify your strengths.

You probably have some idea what your strengths are, but maybe find it hard to put into words. We're going to show you how you can use your strengths to find a perfect job.

There is a proven assessment by Gallup to help you.

Based on years of research and completed by over 30 million people. The CliftonStrengths Assessment is a game changer for helping you hone in on your unique strengths.

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Our guests this week:

• Jim Collison, CliftonStrengths Community Manager.
• Saurav Atri, Executive Leadership Coach.

If you want to hear from people who understand strengths and how to use them, these two use CliftonStrengths on a daily basis.

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In this episode you’ll learn:

1. What the CliftonStrength Assessment is and how it works.
2. Why you need to figure out exactly what's making you unhappy at work in order to make change.
3. How discovering your strengths will transform your career.

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YOUR NEXT STEP: Identify Your Strengths

Google CliftonStrengths and complete the full CliftonStrengths Assessment. Then, once you have your results, write down three types of work that you could do for each of your top five strengths. Highlight any common themes. This might give you a clue as to the sort of work you could be doing.

If you need further guidance, feel free to reach out to [email protected]

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If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe on your listening app.

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Guest links:

• Jim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimcollison/
• Saurav: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sauravatri/

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Next Step Vet COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nextstepvet/ 

Learn more at: https://www.nextstepvet.com

Or reach out to: [email protected] 

You're wanting to make change in your life, but there's a few barriers to making change.

There's a level of comfort in being a clinical vet. You mostly know what you're doing, it pays you comfortably, and you have friends in the industry.

But imagine doing this job for another 30 years?

Imagine a day of work is one page in the story of the rest of your life.

You're coming home from work tired.

The work is often unrewarding.

And you're being drained of energy.

Do you really want to fill the pages and the story of your life, with hundreds, if not thousands of more days like this?

Today, as we continue to design a career that works for you, we're going to have a very short recap episode on why journaling is so important.

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In this episode you’ll learn:

• How is journaling going to help, and why is it such an important first step in designing a career that works for you.

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YOUR NEXT STEP: Start a Gratitude Journal.

In the same journal as your Emotions Journal, write down one thing you're grateful for, each and every day. Aim to journal something you're genuinely grateful for that particular day. Not something you feel you "should" be grateful for, such as a roof over your head or good health.

Research has shown that people who count their blessings, tend to be happier and less depressed. Gratitude takes time, but will improve your health your relationships, and increase your resilience. All important foundations for designing a career that works for you.

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If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe on your listening app.

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Next Step Vet COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nextstepvet/ 

Learn more at: https://www.nextstepvet.com

Or reach out to: [email protected] 

In Veterinary School, we're taught to focus on preventative medicine - NOT being the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.

But how do you use the same thinking to approach your career?

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In this episode you’ll learn:

1. How to reframe your approach to your career.
2. Why you need to regularly measure key indicators of success in your life.
3. How mentorship can help.

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YOUR NEXT STEP: Complete a Life Design Assessment.

Based on the book, "Designing Your Life" by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, the Life Design Assessment measures four key areas of any person's life.

• Health.
• Work.
• Play.
• Love.

Like the dashboard on your car. The Life Design Assessment is a good measuring point for the state of your life, right now.

Give each area of your life, a score from 1 being empty, to 4 being full. I recommend doing this every month to keep track of how well your life is going.

And if you'd like a copy of the Life Design Assessment, please reach out to me via email:

[email protected]

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If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe on your listening app.

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Next Step Vet COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nextstepvet/ 

Learn more at: https://www.nextstepvet.com

Or reach out to: [email protected] 

You're a vet considering a change of career.

But how can you do this without losing your identity as a veterinarian?

How do you handle the change in career, without a change in identity?

Overcoming the expectations - and maybe even disappointment - of family and friends.

Where will you fit in when you're no longer a clinical vet?

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Our guest this week: Naomi Mellor (equine vet turned professional podcaster)

Naomi took an unusual turn in her career as a vet, going from a respectable job as an equine vet in the racing industry, to a relatively obscure and less prestigious profession.

For someone who had always wanted to be a vet her entire life. She experienced doubts at an unusual age - before she'd even gone to university.

Her parents and mentors quickly quelled that doubt. She went to vet school and ended up working for over 10 years and the equine industry, before rediscovering her passion and a completely new industry - podcasting.

She now runs the international woman's podcast awards as well as hosting her own podcast, working with Amazon, and doing the occasional bit of vet work.

But before Naomi got there, she also struggled with her identity as a veterinarian.

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In this episode you’ll learn:

1. What Naomi means by 'creating space' in order to figure out what you're meant to be doing next.
2. Why networking is not a necessary evil, but something you should look forward to doing, if you're serious about changing careers.
3. How you can change your career, without losing your identity as a veterinarian.

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YOUR NEXT STEP: Create Space.

Find a way to reduce your hours at work. Ideally locum so that you're in control of your own hours.

If this isn't an option, tell your work, you need to reduce your hours.

It's your life and if you're too busy and stressed to allow the time and energy to spend on your career development you will never find the space to do it.

You've got to create space for yourself.

I would recommend reducing your hours of work by at least eight hours a week. This will allow more time for rest and relaxation and mean you can spend at least two hours a week on your career development.

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If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe on your listening app.

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Guest link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-mellor-171550150/

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Next Step Vet COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nextstepvet/ 

Learn more at: https://www.nextstepvet.com

Or reach out to: [email protected] 

Have you ever wondered why some people seem so relaxed and happy at work?

What are they doing differently to everyone else? While some people are naturally more happy than others, what if I could give you one thing to do for just 10 minutes a day?

That would increase your happiness at work by about 10%.

Would you do it?

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In this episode you’ll learn:

1. How to get in a good frame of mind, so you can make the best decisions for your career.
2. How practicing meditation for as little as 10 minutes a day can significantly improve your overall well being.
3. An easy way to make meditation a daily habit.

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YOUR NEXT STEP: Daily Meditation.

Find a time of day you think it will be most achievable for you to consistently practice meditation.

We suggest either first thing in the morning at your lunch break or just after returning home from work, but whatever time of day you choose to do it, the best way to make sure this becomes a habit - before it's even a habit - is to tie it into something you do without consciously thinking about.

Whatever you choose, the only way it's going to become a daily habit is by making it so easy to remember, it will be hard to forget.

A bonus tip, if you celebrate at the end of each meditation with a fist pump or another celebration, your brain will learn it as being rewarded for the behaviour. Within two months, this should become a habit. Much like you brush your teeth without really thinking about it.

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If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe on your listening app.

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Next Step Vet COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nextstepvet/ 

Learn more at: https://www.nextstepvet.com

Or reach out to: [email protected] 

What if there was one thing you could do right now to improve your career?

It's a simple task and it will take you less than a minute a day.

Over time it will transform your career.

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In this episode you’ll learn:

1. What does self awareness really mean?
2. How improving your self awareness will help you better understand what energises and drains you at work.
3. One simple tip for improving your self awareness at work.

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YOUR NEXT STEP: Start an Emotions Journal

Purchase a journal that's calendarized, so you can write in it daily.

At the end of each day, write down three emotions that come up during the day and why those emotions come up.

Place it somewhere, you won't forget it, so it becomes a daily.

I place it on my bedside table so that when I go to bed, I won't forget it.

You might find the task a bit repetitive and maybe even wonder what you're getting out of the.

Maybe you'll start writing down the same thing, and it might start to feel like a waste of time.

But the more you do the exercise, the better you'll get at it.

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If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe on your listening app.

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Next Step Vet COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nextstepvet/ 

Learn more at: https://www.nextstepvet.com

Or reach out to: [email protected]