What are you good at?

  What would you say your boss is good at? What would you say your best friend is good at? What would you say your partner is good at? 

 Why is it comparatively easy to answer the above questions, but less easy to answer it ourselves? We know what we're not good at; that's an easy one to answer. So, how do we find out what we are good at and why is it important?

 If you know what your best friend is good at, might they know what you are good at? Who else might know what you are good at? There must be a reason why people come and speak to you when they have a particular problem.

 Are you a good listener, a good problem solver, someone who will speak up for you? In the last project you did why did your boss ask you to do a particular task?

 In reality, everyone you know already knows what you are good at. And you can be different things to different people. If you prefer not to ask them directly, the next time they ask for your help, consider why. Why you and not someone else?

 So, why is knowing what you are good at important? Consider your next career move; you could market yourself as having an extensive skill set or you could market the fact that you are good at what you do. 

Remember the advert 'It does exactly what it says on the tin', what does it say on your tin?

What needs does your future employer have and why should they choose brand 'you'?

What are your career anchors?

  There is a huge unknown out there when we start to think about our future career, which is why, when I am helping people with their careers; I start with the known. This 'known' is what I call 'Career Anchors'.


 Career Anchors are often the things we have in our head when we are measuring up new opportunities. How much will it pay? Do I have to move? Can I afford to commute? Will it allow me to carry on with my studies? Can I work flexi-time? Do I want to work in an office? etc.


  The anchors invariably change over time so it often helps my clients to write down what their anchors are at that particular time. Clients can then be clear as to what they are looking for, or more importantly, what they are not looking for.


  In your current role; are all of your anchor 'needs' being met? What would you change if you could? If you are not currently working, think about your ideal job. Does it meet all of your anchor needs?


  Try this exercise:


  Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. On one side write 'work', on the other side write 'life'. Now imagine you are in your perfect job. Don't worry what exactly that is yet, just try to write down all the 'anchors' on each side of the paper. So, for example, if your dream job is working in an office, on the 'work' side, write down 'working in an office'. If your dream job is within walking distance of your house, on the 'life' side, write 'walk to work'.


  It doesn't matter too much which side you put things on, what does matter is what you write down. By writing down your anchors, you have just created your ideal 'work/life' balance.