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We'll start with a short conversation:            “How’s your day been?       “Meh”       “What do you mean?”       “You know… Just ‘meh’”        “I’m not sure I follow…”       “Meh”      “It sounds like you’re saying nothing.”      “Exactly.” This word has formed part of my vocabulary for some time and has successfully satisfied when I’ve needed a description for a ‘nothing’ moment. When something is average or so-so or not-really-worth-going-into-detail-about. An alternative I’ve also used is Blah. “How’s life treating you?!”  “Blah.” I have recently discovered that ‘meh’ is in fact a real word. For so long I saw Meh as a sound more than a word. And yet whenever I’ve used it people have understood exactly what I meant. Imagine my surprise when Cambridge dictionary popped up among many other respected wo...

Before we get started on the topic of conversation ‘outs’, it’s worth perusing the Networking article first to get in the zone of networking success. Now that you’ve done just that, this is a key part of successful networking: knowing how to move on from conversations without offending your fellow conversationalist or making things awkward. You can picture the scene: you’re at an event and it’s the ‘networking over refreshments’ part after the main speech or activity, you’ve got about half an hour until you want to be on your way home but there a few connections you need to make before you can go – maybe this was your goal for the evening. You spy a professional and friendly looking person perched by a table looking thoughtfully around and there’s your next chat victim. You introduce yourselves and find out they are nothing to do with the industry you’re in, but you politely continue the talk with a series of questions that are met with short answers equivalent to ...

This might seem an ‘odd one out’ in the four articles focused around Top Tips for a Successful Career, but reflection is a key part of success. Staying motivated is essential to drive your career forward and often we find ourselves at a dead-end wandering what we’ve done and what we have actually achieved on the journey so far. Part 4 of 4: Reflecting on Progress  Taking time to look at the bigger picture will also help to bring you back on track with the goals you have set and identify where you may have veered off in another direction. On the other hand, you might be making loads of progress and when you achieve a milestone or a reach a goal you power on straight into the next challenge without looking back. While it’s great that you might be making some strong progress, taking the time to reflect of your achievements is as important as reflecting on where you might be struggling. Those small wins that are leading you to that ‘end goal’ (if there is one) need ...

You can probably remember a time when an opportunity presented itself to you and you ran with it; maybe a new job, a promotion, a new hobby or some sort of adventure.  We are often on the ‘lookout’ for something to come our way and a chance for us to seize the moment. Carpe Diem and all. But why do we often wait for these things to crop up?  Part 3 of 4:  Create Your Own Opportunities Everything moves so fast and before we know it someone else might have seized that moment before us and we’re back to playing the waiting game for the next opportunity to arise. It’s time we created opportunities ourselves and made progress happen, rather than wait for it to potentially pop up in front of our faces. Continuing with the series of top tips to bring more success to your career, creating your own opportunities is key to making the progress you want. Here are some ideas that might bring about new opportunities with you in the driving seat:   ...

Networking. Also known as Marmite.  People tend to either really like or really despise networking events. But there’s no denying that building your connections and putting yourself in positions where you could meet some potentially very interesting individuals will help you towards more success in your career. Part 2 of 4:  Networking Top tips on how it can help you to achieve more success in your career Whether you are content in your current role, looking to change career or planning your next move, networking is invaluable for career success – you never know who you could end up meeting and may even make a friend or two along the way. Where to start? Internal networking - within your current organisation – is a good place to begin. If you’re part of a larger company and aren’t familiar with other departments, teams and colleagues, make the effort to introduce yourself.  Look out for social events and other opportunities to meet unknown colle...

Everyone has their own experiences and advice around what it means to have a successful career, but only one person can define what they want to achieve and determine their success: You. Too often we’re in a state of comparing ourselves to others and using this as a way to recognise our own success (or lack of) which is hugely obstructive to our own career paths. Change this approach and focus on YOU. Not only will you be measuring your success based on what you set out to achieve, but you’re also encouraging a much more positive mindset. Part 1 of 4:  Goal Setting How to use it to achieve more success in your career 1 Tried it before? Set a new year’s resolution just to test if you last a day longer than the previous year? It’s probably a safe bet that we’ve all been there, but this isn’t about resolutions and waiting for failure to knock on the door; this is about getting clarity on what you want to achieve in the short and long term, with the help of some...