It's time to take stock

As we’ve reached the halfway point in the year, it might be time to take stock of the state of your career health. At Career Mentor, our goal is to help Financial Services professionals build careers that better align with their lives, values and ambitions. So in this blog, we’ll go on a journey that will enable you to ask some searching questions and to gain an insightful snapshot. Then, you’ll be able to decide on some actions that you can take to create new and better realities, and improve your overall career health and trajectory.

There are four key steps to work through:

• First, to understand your current values and rules because they set the context and are what you’re really seeking at a deep level
• Then, assess where you are now in your career and job, and put a score on it
• Create a preferred state for the same criteria
• Finally, decide on some action steps to move you forward to what you want.

Step 1: Understand your values and rules

This is a big subject in its own right but briefly, a value is something (not surprisingly) that you value highly in a certain context. It’s a feeling that you want to have. If you want to elicit your values around your work or career, ask yourself what’s most important to you in your career. People often talk about ‘fulfilment’ or ‘growth’. There are lots of options that naturally vary from person to person. Once you’ve got your first value, ask the follow-up question of ‘What else is most important to me in my career?’. Keep going until you have a list of 5, 8 or 10.

Then, rank them from most important to least.

Next, it’s time to think about ‘rules for each value, so that you know that it’s been met. Ask yourself: ‘What has to happen for me to feel value X?’ If you’re talking about fulfilment, the rule might be that you’re providing for your family. You would then ask follow-up questions relating to what else has to happen for you to feel X.

This exercise alone will give you some interesting insights as to why you’re doing what you’re doing in your career. These values and rules will be a significant influence on the career decisions you make, whether that he in the next six months or beyond.

Step 2. Assess where you are in your career so far ?

It’s now time to think about the status quo. Start by writing a short bullet point list about your current role, taking heed of the following categories:

• Your current role / what you actually do
• Your position, title and status within the company
• The firm’s culture
• Your colleagues
• The quality of leadership and guidance you receive
• Your sense of purpose
• Your career trajectory - up, down, or plateauing?
• Work-life balance

Once you’ve made a note of general thoughts relating to each, give it a score out of 10.

Step 3. Onwards and upwards

Now write a second short paragraph or bullet point list using the same categories as in step 2, but instead focus on what it would look like if it were better than it is now.?This is about the ideal.

Let’s imagine having a sense of purpose is important to you. In an ideal world, you might write: I believe in the purpose of the firm, which is adding real value to our clients’ lives. My values are aligned with those of the firm. I am on a mission to provide the best I can for my family and this firm is a great vehicle to achieve just that.’

Do this for all your chosen criteria.

Step 4. Moving forward and improving your reality

The final step is to consider what steps you can take that are in your power and can improve your reality by a notch or two.

Some of this is about mindset. It might involve reflecting on the parts of your role you enjoy, and the things you are grateful for in your career so far.

However, it might be that half way through the year, there are things you want to address and improve. Make a realistic and reasonable list of ways you can improve aspects of your role or career - that might be something to do with training or qualifications, or addressing a strained work relationships, or something else. Return to your values and rules to help with this process.

Again, Step 4 can be done for all of your criteria.?

Sometimes growth and fulfilment is simply not possible where you are now, and that pastures new are required

It might be that this reflection process has led you to believe that the only way to bring yourself significantly closer to your ideal role or career is by changing roles or companies. Sometimes growth and fulfilment is simply not possible where you are now, and that pastures new are required. Don’t be daunted by this. Rather, use your values and rules to spark the beginning of an effective job search that will ultimately offer you a closer alignment between your vision and reality.

Closing thoughts

I realise that there are a number of elements to this process. However, I know that should you care to do it diligently and honestly, you will find tremendous value in it. It will allow you to reflect on your successes so far in 2023, or bring about the realisation that there is more out there. If you would like to discuss where you are in your career , or indeed with your job search, let’s talk.

Read the blog on our website here .