Newsletter 2 -Popular podcast episodes

In this newsletter I will be talking about some of The Career Happiness Podcast’s most popular episodes.

If you are new to this newsletter and me you may not be familiar with The podcast or what I do so I do want to take some brief time to talk about this.

I started my podcast in January 2019 after realising it’s something I always wanted to. There weren’t that many career podcasts talking about actual careers advice from a career adviser. Most of these podcasts focused on the corporate sector with a lens that was not diverse or inclusive. They’re very few of these podcasts that had a brown or black podcast host who could lift the lid on certain issues that we face every day. I also started the podcast to give practical tips and advice on careers and being happier at work. Something many people were secretly struggling with because of feeling ashamed of being unhappy or not knowing how to deal with this. I myself battled through this too hence why I created the podcast.

It's been 5 years since I started the podcast. With over 200 episodes recorded and almost 60 guest interviews. I wanted to talk about 2 popular episodes in this newsletter and how it ties into the work I do as a careers adviser and business owner.

I also recently won an award for the podcast which was a real acknowledgement of how career happiness and careers advice is something that needs to be talked about and is needed see post here – https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/soma-ghosh-26086638_awards2024-podcaster-businessowner-activity-7172863983773822976-pEFx?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

I will talk a bit more about where you can listen to the podcast later on in this newsletter. If you aren't a listener already.

Popular episodes from season 1-6

Before I break down 2 of the specific episodes in a bit more detail I want to share 12 popular episodes from all 6 seasons currently.

Season 1

Episode 3 - How to be more confident in your career and find work you truly love

Episode 5 - Three tips to help with Career Confusion

Season 2

Episode 50 - Are you being undermined at work?

Episode 52 - Should I turn a hobby into a business

Season 3

Episode 108 - 3 ways to cope with work related stress

Episode 110 - Should you consider the great resignation as part of your career journey?

Season 4?

Episode 117 - 3 ways to cope with career fatigue

Episode 146 - What is quiet quitting and what do you need to know about it?

Season 5?

Episode 157 - How can you find your career purpose and 2 ways to do this

Episode 158 - Career confusion in your 20s and 30s and how to tackle this with Alana Kilmartin

Season 6

Episode 198 - How understanding your personal strengths can enhance your career happiness With Biraj Nakarja

Episode 201 - Why are we so unhappy at work and 3 ways to handle this?

Common themes in terms of popular episodes over the last 5 years

Some of the most common themes that have come up if you look closely at these episodes are

1.????? Career confidence

2.????? Career clarity and purpose

3.????? Feeling unhappy at work

4.????? Work related stress

I see these same themes come up with my client work and although there isn’t a one size fits all approach to this. I would say over the 5 years since I started my podcast it’s clear to say that being unhappy at work and unfulfilled isn’t something that’s changing anytime soon. I have spoke about some of reasons why on the podcast already. I do think it’s important you think about where you feel you need support and take some time to reflect on this.

Deep Dive on 2 of the most downloaded episodes and how it fits into my client work even today

I have decided to take a closer look at Episode 3 - How to be more confident in your career and find work you truly love from season 1. As well as Episode 158 - Career confusion in your 20s and 30s and how to tackle this with Alana Kilmartin from season 5.

Episode 3 - How to be more confident in your career and find work you truly love

This episode “ How to be more confident in your career and find work you truly love. “. Looks into the recurring theme I see a lot with my clients of career confidence.

Some of the key things I spoke about in this episode were :

1.What is confidence and how can this affect you at work

2.Examples of situations at work where someone may feel they aren’t as confident as they want to be

3.Delving into why you may not feel confident in your career

4.Tips and advice to help you feel more confident in your working like

What’s changed since it was recorded?

This episode was recorded in February 2019 things that were happening at the time included economic growth in GDP pre-covid, high employment rates and low unemployment rates according to ONS (office of National statistics.)

The way we work has changed but the theme of confidence and feeling confident hasn’t. When I recorded this in 2019 people were talking about flexible work. 4 day weeks etc. However it wasn’t as common has it is now post pandemic.

I also think when I worked with clients in 2019 they wanted more money and too be promoted. Them thinking about flexibility is something they dreamed of but were worried about how this may hinder they career progression and development.

Why is it still such a issue?

I think confidence is and will continue to be an issue for a few reasons

1.The gender pay gap

2.?Women feeling like they have to prove their worth in a workplace especially if its male dominant

3.Cultural upbringing and conditioning

4.?Biases of women in the workplace if they are deemed too confident

5.Burnout and anxiety at work

6.The motherhood plenty

Please note these are just some of the reasons why I feel this is a theme that will continue to affect women. Often we need mentors and other women to support us and feel like we see that support. If your manager or boss isn’t helping you grow this can actually affect your confidence more. So good leadership and role models are key.

Plus if you have gone through some kind of trauma or have a chronic condition or disability your confidence may have been knocked by others attitudes. So it’s also important you understand what feeling and being confident means to you.

When I help women with confidence often it’s usually rooted in someone saying something to them that can trigger a past experience. It may even be that a curveball like redundancy or even a change of structure leaves you feeling completely unprepared and out of your comfort zone. If leadership and management don’t instil you with confidence this can passed down and make you feel like the changes haven’t been dealt with.

I would also say that confidence is an on-going journey for all us from childhood to adulthood. We all have significant roles we need to play in life. The more we do something the more we can feel that inner feeling of confidence. Plus if we have mentors or people to support us with this can help too. It’s something I know I have been able to help my clients develop too.

Episode 158 - Career confusion in your 20s and 30s and how to tackle this with Alana Kilmartin

This is a very different episode to Episode 3 yet it also deals with another recurring theme in my works as a mentor and careers adviser. The theme of confusion and lack of clarity and purpose.

The areas me and Alana spoke about in this episode were:

1.How success and the definition of success can put pressure on young people

2.What alternative career routes are out there without a degree and the importance of talking about it

3.Gap years and how they can help you discover who you are

4.Career confusion in your 20s and some ways of discovering your interests.

Pressure on young people to have a specific career early on

One of themes that came up in this episode was about how parents and the education system want to create the idea of one main career in mind even before you leave school. What I have seen as an adviser is this pressure can often leave young people more confused and sometimes overwhelmed. Often that discovery part that Alana mentioned in the episode isn’t addressed enough. When I work with a young person I encourage them to think about career ideas. Yet I feel it’s important we don’t add to the pressure of one career only.

Many years ago I remember one GCSE results day a young person not getting the results they wanted. Their dream was to be a doctor their concern was especially how their parents reaction would be more than anything. At only 16 years they were crying and they felt really humiliated. The dreams of them being a Doctor seemed not as close as their science results were not what they needed for their A level choices. Yet the pressure to succeed was even greater. I have seen this a lot whilst I have worked in schools.

When a young person wants to do a career without any real discovery this can lead to them getting to experience it later and yet still feeling confused. We spoke about how career confusion should be addressed through alternative approaches.

I honestly think some key factors that can help with this are

1.????? Getting actual hands on work experience

2.????? Picking subjects that interest you

3.????? Not getting fixated on just one career too soon

4.????? Having open dialogue with parents around career and subject interests so it’s varied and not fixated.

Career confusion when I work with my clients

This will continue to be a theme and that’s ok. It shouldn’t be seen as failure. Yet many people believe it is. Changing careers later on is ok. Getting hands on experience, gap years or even just going into work before university shouldn’t be frowned upon. I speak about many young people I work with not wanting the university experience.

When it comes to helping my clients in their 20-40s with career confusion it’s often very overwhelming because it’s seen as not “normal”. Why is that others have things have figured out what their career is and I still don’t know how I fell into a role. Is a concern I hear a lot from some clients. Another concern around confusion is they are highly qualified and have all the credentials but don’t actually know why they picked that profession or job. It seemed like a “good job”. Yet it’s still not the job or career they are passionate about.

Whilst working with my clients I help them uncover some of these key areas around confusion

1.????? Their purpose and what they enjoy

2.????? Why they are confused

3.????? What can they do moving forward

It’s not a exact process as it is bespoke and every client is different. Yet I feel it’s important to understand that the feelings and emotions around career confusion are more common then we may realise.

Listening to the podcast

If you haven’t listened to the podcast please subscribe where you listen to podcast links are below. I would appreciate you rating and reviewing it. As well as sharing with anyone who could benefit from it.

If you want to listen to this episodes you can do so on Apple podcasts or Spotify or wherever you like to listen to podcasts.

Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-career-happiness-podcast/id1450116167

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/536VSCYGO0mFQxDofZFVQz

Would love to know your thoughts around the themes discussed in the newsletter today. So please do share any comments you have below ??

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