Listen here to learn more.

The post Happiness and Strategies to Succeed – Practically! appeared first on SC Career Transition.

Psychologists often refer to this cognitive bias as the “Dunning-Kruger effect.” Interestingly, most people rate their skill levels and intelligence as “above average,” which is, of course, statistically impossible. This can have a profound impact on what people believe, the decisions they make, and the actions they take. And, in my case, it impacted the recruitment process.

When you’re interviewing, there’s a high likelihood that you’ll be asked to identify and describe your key skills for the job. Of course, we all aim to highlight the skills the hiring company is looking for. However, it is important to be realistic, honest, and transparent to ensure you can perform on the job.

So how can you avoid overestimating your abilities? You can start by following these three steps:

• Ask for feedback.

Speak to the five people who know you best – whether colleagues, your boss, family members, or friends. Ask them about your strongest skills and to provide you with examples. Then, ask which skills you can improve upon and encourage them to provide you with examples once more.

• Reflect on your achievements.

What are your career highlights to date? What skills did you draw on that enabled you to perform at your best? What did your colleagues and boss say about the achievements? Make a list of the skills that enabled you to succeed and then compare them to the feedback you received from your inner circle. Are there similarities, important differences, and “hidden skills” that you can explore and develop?

• Continue learning.

The problem with overestimating your skill level is that there will always be areas where you will lack knowledge of what the high end of the scale looks like. Generally speaking, people who are highly skilled are aware of the areas they need to improve upon and take the initiative to do so. Fortunately, there are many online resources you can leverage to increase your knowledge, including massive open online courses and YouTube tutorials.

If you think that you’re already self-aware and that this doesn’t concern you, I’ll issue a word of caution. There are no exceptions. The Dunning-Kruger effect influences everyone’s behavior, decisions, and even employability. The next time a recruiter asks you about your skills, learn from my mistake by ensuring you know what excellence looks like before lumping yourself into that category.

The post How Self-Awareness can help you to Land your Dream Job appeared first on SC Career Transition.

With the advantage of hindsight, Jobs pointed out: “I didn’t see it then, but being fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.”

Alongside several of his former colleagues, Jobs went on to launch the computer company, NeXT and eventually Pixar Animation Studios. The rest, as they say, is history.

His story is not unique. Professional setbacks are tough, whether they arise from redundancy, an unsuccessful job search, or restructuring. There is a tendency to take setbacks personally to the point where they affect your self-esteem, perception of value, and confidence – leading to feelings of unhappiness, stress, lack of motivation and energy, and personal and professional relationship challenges.

Yet, having confidence in ourselves is a key predictor of success. Said another way, if you do not believe in yourself and your capabilities, nobody else will. Confidence helps you to build the kind of resilience that will get you through life’s ups and downs. It also helps you to perform at peak levels – enabling focus, a greater commitment to tasks, and the flexibility to creatively navigate challenges.

That being said, we are not born with confidence and our level of confidence doesn’t remain constant throughout our lives. Self-confidence waxes and wanes, and takes work to build, develop, and maintain. The good news is that, by taking decisive actions, you can develop greater self-confidence that will enable you to navigate life’s ups and downs with ease and remain focused on your long-term goals.

Here are five tried-and-tested steps:

1. Think back to some of your most impressive accomplishments. What helped you to achieve these? What strengths did you draw on? Once you’ve identified your strengths, think about two new ways that you can leverage them in the coming weeks. Write these down, commit to them, and then track your milestones along the way.
2. Try something new and challenge yourself, whether joining a cooking class, a running group, or volunteering for a cause you’re passionate about. Taking on new challenges and succeeding can help boost your confidence and sense of productivity.
3. Avoid negative self-talk and a worst-case scenario mindset. Henry Ford once said “whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” When we expect the worst, we are often too afraid to take advantage of new opportunities. Turning this on its head, imagine the best-case scenario. To help you with this, I encourage you to watch my favorite TED Talk, “Why we all need to practice emotional first aid” by Guy Winch.
4. Ask for feedback. It’s an important life skill to learn how to seek feedback and use constructive criticism to improve. Have a discussion with your (former) line manager or colleagues to find out what you do well and where you can improve. This will help you to develop on both a personal and professional level, and become more confident in your abilities. Quite simply, confident people are better at receiving both positive and negative feedback.
5. Set small goals and achieve them to pile up success. Achieving goals, even small ones, helps us to gain confidence in ourselves and our abilities. Make sure you set daily goals, track them, and celebrate your successes. Don’t underestimate the importance of doing this to boost your confidence levels.

Though it’s often overshadowed by your skills and expertise, confidence is one of the core building blocks of career and life success. By following these five simple steps, you can develop your confidence, bounce back from setbacks, and achieve your goals.

The post Five Steps to Build your Confidence and Improve your Personal and Professional Life appeared first on SC Career Transition.

Most of the people I’ve worked with over the past 20 years – whether as an HR professional, recruiter or career coach – share Tom’s views, irrespective of whether they are CEOs, athletes, or recently qualified university graduates. More often than not, they are worried about what their friends will think of them, convinced that they are worthless, and prefer keeping to themselves while looking for a job. Even though this is understandable, this behavior is actually counterproductive on two levels:

1. Social support helps you to cope when the going gets tough; and
2. The social contacts you have, particularly those “weak ties” with people you don’t know very well, can offer a unique perspective and resources that are invaluable when looking for a job.

So what can you do to make sure that you have the right support team in place?

Take a look at your circle of friends, family members, and acquaintances. Identify the people you can count on to help you.

• Who will always be there for you no matter what happens – picking you up when you’re down and cheering you on?

• Who knows you well and can be counted on to give an unbiased opinion of your skills and achievements?

• Who will challenge you to fulfil your potential, ensuring that you are the best you can be?

• Who can you confide in and be vulnerable with when you need to talk about your fears, doubts, and insecurities?

• Who can offer you support and guidance in identifying your next professional challenge?

• Who can introduce you to people with different backgrounds to expand your network?

If the support network you’ve identified through this process doesn’t feel right, start assessing who else you might be able to contact for assistance. Rather than trying to cope on your own, building good relationships and getting support can help you to overcome challenging circumstances and tough times. Seeking employment is no exception here.

Coming full-circle, at the end of our session, Tom understood the importance of social connections and realized that trying to do it all on his own wasn’t going to work. He identified a support network and was able to get the assistance and advice that he desperately needed. Now, he’s happily employed in customer service.

The post Tapping into Your Support Network is Key to Getting Your Next Job appeared first on SC Career Transition.