Hello folks!

This was meant to be the January newsletter, but what’s a couple of days between friends? 

February is much more my kind of a month…

And while the ‘new year new me’ crew have been doing their thing, the rest of us have had a few weeks to get our heads in the game, and if you are that way inclined, you might have had a think about what you want from your so-called career in the coming months.

💖What do you want to get curious about? 

💖What might you feel ready to commit to?

💖And what scaffolding will you need to hold you steady along the way?

I’ve noticed a few themes coming up in the conversations I’ve had recently. How do these sound to you?

Connection - post pandemic, loneliness has risen significantly, across people of all ages and stages. When you can’t take the passive connection of the office for granted, how do we feel more like we belong? What does active connection look like, where can you find it, and is everyone else feeling awkward and socially adrift too?

Progression - a lot of you are getting curious about progression possibilities. Where could I go from here, rather than where should I go from here? How can I use my strengths in different contexts? Who can help or inspire me? What might it look and feel like to forge my own path?

Visibility - commitments to speaking up, showing your strengths, being seen, in ways which feel authentic rather than prescribed.

I’m going to use the newsletter to go deeper into these areas over the next few months, so if you have any thoughts, questions, or resources you’d like to share, do get in touch. Thank you to those of you who have been kind enough to share your thoughts so far.

For now though - here are your 5 shiny nuggets of career gold for the month. Whether you are new here, or have been with me since the very beginning, I hope you enjoy them!

Go gently.

Penny x

1) Create your career community with My So-Called Career

I have been getting curious about how to facilitate more connection within the My So-Called Career community and am so excited/mildly terrified to be bringing you some events with connection at their core. 

A friend of mine describes connection as ‘the very stuff of life’, but yet so many of us are now feeling lonely, isolated or socially adrift, which can have a huge impact on our confidence, self-esteem and our ability to effectively navigate our so-called careers.

If you are interested in unlearning loneliness, and making space to connect, get curious and create your own careers community, click the big pink button below.

2) Book Of The Month Is BACK!

My first book of the month this year is Why Men Win At Work by Gill Whitty-Collins, who was kind enough to offer to sign my giveaway copy, so I’m hoping I can make that happen for you.

Gill’s background is big corporate, but her advice is relevant whatever you do, or who you do it for. I predict that I will be giving away MANY copies of this one over the coming year and if you would like to be the first recipient, click the big pink button below for your chance.

If you fancy a little primer, you can listen to Gill talking to Anna Stoecklein on the Story of Woman podcast here, or read her ‘rant of the month’ here.

3) Tip to Try

Being known is a deeply human need, it helps us connect and helps us progress. When people know us, they can spot progression possibilities for us and make connections to help us reach them.

That sounds like a pretty good pay off for 10% of your work week to me.

4) Link I Liked

I really enjoyed this article about the possibility potential of trying an evening class. I’m not going to suggest that we can all become artisanal cheesemakers, or set up as ceramicists, nor that we all need to enrol on lengthy, expensive and demanding postgrads, but there is something very special about choosing to spend time - or make time - to learn a new skill, meet new people, or go deeper into an existing interest.

Maybe progression for you might look like learning something new?

Or you might look for connection by being part of a class, club or a cohort?

From personal experience, I got an huge amount from a ‘work adjacent’ postgrad I took at Birkbeck in 2020.  It gave me structure and intellectual challenge, a tonne of work context and insight, inspiration, a qualification, and a group of peers who I am still connected to now - Birkbeck coaching psychology crew I see you!

At the other end of the commitment spectrum, I had an absolutely joyous evening in December learning how to make my own scented candles in a small group workshop run by an awesome local business.

I got to chat to a woman who gives guided tours of museums for a living (the dream!), developed my own ‘signature scent’, and realised how satisfying it is to actually make something.

Next weekend, I’m joining my first needlepoint meet-up, to meet other people who share my love of stitching.

If you were going to attend a course or a class, what would it be?  

Would it be work adjacent, or completely extra-curricular?

Are you just feeling curious? or ready to commit?

I would LOVE to hear about it!

5) MSCC Inspiration

Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash