The Vocation Cast

The Vocation Cast | Episode 40: Winning The Workplace Game

Sun, 02 Oct 2022 13:40:46 GMT

No matter who you are or what the specifics of your job might be, your work inevitably features ups and downs, good days and bad days, elements of fulfilment and frustration – with more of the former than the latter if you’re lucky. So, the obvious question to ask is this. Is there a way of making sure that you get more positives than negatives in the long run, despite the inevitable hassles that come everyone’s way?

Can you incorporate a success strategy into everything that comes with your job that is effective over an entire working life? This is the challenge of winning the workplace game. So long as you understand the rules of play, I think there is, and I want to use this Vocation Cast to offer you some ideas on how to do it.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 39: Playing In The Job-Hunt Sandbox

Sun, 02 Oct 2022 13:02:36 GMT

There’s a work-search technique that hardly anyone uses, but one that’s guaranteed to propel you into the top league of job hunters if you put it to good effect. There’s nothing complicated about doing it and it’s a simple concept to get your head around. Would you like to know the secret to perfecting any kind of interpersonal encounter during a job search, from informal research meeting all the way through to full-blown hiring meeting and salary negotiation? I’m guessing that you would.

Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes, and perfect practice massively contributes to an ideal job-search outcome. In today’s Vocation Cast I’m going to tell you about a sure-fire strategy to implement a perfect practice routine that will leave you brimming with confidence and ideally prepared for whatever your next job hunt throws at you, and that’s sandbox practice.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 38: Earn The Maximum Job Search ROI

Sun, 02 Oct 2022 11:29:37 GMT

There’s lots to think about when you launch yourself into a fresh job-search project. What sort of work do you want to do next? How will you find job opportunities that match all of your needs? What’s the best way to get in front of recruiters and to then convince them to hire you? That’s just a few of the questions to answer but there are a hundred and one others. You can easily become overwhelmed so to give yourself the best chance of success, you need to concentrate your efforts where they’re most likely to pay off.

How do you cover all of the core job-hunting bases whilst keeping your plan as sleek and organised as possible? What are your priorities, the most essential parts of the job search that you should focus on? Is there a way of maximising your job-search return on investment? Yes, I think there is and in today’s episode I’ll explain what my strategy would be if I were in your shoes.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 37: Sharpening Your Axe

Sun, 02 Oct 2022 10:42:22 GMT

Imagine that we’re sitting in your favourite café. You’ve asked me to give you an hour of my time in which to offer you the best advice I can about how to find a great job with an ideal employer. You’ve listened to each of the previous Vocation Cast episodes so you understand the outline of the job-hunting process that I recommend. Therefore, you know what to do. You now want a few tips on how to do it as well as possible.

So, the questions you have for me are these. What are the specific job-search strategies I’d use if I was in your shoes right now? What would my game plan be? Are there any between-the-lines suggestions I’d offer you, things that go beyond the basic techniques you’ve already learnt about? Our drinks arrive, you take a notepad and pen from your case and we begin. This is what I’d tell you in that time.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 36: Doubts, Deviations And Dead-Ends

Sun, 02 Oct 2022 10:10:11 GMT

I’ve been presenting most of the previous Vocation Casts from a best-case position. I do this because I want to encourage you to expect success in your upcoming work search and to give you every reason to be optimistic about getting hired by a great employer and fulfilling your career potential. However, for a training programme to be truly inclusive, I need to tell you about some of the problem areas that can sometimes derail you, and these challenges often crop up during a hiring meeting.

Knowing what these issues are likely to be will help you anticipate the inevitable glitches that may come your way, and prepare you for any difficulties if they cross your path. In my experience, there are half a dozen situations that can interfere with a hiring pitch and they are poor preparation on your part, insufficient time available to you, mismatched expectations, disagreement on the problem, refusal to accept the solution and a not-hiring-now position.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 35: Clarity Of Voice And Message

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 13:12:07 GMT

If you want to take your job pitch to the next level, you need to think about the clarity of your voice and the message you want to convey. This isn’t a simple matter of speaking clearly, using tone and intonation, pauses and stress and so forth. Nor is it about the particular words you use in your pitch content alone.

Voice and message, in the way I’m thinking about them here, transcend these things and hold the potential to inject your pitch with vim and vigour. These are the keys to creating a transformational connection with a hiring manager who holds your immediate future in their hands.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 34: Impact, Confidence And Boldness

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 12:47:59 GMT

When you make any kind of presentation, and this includes an important job pitch of course, you have a variety of core delivery tools at your disposal. These comprise many of the things I spoke about in the previous Vocation Cast, including the tempo of your voice, word emphasis, use of pauses, volume and so on. If you can master them, you’ll soon become a competent pitcher.

These are some of the essential ingredients of a great pitch but deploying them well isn’t an end in itself. They’re all subservient to a higher-level objective and that’s to influence your audience as comprehensively as possible. To elevate the quality of your pitch, these micro elements must feed a triumvirate of delivery skills which are impact, confidence and boldness. In today’s episode, I’ll introduce you to these ideas.

Books I refer to in this episode:

Nate Zinsser – The Confident Mind

Steve Peters – A Path Through The Jungle

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 33: Master Great Interview Delivery

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 12:20:48 GMT

There are two components of a highly-effective job pitch. The first is strong content that conveys a compelling message. The second is powerful delivery that creates a dynamic impact. By combining great content with superb delivery you place yourself in prime position to influence the outcome of any kind of presentation, including the pitch stage of a crunch hiring meeting of course.

I’ve covered the topic of content development already. In today’s Vocation Cast, I’m going to introduce you to some core elements of delivering that content. If you can get to grips with the ideas I’ll present here, you’ll be giving yourself the best chance of impressing any demanding hiring manager and getting the job you really want.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 32: Stages Of The Perfect Hiring Meeting

Thu, 29 Sep 2022 09:42:12 GMT

Standard-format job interviews are fundamentally flawed, and for all sorts of reasons. They fail employers who spend enormous amounts of time and money on screening processes that are notoriously unreliable in identifying the best workers. They fail job seekers who are compelled to endure dysfunctional recruitment meetings that overwhelmingly focus on a candidate’s weaknesses rather than allowing them to fully demonstrate their capabilities.

My version of the interview is very different. I actually prefer to call it a hiring meeting, in order to distance itself from all of the negative traits of job interviews. There are four key stages to familiarise yourself with, each of which are designed to counter every one of the problems that you get if you go down the usual interview route. In today’s Vocation Cast, I’m going to outline these stages as you learn how to prepare for the perfect hiring meeting.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 31: Exploit The Superpower Of Narrative

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 10:37:43 GMT

As you start to create the content that forms the backbone of your interview presentation, you’d probably like to know how to how to elevate its quality in a way that’s guaranteed to grab the immediate attention of a hiring manager. One of the most powerful tools at your disposal is a core message that’s conveyed with a narrative structure that informs and guides the listener.

In today’s Vocation Cast I’m going to introduce you to the concept of story, as used in a commercial or professional setting. This is one of the superpowers that excellent communicators put to good use when they want to inform, persuade and influence other people. Story is rarely used in job hunting which gives you a significant first-move advantage, and I’m about to explain why.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 30: The Two Elements Of A Flawless Pitch

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 08:29:26 GMT

With a job interview in the offing, you need to think about how you can best equip yourself for a crucial hiring meeting that’s likely to decide your immediate future. If you do things the right way, and then go on to succeed in getting the job you’re after, you can look forward to some celebrations. If you do things the wrong way you’ll probably fail, and it’s back to the drawing board. So, how can you load the odds of being successful in your favour?

Preparation is the key, so you have to think about what you’re going to say and do. You also have to consider the way you’ll say and do everything. Your words and your actions are the two elements of a flawless pitch, but they must be constructed properly and delivered impeccably. In today’s Vocation Cast I’m going to give you some guidelines about developing your content and honing your delivery as well as possible.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 29: Take Control Of The Job Interview

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 15:06:30 GMT

The sharp end of a work search arrives when you attend a final job interview. You get just one shot at convincing a hiring manager to offer you an employment contract so you need an action plan that’s sure to deliver the maximum chance of success. The one I’ve designed reflects the behaviours of the most exceptional interviewees, the sort of top-flight job candidates who make an immediate and compelling impression at interview and shoot straight to the head of any employer’s want list.

Over the next two weeks of this Vocation Cast series I’m going to tell you what they do to succeed, and how you can join this small group of elite job searchers if you follow the interview template I give you. In today’s episode, I’ll begin by explaining why taking control of crunch meetings is such an effective strategy, and the reason this lays the groundwork for the rest of your pitch.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 28: Connect With Hiring Decision Makers

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 15:00:46 GMT

Your aim during the second stage of the proactive job-search strategy is to obtain a direct and personal introduction to the hiring decision maker. The perfect situation is for this to be done by way of a known intermediary, usually someone in a position of influence who’s already employed by the company you want to join, and preferably by a person who works alongside the decision maker you’ll make your eventual pitch to.

In today’s Vocation Cast I’ll be introducing the way you engineer this introduction, if everything goes the way you’d want. I’ll also outline a fall-back procedure if there’s a problem that crops up during the introduction phase of your job search. This is when you decide to make a self-referral to the person with the authority to employ you, whether that’s from choice or by necessity.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 27: Getting Your Team To Play For You

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 14:57:49 GMT

A successful job hunt will include contact with a wide range of people who can give you information about potential employers and work opportunities, make personal introductions on your behalf and connect you to key influencers and decision makers. This is a profoundly important element of my work-search strategy and you shouldn’t underestimate its power to transport you directly to the door of the person with the ability to hire you.

All of the people you meet might contribute to the positive outcome of your work search in ways that aren’t immediately obvious so you must nurture your team of contacts diligently in order to get the most out of them. This is the essence of getting your team to play for you in the most effective way.

In today’s Vocation Cast I’d like to give you some guide lines which should help you tread the fine line between exploiting the knowledge and networks of this group of people for your own specific purposes, whilst treating them with appropriate care and attention so that they don’t feel as if their generosity is being abused.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 26: Business Outsiders As Vital Conduits

Thu, 15 Sep 2022 16:18:44 GMT

Making high-quality contacts is a crucial part of your job search. Compliant company insiders who become a valuable part of your network will help, advise and guide you in ways that will astonish you, but you have to cultivate them properly in order for this happy situation to occur. The first challenge you face is to successfully touch base with these people before any privileged conversations can take place.

The best and most reliable way of meeting inside contacts is to be personally introduced to them by a known connection, but how do you go about doing this? That’s the subject of today’s job-search tutorial.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 25: Advisors, Influencers And Advocates

Thu, 15 Sep 2022 15:41:31 GMT

An essential part of any job hunt is finding lucrative work opportunities to go after, and with high-quality employers who really need you on their team. Last week I covered the first part of identifying suitable work possibilities by doing some essential planning. To recap, you need to know what you want in your new job, understand the reasons an employer will hire you, narrow your potential employment options and so on. You can do all of this at your leisure and from the comfort of your desk at home.

The second stage now begins as you make direct contact with well-connected people who can help fill in the gaps in your research file. This is a hands-on process when you arrange meetings, get out and about and speak with people who work inside the companies you want to join, or have direct connections with them in some way. Today’s episode explains why advisors, influencers and advocates are such a vital part of your job search.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 24: Suspects, Prospects, Leads And Targets

Thu, 15 Sep 2022 15:03:39 GMT

When you’re job hunting, you need an opening to go after before anything else happens. Without a raw work opportunity in front of you, your job search is going nowhere fast, so finding the right one as quickly and effectively as possible is critically important. The conventional way of doing this is to wait until an employer has posted a job vacancy and to submit your application through the usual channels. The trouble is that this procedure is riddled with problems.

But there’s a solution which I’m going to tell you about right now, and one that eliminates all of the difficulties that ordinary job hunters endure. In this episode I’ll introduce you to the mechanics of locating the organisation that will become your principal employment target.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 23: Their Problems And Your Solutions

Thu, 15 Sep 2022 14:36:24 GMT

My work-search strategy features three core stages, the first of which identifies lucrative openings with high-quality employers before anyone else has got to them. This is simpler to do than most job hunters might imagine and if you can answer two basic questions you’ll go a long way towards achieving this. Once you understand the importance of these questions and their corresponding answers, you’ll be in prime position to move on to the second and third stages of the process.

In today’s episode I want to talk about the reasons that this pair of questions is crucial to finding work opportunities, how you should go about asking them, and why the answers form the foundation of everything that subsequently happens in your job-search project.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 22: Set The Bar To Your Preferred Height

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 17:18:46 GMT

You’re looking for a better job so that means you’ve got some big choices to make, and there’s one that comes head and shoulders above any other. The choice I’m thinking about concerns the height you decide to set your bar. How high do you want to fly and, conversely, how low are you prepared to go?

This decision is profoundly important and represents a core aspect of finding the best-possible work opportunity. Most job hunters scoot over this activity without giving it due consideration so I want to explain why I think it’s the single most crucial choice you’ll ever make and why you need to be clear about its effects on your future, right from the start.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 21: Discover Lucrative Work Opportunities

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 16:36:56 GMT

Imagine that you’ve come across a hidden treasure chest that contains a rare and glittering prize. Or perhaps you’ve stumbled across a path of tempting riches, one that leads you towards the land of your dreams. You’d probably feel thrilled with your discovery and excited about the possibilities that were suddenly opening up in front of you.

In a similar way, you’re about to learn how to uncover a vein of unique work opportunities that will make you marvel. This is the first of the Vocation Cast episodes that introduce one of the most important parts of my job-search system which is finding exciting and lucrative job openings with high-quality employers before anyone else gets to them.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 20: Use Story To Persuade And Influence

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 15:36:52 GMT

Lots of job hunters, maybe even the majority, ask me what the single most important part of my work-search strategy is. Is there just one thing they should do to give them a definitive edge over everyone else who’s looking for a similar position? Well, there are three essential components of my system which are finding work opportunities, engineering personal introductions and controlling the job interview. Is one more important than the others? That depends on you and your aims but I’d say that nailing the interview usually comes at the top of the list.

The reason is simple. The interview is almost always a one-off opportunity, the moment you get your big chance to prove yourself in front of a hiring decision maker, so you can’t afford to mess up. But let’s get even more specific. Within the job interview, is there one single skill you should master to help you smash through any resistance to your pitch? Yes, I think there is and that thing is story. I’m going to talk about this in today’s episode and explain why I think you’ll be doing yourself an enormous favour if you can use story to persuade and influence other people.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 19: Design A Compelling Interview Pitch

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 15:00:22 GMT

When you’re job hunting, you need to think carefully about the specific actions you’ll be taking at different stages of the hiring process and designing a compelling interview pitch is one of the most important. This is when you get to make your case in front of a decision maker, so you need to be certain that you’re giving it your best shot.

But what does a great pitch actually look like? What’s the most effective way of constructing the material you’ll use to convince a recruiter that you’re the best person for the job? How should you avoid the traps and pitfalls that conventional interviews present? I’m going to give you the answers right here, in today’s job-search episode.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 18: How To Manipulate Meeting Outcomes

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 13:06:58 GMT

When you go into a crunch job interview, your primary objective is to receive an employment offer, most of the time at any rate. One of the best ways of doing this is to make a big impact upon the interviewer. Influencing the outcome of meetings, whether they’re job interviews or not, is a trait that’s highly-valued in the business world. Manipulation, in the sense that I use the word, is at the sharp end of influence and one of the most important of all interpersonal communication skills that any ambitious professional needs to master.

In today’s episode I want to analyse the concept of influence and manipulation and explain how to use it effectively. If you attend hiring meetings, you absolutely must ensure that you exert the maximum leverage over decisions that interviewers take, positively and in your favour of course. If you can do this well, you’ll be virtually guaranteed to succeed.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 17: What Every Employer Needs In You

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 12:21:11 GMT

An important job interview is just around the corner so you need to get into character and think about how you’ll present yourself, the message you want to convey and the manner in which you can best deliver it. Much of this depends on the particular job you want to do, the employer you want to work for and the business problem you hope to solve – in some small way at the very least.

In addition to job-specific interview content that you’ve got to get your head around, there’s also core material that you should consider, things that are almost universal, irrespective of the employer, the business sector they occupy and the job role you aspire to. I’m thinking of the common traits that virtually every organisation needs to see in every single employee they hire. In today’s episode I’ll tell you what these are and why you should incorporate them into your interview presentation.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 16: Do The Job In The Interview

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 11:33:50 GMT

Job hunting can be a high-pressure situation, especially when it gets to the interview stage. However well prepared you are, whatever position you’re going after and irrespective of your strengths and weaknesses at interview, your immediate future is riding on a successful outcome. How confident would you feel if you knew that this strategy meant you could nail any job interview, comprehensively and convincingly?

What’s the secret to interview success? Which strategy is most likely to deliver the goods when you’re facing off against a recruiter who’s got the power to offer you a lucrative work contract? All you have to do is take control of the interview and do the job, right there in front of the interviewer. This is what elite job interviewees do, and the best ones do it supremely well. Here's how they do it.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 15: Get Rid Of CVs And Resumes

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 10:56:42 GMT

Can you conduct a job search without relying on CVs, resumes and the rest of the usual application paraphernalia that you’re undoubtedly very familiar with? The quick answer is a resounding yes, and I’m going to tell you how and why.

Resumes and CVs hinder you rather than help you get a great job. There are six good reasons for this and you’re about to learn the ugly truth behind the great CV and resume con in today's episode.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 14: Control, Differentiation And Authenticity

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 10:14:12 GMT

Getting your head around a different method of job hunting can potentially be tricky. There are new techniques to learn and various activities to complete as part of your preparation, not to mention some punchy presentation, negotiation and interview skills to master. Wouldn’t it be good to have a simple roadmap at your side that ensures that you’re on the right track at all times?

That’s the point of my three job-search principles of control, differentiation and authenticity. In this episode I’ll explain why they'll help you, plus a few extra ideas about differentiating yourself.

www.vocationmaster.com

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 13: Agency Is Crucial To Your Success

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 09:50:10 GMT

If you were going to make a list of the most important components of an effective job search, what would come in at number one? A great resume or CV? Good experience and qualifications? A bunch of well-rehearsed answers to some predictable interview questions? No, none of these. The single most crucial aspect of any job hunt is agency, the ability to be in control of every decision and every action that you take.

In today’s Vocation Cast I want to explain why I say this, what agency means to you and how you can make control your best friend as you navigate the choppy waters of a job search.

www.vocationmaster.com

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 12: Focus On Skills Over Passions

Sun, 11 Sep 2022 12:44:41 GMT

Here’s a question for you. When you’re looking for a new job, or even if you’re going as far as designing a total career plan from start to finish, do you think it’s better to base your work on something you really like doing or should you concentrate on something you’re pretty good at? In other words, is it preferable to prioritise your passions or your skills?

Most people, when they’re given this binary choice, believe that following their passions is more likely to lead to fulfilling work, a higher salary and deliver better career prospects than subsuming their interests in favour of some pre-existing skills. In today’s Vocation Cast episode I’ll be analysing the skills versus passions argument, the conclusions of which might surprise you.

www.vocationmaster.com

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 11: Build Confidence And Self-Belief

Sun, 11 Sep 2022 12:41:54 GMT

Would you like to flip the odds decisively in your favour when it comes to any job search? Instead of allowing employers to select or reject you, which is what happens during nearly every conventional hiring procedure, would you like to be in control of every key stage of the hiring process? I’m guessing that you would and to do this properly, it’s essential to re-calibrate your attitude to a job search. A big part of this regards your perception of who holds the best cards in their hands. Is it you or is it the employer? The fact of the matter is that the choice is yours, depending on the job-search strategy you use.

One of the most important things you can do is boost your confidence and self-belief by knowing your true value to an employer. You do this in two ways. First, by understanding how your unique skillsets intersect with an employer’s highest needs. Second, by developing a super-effective way of presenting these skills in the right way. An introduction to these things is the subject of today’s Vocation Cast episode, and honing these mental skills will go a long way towards giving you the upper hand in any job hunt.

www.vocationmaster.com

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 10: Prepare For Job Search Success

Sun, 11 Sep 2022 12:38:43 GMT

Successful job hunting rewards some planning, but how much should you do before you get stuck into the face-to-face elements of your work search? It depends on the sort of person you are and how you approach multi-faceted tasks. As a guide to the options available to you, I outline the differences between people who love doing this sort of thing and those who don't.

In this episode of The Vocation Cast I talk about planners and pantsers, the latter being people who do things by the seat of their pants. You'll discover the origin of the term "pantsers" right here! If you're one of them, beware, because I give you six good reasons to change your attitude towards planning of any sort, and certainly with regard to your next job search.

www.vocationmaster.com

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 9: Jobs, Careers And Vocations

Sun, 11 Sep 2022 12:29:10 GMT

When you design your career, there are some big decisions you need to make. Broadly speaking, you have three choices about the sort of work you'd like to do. You can have a job, follow a career or forge a vocation.

What are the characteristics of each of these? How about their pros and cons? These are just two of the questions that I answer in this episode of The Vocation Cast.

www.vocationmaster.com

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 8: Accept Or Reject Bad Work

Sun, 11 Sep 2022 10:00:16 GMT

If you were given a binary choice between doing good work and doing bad work, you’d almost certainly go for the former.

There can’t be many people who’d willingly accept a bad work situation when a good one was available to them. Of course, things are rarely as simple as that because most work has got good bits and bad bits and you have to take the rough with the smooth, don’t you? Well, perhaps, but let’s unpack this good work/bad work conundrum before you get too resigned to accepting the status quo.

I think that an honest evaluation of the quality of the work you do is an essential first step when it comes to any kind of career planning. Once you’ve done that, your determination to reject bad work and accept good work should come pretty high on your list of priorities in my opinion, and I outline a way of doing this in today’s Vocation Cast.

www.vocationmaster.com

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youtube.com/vocationmaster

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 7: Work Is Getting Worse For Most Of Us

Sat, 10 Sep 2022 10:00:32 GMT

Work is getting worse for most of us. This might sound negative or overly-dramatic but I’d ask you to hear me out before you leap to judgement. You see, I firmly believe that most employed people are getting an increasingly bad deal when it comes to work and in this episode I explain why I’ve reached this conclusion, why it matters to you and how to do something about it.

I’m not suggesting that everyone’s work is getting worse. Many people are doing great jobs that are well-paid, secure and completely fulfilling. There are plenty of excellent employers who care deeply for their workers’ welfare and establish employment protocols that ensure the best working conditions.

However, plenty of others are caught in a bad-work trap and countless employers facilitate a variety of dismal working practices. It’s these factors that are testament to work getting worse for a large tranche of the workforce, which might become a major motivation in searching for a better job.

www.vocationmaster.com

linkedin/neilgrant

youtube.com/vocationmaster

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 6: Burn Out Will Eventually Crush You

Fri, 09 Sep 2022 10:00:53 GMT

Doing the wrong work manifests itself in different ways but the root causes essentially boil down to choosing a job that doesn’t align with your core values, practical needs or individual skillsets. Doing the wrong work is bad for you at every level and can easily lead to burn out, one of the most damaging effects of making a poor work choice.

In today’s Vocation Cast episode I think about the nature of burn out, plus the associated ailment of fade away, a lighter version of burn out to put it simply. I assess their effects before drawing some conclusions about the serious problems associated with doing the wrong kind of work which often becomes apparent if burn out or fade away affect you.

www.vocationmaster.com

linkedin/neilgrant

youtube.com/vocationmaster

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 5: Why We’re Disengaged From Our Work

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 10:00:10 GMT

There are all sorts of reasons to look for a different job.

Perhaps you want to earn more money, climb higher up the career ladder or completely change the work direction you’re heading in. These are all quite understandable but I think there’s an even better reason for shaking things up and that’s because you’re getting anxious, stressed-out or sick as a direct result of the job you do.

Finding new employment that immediately improves the quality of your life by eliminating the psychological and physical symptoms of bad work is surely one of the best of all the reasons for starting a job hunt.

In today’s Vocation Cast I talk about workplace disengagement, the underlying cause of some of the most pernicious difficulties that the big majority of employed people experience at some point in their lives. Whether you currently suffer from what I discuss or not, understanding the nature of this problem is crucially important if you want to be successful in your next job search.

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www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace-2022-report.aspx#ite-393245

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 4: The Perfect Job Search Strategy

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 10:00:28 GMT

What would a perfect work search look like?

Most of us would welcome a strategy that planted us directly in front of a new employer who matched our preferred working style and allowed us to do a job that was well-paid, secure, fulfilling and exploited our highest-level skillsets.

We’d find a way of becoming the only person who was in the frame for the job, the sole candidate being considered for employment. We’d junk resumes, CVs and other application paraphernalia that actually hold us back. Instead, we’d discover how to get plugged in to a rich seam of contacts who’d help us along the way and give us privileged information and inside knowledge of the organisation we wanted to join. This would allow us to build a compelling pitch that proved we were the best person to handle the work challenges that our skills were ideally suited to.

This summarises my approach to job hunting which I introduce in today’s Vocation Cast.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 3: Copy What Elite Job Hunters Do

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 10:00:32 GMT

There’s a fool-proof method of succeeding at any task. One of the most reliable ways of gaining solid strategic knowledge of a new area is to identify the thoughts and behaviours of people who are at the top of the game you choose to compete in and want to win, and to then put these actions into effect as well as you can.

The reasons that emulating other people’s successes is such a good idea are twofold. First, you can easily remove any doubt about whether you’re heading in the right direction or not. Second, you almost always get to achieve your aims as quickly as possible. For busy people who don’t have time to waste, getting fast results is essential. It gives them energy to devote to other things that are more important in their lives, such as cracking on with doing a high-quality job that they really want to do, for example. Discover the secret of elite job searchers’ success in today’s Vocation Cast.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 2: Normal Job Hunting Doesn’t Work

Mon, 05 Sep 2022 10:00:14 GMT

Conventional recruitment procedures are terrible in almost every way which is really bad news if you’re looking for a new job. The fact of the matter is that the usual ways of looking for different work are so fundamentally flawed that they’re barely fit for purpose, and I explain why in today’s Vocation Cast.

The overall aim of almost any normal recruitment procedure which is to match the most suitable worker with a specific job that needs to be done. On the face of it, this is a perfectly good objective, but it’s only when you unpack the details of how this process operates that you discover that things aren’t quite as straightforward as they might seem.

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The Vocation Cast | Episode 1: How To Hire Yourself A New Employer

Sun, 04 Sep 2022 09:47:25 GMT

What if you could design the perfect work-search strategy?

In an ideal scenario, you’d discover lucrative employment opportunities that are perfectly suited to your talents, and with high-quality employers of course. You’d eliminate all of the competition from other job hunters and get personally introduced to influential company insiders who urgently need your skills and have the authority to employ you on the spot.

You’d seize the immediate attention of hiring decision makers by taking charge of any kind of job interview. You’d deliver a supremely-effective and highly-persuasive hiring pitch, then negotiate a top salary from a position of true power and strength. You’d be in complete control of every key decision and action you take during the entire job hunt, which would allow you to assert agency over every aspect of your working life.

Well, the perfect job-search strategy is now a reality. Find out how in episode 1 of The Vocation Cast.

www.vocationmaster.com

linkedin/neilgrant

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