Dear Career Kickstarters,
Kate here, co-host of The Australian Finance Podcast and the person ready to help you invest your money and time, better!
Think back to when you were 15 and at every family gathering, you started to hear the question, “what do you want to do after high school?”.
The problem is, this question makes you feel like you need to have a response ready at any moment. And, by always having a response at the ready, you can often forget to think about what you really want to do.
So let’s challenge ourselves this year to make sure we’re building our careers with intention. On this note, I’m excited to share some of these ideas and resources with you, along with my Career Kickstarter Course on Rask Education (which is 100% FREE 🥳).
☁️ Reflect on what you want out of your career
Many of our ideas of work and how we want to live our lives have changed over the past few years, so take some time to really think about what you want from work and your employer going forward.
Your next step should be figuring out what to do with this information. That might look like having a meeting with your manager to discuss part-time or flexible working arrangements, or potentially switching industries altogether.
👨🏻🔬 Hit the lab and experiment with different careers
It’s time to get back in the lab and experiment with your career this year. One of the best ways to really figure out if you’ll enjoy a particular career is by running small scale career experiments.
Think about some low-cost ways you can experiment with different career ideas this year and challenge yourself to reach out to 5-10 people who work in roles, companies or industries that you’re interested in. This will quickly allow you to better understand what their day to day job looks like without taking drastic action and quitting your job. For example, you can sign up for virtual work experience programs with Forage, it’s free!
Most career paths can be tested in some manner, it just requires some effort, time and creativity on your part.
💸 Make 2022 the year you negotiate your salary
Make 2022 the year you negotiate your salary (or other perks)! Many of us haven’t been in a position over the last few years to negotiate our salaries, but things have changed now and it’s important to ensure you’re being paid what you’re worth.
I cover some helpful salary negotiation strategies in my Career Kickstarter Course.
📚 Get your hands on some great career resources
As an adult we don’t always have access to someone (like a school careers counsellor) who we can talk through different options with. Thankfully, there are some fantastic resources available to help you invest more in your career this year.
Let me leave you with eight of my favourites…
- Designing Your Life: Build a Life that Works for You (book)
- 80,000 Hours: Find a fulfilling career that does good (book)
- Future Fit: How to stay relevant and competitive in the future of work (book)
- Forage: Free Virtual Work Experience Programs
- Stanford Designing Your Career – Free edX Online Course
- Wait But Why: How to Pick a Career (That Actually Fits You)
- My Millennial Career (podcast)
- Work Life with Adam Grant (podcast)
🦸🏽♀️ Become a super hero at the office
When’s the last time you thought about your super?
Yesterday, last year, never…?
If you said never or don’t know what I’m talking about, you’re certainly not alone. So many Aussies have forgotten about or lost their super that there are billions of unclaimed dollars just floating around, waiting for their owner to claim them.
Do this: Head to your myGov account, link it to your TFN and click on manage your super to find out if you have any lost super accounts.
💻 My Free Career Kickstarter Course
I spent some time during the lockdowns of 2021, creating and filming a free Career Kickstarter course, including everything that’s helped me along my journey, along with many expert insights and resources.
This free online course covers methods to explore different career paths, how to stand out from the crowd when applying for new positions, develop job-ready money skills and invest in yourself.
How are you investing in your career this year? Join our FB Community and let us know!
Cheers to our financial futures,
Kate
