In your sector, how do you stand out from the crowd? What do you do that makes you different? One of the best career tips I’ve come across is that we should all have 1 or 2 career ‘kites’ that we fly.
I particularly like the metaphor of a kite; high up, visible, colourful and fun. Your kites should be things you find enjoyable and absorbing. Here are mine, with some of the benefits I’ve found from flying them.
My kites
My kites are women’s development and my blog. These are both things I’m happy to invest time in and to continue to learn about. Kites require intrinsic motivation- I can always find the time for them. Neither feature in my job role- but I have managed to find ways to accommodate them as they’re important to me.
1. Women’s Development
This is something I’ve been interested in throughout my career, initially from membership of a local ‘Women and Industry’ group many years’ ago, later joining Warwick’s Gender Task Group. I established Warwick’s ‘Inspiring Women’ group and later became a licensed Springboard trainer.
Having been a ‘Sprint’ trainer- a programme for female students – and seen the positive impact of the programme, I pestered my line manager to let me become a licensed Springboard trainer- a programme for female staff. I timed it well- it was the end of the financial year and for once there were the funds to pay for it. There was no institutional mandate for the programme or any admin support, so I ‘piloted’ the programme with support from the Deputy Registrar. By tracking the progress of participants, I was able to make the case to extend the pilot and increase numbers.
As a result of following up with all participants I was able to demonstrate the programme’s ongoing positive impact (staff progression and retention). The data contribute to both the institution’s Gender Pay Gap target and Athena Swan Charter. I’ve since been asked to run an additional programme- this time with admin support. I now have a healthy waiting list of staff keen to take part in the programme.
2. My blog
I started my blog www.thecareercatalyst.co.uk during Lockdown. The idea grew out of a desire to do something helpful for the many people who were re-evaluating their career options post-COVID. It’s now been going for almost 3 years with readership increasing over time. I figured that with 30+ years experience in careers work that it could be helpful to share what I know in order to help more people. I find feedback and engagement for readers highly gratifying.
Both my kites take time and personal investment to keep them flying. But I’m happy to make the time as they’re important to me.
Your work life becomes so much richer when you fly your kites. Opportunities open up that you wouldn’t imagine. As a result of both of mine, I’ve:
- Been invited to be a guest speaker at events
- Compered a career development event for 100+ professional services staff
- Delivered a series of 3 external webinars on career planning
- Contributed as a panellist to national and international webinars
- Met up with a variety of fabulous like-minded contacts through LinkedIn and joined relevant interest groups
- Come across some great books on gender equity and connected with the authors
- Contributed to other women’s development programmes as a facilitator
- Contributed guest posts to others’ blogs
- Supported others and received support
- Become an Aurora mentor
- Collaborated on a joint article for a professional body with a LinkedIn contact
- Applied for Warwick’s Excellence in Gender award, winning the Individual award category for the ‘Springboard’ programme and received recognition with colleagues for the Inspiring Women initiative
What are your career kites and how do you make them fly?
If you don’t currently have any kites, what are your key areas of interest? What piques your curiosity? What absorbs you so that you lose all track of time? These are clues to what may become your kites.
If you have kites, how can you make them fly higher?
- Raise awareness by highlighting them on your LinkedIn profile. Join similar interest groups to connect with and learn from others. Share any successes by writing a LinkedIn post.
- Own your accomplishments! Having won the Individual Gender Initiative award, I’m now an ‘award-winning women’s development trainer’ on LinkedIn.
- Socialise your kites- discuss them with colleagues and others in positions of influence. You may find you are asked to run a training session for others, or present a paper.
- Highlight your kites as ‘extras’ that you bring when applying for a promotional post.
Being a geek is a great thing. I think we’re all geeks. Being a geek means you’re passionate about something and that defines your uniqueness. Masi Oka.
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