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Do you worry about missing out? Are you diluting your attention, energy and impact? It’s very tempting to try and do everything all at once when you’re caught up in the excitement of starting a new business, a new role or when changing direction. Or if you’re someone who finds it hard to let go. Or if you want to be involved in everything and find it hard to stay in your lane. You have Pro-Fomo. Professional Fear of Missing Out is, ironically, one of the ways you will miss out. When you’re trying to be involved in everything, working excessively to try and clear that (unending) to-do list or be all things to all people, you will inevitably miss something. Or burn out trying. Your efforts and focus get diluted and, as can often happen, you don’t hit deadlines or meet expectations, your attention is divided and your energy diffused. The result – you don’t do a great job, or you do it too late. How do we solve this? Think of your work effort as a five-course fine dining experience rather than an all you can eat buffet. If you’ve ever heard of the 80/20 rule (also called the Pareto Principle ) then you’ll understand that 80% of your outcomes derive from 20% of your efforts. Think about it for a moment. Are you focusing your efforts where you’ll get the most results? Or are you watering down your results and impact by not being focused on the activities that really matter? To ensure success it’s advisable to have a plan – and stick to it. Like a menu. It sets out in detail the stages we can expect, they have a logical flow and they complement one another. You could use also use the Eisenhower Matrix to help you decide what is more important and where to focus your attention. Plan your work or ‘courses’ so there is an engaging and interesting introduction that you build momentum from as you move forward, perhaps with a few flourishes or hidden ingredients to draw attention but always following a defined direction. That way, your efforts will bring rewards. You’ll be seen as strategic, sharp-minded and focused on the things that matter. If you’re trying to do everything and not do anything particularly well, why not try a session of Career Therapy and find your focus? Swap Pro-Fomo for clarity and direction and move your career forward with confidence. Click ‘Book a call’ on the website for a free intro call or email me at louise@careertherapy.co.uk Why not follow me for more career confidence-boosting tips, tools and talks: LinkedIn   Louise Newton Instagram   @career_therapy_uk If you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the twice-monthly   Career Therapy Newsletter ? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support, grounded in years of coaching experience - and real life. Check out my other articles on careers and confidence:   You can grow your confidence ,   Pick your shine time ,   5 steps to building confidence  and   Want more confidence? Take control . Photo by Marten Newhall on Unsplash

There are hard and soft ways to say No. Both can be effective Search online and there are pages and pages (and pages) of links to advice and techniques on how to say no. Interestingly, the vast majority focuses on the challenge of saying no. There are myriad variations on “how to say no” titles, assertiveness techniques and my personal favourite, “ How to say no and still be liked .” What I struggled to find was material on how to say 'no' rather than 'NO'. In the work that I do with executive women in their mid-late careers, it's a recurring theme of not knowing how to say no in a way that is effective. We cover: – How to soften directness so you don’t shut down the conversation and look rude – How to manage a no without confrontation or leaving the other party feeling aggrieved – How to say no but ensure the other party is still willing to engage and contribute I’m sure I haven’t invented it and it probably has a fancy title, but I call my technique ‘bridging’ and like so many things I love, it’s clear and simple.  This is how it works: imagine you’re a project manager and a client relationship manager wants to bring forward a deadline to keep a client happy. But it can’t be done, it’s just not possible. The CRM wants to tell the client it could be possible in order to keep them engaged but you’re concerned that such action will cause problems rather than solve them. What do you do? Tell the CRM that the answer is no and that they shouldn’t talk about it? You could. But it might be too blunt for them if you just shut down the idea. It might even generate conflict and make the issue bigger than it needs to be, leaving you and the CRM on opposite sides. Instead, you could build a bridge and ask the CRM to cross it, to get them to your side. Sound good? Yes, but how do you do that? A short option is: “I appreciate that this is not the answer you are looking for, but for X and Y reasons, we are not able to move the deadline.” You’re there, I’m here, there’s a gap in the middle, but acknowledging the reasons will help you move from where you are to where I am. You are listening to them and, perhaps more importantly, they feel that you are listening to them . A more detailed option could be: “As the project manager, my responsibility is to get the project delivered to plan. I appreciate that as CRM your role is to keep the client engaged and I do understand why you are asking for this. I can assure you I have looked at the request and considered all possibilities, but for two reasons, the answer is no. Firstly (give the reason) and secondly (give the reason). Based on those reasons, can we agree that you’ll tell the client the deadline can’t be moved? And can we agree you won’t mention the possibility?” Essentially, I’m here, you’re there, but these reasons will enable you (or force you) to come across to my side. To generate goodwill and reinforce collaboration, you could offer to help in another way, still adding value but by different means to help ease the other person across to your side. The key to this technique is acknowledging difference, putting it out there that you’re on different sides – and not pretending otherwise. Those sides might be role-based, like the example above, or they might be based on other factors such as experience levels, cultural differences or industry sector. This technique of softening a ‘NO’ to a ‘no’ has brought success for my clients and for me in my business. If you’d like some help saying no (or even yes), then why not get in touch for a chat? Click ‘Book a call’ on the website for a free intro call or email me at louise@careertherapy.co.uk Why not follow me for more career confidence-boosting tips, tools and talks: LinkedIn   Louise Newton Instagram   @career_therapy_uk If you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the twice-monthly   Career Therapy Newsletter ? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support, grounded in years of coaching experience - and real life. Check out my other articles on careers and confidence:   You can grow your confidence ,   Pick your shine time ,   5 steps to building confidence  and   Want more confidence? Take control . Photo by Morgan Bryan on Unsplash

Confidence can grow under any conditions I spoke to a client recently who said, “I’m not confident.” Full stop. Absolute. No nuances or wavering. In their view, not being confident was fixed (like concrete), an innate part of who they are.   My height is fixed – thankfully north of 5’1 but regrettably south of 5’3. My eye colour is not going to change (though I was once tempted by a pair of blue-tinted contact lenses) and my sense of smell will, sadly, never be very good.   These are part of a set of characteristics that form who I am, things I can cite when asked to describe myself. Some are absolute, some have nuances, but they aren’t going to waver very far.   But there are parts of me that are far from fixed, that are in fact highly flexible and ripe for growth. My confidence is one of those characteristics.   Let’s think about it. Confidence is made up of three key components Evidence - of past successes and/or times when I’ve felt confident, capable and courageous Attitude - self-awareness, self-kindness and self-efficacy (and self-boosted bravery) Control - taking charge and choosing how you react (and not people pleasing)   Remember, for most of us, confidence is often something that is highly situational. How confident I am reflects what I am doing, where I’m doing it and who I’m doing it with or for.  My husband may disagree, but I can say I’m confident that I can cook an edible meal. But if I were doing it for guests, I would feel less confident. If I were doing it with Gordon Ramsay, less confident again and if it were for a wedding… well, let’s just say I would walk out and let Gordon take care of it. I am aware of both his culinary expertise and my culinary limits.   Confidence is malleable and shifts depending on the circumstances; it’s not like my height, which after the age of 11 steadfastly refused to increase. Confidence rises and falls, it is highly dependent on ability, experience and self-awareness, and beyond this, it shapes itself according to a range of factors. The fact that we can lose confidence and have it eroded by toxic situations shows that confidence is not fixed. And therefore can be rebuilt. And if that has happened, a situation that has eroded your confidence, you can reclaim it. Rebuild it to be stronger, more resilient to external pressures and influences. Trust me, I’ve done exactly that, so I know not just that it’s possible but also how to do it - read How to grow your confidence in 5 steps . Even if it feels irrecoverable, confidence is not lost forever, maybe just for now. I can help you find it, grab it and claim it as yours again. And once you have it, you can face your fear, stop procrastinating and take action to be the new version of you. A you that feels energised, not tired, determined, not dithering and brave… with not an imposter in sight and those limiting beliefs, limited.   A session or two of Career Therapy with me as your coach can help you see how to recover and grow your confidence. Let's explore how with a free intro chat. I promise you that it won’t be as hard as you might think it is! Click on Book a call on the website or email me at louise@careertherapy.co.uk Why not follow me for more impactful confidence-boosting tips, tools and talks: LinkedIn   Louise Newton Instagram   @career_therapy_uk   What's stopping you?   Really, what is  stopping you? If you aren’t sure, then we definitely need to chat! Speak to you soon… Divorce mediator and psychologist Steven Unruh published this helpful article on raising self-esteem to help reclaim confidence. And here are more Career Therapy articles on careers and confidence Pick your shine time ,   5 steps to building confidence  and   Want more confidence? Take control . If you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the twice-monthly   Career Therapy Newsletter ? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support grounded in years of coaching experience...and real life. Photo by Getty Images on Unsplash+

Mentoring is a powerful way to lift others, generate lightbulb moments and share the value of your experience Have you ever met someone you wanted to be? I’m not talking about a pop princess or film star, but a real person, a role model, someone you look at and think ‘I want to be just like you.’ I have. I met her when I was 17. I was a working-class girl at art college in small-town Yorkshire, desperately trying to work out who I was, what I liked, what I wanted to be… and how I was going to get out of where I’d grown up. Finding a role model was a pivotal moment, one where I saw a way to get from where I was to where (I imagined) I wanted to be. Starting art college was an incredible experience. I’d hated secondary school, hated it with a zeal finely-honed over five torturous years. At school, I’d felt trapped, bored, confused, misunderstood and achingly lonely. Then, I went to art college and all of a sudden, things started to make sense. It was, literally as well as emotionally, colourful and bright, a place where I was encouraged to break out of all the boxes the school system had tried to force me into. The first year was good, but the second year was great . It was then that I met my new art history tutor, Louise. We’d probably say now that I was fan-girling, but my awe went far deeper than that. Here was someone I could aspire to be, could emulate. She was bright but humble, confident but a bit awkward, capable but a bit scatty. She wrote notes on art postcards from galleries (how exotic), wore flat shoes and straight skirts (how French) and had bobbed hair (how chic). To my provincial mind, she was the epitome of an interesting, cultured, stylish woman. Her intelligence, her knowledge, her curiosity, her clothes, her manner, her voice… all of it inspired me to do more, be better. I’m sure she saw a young woman starved for new ideas, parched by the sheer need to be taken seriously, hungry to learn and desperate to escape. Through books, films and gallery visits, Louise opened my eyes to a whole world I’d craved but had no idea existed. But, in addition to an education in art and culture, Louise provided development and structure and she pushed me, showing me how to find new ways of looking at things. She went beyond being a role model to be a mentor. An extremely good one. Finding a role model was a pivotal moment, but finding a good mentor was life changing. Louise invested in my development. She gave me her time, ideas and support, but, more than that, she encouraged new directions, challenged my thinking and helped me identify how to move forward. Later on, facing what felt like failure in the first term of my degree and with difficult choices to make, she was my go-to for objective career advice. She helped me make a fundamental shift in my education, which took me from a ‘has some potential’ C-grade student to the holder of postgraduate and first-class degrees, winner of two scholarships and published author. Insight and good advice. Powerful stuff. We lost touch when I went to university for the second time, but I like to think she’d be happy to know she was the guiding force behind my academic success. (I think she’d be amused to learn my look is also influenced by hers, even now). Positive role models, representation and good mentors like Louise are vital in life and at work. They are incredibly powerful, useful and inspiring. Ask a successful person what helped them and I’m sure good mentors will feature in their top three. Good mentors need to be genuine. And skilled. Having had the support and structure I needed to find my path, I’m a huge advocate of mentoring and of modelling the behaviours we want to see in others. Being with people we respect and admire is motivating. It makes us want to do better, be better. It also helps us build resilience and stronger mental health. I’ve used my roles and experience to mentor numerous people, particularly women at the early stages of their careers. I’ve given the same encouragement, support and push to others that I received and it’s hugely rewarding to see the results - and be part of those ‘light bulb’ moments. Role models also work in reverse and awareness of that can also help us make decisions. Later on in my career, in a role I took for the money, status and security, I struggled to find role models and mentors. Not finding anyone I aspired to be – in fact seeing quite the opposite – I realised that a lot of mentoring is done by people who think it’s something they should do to look good and further their own careers. This realisation led me to quit the most lucrative and prestigious job I’d ever had, but it’s a move I’ve never regretted. It was right for me and I made it by using the insights and lessons I’d been given over the years. You can stay where you are and be mediocre or you can find the courage to say you made a wrong choice. Take control. Make a change and do something that excites you, that fuels your curiosity and joy, and pushes you. I’d encourage anyone to think about the value they could add and the life changes they could help create through mentoring. It can be good for others, but it can be great for you. Want to have a positive impact? Be a mentor. If you’d like to explore career mentoring, learn how to be a good mentor or find support to make a career change, why not get in touch to see where a session of Career Therapy with me can take you? Click ‘Book a call’ on the website for a free intro call or email me at louise@careertherapy.co.uk Why not follow me for more career confidence-boosting tips, tools and talks: LinkedIn   Louise Newton Instagram   @career_therapy_uk If you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the twice-monthly   Career Therapy Newsletter ? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support, grounded in years of coaching experience - and real life. Check out my other articles on careers and confidence:   You can grow your confidence ,   Pick your shine time ,   5 steps to building confidence  and   Want more confidence? Take control .  Photo by Skye Studios on Unsplash

Create your stellar CV to stand out in the job market Ready for a shift in mindset? Your CV is about you, but not for you. CVs are not a documentary history of your career, they are a marketing tool to sell what you have to offer - skills, knowledge, capability and experience. And they need to demonstrate to the reader a compelling case for hiring you. Does your CV showcase the return on investment (ROI) for hiring you? It should, otherwise it won't be doing its job. Below are my 4 tips for writing a 5 star CV that will help you create a compelling career narrative and position you for your future career step. Here are the 4 tips for writing a 5 star CV - and they all start with a P: Prepare Personalise Proof Perfect Prepare Do your research about the company and the role. Can you articulate why you want to work there? And why you want this job? Think about how your skills and experience match the role description. What differentiates you from other qualified candidates? Don’t get distracted by the brand or company name – it’s the role that’s important Stay up to date on CV trends and formats. Did you know it’s no longer legally required to include your date of birth, gender or marital status on your CV? Is your CV ATS compatible? Be honest with yourself – are you a good match? Would you give yourself the job? Personalise Make your CV stand out for the right reasons – invest time and energy in creating a concise, eye-catching profile that ‘sells’ you and what you can offer in a way that connects with the role requirements Tailor your CV to match the role, every time . Avoid generic CV speak, be more specific about your strengths and potential and what you bring to the role Make your career progression clear to the recruiter reading the CV. Edit and highlight relevant points to create a strong career story that shows where you’ve come from, the experience you've built and how that a great match for the role When writing about your experience, highlight what you personally contributed to the role/business and be sure to focus on the outcomes, not the actions Cut down on information about your early career and shine the light on relevant recent experience and results Proof Provide evidence where you can as proof that you can do the things you say you can. Use statistics that support your statements (if you have them) and articulate the change your actions and contributions made to the business. (Read about generating results for your CV ) Mirror the language from the advertisement in your CV to prove you can flex your style and tone and show that you’ve really read and understood the requirements Check everything again – does your CV match the role? Is the evidence clear, relevant and impactful? Perfect Perfect your CV – get others to read, proof and comment on it. Do they agree with your descriptions? Is the value you have added clear? Have you highlighted your relevant experience? Is your profile strong enough to convince someone to hire you? Be concise. Maximise the space but stick to two pages (remember, it’s a marketing tool and showcase, not an archive of everything you have ever done) After spellchecking, check again – grammar, spelling, formatting and punctuation Check the content. Avoid repeating words like managed – get the thesaurus out and boost your vocabulary with action verbs that embody the content that follows - streamlined, boosted, reduced, increased, secured, generated... You get the idea Once you’ve done all that, check it all again. And again. Then get someone else to check it. Do not rely on electronic tools - they won't notice if fonts are different sizes or if some of your bullets have full stops and others don't! Is it a concise, powerful showcase of your skills, experience, knowledge and potential? Does it sell what you have to offer? Yes? Great, now you can start planning how you’re going to tackle the job interview that you’re going to get! If you want to find out more about how to improve your CV and clearly articulate your professional brand, impact and value, why not get in touch for a free chat about how I can help you? It’s also an option to have your CV critiqued after you've used these 4 tips for writing a 5 star CV. Click on Book a call on the website for a free intro call or email me at louise@careertherapy.co.uk   Why not follow me for more confidence and brand boosting tips, tools and talks: LinkedIn   Louise Newton Instagram   @career_therapy_uk Stuck with your CV? Check out my CV blogs, including How to Write a CV Profile , the Most Common CV Mistake , Why a CV Needs To Be Two Pages and this handy 2025 guide from ITN Business . If you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the twice-monthly Career Therapy Newsletter ? It is packed full of thoughtful career support grounded in years of coaching experience...and real life. Five gold stars photo by Getty Images on Unsplash

Seeing all of our facets and dimensions helps us understand our strengths and how others see us Do you know your strengths? Underpinning my work - and my philosophy for building a happy, sustainable career - is the idea of focusing on what you’re good at. Strengths are the fuel that makes work feel energising rather than draining. Of course, it’s important to be aware of your weaker spots and plan around them, but true momentum comes from leaning into the things you do naturally well. When you take your strengths from good to great, and then from great to extraordinary, you not only stand out in your career, you also feel more confident, motivated and fulfilled. Strengths self-awareness makes you more productive. It helps you decrease risk. Increase positive outcomes. I’m fantastic at ideas, bouncing concepts about with other people, working out the best way to get things done. I’m not great at detail. I can make myself focus when I have to, but I’ll always get someone with ‘detail’ or ‘logic’ strengths to read a contract because I know they’ll see things I don’t. It's about using the best tools for the job - and having the self-awareness to keep space for innovation and cross-pollination of strengths. But how do you know what your strengths are? Ask some or all of these questions: What makes you successful at what you do ? This question directs us to look at what you are good at, when you’ve been successful and what took and held you there. And you can ask yourself what you enjoy, what gives you a buzz. Usually, the things we enjoy, that we thrive on, that lead to good outcomes, are in some form or another our strengths. What do people come to you for? This question is another way to identify your strengths. People come to you because they know you are good at things, whether those things are what you find naturally easy or have learned how to do. Are you highly organised, a clear thinker, a strong problem solver? And don't think everyone else is - or can easily do what you do. They aren't and they can't. What are you known for? Knowing how you are seen and thought of gives very clear indicators of not just your strengths but your values. A simple but highly effective way to uncover this data is to ask 5+ people, ideally who know you in different contexts (friends, family, work, social), to give you 5 words to describe you. Put the answers in a grid to compare them and you'll see clear themes. I've done this exercise with almost every client I've worked with - it's that powerful! Your strengths include the things you do naturally well. Don't overlook or downplay the things you've always been able to do or that come easily to you. These are your super-strengths. Online tools You can get some outside help to identify and build on your strengths. The Gallup StrengthsFinder assessment tool is a $20 investment to identify your top five strengths and it's a very insightful tool. As my ideas were forming about being a career coach, it revolutionised how I thought about myself - reversing the (American-driven) quest to work on (and eradicate) your weaknesses and instead, know and build on your innate strengths. Here was a tool that said not only was I OK as I was, but I was amazing at being me and there were things I was brilliant at. Rather than continuing to tell myself I wasn't great at contracts, workflows and operating in a unilinear way, I could celebrate being curious, a maximiser, a strategist, empathetically perceptive and a keen problem solver. And knowing I was good at these things helped me exploit and amplify them, going from good to great and - in some cases - from great to amazing. Critically for my sense of self and confidence, it told me it was natural not to be good at some things. I wasn't rubbish or defective. My strengths are in other areas. From my time at school, I'd known my brain doesn't work like others'. Mine works in multiple bursts, not straight lines and is a mix of both right and left brain attributes. It doesn't make me odd, it makes me, me. And I leaned into that. It was revelatory and incredibly empowering. Over the last 12 years, I've used the Gallup StrengthsFinder with clients for work on personal brand, confidence building, CVs and career development. It’s not definitive - you can pay more for a fuller list - but I’ve found seeing the top five strengths to be uncannily accurate and insightful. And there are free tools like Strengths Profile that give you a starter overview. Talk to a professional Finally, there’s talking to a career coach (like me). Someone who can listen to you talk about your work, your passions and your hopes and pull out your strengths for you. And then show you how you can use them to your advantage to be happier, braver and more effective at work. I have a lot of experience helping my clients remove their limiting beliefs and reverse their thinking that they have no super-strengths. Know your strengths. Own them. Cherish and use them and you’ll shine. Maximise and exploit them and you will soar. Why not book a free introductory chat to see how a session of Career Therapy can help you identify your strengths and learn how to maximise them? Click ‘Book a call’ on the website for a free intro call or email me at louise@careertherapy.co.uk Why not follow me for more career confidence-boosting tips, tools and talks: LinkedIn Louise Newton Instagram @career_therapy_uk If you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the twice-monthly Career Therapy Newsletter ? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support, grounded in years of coaching experience - and real life. What’s stopping you? Check out my other articles on careers and confidence: You can grow your confidence , Pick your shine time , 5 steps to building confidence and Want more confidence? Take control . Photo by Michael Dziedzic on Unsplash

Set yourself up with the direction, tools and energy you need for immediate and long-term success Do you know how to start your new job the right way? There’s a lot to think about - a hundred things, big and small, that you don’t know but need to learn very quickly. Some things you can plan for, some you can’t in your 30-60-90 plan, but there is one sure-fire way to make yourself unpopular and set you back on your path to success, and it happens more times than it should - coming on too strong and trying too hard. It’s a mistake I see people make time and time again, especially more senior employees. They think they are doing the right thing and often have no idea how annoying or disengaging their actions are to their new colleagues. This grave error? Wanting to ‘create impact’ and ‘add value’ from day one. OK, I hear you asking: “Surely, that’s a positive, isn’t it?” Well, yes. But it needs to be done the right way. It’s natural to want to make a good impression, show your strengths and justify why you were hired. There’s often a sense of needing to prove oneself quite quickly in a new role, which is OK, but what's not OK is when that drive overtakes clear thinking and works against you. How? Well, imagine you’re an employee and someone new starts. They jump in with ideas from the get-go, looking for things to be improved and changes to be made. Because that’s how they feel they justify being hired. Unfortunately, they don’t realise that their seemingly positive ideas and suggestions have a negative side. Firstly, they often don’t know enough of the background or history to be making assumptions and pronouncements about what should have happened or needs to be done. Negative strike one. Secondly, someone suggesting that changes need to be made implies that everyone is currently doing a less-than-stellar job. Negative strike two. Yes, you may have been hired with an agenda for driving transformation and delivering improvements, but there is a way of going about it, taking a little more time to truly understand where you are, who you are with, how they work and what they will respond positively to. Taking some time to observe, to learn and understand will lead to far more impactful change and value add. Learning how people and processes work, you’ll know which levers to pull, where to put pressure and how to deliver lasting change that your colleagues engage with and support. What you wear on day one is up to you, but here are my top 5 tips for starting a new role: Don’t rush to act. Look, listen and learn. Take your time to learn about the people, the place, the culture and the dynamics. Then, when you do act, you’ll have more impact because your suggestions will be backed by evidence and observation. • Be approachable, interested and confident. Introduce yourself, don’t wait for people to make the first move. Talk about them, not yourself and ask lots of questions. • Ask, don’t assume. Ask people to explain how things work at your new company. Don’t assume you know, even if you have experience in similar roles or organisations. Be open to learning. • Keep asking questions. No one will expect you to remember everything you see or hear in your first few days. Also, you can play the newbie card for a while without coming across as critical: “As I’m new, can you tell me how you arrived at that decision?” • Be yourself. Don’t try too hard, relationships are built over time and it’s not a popularity contest. • Be yourself. Prep and practice your pitch to answer " Tell me about yourself " with ease. If you’re nervous about your first day or how to make an impact in a new role, why not try a session of Career Therapy to help you prepare? From handshakes to value props, strategy to goal setting, it’s good to have a plan. Click ‘Book a call’ on the website for a free intro call or email me at louise@careertherapy.co.uk Why not follow me for more confidence-boosting tips, tools and talks: LinkedIn   Louise Newton Instagram   @career_therapy_uk There are 1000s of resources online to help you successfully onboard and this list from Coursera is a good reference point. Remember to keep track of what you've learned to date. If you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the twice-monthly   Career Therapy Newsletter ? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support grounded in years of coaching experience...and real life. Photo by Clay Banks  on Unsplash

If you're like me, you hate writing your CV. It's just so hard... Why? We write reports, make presentations, write emails, so why is a CV so hard to do? Well, it is because - Everything you write down has an emotional connection to you, so you will procrastinate and struggle to get perspective because you can't separate the self-judgment from the evidence . Plus, it's hard to capture all you are, do and have done on just two pages. It can feel trite, inauthentic, impersonal - and with the rise of AI - all too generic. "Am I good enough?" is a question that plagues people trying to write their CVs It is deeply ( deeply ) ironic that I became not just a CV writer but a professionally certified one after the years I spent dodging writing my own. I've even stayed in jobs I hated because I couldn't face writing my CV! Now I am a CPRW ( Certified Professional Resume Writer ), evidence that I am a trained professional. Incredibly, for a former hater, I'm also pretty good at it and get great client feedback on how well I can shape and encapsulate their brand. Here are the two mindset shifts to making writing your own CV less hard: Your CV is about you, but not for you. You need to write for your reader, think about what they need to know. A CV is a marketing tool, a showcase. It is NOT a documentary history and list of everything you've ever done. Attitudes to working with CV writers have changed and it is now far less strange or seen to be 'cheating' to work with a professional CV writer. Would you try to fix your own car or take it to a reputable mechanic? You could even argue that hiring a CV writer demonstrates how seriously you take your CV. If you DIY it, on the technical side, even if you are up to date on all things ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) and keyword matching, it can still be hard to write your own CV because although you know all the guides and rules, it's the content that is so hard to keep clear, concise and relevant. Self-editing your story is tricky - what is needed, what isn't, how to say it succinctly - it's tough to be so clinical and external, not self-focused. That is where realising it's about you but not for you is the game changer. People are still quite cautious and even cynical about asking a 'stranger' to write their CV. There is also the idea that someone who isn't you can know you like you do. But good CV writers are professionals, not random strangers; they don't need to know everything about you to write a compelling CV - and, in fact, it can be better if they don't. A writer doesn't know the inner you, they will look at the evidence, not the emotions and work with that, removing the burden of feeling good enough or awkward that we can experience when we write about ourselves. They can also help you be more objective and pinpoint that evidence. It's common that people can't self-edit and cling to information on their CV that is no longer relevant. It might have been important then, but it's not important now to the roles they are looking at and a professional writer can help you gain that insight. A CV is a form of marketing, and we employ professional writers to create enticing copy for products, so why not employ the same methods for promoting ourselves? CVs have changed a lot in recent years. The language we use now is different. Gone are the detailed lists of responsibilities and stock third-person phrases like ‘excellent interpersonal skills’ and ‘ability to communicate at all levels’. In their place are career stories and a focus on the impact you’ve made, not the things you’ve done. They are all about evidence . And whilst AI can help you get started, it can't challenge your thinking, understand the emotions you are experiencing or help you stop agonising over whether your profile is authentic to you. If it’s been a while since you’ve been in the job market, it makes sense to find out how things are done now to increase your chances of success. But, would you go so far as to commission someone to write your CV? Think about this for a second: How many CVs have you written? Maybe one every few years if you’re like most people How much experience do you have writing CVs? Not much. See previous answer Are you aware of current CV trends? No. I’m too busy and not interested enough to find out what ATS is why keywords are so important And all that is fair enough. Why should you? Why not get someone else – like me – to do it for you? However, there’s a huge difference between handing over all responsibility and using a specialist who can help you get it right. There are systems, structures and formulas you can follow, but it still has to be “you” enough to feel real. Marketing blurb can sell a product, but sales decline and the product fails if it can’t live up to the promises made in that marketing copy. It’s the same with a CV. It might get you an interview, but you have to match the CV when you answer the phone or walk through the door, which is why working with a faceless CV service or getting AI to do it for you is pointless (in my experience). In my experience, most people, especially recruiters who see 1000s of CVs a year, have an innate ability to spot inauthenticity and they respond to it negatively, whether consciously or not. Another element to consider is that in a world dominated by manipulated and filtered social media images and AI-generated content, the search for authenticity has become an increasingly necessary feature of recruiting. That’s why, when I work with clients on their CV, I ask them time and again, “Does this sound like you?” because if it doesn’t, it will fail them and I want us to succeed. And I won't even think about writing a CV without extensive conversations and a detailed questionnaire. I work together with my clients to give them the most effective and most authentic CV to help them get that interview and move forward in their career. A CV that showcases their brand, their value proposition and the impact they can have in future roles. A CV that clearly demonstrates to the reader the ROI on hiring this candidate. A CV the candidate feels proud of - seriously! - and one that boosts their confidence when they read it. A CV that is authentically them, at their best. How nice would it feel not to be staring at that blinking cursor and your CV from years ago, wondering where to start? Can you imagine having a CV you actually feel proud of? If you are looking to recharge your career and need a CV that is a clear, concise and relevant showcase of what you have to offer, then why not book a free intro call and let's chat. Click on Book a call on the website, or email me at louise@careertherapy.co.uk What's stopping you? Check out my other posts on CV-related topics: 4 tips for writing a 5-star CV How to write a CV profile How to generate results from your CV by doing this one thing Why should you tailor your CV? What is ATS and how do you navigate it? How strong is your personal brand? Power words make your personal brand stand out Here are all the CV writing tips . Why not follow me for more confidence-boosting tips, tools and talks: LinkedIn   Louise Newton Instagram   @career_therapy_uk If you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the twice-monthly   Career Therapy Newsletter ? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support grounded in years of coaching experience...and real life. Photo by Nik  on Unsplash

A CV without evidence of achievements is an empty podium with no winners. As a branding expert with recruitment experience, I’ve seen 1000s of CVs over the years. Some have been good, but many have been quite poor. Sometimes they are far too long, jargon-heavy or just a bit dull and probably didn’t engage the person who wrote it, never mind the recruiter who was expected to read it. But without doubt, the most common mistake made on CVs is that they are not achievement-focused. The lack evidence. It was different in the past when CVs were essentially glorified job descriptions full of terms such as ‘responsible for…’ where you were just expected to include the things you did and nothing more. And that would have been sufficient then, but it certainly isn't now. Recruiters and hiring managers now expect something more tangible and with more context. They want to know what results you have achieved for the business, the impact you have created, the outcomes to which you have contributed and the value you have added by doing your role. They need to see proof of what you've achieved to visual you doing the same for their business. So how do you show achievements and outcomes in your bullet points? Think of it as a formula - ‘Achieved A by doing B’. Use action verbs such as ‘increased, improved, achieved, led and delivered’ to highlight the achievement. In fact, that single word can embody the evidence the reader is looking for. Dull example Responsible for managing sales Better example Responsible for managing sales team which improved sales by 25% in the first quarter Great example Improved sales by 25% in Q1 by motivating and managing individuals and team to implement consistent approach and aim for shared, repeatable business success This last example highlights the business result first and also demonstrates what was done to achieve it. And it doesn't need to be a long exmaple, just the result. If needed, you can talk about how you did it in more detail in the job interview and go through the STAR steps, but on the CV just focus on the Result part. Now, if you’re in sales, quantifiable metrics are much easier to identify, but what if you have a job in a field such as HR or engineering, which may not have results that are as easy to quantify? OK, it may not be possible to use percentage or financial increases, but there is always a business objective to what you do, regardless of your role, otherwise why are you doing it? Consider questions like these: Have you improved a situation in your company? Have you helped others to do their job better? Have you been involved in cost reductions? And then think about the results for the business of doing what you did. What changed between the before state and afterward? Examples Enabled senior colleagues to make informed decisions by analysing account data for indications of fraud, formulating and presenting results in customised summary reports Increased service provision and quality by leading new team and mentoring four Support Engineers, as well as initiating and delivering enhanced training As you can see, following the formula ‘Achieved A by doing B’ highlights the result for the business, as well as what you did to achieve it. Add this to a compelling profile and you increase your chances of your CV landing you an interview. It can be hard to see the wood for the trees when you are writing your own CV. And if you think you "just did my job" at work, you might feel like you haven't got any achievements anyway. But you do, there is always a before and after - and an outcome. If you'd like some help with identifying your achievements and putting together the best CV possible to get the job that you want, why not try some Career Therapy? Click ‘Book a call’ on the website for a free intro call or email me at louise@careertherapy.co.uk Why not follow me for more career confidence-boosting tips, tools and talks: LinkedIn   Louise Newton Instagram   @career_therapy_uk If you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the twice-monthly   Career Therapy Newsletter ? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support, grounded in years of coaching experience - and real life. Photo by Limbo Imagery on Unsplash

Two pages is a rule, not a suggestion. Science says so. A client recently said to me: “Why does a CV need to be two pages? I can’t possibly cut my CV down to two pages, I have too much experience and won’t fit everything in.” Surprisingly, they only had ten years of work history. I’m used to hearing this reaction - in fact, I hear it almost every week - but usually from those with 20+ years’ experience who are concerned about the brevity of two pages. Still, however many years of experience clients have, the two-page “rule” can seem an insurmountable barrier or unwanted restriction. Let’s break that barrier down by addressing three misconceptions 1) A CV should list all current and prior job responsibilities. It shouldn’t. Firstly, you need minimal responsibilities on your CV, with the bulk of the content focused on outcomes to demonstrate proven results and outcomes. Start a role entry with a 2-3 line summary of your key areas of focus, responsibilities and deliverables, showing the reader the scale and context of your role - coverage, team size, reporting line, budgets, etc. You don't need content for every role and can condense your earlier career (anything more than approx 12-15 years ago) into just the role, company, location and dates. You need the headline details of each role to show your path and chronology, but keep content clear, concise and relevant - stick to key points and select only relevant highlights that showcase (with evidence) the scale and scope of the role, the impact you had and the value you generated for a business. Details on how to generate results for your CV are in this post . 2) People read CVs end-to-end, so I need to pack the info in. They don’t. Sorry, but they don’t. They scan them, looking for key skills, experience and traits to yay or nay your application and move on to the next candidate. Most spend less than 10 seconds scanning your CV on the first read and won’t read the second page in detail unless their interest is secured by the first page. Eye-tracking data shows that: The two-page rule remains for more experienced job seekers: the eye-tracking analysis demonstrated that an engaged recruiter will spend as much time on a second page as on the first. However, time on the second page is strongly predicted by how compelling the first page is—and subsequent pages tend not to perform as strongly, regardless of how engaged the recruiter is on the first and second page. That same eye-tracking research shows that recruiters read CVs in an F shape , i.e across the top, then down the side. This means you need to pack a punch in your profile, then start your bullet points (the outcomes/evidence) with high-impact verbs that catch the eye and communicate at a glance the results you were driving: initiated, drove, realigned, transformed, orchestrated, boosted, reduced, etc. That research also showed that too much information is overwhelming and switches people off - it's too hard to find what they need and so they go to the next CV. That includes too much content, but also a cluttered look - long, dense sentences, multiple columns, little space and teeny tiny font. So, rather than 8 pt font and narrow margins, be ruthless and cut content until it is concise. Bullet points really should not go over two lines. Get to the point! 3) You have to explain what you do in detail. You don’t. A hiring manager or recruiter in the field of activity you are working in will know the nuts and bolts of what you do in your role, so you don’t need to explain all the facets or include the obvious. It’s really not necessary to list ‘going to meetings’ on your CV! What they are interested in are the results of all your activities. Those outcomes provide the evidence that you could drive the same outcomes for them. Critically, they demonstrate the ROI (return on investment) for hiring you. So, how do you move beyond these misconceptions? The two-page “rule” is best practice that has become an expectation but is verified by science. It is a good rule to stick to, for the three reasons above – showcase, ease of information access and conciseness – and its good discipline to avoid the temptation to keep adding and adding. In addition, importantly in a time of online job adverts and submissions, applicant scanning software (ATS) employed by most recruiters and companies has a word limit, usually between 1,000 – 1,200 words, which is approximately two pages if you keep to a readable 10 or 11-point font. More than that and it gets cut off. As for slimming down your activities, think about it. You don’t just keep talking and talking in an interview (or shouldn’t unless you aim to bore your listener), so why keep writing and adding to your CV? For both interview responses and CVs, the success factor is CCR – clear, concise, relevant. There is also the question of one page or two? If you have more than eight years’ experience, then I’d say two pages, but it does depend on what you’ve done and what you’re applying to do. In addition, don’t focus too much attention on anything more than 10 – 12 years ago. Show all of your roles so your professional history is all there and include the basics of company, dates and role, but think about condensing your earlier roles to give focus to your more recent and relevant achievements and outcomes. Think about it as shining the spotlight in the right place. Recently, a senior client I’m coaching who had a very engaging and well-crafted CV from one of my colleagues saw a peer of his flashing about a jaunty, colourful one-pager and wanted our advice on whether he should have one too. The answer – no. Text boxes, charts and icons don’t get read by most ATS software so it’s better to go for simple formatting and clear content. Plus, with some information in a side margin and some in the centre the narrative is difficult to follow for a human reader. A clear, concise, accessible CV makes it very easy for the reader to scan and puts you in the ‘must know more’ pile of candidates – don’t make them hunt for the info they need or they’ll move on! Top tips Cut out skills and experience that aren’t relevant to the role you are applying for and focus on the good stuff Use crisp phrases and short sentences, and cut the fluff and fillers Use bold and sections to make it easy for the human eye to scan - remember that F-shape Keep personal details to a minimum – location for your search (not where you live), email, phone and a link to your LinkedIn profile, ideally using a clear URL Avoid clichés. Who isn’t going to say they have excellent time management and are a great team player? Align your experience and skills to the job ad not some generic list Date of birth, gender, marital status…all a NO If you’d like some help wrangling your experience, skills and knowledge into a smart, concise CV that showcases your value, then why not get in touch for a quick chat and see how I can help you? Click ‘Book a call’ on the website for a free intro call or email me at louise@careertherapy.co.uk Why not follow me for more confidence-boosting tips, career tools and talks: LinkedIn   Louise Newton Instagram   @career_therapy_uk If you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the twice-monthly   Career Therapy Newsletter ? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support grounded in years of coaching experience...and real life. Photo by Planet Volumes for Unsplash+

Stepping outside the traditional career plans and strategies gives us space to explore and discover I reached my late 20s before I met anyone who had a career plan. And not only did my new colleague have a career plan, but it was also a highly structured five-year plan that had a date by which career milestones (and marriage and children) would be achieved. It was a pivotal moment. Firstly, I was astonished. I’d never seen such a clearly defined plan before and secondly, it was linear, unidirectional and absolute. It had a starting point, an endpoint described in minute detail and the journey from A to B was highly prescriptive. Secondly, I found it quite frightening that a seemingly smart person could be so lacking in imagination and absolutely convinced that their plan was the answer to career success – and life happiness. Sure, there was a vision, but there was no space for seizing opportunities as they appeared, no leeway for trying new things and seeing where they took you…which had been my approach. For me, I walked or skipped along my career path, looking around and seeing at was here and there. I had a guiding vision of doing interesting things that challenged me and a mission to explore. If I got bored or saw something I wanted to try, I went and investigated and sometimes changed course. I explored what was possible. Yes, there were some dead ends, but I was quick to course-correct and overall, I kept moving forward, building insight, knowledge, experience and skills, doing good work and enjoying myself. I switched sectors, took some risks and even changed careers. All without a plan. Are career plans too one-dimensional? Having moved from arts and charity events to corporate events at an American investment bank (a ‘Why not try it for a bit? The money would be nice…’ decision), I met a whole new species – extremely ambitious people. They had goals and plans. And worked relentlessly. I worked hard, very hard. I went above and beyond a lot , but these people were driven to achieve on a whole new level. Smart as they were – and they were some of the smartest people I have ever met – I found them surprisingly one-dimensional and, being frank, mostly uninspiring in their thinking. They did leave an impression, though. Having left the corporate world and doing what I do now, when I work with clients to help them articulate their professional impact and value, I help them construct a narrative, a clear, accessible story that draws the reader or listener into a guided journey, one that creates arcs between key points and appears to flow naturally. Career histories are rarely a neat and tidy story, moving along a single, onward line. Peripatetic is how one client describes her career journey. Rambling (‘multilinear’ in CV speak), varied, layered and, my favourite, ‘a bit stop-starty’ fit for others, but however clients perceive them, I’m struggling to think of examples where it’s been a singular trajectory…perhaps only in accountancy and medicine where qualifications, levels and pathways are externally and rigidly defined. A couple of years ago, I was invited to give a career talk at my former college (yes, I’m that old) and was invited to speak to final-year students about career planning and preparing for the world of work. Rather than the usual show and tell style – this is my job, this is the reality, this is how I got here – I was invited to talk about creating a career plan. Being me (‘leans into innate strengths’ in CV speak), the ‘what’ is never enough; I need to know the ‘why’ and explore that fully before I start producing content, especially when producing advice for an audience. As my brain started to ask questions – What is a career plan? How do we articulate career success strategies? What would be useful to show? How do career plans work? – I started drawing, thinking about how to present a career journey visually on a slide. This was my result: My attempt to draw career journeys from my experience and that of clients Why didn’t I show a clear story of connected points and arcs between them? Because I felt that the one gem of wisdom that it would be powerful to share was that: There is no right way to create a plan, especially where the norm can be multiple projects, roles, gaps and collaborations, not a singular job for many years. Now, I’m not saying career plans are bad. No, not saying that at all. In fact, I create and shape them with my clients, but they are more like frameworks and guidelines to operate within. They are multidimensional, not a linear path of ‘do A then B then C and you’ll achieve ever-lasting happiness and success’ plan. If you want to move on or up, feel stuck or are just mildly bewildered about where you find yourself, it’s highly impactful and empowering to look at where you are, where you want to get to and how you want to get there. You can read more about that on another blog about setting career goals. Clarifying your current reality, exploring possibilities, determining a destination and then mapping out how you might get there gets my clients unstuck, mobile, able to make decisions and move forward. But the difference between these career plans and the five-year, linear plan of my former colleague is that they are realistic and driven by values, with success defined in the client’s terms. They are still ambitious, but they are flexible. Still structured but with room to seize opportunities and – critically – to evaluate and re-set along the journey as knowledge, insight, skills and experience grow. (And they rarely include married by a set date). But if you want to set up a 5-year plan, here is some guidance from Harvard Business Review . Just don't lock yourself in! If you are curious about how a career plan could help you or want to break free of the unidirectional career plan myth, then why not get in touch? Let’s have a conversation about what might work for you. Click ‘Book a call’ on the website for a free intro call or email me at louise@careertherapy.co.uk Why not follow me for more confidence-boosting tips, tools and talks: LinkedIn   Louise Newton Instagram   @career_therapy_uk If you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the twice-monthly   Career Therapy Newsletter ? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support grounded in years of coaching experience...and real life. Photo Maksym Ostrozhynskyy on Unsplash

Your gut is said to be your second brain. It's certainly smart. ‘Trust your gut’ is common advice when we are faced with a decision. But why would you trust your gut instinct? What does our gut know (intuitively) that our conscious self doesn’t? Perhaps more than we know. Have you ever decided to do something and felt deep inside that it was the wrong thing to do? Has it nagged you and left you unsettled even when you try to ignore it? That’s your gut instinct talking. So, how can we learn to listen to our gut and trust it knows what it’s talking about? In her article, How to Stop Overthinking and Start Trusting Your Gut , executive coach and author Melody Wilding says, “When you approach a decision intuitively, your brain works in tandem with your gut to quickly assess all your memories, past learning, personal needs and preferences and then makes the wisest decision given the context. In this way, intuition is a form of emotional and experiential data.” Gut instinct comes from the connection between your gut and your brain, bringing everything you know, like, believe and feel together, which is why you should trust it in real-world situations. Your digestive system is made up of 100 million neurons, all connected to your brain. They are connected to your brain for a reason! Intuition is a form of emotional and experiential data that we can all utilise When an answer comes to you, listen; it might just be the right answer. Logic is powerful, but intuition brings an added dimension If you combine your logical thought with your gut instinct, you can make more accurate decisions Try not to overthink your decisions, trust your instincts more and let them guide your thought and decision process We are our own experts Malcolm Gladwell produced a seemingly convincing way of thinking about this combination of mind and gut in Outliers with his 10,000 Hours theory where he uses the example of an art expert examining work to see if it’s a fake. Their ‘instinct’ isn’t a guess or esoteric message from the beyond, it’s based on data, on hours and hours of experience all collated and channelled into what we call ‘expertise’. No one knows as much about us than us, with expertise built up from years of experience. We know more than we think we do, but often we don’t take the time to listen, to tune into what our insides are telling us. Slowing down helps, taking time to think and removing external pressures. To develop strength in intuition, achieve clarity and bring new knowledge, give your mind time and space to wander. Trust your instincts We often come up with fresh ideas and solutions when we aren’t thinking about them – picture Archimedes and his Eureka moment in the bath – and intuition works the same way. Stop thinking and listen. Charles Darwin had a circular path built in his garden to do just that: physically wander, let his mind drift and focus on the things around him, not the problem. We humans are not natural risk-takers; we have a tendency to overthink our decisions, making it much more difficult for ourselves. We don’t know what we don’t know and that can be nerve-wracking to know and hard to accept. But we can’t know everything. Sometimes we have to take a leap of faith or, to put it another way, jump and accept that we might fall. Trust your gut. “While intuition is not perfect, it’s also a decision-making tool you’re likely underutilising. You’ll probably be surprised to find that your gut is a more powerful decision-making tool than you may have realised.” Melody Wilding. That’s why trusting your gut can be helpful when making career decisions. Give your brain a break from the pressure and use your instincts to make those difficult choices; you’ll know what to do. If you’d like to tune into your gut and utilise your intuition, why not book a session of Career Therapy to help you? Click ‘Book a call’ on the website for a free intro call or email me at louise@careertherapy.co.uk Why not follow me for more confidence-boosting tips, tools and talks: LinkedIn   Louise Newton Instagram   @career_therapy_uk If you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the twice-monthly   Career Therapy Newsletter ? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support, grounded in years of coaching experience — and real life. Photo by David Clode  on Unsplash