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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 Career Therapy Newsletter? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support grounded in years of coaching experience...and real life. Check out my other content on careers and confidence: The 'I Am' Exercise, From People-Pleasing to Prioritising Yourself, and Would you like to be more career confident? Photo by Getty Images 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 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

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 Career Therapy Newsletter? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support grounded in years of coaching experience...and real life. Check out my other content on careers and confidence: Why is it important to keep your CV up to date?, What is the most common CV mistake? and all my CV tips here. 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 Career Therapy Newsletter? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support grounded in years of coaching experience...and real life. Check out my other content on careers and confidence: Do you need a Career Rebrand?, Do Perfect Jobs Exist?, Boost Your Career Confidence, You got here... now what? and From vague ideas to clear action. Photo Maksym Ostrozhynskyy 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 Career Therapy Newsletter? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support grounded in years of coaching experience...and real life. Check out my other content on careers and confidence: Do Perfect Jobs Exist?, You can grow your confidence, 5 steps to building confidence and Want more confidence? Take control. Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

We can question things in a positive way When you read 'What if...?', did your brain go to a negative next step to complete that line? It’s quite common. It seems the majority of us are wired to be cautious and many of us second-guess ideas, choices and decisions, employing our fears to highlight areas of caution and create reasons not to do, think or try things. Wondering ‘what if’ isn’t a bad thing. In fact, using analysis of factors and outcomes helps us play through different aspects of a situation, find novel/better options and generate new insights. Asking ‘what if’ opens a door to possibilities, it “invites speculation and imagination to dance hand in hand”, according to ChatGPT. Quite poetic, really. Certainly powerful. What if we took a different path? What if we dared to act on an idea or desire? What if it went wrong? What if we made a mistake? What if… is certainly a phrase loaded with potential, capable of generating both excitement (positive) and trepidation (negative). Glass half full or half empty? It’s both at the same time, but only because we choose to see it one way or another. In her blog Negative What Ifs Do Not Exist psychotherapist Claudia Lewis says negative what ifs come from a single emotion – fear. “We feel scared and anxious and so we attach the fear to a future circumstance in an effort to control the outcome. What if the world ends? Well, it might…or it might not. And this is the problem with negative what-ifs. We are jumping into future time to put a negative outcome on an event that has not happened.” My mother has a perpetually negative future view where fear and judgmental what-ifs are launched to discourage courage and replace it with caution…and the opportunity for judging if you ‘get too big for your boots’ or take a misstep. (Interestingly, her past view is equally negative with the frequently shared ‘I bet you wish you’d…’ but that’s for another day and blog). What if it goes wrong? OK, it could, but what if it goes right? Why does it feel like it’s harder to look at the positive and be brave? Or maybe that’s just me…but I suspect it isn’t. If you leave your job, you can get another one. You got one before, so…the evidence suggests you can do it again. Thinking, ‘I might never get employed again,’ might be a real fear, but focusing on that, catastrophising in that way of extremes will keep you stuck and afraid. Instead, try asking: What’s the worst that can happen? And what if this terrible thing your negative side foretold did happen? Well, maybe not the end of the world, but something you fear, like changing job and worrying it will be the wrong move? What if you did make the wrong choice? It could happen, but you would deal with it because we are also hardwired to survive. And you’d have learned something you could use to make better calculations and decisions in the future. In addition - plug for the value of career caching - you could boost the chances of it not being the wrong choice by identifying your why before you move, being crystal clear on what you think the move will bring you and being realistic about the opportunity and limits. Changing your job should be the outcome for change, not the reason. Working through what-if questions aids exploration and discovery. Doing it with a professional (like me) who can help you identity and examine the right questions to ask – or uncover the ones you’ve been dodging but know you need to answer – really can turbo charge the process because they’ve walked this path before and know how to get off the what if merry-go-round of fear and indecision. Unlike an enthused friend on a night out, a coach won’t tell you to just do it, throw caution to the wind and make it happen. But they will ask you questions. Some of my favourites include, ‘If you did do X, what’s the worst that could happen? And, what’s the best outcome?’ and ‘What do you need? What do you already have that could help you?’ Pondering and answering these questions can be hard. You have to recognise and challenge assumptions, but, equally, there’s an opportunity here to think and be more. Chat GPT knows the power of a positive what if: “It embodies the spirit of curiosity, urging us to peer beyond the veil of certainty into the realm of conjecture, embracing uncertainty as a canvas upon which we can paint our wildest aspirations.” I wouldn’t claim each coaching conversation with me goes into such heady realms, but we can ‘peer beyond the veil of certainty’ together and have a good poke about to see what is or could be there. Asking yourself some what-ifs and facing the unknown (and unknowable) can take courage, and it can also lead you into some mental cul-de-sacs you’ll need to reverse out of. You may well rock the boat, but…imagine what it would be like if you never tried? As brave, bold and brilliant Baz Luhrmann said, “A life lived in fear is a life half-lived.” Do you want to live in fear? Wouldn’t you like to see your life glass as half full, not half empty? What if you faced the unknown with a sense of wonder and openness to possibilities rather than fear? Imagine… What if…? Not everything is negative. If you’d like to swap your negative what ifs for positive possibilities, why not book a free discovery call with me and let’s chat about what’s stopping you and what could happen if you didn’t let it stop you? Click on the Book a call button on the homepage, 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 Do you feel stuck? Check out my post on getting unstuck and moving your career (and life) forward. And if you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the Career Therapy Newsletter? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support grounded in years of coaching experience...and real life. Check out my other content on careers and confidence: Choosing Positivity, A Glass of Two Halves, 5 steps to building confidence and Want more confidence? Take control. Image Unsplash+ in collaboration with Alexander Mils

I’m speculating about what’s in the air because three clients have said something very similar in the last couple of weeks – they are choosing to be positive. Genius and seemingly endless source of superb quotes, Albert Einstein said, “The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe.” It’s what we choose to believe. Glass half full or half empty. Same glass, different perspective, different choice. Is the glass half full or half empty? All three clients have experienced difficulties and faced challenging circumstances over the past 5 – 8 years. They each said that there were times when they were overwhelmed by what was happening to them, that there seemed to be no way out. I understand what they are saying because I’ve been there. I know what it feels like to think that you’re stuck, you have no power, no choices, that there is no way out, no forward path. So, what changed for me? My perspective. I found ways to take control and create options. I talked to a coach. I found my way out by looking at what I could change, the things I could influence…and what I could let go of. I took control, but equally, I accepted that I couldn’t (and shouldn’t try to) control everything. And, critically, I came to realise that I could choose how I acted and reacted. I also examined my limiting beliefs, including ‘I can’t leave my job, we need the money’. True, we needed money to live, but it was false that I needed to get the money by staying in a job that was squeezing the life out of me. Ten years ago, when I started my coaching practice, I saved this article by Liz Sterling in the Huffington Post on changing negative thinking into positive thinking and occasionally re-read it. It still makes me stop and think. The header sets out the two key requirements to change our perception and thinking patterns: We can change negative thinking into positive thinking and maybe free ourselves from the imprisonment of limited perception. It requires two main ingredients: awareness and enthusiasm. Awareness and enthusiasm. Intention and action. Being conscious, as I said, about making a clear choice, then embracing it and putting it into action. And knowing that we can change the way we think. We can choose a different perspective and shift our focus. Thinking about how our brains work and how we change our behaviours, there is sound data to suggest that we can change how we perceive the world and react to it. Neuroplasticity is the way the brain makes new connections between neurons and builds new networks in response to our experience of the world around us, the things we do, think and feel as responses. This ability to flex and grow new ways of responding enables us to rewire our brains to introduce new patterns of thinking and acting. It’s how we learn a new skill and get better at it. Self-directed neuroplasticity and resetting the agenda that we focus on can help us reprogramme our brain to change unhealthy thoughts about ourselves into healthy ones by intentionally shifting attention to positive ways of acting and thinking, helping us overcome limiting beliefs and self-sabotaging behaviours. Look at the power of CBT if you want to learn more. By making a conscious choice to do or not do something and repeating that positive choice starts to create a habit, build momentum and seed more positivity. It's a strategy I employed again recently during the seemingly endless stress of a house renovation that was running seriously late. Super-stressed, I sat and sobbed, which helped momentarily, but tears didn't make the work happen any faster. So, I made a bold decision - I decided to be jolly. It was life-changing. Seriously, it was. I just let it all go and stopped railing against the lack of control. I chose to believe that there would be an end and the house would be done (at some point) and that I needed to push where I could but accept I could not control the actions of others - as much as I might have wished to. Rather than putting all my energy into the lack of control I was experiencing and feeling the anger, despair and frustration that were my constant companions, I decided to be positive and found a new kind of control. Over me and what was happening. As a result, I was lighter. I slept better. I had clearer thinking - very helpful in scheming and negotiating to get the works done faster! And the house did get gone...eventually. So, in my experience, decide what you want to experience. To become more self-assertive or boost your confidence, take control of the negative voice and words you are using and intentionally replace them with positive ones. If you’d like to choose positivity but aren’t sure how to start, why not get in touch with me at Career Therapy? I offer a free intro chat where we can talk about what's happening and what you would like instead. Click on Book a call on the website, or email me at louise@careertherapy.co.uk Why not follow me for more tips, tools and talks: LinkedIn Louise Newton Instagram @career_therapy_uk James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, shares some useful insights on the benefits of positive thinking in this article. If you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the Career Therapy Newsletter? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support grounded in years of coaching experience...and real life. Check out my other content on careers and confidence: Are you mistaking a wobble… for a warning not to move?, Feeling stuck in a negative mindset? Boost your Career Confidence, and Perfection Drains your Confidence. Speech bubble photo by Alex Shuper on Unsplash Water glass photo by manu schwendener on Unsplash

Done is better than perfect! “If I waited for perfection, I’d never write a word” — Margaret Atwood One of the things I enjoy about my work is helping people move forward in their careers, but so often I hear people talking about being stuck because they are paralysed by perfectionism, procrastinating because 'perfect' is too hard to achieve. The fear of not achieving perfection is strong enough to prevent them from starting in the first place or, if they do manage to start, not getting things finished. And not finishing causes a confidence wobble, which starts the cycle of self-doubt and pushing for perfection again. But it is vital to understand that perfection drains your confidence. Perfectionism can be linked to feelings of inadequacy and often the need for approval from others. This need for validation is usually learned at an early age and runs deep, so it can seem hard to change. The need for validation makes it very difficult for perfectionists to accept mistakes or imperfections in their work or themselves. But what we need to remember is... Nothing’s perfect. Nobody’s perfect. Nowhere is perfect. Perfection is a myth. Whatever ideas the media may try to sell us with seemingly perfect families, pets, bodies, lives and homes, there is no such thing as perfection in people. We give ourselves such a hard time trying to be ‘perfect’ that we forget that being imperfect is who we are as people. And it makes us more interesting. Imperfection is the reality of our lives. And there is both serenity and beauty in celebrating that, as expressed in the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi. There are some good sides to pursuing perfection High standards: striving to achieve excellence and high-quality outcomes Motivation: driving for better performance and continually improving Creating beauty: I accept that perfection can exist in a moment, a feeling or an object But the negative aspects have a dramatic impact - fear of failure and anxiety, procrastination, burnout from the constant pressure and perpetual dissatisfaction. If we constantly beat ourselves up for not doing a work project perfectly, not having perfectly-behaved children or not having the perfect physique, we’re spending all our time criticising ourselves when surely there are enough other people in the world to do that for us! We need to be on our own side. Our friends and family are. Usually. They can often see the good in us as well as the bad and accept us for it. And it’s that wonderful combination that makes us all human, isn’t it? So why do we still hang on to the impossible ideals of perfectionism? There is a fascinating article in Medical News Today, in which Professor Paul Hewitt, professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, Canada and expert in the study of perfectionism, talks about one of his therapy clients: “He was a university student who was living with depression and putting himself under the pressure of getting an A+ on a course. After working really hard, the student achieved his goal and got the highest grade. He then proceeded to tell me that the A+ was just a demonstration of how much of a failure he had been. If he’d been perfect, the student reasoned, he wouldn’t have had to work so hard to achieve it.” How negative - and sad - is that? This is an extreme example, but I hear versions of this all the time with clients. How many of you get nine pieces of good feedback and focus on the one negative one? Aha, yes, I see you nodding and starting to formulate an excuse...but why? Why is it so hard (SO hard) to accept you did well? OK, it wasn't 10/10, but you did it. And you can learn from the feedback and get even better next time. But will it ever be enough? I often hear people call themselves perfectionists as if it’s a good thing, but aren’t they just hiding their perfectly natural flaws behind a facade of so-called perfection? Aiming for perfection is good, it makes things better, higher quality, more impactful...but there is a line. And that line is progress/action. Almost perfect and done = AMAZING Almost perfect but not quite, so it can't be released/shared yet = USELESS Procrastination is the default for many perfectionists because they’re waiting for that right moment when everything is in place and so they rarely finish things because...they just can’t. How can they if it isn’t the best that it can be? And I totally understand that. But how will you know when you are ready? How will you know when it is good enough? I often hear people saying that they’re waiting for the right moment to do the things that they have always wanted to do. This could be travelling the world, publishing their book, or even talking to that person they quite like, but the reality is that in most cases, that seemingly perfect moment will never come to pass. For example, how will you know: When your novel is ready? When it’s the perfect time to say hello? When you’re ready to leave your job and start your own business? And I get it. I totally get being a perfectionist because I used to be one (and still am in many ways). And there are a LOT of us, including the wonder that is Brené Brown, who said: "I’m a recovering perfectionist. For me, it’s one day at a time.” Like all perfectionists, I was focusing on the wrong things to move me forward because I was anxious, insecure and ultimately, afraid. It’s a dilemma that people like me (and Brené) have to deal with on a daily basis and it can be really challenging living with that fear. Writing this article is me pushing through that fear and hitting publish will be me facing the fear and doing it anyway. It doesn't go away, but it does get easier. Although I still battle with it, I’m now much more comfortable putting my work (and myself) out there. I realised you can grow your confidence (read how) and then I went crazy and launched Career Therapy on Instagram in 2024. How? In hindsight, it has been a combination of getting older, becoming more self-confident, caring less about what people think and being able to answer the question "What's the worst that can happen?” I'm out to encourage and nudge - not setting myself up to inspire in any lofty way, but this quote had quite a profound impact on me. “There’s no need to be perfect to inspire others. Let people get inspired by how you deal with your imperfections.” ― Ziad K. Abdelnour, Economic Warfare: Secrets of Wealth Creation in the Age of Welfare Politics. I'm out there, with my imperfections and it feels...good (ish). Scary, but liberating. The fear and anxiety haven't gone away, but I see a reel and sometimes feel happy enough to give myself a cheeky wink! So, what’s more important? Waiting for the right moment when everything is perfectly in place to do something? Or taking that first step today in the knowledge that although it may (and will probably) not be perfect, you will at least be on your way to getting out of your stuck place where your fear is keeping you. And who knows, things might even get better over time while you’re aiming for ‘perfection’ and doing the thing that you want to do on the way... I think reflection and contemplation can be powerful things, but sometimes you just have to put your big girl pants on and get on with things. Do something today, or nothing will happen tomorrow. So, what are you going to do today? Or even right now? If you feel stuck or paralysed by perfectionism, there is a way forward. I know, because I found it - and I am confident I can help you find it too. Why not get in touch for a chat? I offer free intro calls to explore what's going on and how we can work together to fix it. Click on 'Book a call' anywhere on the website, or go directly to my diary: Calendly. You can also email me at: louise@careertherapy.co.uk What's stopping you from taking the first step? Think how good it would feel. Why not follow me for more 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 Career Therapy Newsletter? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support grounded in years of coaching experience...and real life. Check out my other content on careers and confidence: Know Your Strengths, Stuck in the Perfect Rut, People Pleasing as Procrastination, Is Perfectionism Holding You Back? and Name That Fear. Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Electrify your energy and ignite your passion Passion. It’s not a word you’d necessarily associate with being professional or career growth. But we all need a bit of it. Why? Having the power of passion for career growth is a strength. What does passion have to do with being happy at work, getting your career back on track or finding the right job? Well, a lot. A whole lot, in fact. When you have passion, you know what inspires and motivates you. You have purpose, which gives you focus and direction. And knowing all of that means you know your strengths. And knowing your strengths means you feel confident and capable. Powerful, right? Passion has a lot to do with being happy at work and finding the right job or taking the next step. It can help you recharge your career, reconnect with things that excite you and enrich your working experience. Passionate is a buzzword you see (too) often in job ads and on CVs, but it’s often just a bit 'meh' and lacking substance. On a CV, who isn't going to say they are passionate, dedicated and hardworking? No one is going to write 'mildly interested, invested a bit and sometimes lazy' are they? One would hope not. If you want to include passion on your CV and LinkedIn, show the proof of how you demonstrated your passion and what outcome it drove or resulted in. If you talk about being passionate, be...passionate. I was hosting a mock interview with a client and with a deadpan face and very flat voice, they responded to a question with "I'm very passionate about..." but their face and voice said differently. We have to convey our passion with a bit of animation - eyes that sparkle and a face that lights up - even if it's just a little. If not, it's counterproductive. If you genuinely have passion, you have an edge. It’s more than enthusiasm and energy. Enthusiasm bounces around and can obscure the path ahead, but passion is honed and enduring. It’s powerful. It can take you places in life and in your career. You know passion when you see it in someone, even if you’re not sure what it is. It helps you make connections and it’s so attractive to other people – including recruiters, hiring managers, colleagues and leaders. They know you are genuine, that you’ll go the extra mile, give your all and stay motivated. Do you know what your passion is? Do you know how to harness it to give you an edge? A session of Career Therapy with me as your coach can help you connect with and articulate your passion in a way that is authentic to you. It can also show you just how powerful passion can be to help you grow your confidence and recharge your career. Let's explore how you can find or reignite your passion with a free intro chat. Click on 'Book a call' anywhere on the website or email me: louise@careertherapy.co.uk. And don't forget to check out other posts for more impactful career tips. What's stopping you? Why not follow me for more tips, tools and talks: LinkedIn Louise Newton Instagram @career_therapy_uk For questions to challenge your thinking and ignite your passion, here's my article on the Superpower of Knowing Your Why and this blog from Kira Day, Founder at the Passion Centre. If you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the Career Therapy Newsletter? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support grounded in years of coaching experience...and real life. Check out my other content on careers and confidence: Know your strengths, 5 steps to building confidence and Want more confidence? Take control. Photo by Hal Gatewood on Unsplash

When is your time to shine? In the last decade, there has been an increasingly common theme in the US media and self-development of the productivity benefits of getting up early. I mean really early. Like 5am early. And a few years back during the early pandemic, competitive ‘productivity porn’ became more prevalent than ever. Now I like to think of myself as a reasonable person who is quite effective but also likes to sleep. I can't be my best self and shine if I haven't slept - not many of us can - so my honest response to getting up that early if you don’t need to is ‘Why!?’ I’m just not a believer in the philosophy that getting up earlier will make you a more confident, more successful, more productive, shining version of you. I don’t like getting up early. It’s not my time of day to shine. It belongs to others and I’m very happy for them to keep it and use it so they can shine. I’m a 'toward afternoon' person. I come alive after 11am with a slow burn that grows to a strident burst after 2pm and shines until 7 or 8pm, sometimes later if I’m in the zone. I know this about myself. I use it to my advantage when scheduling because I’m far more confident and impactful at those times of the day. Yes, I have to get up early sometimes. And yes, I have to fit into the 9-5 days and I’m OK with that. I can turn it on for a client pre-work call because I will always show up for my clients when they need me. But if I'm doing a presentation or pitch, or writing and creating, you won’t get my best, most sparkling and confident self at a 7am meeting. I find power in knowing this about myself and how I work. It’s liberating. I can be strategic around scheduling because, knowing when my more confident times are, I can guarantee I will shine. If you want to look confident? Pick your shine time. I structure my time to maximise my day and my ‘shine time’. If I have presentations, need to write or create, I know I can have more impact in four hours in the afternoon than if I spend 9-1 at my desk staring at a blank page sucking on a supply of green tea and knowing deep down it's a waste of time. What the mornings are good for is helping people. I hold almost all of my coaching calls after 10am when I know I can be a good sounding board, using my curious brain to bounce around ideas and my experience to offer guidance and help generate solutions. Helping my clients understand their confidence clock means they can get the best from our work together too. Whilst working to our shine time might not be possible in all situations, try to work with, not against yours to ensure you feel you are at your best when it matters. So, think about what you say yes to and when. If you want to look confident, think about when it's your time to shine. If you'd like some help learning when you are most confident and how to maximise your shine time, why not book a free intro call and let's chat. And take a look at this article on building confidence by taking more control. Click on 'Book a call' anywhere on the website or email me at louise@careertherapy.co.uk to say hello. You can also follow Career Therapy on Instagram and LinkedIn for tips, talks and tools to boost your confidence. What's stopping you? If you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the Career Therapy Newsletter? It is packed full of thoughtful career support grounded in years of coaching experience...and real life. Check out my other content on careers and confidence: Choosing Positivity, 5 steps to building confidence and Want more confidence? Take control. Photo by Vincent LaVigna on Unsplash

Is your ability to play and move forward wrapped in constraints? Do you feel stuck? I heard it described as ‘marinating in your stuck’ which sounds icky. It feels uncomfortable and unclean to me when I hear it. How about you? We often marinate because we feel we can’t get unstuck. We think the issue is too big / too hard / too much or we stay stuck because we can’t pinpoint what the issue actually is. We wrap constraints around our ability to press play or move forward. Like millions of others, I admire Seth Godin’s ability to say in just a few words what many of us are thinking. In April, his blog on Other people’s problems set out why it’s easier to find solutions to others’ problems. In summary: 1. “Because we're unaware of all the real and imaginary boundaries our friends have set up. If it were easy to solve the problem, they probably would have." 2. “Because resistance is real. Solving the problem means moving ahead, confronting new, even scarier problems. It might be easier to simply stay where we are, marinating in our stuck.” You aren’t stupid or lacking because you can’t get unstuck. Resistance is real. That’s why coaching helps. It lends another perspective, helps you recognise what is holding you back and what the scary really is, and how to tackle it. A coach isn’t there to solve your problems for you, but they are there to shine a light on them and help you recognise what the barriers are and work out how to remove them...or at least haul yourself up to and over them. If you feel stuck, why not try tackling the problem with someone who knows how to help you, someone who can reach out a hand to help you scramble up and over the barrier and stop you from bashing your face against it. Ready to stop marinating? Why not start by booking a free intro call to explore how a little Career Therapy can help you? Click 'Book a call' anywhere on the website or email me – louise@careertherapy.co.uk to say hello and find out more info on how working together can help you stop marinating in your stuck. And whilst you are on the website, check out the article on 'Want more confidence? Take control.' Why not follow me for more tips, tools and talks to boost confidence: LinkedIn Louise Newton Instagram @career_therapy_uk What’s stopping you? If you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the Career Therapy Newsletter? It's packed full of thoughtful career support grounded in years of coaching experience...and real life. Check out my other content on careers and confidence: Trust your gut instinct, Are you marinating in your Stuck?, What's the story you're telling yourself?, What's holding you back?, and The 'safe' option. Photo Getty Images for Unsplash+

I laughed out loud watching Michael Bungay Stanier, author of The Coaching Habit and The Advice Trap talk about ‘How to tame your Advice Monster’. “You nod, you look engaged, yet caring, yet concerned…just waiting for your turn to speak.” I wonder how many of us are good at faking active listening whilst our brains rush to devise solutions. As someone who loves problem-solving and offering solutions, wearing both professional hats as a ‘you’re the expert, what shall we do?’ consultant and a ‘tell me more, what else is going on?’ coach is a challenge. My AGH (Advice Giving Habit) used to be like that excited child stretching their arm up in the air so high that they leave their seat crying “pick me, pick me! I know the answer.” I can’t deny that child is still in me, but I can now ask them to shush and listen. Why? Because, as Michael points out, we often try to solve the wrong problem by thinking that the first problem we hear about is the most important one. Wrong. Nancy Kline’s Thinking Environment is based on the same principle; that the more people work through their ideas uninterrupted by comments, solutions and advice, the more interesting and powerful their thoughts will be. Two hard but vital lessons for me in my career have been to stop my brain racing and listen and think about the best solution, not the first solution. Learning how to do both of these things has paid remarkable dividends, professionally and personally. And they opened my horizons. The other lessons I learned along the way are: Questions are more powerful, useful and interesting than answers Adding value is not about me having all the answers It’s OK to stay in the not knowing, the answer will come What and so many other possible questions Whether you are a leader, manager, consultant, mentor or coach, your role is as a guide. A guide that enables and empowers others to think, act and move forward. They are the ones who need to come up with the answers for the solutions to feel real and have a chance of being realised. They need to feel the ownership, not rely on advice. Giving and receiving advice can be great sometimes but as Michael Bungay Stanier’s video reminded me, it can limit someone else’s ability to think more – and think better. Advice can lessen someone's willingness to take ownership and feel like they can’t find the answer themselves. I’m not a quiet coach. I’m not a coach who ‘knits yoghurt’ as one of my clients calls it. That client and others work with me because I ask challenging questions. I push them to leave their comfort zones and challenge their own beliefs and assumptions. But I do it in a safe way, striking a productive balance between challenge and support. Of course, I form opinions, that’s what enables me to ask more of those provocative, incisive questions. But I no longer feel compelled to share them. It’s not about me. And if the Advice Giving Monster emerges, I override it by knowing that if I listen more, I’ll learn more. And learning more helps my clients realise and achieve more. Watch Michael Bungay Stanier in action and see if you recognise some of your own habits and check out his book, The Advice Trap. Take the quiz to see what type of Advice Monster you have, when it is most likely to emerge and, crucially, how to tame it. If you’d like someone to help you work out why you are where you are and what might be next, or if you’d like to be challenged to step out of your comfort zone (in a gentle but candid way), why not get in touch and see where a session of Career Therapy could take you? Introductory calls are always free if you’re curious to find out more about coaching and working with me. Click on Book a call on the website for a free intro call or email me: louise@careertherapy.co.uk Why not follow me for more confidence boosting tips, tools and talks: LinkedIn Louise Newton Instagram @career_therapy_uk What’s stopping you? You might also be interested in my article on changing negative questions to positive ones. Check out my other articles on careers and confidence: Trust your gut instinct and Asking good questions. If you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the Career Therapy Newsletter? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support grounded in years of coaching experience...and real life. Photo by Vadim Bogulov on Unsplash