Regain Control Over Your Life & Career

Ep: 150

It was another record month for the Great Resignation. In November 2021, over four and a half million people quit their jobs.

What’s happening in the workforce today, and what does it all mean for the workforce of tomorrow? 

Today, Blake shares her observations of the changes she’s witnessed in the workforce through the pandemic. She shares how she’s seen a greater understanding when it comes to career satisfaction and work-life balance when employees recognize that having more control over their lives is possible. Rather than getting stuck in the same place over and over again, she encourages you to use this unique moment as an invitation to create the change you want by seeking a more focused direction in your life and career.

The time to invest in yourself and your happiness is NOW.

What You’ll Learn:

  • How the pandemic has changed our view of work-life balance (1:33)
    Why we get stuck in the cycle of searching for new jobs (2:15)
  • The importance of uncovering the root issue before making changes (4:29)
  • How to start your new career journey now (6:29)

Favorite Quotes:

  1. If you’re one of the people who have recently quit their job, you’re considering quitting your job, or you’re really unfulfilled in your job and you’re wondering if there’s anything better for you, there’s tremendous opportunity and more possibility for your life than you could even imagine.
  2. It’s not just understanding your specific skills. It’s understanding the combination of those skills, plus your experiences, your unique lens or perspective on life, and then your natural way of creating results. It’s the combination of all of those things that really create your unique fingerprint for success.
  3. What I’ve seen over the pandemic is a real understanding of employees having more control of their lives, understanding the importance and the shift it makes when you have better work-life balance, when you can be more involved with your family, and when you can have some choice and some decision making about what your career and your life look like.

Additional Resources:

Rather than hoping the grass will be greener, identify what the RIGHT next step is.

We can help you do just that.

Get clarity on where you are on your journey to career fulfillment, where you’re headed, optional paths to get there, and the right next step to take.

Start your complimentary, Personalized Career Fulfillment Plan by going to www.thebridgetofulfillment.com/plan
Want free resources to set your job search up for success? You can get them by going to: https://thebridgetofulfillment.com/mistakes

Transcript

Blake Schofield 0:03 My name is Blake Schofield, founder and CEO of Connections Illuminated, mom to three and former corporate executive who got tired of sacrificing my life for a comfortable paycheck. My mission is to change women’s perspectives about what is possible, empowering them with the tools to create greater impact at home and at work without sacrificing their health time family or income. This is The Bridge to Fulfillment. November 2021, was another record month for The Great Resignation. Over four and a half million people quit their jobs, which beats September’s record of 4.4 million.

Blake Schofield 0:42 Interestingly to note, there are almost 11 million job openings, compared to 7 million Americans seeking employment. So what does that tell us about what is happening in the workforce today? And what does that mean for changes of the workforce tomorrow? I want to talk about this topic with you today, because so many times I hear from women, a feeling of unhappiness and lack of fulfillment in their careers, coupled with huge fear that they’re not going to be able to transition into something else without taking a huge step back, or starting over, that other people won’t really value their skills, or that their skills aren’t transferable. Or just feeling like maybe I just need to suck it up, and I should be happy. And what I’ve seen over the pandemic, and what has happened is a real understanding of employees having more control of their lives, understand the importance and the shift it makes in your life, when you have better work life balance, when you can be more involved with your family, when you can have some choice and some decision making about what your career and your life look like. And I just want to encourage you if you are out there, and you’re one of the group of people who’ve recently quit their job, or you’re considering quitting your job, or you’re really unfulfilled in your job, and you’re wondering if there’s anything better for you. There’s tremendous opportunity and more possibility for your life than you could even imagine. So often, I see people get stuck at this place where they’re really unfulfilled but aren’t really sure what the right thing is. And the first thing they do is really focus on job searching, trying to find jobs that are similar, or jobs that seem interesting. And get stuck on the job boards, either finding things that are more of the same or worse, or finding things that they’re just not sure like, am I even qualified with somebody even take me seriously, or Gosh, this job pays half of what I’ve been making, I can’t do that. Or what if I transition into this and I’m not successful, and I’m still not happy. And what I want you to know is all of that is avoidable. You don’t have to get stuck in a process of where you’re hoping the next job is better. And certainly, you don’t have to take a big pay cut or start over in order to transition into more fulfilling work. Whether that is transitioning into a new type of role, a new area of work within a company or a new industry, all of it is possible to transition and actually increase and accelerate your career trajectory, increase your income, get better work life balance, feel more energized, everyday going to work, have energy at the end of the day instead of being drained. All of it’s possible. And far more common than most of us even know. One of the most common things I hear from women that come in the program, as they start really enjoying the benefits of being a part of this special community is telling me that they didn’t realize how many other women there were just like them, that they weren’t alone, that there was nothing wrong with them. And so if you’re in the throes of looking around and seeing so many unfulfilled people, and thinking that’s just the way it is, or in the midst of your job search, and really struggling to find the right thing for you, I want you to know there’s so much more possibility for your life. You really don’t have to keep hoping the next job will be better only to find more of the same or worse. But it starts with truly getting clarity. Understanding your and unlocking your fulfillment framework, the things you need in your career in life in order to be fulfilled in the long term. When you don’t understand that you are going to keep making changes, hoping there’ll be better only to find more of the same or worse. How do I know that? Because I did that job after job cross country move after cross country move because I was not solving the root cause of why I was unfulfilled. And understanding why you’re unfulfilled and why you’re unhappy is so important. Otherwise, you’ll keep repeating that pattern. Secondly, you really need to unlock or uncover your secret sauce, transferable skills. Those are the things you’re most gifted and talented at that give you energy driving momentum. But it’s not just understanding the specific skills. It’s understanding the combination of those skills, plus your experiences, your unique lens or perspective on life, and then your natural way of creating results. It’s the combination of all of those things that really create your unique fingerprint for success, then really being able to open up all of the possibilities for your career in life. And then going narrow and deep through really defining the criteria and the non negotiables. For you understanding to a very deep degree, what’s the right type of company size of company, industry, natural way of working Leadership,

Blake Schofield 5:42 Culture, all of those things that come together to really understand how can I put my skills in an environment of where I can add the greatest value, and it will be easiest for me to do the work because it works as I naturally work. It aligns with my values. I see people time and time again, going through the job search without these elements. And that’s why we continue to be on these emotional roller coasters. Right, going to these new jobs, hoping it’s going to be the next thing, that’s really going to be it only to find nine to 12 months later, you’re back in a position where you’re unfulfilled again, and wondering, what’s next? Are you stuck here? Will you ever be happy, right? That happens because you’re missing critical pieces of the foundation. And so if you’re sitting today saying, ‘Gosh, it’s a new year, I don’t want to be in the same position next year. I want to feel fulfilled and excited to wake up every day, I want to be able to be fully present with my family. I want to feel like the work I do makes a difference. And I’m really valued. I want to feel peace of mind that I’m exactly where I should be. I want to be able to clearly articulate what I want and need in my career and ask for it and feel empowered to create the life I want,’ then I want to invite you to start your personalized career fulfillment plan. It’s a great opportunity to truly be able to get the clarity and the knowledge about where you are on your journey to career fulfillment, right, where you’re headed, optimal paths to get there, and the right next steps to take.

Blake Schofield 7:34 Thanks again for joining me today. I want to wish you a very, very happy new year, and I look forward to an amazing 2022 together. Until then, have a great rest of your week. Thanks for joining me today. Rather than hope the grass will be greener identify what the right next step is. We can help you do just that. Get clarity on where you are in your journey to career fulfillment, where you’re headed, optimal paths to get there, and the right next step to take. Start your complimentary personalized career fulfillment plan at www.thebridgetofulfillment.com/plan. Again, you can get your personalized career fulfillment plan at www.thebridgetofulfillment.com/plan. Thanks again for joining and have a great week ahead.