{"id":7534,"date":"2024-06-07T10:30:48","date_gmt":"2024-06-07T09:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/?p=7534"},"modified":"2024-05-30T12:08:54","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T11:08:54","slug":"be-kind-to-yourself-in-your-career-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/?p=7534","title":{"rendered":"Be kind to yourself in your career planning"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Empower your journey: prioritise self-kindness in career navigation<\/p><\/div>\n

We all know it can be hard to make good decisions when we\u2019re feeling under pressure, are unfocused and time limited. So slow down, take a breath and pace yourself through our top tips encouraging you to be kind to yourself in career planning<\/a>\u2026<\/h3>\n

1. Give yourself the gift of time \u2013 you\u2019re worth it<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our busy OU students don\u2019t often have time to focus on planning to achieve long-term goals. If possible, try ring-fencing 30 minutes a week and call it ‘Career planning time’<\/a> . Start with any action, whatever you want, and try to complete 1 or 2 specific actions during each timeslot \u2013 for example, \u2018find out about <\/em>LinkedIn<\/a> and set up a basic profile\u2019, <\/em>or \u2018check the upcoming <\/em>careers events<\/em><\/a> and book onto those that interest me\u2019 . <\/em>Doing it a bit at a time can feel less overwhelming, build confidence as you see you\u2019re getting somewhere, and move you towards bigger changes in the longer term.<\/p>\n

2. Work with your strengths rather than against them <\/strong><\/p>\n

Suggested career planning strategies can sometimes feel rigid and may not work well for you. Be assured, there\u2019s no singular \u2018right\u2019 way to approach career planning; we\u2019re all different in our preferences and strengths. Apply strategies that you know work for you in your studies, work and life. For example, if you have dyslexia, more offline careers research activities might suit you better. Try the more visual activities in section 1 of Your Career Planning Guide<\/a>, which is available as a printed book for offline work. Another example is if you have ADHD, work with your spontaneity to take advantage of opportunities for open conversations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. <\/strong>Remember, your career is your life, not only your job<\/strong><\/p>\n

Listen to your intuition to build confidence<\/a> and gain motivation from uncertainty when dealing with unplanned changes like redundancy<\/a> \u2018Going with\u2019 life can also lower stress and increase creativity. There\u2019s a holistic career guidance theory that ‘life-is-career’<\/a> (Miller-Tiedeman, 1997) rather than defined as the jobs that we do. It\u2019s a kinder, gentler way to approach your life and puts a strong emphasis on the process<\/em> and not the outcome of planning your future.<\/p>\n

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