Squiggly Careers

Pressure to move up, take on more, and chase promotions can leave a lot of us feeling like success only comes from climbing the ladder. But what if staying where you are could be just as valuable for your career growth? The truth is, success doesn’t actually mean seniority.In this episode, Helen and Sarah explore why staying in your current role can help you build a stronger foundation for long-term career success.They share why staying put can actually be a smart move, how you can continue growing without constantly seeking advancement, and 3 practical actions to increase your impact in your current position.(00:00) Introduction (00:47) Why staying where you are is good for your growth (02:36) Success doesn’t necessarily mean seniority (04:37) Why you shouldn’t quit your job too soon(05:55) How to deal with progression pressure (08:21) Idea for Action #1 - How to increase your impact(17:03) Idea For Action #2 - Grow yourself by growing others (21:33) Idea For Action #3 - Practice Your Positioning (27:00) Summary For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.comMore ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:1. Download our free careers tools https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/2. Sign-up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for Squiggly Careers in Action, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’ [www.amazingif.com/books/](http://www.amazingif.com/books/)

Feeling overwhelmed is something most of us have experienced. Too many meetings, tasks, and requests—paired with too little time, clarity, and control—can make work feel unmanageable.In this episode, Helen and Sarah share three practical actions to help you regain focus and reduce overwhelm.They explore how shifting your mindset from tasks to outcomes can bring clarity, help you prioritise what truly matters, and create a greater sense of control in your work.For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:1. Download our free careers tools https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/ 2. Sign-up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’ www.amazingif.com/books/

This is the fifth and final episode of the Squiggly Career Stage Series – 5 days of podcast episodes and practical tools to help you succeed in your career. We’ve focused on 5 stages where we know people need some extra squiggly support and in today’s episode we’re looking at Squiggly Career Continuers, to help people relook at retirement and develop career longevity. Sarah and Helen share their insights on continuing your career into later life and talk to two people to learn from their expertise; Avivah Wittenberg-Cox a thought leader specialising in gender and generational balance and Andrew Aitken, Economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. You can download the free Career Stage Guide to support this episode here https://www.amazingif.com/listen/career-continuers For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:1. Download our free careers tools https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/ 2. Sign-up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’ www.amazingif.com/books/

This is the fourth episode of the Squiggly Career Stage Series – 5 days of podcast episodes and practical tools to help you succeed in your career.We’ve focused on 5 stages where we know people need some extra squiggly support and in today’s episode we’re looking at Squiggly Career Changers, to help people pivot and create new possibilities.Sarah and Helen share their insights on career change and interview three people to learn from their experience; Jenny Black, author of Pivot and Oli Kelly and John Rothera who share their story of career change.You can download the free Career Stage Guide to support this episode at https://www.amazingif.com/listen/career-changersFor questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.comMore ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:1. Download our free careers tools https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/2. Sign-up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’ www.amazingif.com/books/More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:

This is the third episode of the Squiggly Career Stage Series – 5 days of podcast episodes and practical tools to help you succeed in your career. We’ve focused on 5 stages where we know people need some extra squiggly support and in today’s episode we’re looking at Squiggly Career Setbacks, to help people stay resilient when things go wrong. Sarah and Helen share their insights on career setbacks and interview three people to learn from their experience; Amy Schoenthal, author of The Setback Cycle and Mary & Ken Okoroafor who share their personal setback story. You can download the free Career Stage Guide to support this episode at https://www.amazingif.com/listen/career-setbacksFor questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:1. Download our free careers tools https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/ 2. Sign-up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’ www.amazingif.com/books/

This is the second episode of the Squiggly Career Stage Series – 5 podcast episodes and practical tools to help you succeed in your career. We’ve focused on 5 stages where we know people need some extra squiggly support and in today’s episode Helen and Sarah are looking at Squiggly Career Returners, to help people build career confidence after a break. Sarah and Helen share their insights on returning and interview two people to learn from their experience; Julianne Miles MBE, Co-Founder and CEO of Career Returners and Mila Fadeeva, who returned to her career in Strategy & Operational Excellence after a 10 year career break.You can download the free Career Stage Guide to support this episode at https://www.amazingif.com/listen/career-returnersFor questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.comMore ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:1. Download our free careers tools https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/ 2. Sign-up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’ www.amazingif.com/books/

This is the first episode of the Squiggly Career Stage Series – 5 podcast episodes and practical tools to help you succeed in your career.We’ve focused on 5 stages where we know people need some extra squiggly support and in this episode Helen and Sarah are looking at Squiggly Career Starters, people who are looking to learn and grow in their first job.Sarah and Helen share their insights on this stage and interview two people to learn from their perspective; Yemurai Rabvukwa and Sarah Gregory from social mobility charity, Upreach.You can download the free Career Stage Guide to support this episode at https://www.amazingif.com/listen/career-startersFor questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.comMore ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:1. Download our free careers tools https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/2. Sign-up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’ www.amazingif.com/books/

Small talk is part of lots of the meetings and moments that we experience at work and most of us don't enjoy it! This week, Sarah and Helen discuss why small talk matters for connection and how to approach it. They share 'small talk starters', the importance of listening to what is said (instead of being distracted by what you want to say) and how to transition from small talk into what needs to come next.To use the PodSheet that supports the episode, head to amazingif.com/listen(00:00) Introduction(00:54) The hatred of small talk(07:10) The quick connection approach(09:24) Different small talk practices(10:26) Small-talk starters(20:55) Half listening vs whole listening(27:12) When to stop the small talk(35:15) Final thoughtsFor questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.comNeed some more squiggly career support?1. Download our free careers tools https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/2. Sign-up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’ www.amazingif.com/books/

Awareness is a key skill to support your squiggly career but one that can feel hard to improve. This week, Helen and Sarah talk through 3 different types of awareness; self-awareness, situational awareness and relational awareness. They share ideas to assess your awareness and special actions you can take to improve in any area where you might have a gap.(00:00) Introduction(01:07) The different types of awareness(02:27) Self-awareness(09:53) Situational awareness(18:43) Relational awareness(28:45) Final thoughtsTo use the PodSheet that supports the episode, head to amazingif.com/listenFor questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.comNeed some more squiggly career support?1. Download our free careers tools https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/2. Sign-up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’ www.amazingif.com/books/