How I Found My Career Groove!
Do you feel you’re in your ‘Career Groove?’
- Do you use all your unique skills – the things you are brilliant at?
- Are you happy?
- Do you get paid (well) for what you do?
I feel I am… now. Although, I’ve had to jump over many hurdles and been forced to make some seriously difficult decisions to get here.
Have you ever had that light bulb moment?
The moment I had that flash of inspiration, that brainwave to leave the BBC as a senior producer and start my own business as an impact guru, speaker and expert was when I heard these words…
"Can you give this man a personality?" (An author who will remain nameless).
It was an agent who was accompanying his author on a publicity tour for his new book.
The agent sat, looking crest fallen, as the author droned on about his book without any spark, charisma or personality in the live BBC studio. (As a producer all you’re thinking is… hmmmm how do we salvage this?)
"We’ll have to go to travel early." I called into my presenter’s ear piece,
"30 seconds to wrap up."
The agent took me aside and whispered…
"Help, Esther, you have so much energy, you give people mojo… could you spend a morning with my guy and teach him how to have a personality?"
What he meant was, could I give him: Impact, a story, something compelling to WOW the audience and entice them to buy his book!
"Yes." I replied with a feeling of excitement and anticipation.
"I indeed can give your man a personality."
I've spent 20 years giving people personalities in live studios.
At that moment I realised that I had a formula, a very simple and easy to adopt formula, that helps people ooze confidence and charisma instantly – if they want to.
That was the moment that inspired me to jump ship and go for it!
That's what I do now at: Deloitte, Barclays, JPMorgan, global law firms, Oxford and Cambridge University and even MPs in the House of Commons!
It turns out, the basic principles of broadcasting (mainly keeping your audience hooked) works in business. And it turns out that I have quite a random skill, that’s what I’ve personally been blessed with.
I now get paid for helping people have more personality (because it helps them do better business on many levels in pitches, presentations, speaking to clients and panel interviews).
The most important part of this equation though is this…
I love it!
I love people; introverts, extroverts, geeks, technically brilliant lawyers, leaders, unconfident speakers, confident leaders, creatives, bankers, academics, designers, awkward IT people, mad professors, women with impostor syndrome, shy people, politicians… the list goes on.
People inspire me to do what I do because everyone needs a bit of a boost, more confidence and the ability to captivate their audience and that’s what I give them – a boost!
It’s the perfect career for me.
So here are 3 questions you can ask yourself to help you find your career groove:
- What are you brilliant at? The stuff you find easy, what comes naturally to you?
- What do you LOVE doing?
- What do you get paid (well) for?
Fill in the Venn diagram! (See above)
Have you found your sweet spot yet? It feels so great to love what you do and build on your strengths.
If you haven’t found your groove, don’t worry, thousands of people are still searching for what they really want to do in life and in their career.
It’s never too late to make a change. The first step is always the most difficult.
If you need a boost, more mojo and more personality – please do Email me and tell me how you’d like to shine in front of your audiences. I’d love to help.