Progressing in your career requires you to be visible and for your impact on the firm to be recognised and acknowledged. Many professionals shy away from self-advocacy, hoping that all they need to do is work hard and produce results — and that this alone will be enough. Sadly, this isn’t always the case.

So, why do so many people avoid speaking up for themselves, and how can it be done in a culturally calibrated manner that doesn’t alienate colleagues or leadership?

In my experience, there are seven key things to consider.

Imagine that every job interview is an opportunity to learn and improve your performance, so that you get better and better at this essential career skill. Not only that, but you also increase your chances of securing the role for which you’re currently interviewing.

If you’re invited to meet someone for a ‘coffee’, you might assume that because it’s an informal conversation, your approach and execution can also be casual. I’d suggest that this is a mistake and potentially a wasted opportunity. Even if it’s just a coffee, really it’s an audition - a chance to gain exposure and make a strong impression.

As we know, there are different types of job interviews and, in turn, interview questions. These target different areas of you as a candidate. Broadly, they are: competency, motivation, cultural and selling (to you). 

During these interviews, you may be asked questions that may well trip you up. Now, whether or not the interviewer is doing this on purpose isn’t the focus of this short read. We’ll identify three of them and how you can recognise and handle them

In today’s financial services industry—whether in Wealth Management, Capital Markets, Asset Management, or Investment Banking—standing still isn’t an option. Career success now depends on mastering 8 interconnected areas of optimisation, each requiring constant work.

As we know, there are different types of job interviews and, in turn, interview questions. These target different areas of you as a candidate. Broadly, they are: competency, motivation, cultural and selling (to you). 

During these interviews, you may be asked questions that may well trip you up. Now, whether or not the interviewer is doing this on purpose isn’t the focus of this short read. We’ll identify three of them and how you can recognise and handle them

Quite often at this time of year, I get emails for fantastically talented and very well educated Graduates who now need to make the first jump into their career. I’ll reply and offer advice that I hope will help them. It occurred to me that perhaps there are senior professionals feeling stuck or frustrated with their career, who might see some value in that advice themselves.

It’s difficult enough to get into banking and it’s possible to say that soft influence is a key component in moving up the ladder. Yes, of course, you need to develop your technical skills, gain experience and track record. But building strategic relationships also open doors, creates visibility, and positions you as a leader. 

I was recently helping a Coaching Client prepare examples that he might use for an upcoming job interview. I was struck by the word I kept hearing: ‘I’. We agree that this needed some attention, and how to both graciously acknowledge the contribution of others’ as well as one’s own. In this week’s blog, I discuss how to address this in both one’s CV and interview examples.

It seems relatively common for most people to get on with their job, accepting that there will inevitably be some rough with the smooth. Sometimes, we just have to tolerate the downsides of an imperfect work environment. However, should that always be the case? What’s the point at which you should make the decision to walk away?

Is it fair to say that you’re more likely to influence the interviewer if you have a conversation, rather than a simple question and answer interrogation? I’d argue so. With this approach, the calculation as to how good a candidate you are is out in the open and can be discussed. The focus of this week’s blog is on how we can achieve this shift in interviews.

Back in 1998, Spencer Johnson published the motivational book, Who moved my cheese?, selling over 30 million copies worldwide. Although time has passed and many similar books have since been published, it carries an important lesson for anyone trying to navigate and optimise their career. 

Optimising your LinkedIn Profile is straightforward when you want to be found for the job that you’re currently doing. Let’s say you’re in Quant Research and you want to stay in Quant Research - it’s relatively easy to align your keywords and profile content with what firms will be looking for. However, what do you do if you want to change track or conduct a job search for two different roles, concurrently?

Most would agree that job interviews are the key gateway to getting your next new job - be that an internal move, or one to another firm. With that in mind, anything that you can do to give yourself an edge and thus, significantly improve your interview performance, is critical in optimising your career. In this week’s blog, I’ll offer 8 simple ideas to do just that.

Loyalty is a virtue that is, naturally, valued highly in companies, alongside reliability, trustworthiness, honesty and integrity. However, is it possible to be loyal to the point where it actually works against you? In this short article, I’ll explore the theme of loyalty in the workplace.

If you’re not being promoted, there’s probably a reason. Being introspective and truly understanding what they are is key to helping you move forward with your career.

One of the things I often work on with my Foundation Coaching clients is how to move an interview from being an interrogation to a collaborative, and perhaps more productive, conversation.

As you’re conducting your job search, it’s usually a given that the ‘what are your comp expectations?’ question will come up. So, clearly, it’s important to have a good idea of where the market is for someone in your role and responsibilities. So, how can you do that?

It seems odd that you see a job ad or get approached by a recruiter for a job that ends up not existing. From what people in my network have been saying, it seems to be happening more and more frequently.

It probably goes without saying that making a career change is a big deal. In order to do it successfully, there are a number of considerations, both in terms of making the decision and making it happen. Let’s have a look at 6 things in particular.