Sital Ruparelia

1.  Stop over planning – it’s futile when things are constantly changing

2.  Focus on the present. Not the past, not the future. Just the present

3.  Break things down and focus on next steps

4.  Give yourself permission to be a little ‘flaky’ – it’s Ok to change your mind

5.  Give yourself permission to be a little ‘down’ at times. It’s Ok, there’s nothing wrong with you

6.  Surround yourself with supportive people to lean on

7.  Experiment more, not less

8.  Be bold. Forget small steps – start taking big leaps.

9.  Stop over thinking. Listen to your gut instincts and intuition much more than your head

10. Embrace the uncertainty

11. Be open to more than one possibility

12. Be committed to taking forward steps (even when it feels uncomfortable and scary)

13. Be Ok with screwing up and making a few mistakes. You’ll progress much faster

14. Get comfortable being uncomfortable  (the faster you get comfortable with change, the more successful your career will be)

15. Count your blessings.  You know where you’re next meal is coming from . You know where you’re sleeping tonight.  So you probably have much more certainty than people less fortunate than yourself. So get some perspective on things…

My first ever real job was a 12-month placement with the airline British Airways in the early 1990s (..although I’m sure my dad would convince you that working in his shop at weekends and holidays was a ‘real job’!).

I worked as a buyer within BA’s procurement team working on maintenance contracts for avionics and mechanical equipment (i.e. flight management computers, pneumatic systems, air conditioning systems etc). My desk overlooked a 747 hangar, which for a 21 year old, was pretty cool.

In addition to being new to the world of work, I was also new to the world of airlines and airline equipment.

I would frequently meet with Avionics suppliers from the likes of Honeywell, GEC Electronics and Smiths Industries without much technical knowledge and so would, at times, have to ‘wing it’ (pardon the pun).

But in order to make the right commercial decisions for the airline, I would rely heavily on the BA engineering team (my internal clients) to advise me on technical matters so that I wouldn’t look a complete fool in front of the suppliers.

One such engineer was Charlie who took me under his wing (OK, that one was intended). He would frequently talk to me about the nuances of the industry and how that impacted on my role.

One of the key aspects of making any kind of buying decision regarding aircraft equipment was the weight of the aircraft and the impact on fuel consumption, which is critical – particularly at take off and landing

Why?

As Charlie explained to me:

Click here to read the rest…

When people come and see me perform in comedy improvisation shows they often say “Wow, I can’t believe you get on stage and perform without a script – that looks so scary!”

Yes it’s scary, but it’s also exciting. And once you’ve had lots of goes, there is less fear and more excitement. It’s like anything in life, the more you do it, the easier it gets and the faster you improve.

Which is why “Being average and having lots of goes…” is one of the basic rules new improvisers are taught.

Why? Because anything we learn and master is achieved by:

Click here to read the rest…

For a brief period as a child, my dream was to be a professional footballer (soccer player) when I grew up. My childhood hero was the Scottish and Liverpool footballer, Kenny Dalglish (pictured here). In my eyes, ‘King Kenny’ was a genius with a football at his feet and I wanted to be just like him.
 
But then one day when I was 9 or 10, a school friend called John Ryan (wow, I still remember his name) told me “hey Sital, you can’t be a professional footballer, Indian people aren’t allowed to! That’s why there are no Indian footballers in the league – they’re not allowed. You’d better do something else.”
 
There was no malice or racism in his comment. It was just what he believed, based on the fact that there were no Indian footballers in top-flight football.
 
He was right. There were no Indian footballers on television so maybe Indian’s weren’t allowed to play professionally. I was devastated. (Well OK, devastated for about a week before deciding I’d become a pilot instead!).
 
The Early 1990s Recession
 
Talking of pilots, let’s fast-forward to the recession of the early 90′s when I worked for British Airways for 12 months. 

Click here to read the rest…

I spent yesterday afternoon at the Career Shifters Career Advice Clinics at the One Life Live event. Taking place at London’s Olympia venue, the event is aimed at anyone looking to make a major career or lifestyle change.

Myself and a group of career coaches have been conducting 15 minute one-to-one career coaching sessions with mixture of people who wanted to make a career change, but felt ’stuck in a rut’ or “at a cross roads” with their careers.  Some people didn’t know what it was they wanted to do next. Others did know – but didn’t know how to make the change and reinvent their career.

One of the individuals I met was a lawyer (let’s call her Helen for now) who had travelled down to London for the day from Yorkshire (for readers outside the UK – that’s in the north of England). She came to London on a day trip just to visit the  event – to get some advice and ideas because she felt ‘stuck’. She didn’t enjoy her life in the legal profession and wanted to make a change, but didn’t know what it was she wanted to do next or how to reinvent her career – especially during a recession when there were likely to be fewer opportunities.

So she travelled more than 6 hours totally by train on a Saturday, on her own and probably paid in the region of £70 just for the train journey. Plus the entry into the event, food, refreshments etc.

I admire people like Helen. I admire them because of their willingness to do the things most people won’t. She stepped outside her comfort zone (travelling to a big careers event in London, on your own is not always easy – especially when you’re not at your confident best due to your existing career).

At the end of our discussion, I gave her some advice on some next steps and then told to be very proud of herself and to give herself a pat on the back. Why? Click here to read the rest…

If you’re in the process of setting goals for the new year, you may want to take a look at the 44 Essential Personal Development Posts for some added inspiration.

It’s a list of some of the best personal development blog posts from 2008 as compiled by Glen Allsopp, the author of the PluginID blog.

I’m flattered to have one of my own posts, How To Thrive During Uncertain Times, featured on the list alongside some very well know bloggers from around the world. To see the full list of 44 posts and associated links, click here

As we wrap up 2008, I thought I’d share some of the best posts of the year below. I got the idea from Penelope Trunk, who recently shared her best 18 posts of the year on the excellent blog, Brazen Careerist.

As this is the last post of the year, can I also quickly say ‘thank you’ for reading and commenting on the blog. I understand that everyone is busy and so appreciate you taking the time to read. I hope you’ve found the articles of benefit during a turbulent 2008 and hope to bring you more valuable advice and information in 2009.

So wherever you are in the world, I wish you an enjoyable and relaxing time over the remaining days of the holiday season and look forward to ‘seeing’ you in January.

15 Best Posts of 2008

Focus On Reinvention, Not Recession

10 Ways YOU Stop Yourself Getting The Right Job

How To Thrive During Uncertain Times

9 Career Lessons From Richard Branson

13 Ways To Stay Positive In An Economic Downturn

How To Recession Proof Your Career By Developing Your Network

5 Tips For Managing Your Career In A Crazy Market

Why Thinking Like A Consultant Protects You In A Downturn

5 Steps To More Money AND More Satisfaction

The 7½ Tips For Being Remarkable

The Secret To Success In A Downturn: Choosing Your Reaction

5 Tips For Job Searching In A Crazy Market

How To Make Your CV / Resume Stand Out In A Downturn

Lehman Employees: Here’s What To Do Next

Career Changers: 6 Steps To Becoming Unstuck

If you like the post, I’d really appreciate it if you helped spread the word by sharing it on Delicious, StumbleUpon or Digg!

Today I’m taking the unusual step of re-posting an old blog post. The following article was published during the summer – but in recent days I’m getting asked so many questions on “how do I deal with all the uncertainty” that I thought it may be timely to reproduce the following ”how to” tips on dealing with all the change and uncertainty in the economy and job market.  

How To Thrive During Uncertain Times

“Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security.”
- John Allen Paulos (Writer and Speaker)

Over the last 2 years I have been learning comedy improvisation with the excellent London-based theatre company and corporate trainers, The Spontaneity Shop.  I have performed in about 5 shows so far and it’s been great fun.

But whilst I’ve really enjoyed it, it’s not something I have found easy.

You see, in a work environment, I can deal with change, think on my feet and “wing it” with the best of them. But when it comes to walking the uncertain tight-rope of comedy improvisation – on stage with no script and absolutely no idea what will happen next – I’ve found it challenging and consequently been a slow learner.

But earlier this year, I finally started to ‘get it’. Around May/June time with the direction of the tutors at the Spontaniety Shop, I finally started to learn and internalise the key lessons on how to handle (and indeed enjoy) the uncertainty that goes with making it up as you go along on stage.

There are 8 key lessons or rules I learned. Rules which I think apply equally to comedy improvisation as they do to walking the tight rope of managing careers during these uncertain times:

Click here to read the rest…

In just a few hours, I’ll be running our F.R.E.E teleseminar on “How To Find A Job During Recession.”   You can still register by clicking this link now:  

It’s a timely call given the level of job cut announcements this week across the banking sector.  Credit Suisse, Commerzbank Dresdner Kleinwort, Bank of America/Merill Lynch, Nomura and State Street all announced lay offs in the last few days. Coupled with that, we’ve seen the awful unemployment figures announced in the US yesterday.
 
So whether you’ve been laid off and looking for work or just uneasy about your job security during a recession, be sure to sign up to today’s call. I know it’s a Saturday so don’t worry if you’re out Christmas shopping and too busy to call in – just register and we’ll send you an audio recording of the call in MP3 format so you can listen to it in your own time.  
 
Click here now to register http://www.6figurecareermanagement.com/find-a-job-during-a-recession/
 
‘See you’ in a few hours
 
Sital
 
Sital Ruparelia
6 Figure Career Management
www.6FigureCareerManagement.com

P.S. If you know anyone else who would benefit from the call, then please forward this email on
 
P.P.S. Once again, if you can’t make the call at 3.30pm today (UK), 10.30am (New York), just register and we’ll send you the audio recording so that you can listen as and when you like