Flex (eBook)

Smart Strategies to Build A Successful Career Around Your Life

Elizabeth Willetts (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025
266 Seiten
Wiley (Verlag)
978-1-394-26783-5 (ISBN)

Infos

'This book is essential for anyone seeking inspiration and practical advice on balancing professional goals with personal aspirations. Its candid storytelling and empowering insights make it a must-read for women at any stage of their career or family journey.'

- Lizzie Martin, Founder of Work Life Mother 

'Managing working life alongside family responsibilities can be a fraught and exhausting experience. A must-read for ambitious mothers seeking to forge ahead and embark on a path to career fulfilment while successfully parenting young children.'

- Rosie Reynolds, Chief Commercial Officer at Aspect Capital

Build A Career That Works For You: Smart Strategies For Career Success 

Flex: Smart Strategies to Build a Successful Career Around Your Life, by Elizabeth Willetts is a dynamic guide for anyone wanting to build a successful career - on their terms! This book, written by a seasoned recruitment entrepreneur and career coach, offers a wealth of strategies, real-life success stories, and expert advice to empower you to navigate the complexities of the modern workplace and advance your career, even when life throws you curveballs.

Whether you're looking to pivot to a new field, climb the corporate ladder, or integrate more flexibility into your current role, Willetts' insightful and actionable advice is designed to help you maintain momentum and advance your career in a way that works for you. Through captivating case studies of women who've successfully navigated the modern workplace this guide highlights the non-linear nature of career progression and demonstrates how to assess and use your skills effectively, overcome common obstacles, and make bold moves with confidence.

You'll find:

• Strategies to help you gain clarity on your career and identify a job you'll love - great if you want to switch careers
• Advice for rebooting your career after a lengthy maternity or family leave
• Actionable tips on writing your CV, creating a LinkedIn profile and nailing job interviews
• Techniques to help you make a flexible working request your employer is more likely to say YES to
• Real-world stories from women who have created a career they've adored - whatever life has thrown at them

Flex: Smart Strategies to Build a Successful Career Around Your Life by Elizabeth Willetts is more than just a career manual; it's your personal blueprint for crafting a fulfilling career that truly fits your life. Packed with actionable strategies and inspiring stories, this book is the go-to resource for anyone ready to tackle the challenges of the modern workplace with confidence. Whether you're pivoting careers, climbing the corporate ladder, or seeking that perfect work-life balance, Flex offers you the tools you need to thrive on your terms.

 

Elizabeth Willetts is the founder of Investing in Women, an organisation that helps businesses reach candidates looking for flexible and part-time work. She is passionate about educating businesses on the benefits of flexible working and attracting top female talent. She also provides one-to-one coaching to job seekers looking to advance their careers.

 

Get ready to transform the way you approach your career with Flex, and start building the successful professional life you deserve.

Textauszug

Introduction

‘It doesn’t look good.’ I can feel the doctor moving the cold, hard probe around inside me. He’s trying to get a better look.

I stare up at the plain, white ceiling.

My heart’s beating so loudly that I’m surprised no one else has mentioned that they can hear the ‘thud, thud, thud’ pounding from my chest.

I pray to a God I don’t believe in that I misheard the words. I wish with every fibre of my being for him to take those words back – words that have shattered what feels like my reason for living.

I continue to lay in silence, clutching my husband’s hand so hard my knuckles turn white.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, the doctor says the words I’ve been dreading to hear – ‘I can’t find a heartbeat.’

Say hello and welcome to your new career bestie as this book aims to have your back, no matter what life throws at you. In it, you’ll find a mix of my own job searching and career advice – gained from 18 years in the recruitment business, tales from the recruitment front line, plus inspiring real-life case studies from people who have navigated life’s unexpected twists and turns – and STILL managed to thrive in their careers. But this book isn’t just about sharing stories (no matter how inspirational): it’s about giving you the tools and confidence to navigate your own career path, whether you want to climb that ladder, need to take a step back, or pivot entirely. Inside, you’ll find practical steps to dust off your CV, nail that interview, and balance a job you love with a busy life you love even more! Ready to get started? Let’s dive in and build that dream career of yours, step by step. I’m with you every step of the way!

* * *

I’d never been overly career-ambitious, but I enjoyed working and the satisfaction that came with doing a good job. I was also good at my job and thrived in the fast-paced world of recruitment. I became one of the top performers in the City of London branch of one of the world’s largest recruitment agencies. Here, I recruited accountants for some of the world’s largest banks. I quickly rose through the ranks and, by the age of 24, was managing a team.

But the hours were long and the work demanding. Having been brought up by a traditional stay-at-home mum, I couldn’t see how such a demanding job would work when I became a mum. And becoming a mum was ultimately what I wanted to be. When I got married a couple of years later, I checked out of my career before we even started trying for children! Silly right?!? I didn’t realise it would take four and a half years of trying, a miscarriage and eventually IVF to realise my dream of parenthood. Hindsight’s a wonderful thing, eh?

So I left my recruitment career without a backward glance (or so I thought) and set myself up as a beauty therapist and personal stylist through Colour Me Beautiful, working from home, a set-up I thought would work perfectly around my, at this point, make-believe family.

But after one and a half years of nada – not even the faintest line on a pregnancy test, and painful ‘Are you planning to have children’ questions from well-meaning clients, I went scurrying back to my old job with my tail firmly between my legs. It felt like I was back where I started, but in my absence, my juniors had been promoted ahead of me, and my best clients distributed to my colleagues. I really was starting again right at the bottom.

And my heart just wasn’t in it anymore. I felt cheated being back – this wasn’t the life I’d dreamed of. I no longer had the passion or felt the same connection to my clients or candidates. It was just a job that paid the bills. For a year and a half, I just trod water. Got up, went to work, came home, ate, watched tv, bed, repeat.

But then the miscarriage happened, my boss got pregnant, and watching her growing belly became increasingly painful. I knew now was the time to move on. Because children may or may not have happened for me, but work, work was there. It took up 90% of my waking hours, so I needed to enjoy it, right?

And, after what felt like countless interviews, I was finally offered my dream job as an in-house recruiter at one of the Big 4 accounting firms, and that’s when things finally started to look up for me.

Joining such a corporate firm, which seemed to really value its staff, was a breath of fresh air. They even had an onsite gym and WFH (work from home), before anyone else knew what those three little letters stood for! And I spent a year or so healing – making friends, looking after my health, and getting good at my job. I met my stakeholders, earned their trust, and delivered excellent service. Once more, I took pride in my work, and although we were still ‘trying for a baby’, it didn’t feel quite as desperate as it had when I thought a baby would be a ‘get out of jail free card’ from a job I hated.

Once I felt strong enough, we decided to try IVF and could not believe our luck when, on the second round, it worked. Nine months later, our daughter was born, and then – even more extraordinary – we got pregnant naturally a few months later.

So there I was, with two small kids, about to go back to work, when boom, a pandemic hit! Yep, I don’t think any of us saw that coming! And, like many others, I found my job on the chopping block and was made redundant.

And that was that – my career was over – or so it felt. I’d listen to my husband on work calls with other adults. Work calls I wouldn’t have thought twice about, but they suddenly sounded so glamorous and stimulating when I was up to my elbows in Play-Doh!

And with my eldest about to start pre-school, I knew I wanted to get back to work – working with other adults and feeling the thrill of recruitment again. But could I find another job that offered me the flexibility I wanted with two small children? Could I heck!

I’d chat with my friends who were dropping out of the workforce like flies, leaving well-paid careers having spent their 20s climbing the ladder to take something lower paid and lower skilled in exchange for the flexibility they wanted/desired.

I looked back on my recruitment career and realised that of the hundreds of people I’d placed, I’d never hired anyone into a part-time role. I’d been part of the problem! So I vowed to use my small redundancy payout of £5,000 to help people like me – and my friends. Those who enjoyed work, were diligent employees, and wanted to contribute to society and business but just needed something more flexible to fit around their lives – but didn’t want to be punished with low-paid or low-skilled work because they also had other commitments.

So, I spent several months planning and writing business plans (that I’ve not looked at since) before founding Investing in Women – now a multi-award-winning job board and recruitment agency that helps forward-thinking organisations find talent looking for flexible and part-time work. Through our jobs board and free resources, we’ve helped thousands of people find flexible work that works around them and their lives.

In addition to offering our recruitment services, we host weekly Facebook and LinkedIn Lives with guest experts to help empower people to take control of their careers. Previous topics covered have included ‘How to successfully return to work after maternity leave’, ‘Writing a CV recruiters will love’, ‘I hate my job – what should I do?’, and ‘Interview skills hiring managers are looking for right now’, as well as several Lives with employment solicitors centred around discrimination at work and your rights to flexible working.

As well as our LinkedIn Lives, I host a weekly podcast called Work It Like A Mum, where I’ve interviewed some phenomenal women who have overcome various challenges, including cancer, raising four children under five!, baby loss, imposter syndrome, a lack of confidence and lengthy career breaks, but are now smashing it in the world of work. Some of their stories will be shared in this book.

I’ve also helped thousands of individuals land their dream jobs through my career coaching. Services include CV writing; LinkedIn profile building and strategy advice; interview confidence boosting sessions, as well as a career crossroads consultation for those feeling stuck in their career and don’t know what they want to do. In these sessions, I help people identify their most valuable skills and experience and unravel what their dream career looks like — and a clear path on how to get it. A lot of the advice I give to my clients will be shared with you in this book so you too, can achieve the career you always dreamt of.

I’ve shared my story because I want you to know that sometimes, life gets in the way. Work and our careers aren’t always our number one priority – and that’s okay. It’s normal, and it’s life. And if you find that your focus is elsewhere, you’re not alone. In fact, even some of the UK’s leading CEOs haven’t always been racing up that career ladder at 60 mph…

Sarah McMath1 is a great example of viewing your career as a marathon,...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 22.1.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Beruf / Finanzen / Recht / Wirtschaft ► Bewerbung / Karriere
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management
• Schlagworte: career advice • Career advice for women • Career Coaching • career coaching for women • career gaps • Career interruptions • career pauses • career restarts • cv gaps • family leaves • female career advice • Maternity Leaves • professional gaps • resume gaps
• ISBN-10: 1-394-26783-5 / 1394267835
• ISBN-13: 978-1-394-26783-5 / 9781394267835