It’s important to make time to reflect on your career, and life goals. Because gaining a deeper sense of self-awareness is crucial to being your own career coach. Says Antoinette, “Ask yourself open-ended questions to dissect challenging situations, figure out your priorities and identify areas for self-improvement.”

Some questions you can ask yourself include:

• What does success at work look like for me?
• How do I want to spend my free time?
• What work environment makes me happiest? Do I like to be outside? or in an airconditioned office? Do I like a scheduled work day, or lots of flexibility? 
• Is a higher salary important to me? Why?
• What support do I need from my employer to perform a good job?
• What qualities am I currently lacking, and how can I develop them to accelerate my career progression?

Be honest with yourself. Maybe you yearn to be the boss? Or maybe you don’t. Perhaps you’d prefer a job that ends on time every day and leaves you plenty of energy for your family and hobbies? Whatever you want is fine. Career coaching is working out what matters to you – so you can work out how to get it.

Honing this valuable skill of self-reflection will give you a better understanding of yourself. In turn, this paves the way for taking positive steps to attain your career goals.

By increasing your self-awareness, you can pinpoint the ideal conditions that’ll empower you to thrive at work. This could be an in-office or remote setting; flexible work hours; working as part of a close-knit team or solo; or using specific skill sets. 

Similarly, you can work out what specifically is preventing you from doing your best work – such as a company that doesn’t allow flexible work arrangements. Or a workplace that allows bullying. 

Again, there’s no one right answer here. Some people thrive on deadlines, others just find them stressful. The important thing is to work out what matters to you. At Safe Space, internal employees engage in a practice where they ask themselves what they appreciate at work or from their colleagues, and what upsets them. “This exercise forces you to look inward. It helps you work out your strengths and which environments help you thrive. You can also clearly see what you don’t like and what a toxic work environment looks like to you,” Antoinette elaborates.

Writing down your thoughts in the form of journal entries or mind maps is a key part of self-reflection. “Journaling is a great way to have honest communication with yourself. It provides an opportunity for positive self-talk. You can identify negative thoughts and thinking patterns,” Antoinette says.

Equally important is strategizing a realistic plan of action. Antoinette recommends crafting a 30, 60 and 90-day plan using SMART goals  – in other words, you write a plan that is Specific, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound. So instead of a vague goals like ”Get a job that’s not so stressful” you aim for something specific like “Get a job that allows x days of work from home, by x date.” Then you work out what Achievable and Time-Bound steps you need to do to get there, such as “Check 10 online job listings every week” or “update CV by x date”. By taking these small steps, you move closer to your goal.

Oddly enough, it can be hard to work out what you’re good at. Asians are often taught to be humble, so we tend to put ourselves down. Plus it’s just human nature to focus on the mistakes we make. This is why it can help to get feedback from trusted colleagues or friends. By comparing how you see yourself with the impact you have on others, you can get different perspectives on your strengths and weaknesses.

 It can also help you work out which skills you need, if you want to reach your goal. You may suspect that your Excel software skills need some work, but if three colleagues say the same thing… you know it’s time to cash in some of your SkillsFuture Credits and go on an Excel course!

To keep yourself accountable, you can rope in close friends or family members to check-in with you and ensure you’re on track with your SMART self-coaching commitments.

If you’re struggling to get started or need some assistance, it may help to enlist a career coach. They can help you kick-start things, or offer expert advice for you to implement in your self-coaching sessions. Many coaching sessions are now available online – and studies show they can be just as effective as face to face, and easier to fit into your busy schedule.

“A professional coach can teach you the basics of what to look out for, and will assist and encourage you on your journey  – without passing any judgement,” Antoinette says. “As part of this process, you’re empowered to make courageous decisions about your work and you also gain self-coaching skills you can use throughout your career.”

Text Rachel Eva Lim

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