My 'international movement group' contribution

Just something for the memory bank.  Here's my 2 cents worth sharing - to the International Movement group.

Sharing from personal experience — I gave up a relatively stable HR career in Asia to relocate to London. While I was hopeful about new beginnings, the reality of breaking into the UK job market has been far from a bed of roses.  The economy has turned pear-shared in the year I relocated to London.  Despite years of HR experience under my belt, the economic climate has shifted, and so have the rules of engagement.

For fellow job seekers making a similar leap, here’s my honest takeaway: be prepared to compromise, stay adaptable, and remain open to unexpected opportunities. The path may be winding, but every season brings its own lessons.

Finally, this may sound rather clichéd but I still believe persistence and focus is the key to a successful job search!   

If I were to sum up my job search experience in a single sentence, then it has to be inspired from the core philosophy and motto of the novel, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!!!

I know I have not been blogging. Probably best to start off with something good for the soul. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!"  This is written in the context of the work environment but this phrase is definitely applicable in our personal life as well.

Tip of the month: The long term benefits of being honest with our colleagues (in the right way) goes a long way!

In a world where we’re becoming increasingly anxious about protecting those who are closest to us, are we doing them more damage than good in the long run?

Are you fearful to delivering an negative feedback to your peer  

If you are 

Whether it’s fear of giving an important performance feedback to a colleague, or worrying about telling your flatmate you are moving out, we are becoming increasingly concerned about damaging those we are close to. 

The common belief that people will crumble at their first setback runs the risk of preventing organisations driving their people to perform at their very best. In an environment where people are afraid to express their true opinion, communications can become lost and employees fast lose interest.

However, some refreshing research has recently emerged proving the old saying to be true that ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’. Mark Seery and his colleagues investigated the effect that exposure to life adversity has on individuals’ mental state and particularly their resilience. They recently published results showing that those with a history of some lifetime adversity reported better mental health (including life satisfaction and functional impairment) than those with either high or no life time adversity. This neatly shows that those who experience small setbacks actually turn out more resilient than those who are exposed to good news only.

Just like a small fall makes a child more careful in future, being honest with our colleagues, when done in the right way, makes a stronger workforce all round.

Source: Seery, M. D. et al. (2010). Whatever does not kill us: Cumulative lifetime adversity, vulnerability, and resilience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.