Amazing If

This is the first episode of the Squiggly Career Stage Series – 5 podcast episodes and practical tools to help you succeed in your career.We’ve focused on 5 stages where we know people need some extra squiggly support and in this episode Helen and Sarah are looking at Squiggly Career Starters, people who are looking to learn and grow in their first job.Sarah and Helen share their insights on this stage and interview two people to learn from their perspective; Yemurai Rabvukwa and Sarah Gregory from social mobility charity, Upreach.You can download the free Career Stage Guide to support this episode at https://www.amazingif.com/listen/career-startersFor questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.comMore ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:1. Download our free careers tools https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/2. Sign-up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squig

Small talk is part of lots of the meetings and moments that we experience at work and most of us don't enjoy it! This week, Sarah and Helen discuss why small talk matters for connection and how to approach it. They share 'small talk starters', the importance of listening to what is said (instead of being distracted by what you want to say) and how to transition from small talk into what needs to come next.To use the PodSheet that supports the episode, head to amazingif.com/listen(00:00) Introduction(00:54) The hatred of small talk(07:10) The quick connection approach(09:24) Different small talk practices(10:26) Small-talk starters(20:55) Half listening vs whole listening(27:12) When to stop the small talk(35:15) Final thoughtsFor questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.comNeed some more squiggly career support?1. Download our free careers tools https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/2. Sign-up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint https://bit.ly/skillsspri

Awareness is a key skill to support your squiggly career but one that can feel hard to improve. This week, Helen and Sarah talk through 3 different types of awareness; self-awareness, situational awareness and relational awareness. They share ideas to assess your awareness and special actions you can take to improve in any area where you might have a gap.To use the PodSheet that supports the episode, head to amazingif.com/listenFor questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.comNeed some more squiggly career support?1. Download our free careers tools https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/ 2. Sign-up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’ www.amazingif.com/books/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Helen and Sarah are talking about how to use scenario planning as a tool to increase your career resilience. They work through a matrix that you can apply to your career to spot different situations and take proactive action to mitigate risk and maximise opportunity.To use the PodSheet that supports the episode, head to amazingif.com/listenFor questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.comNeed some more squiggly career support?1. Download our free careers tools https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/ 2. Sign-up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’ www.amazingif.com/books/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feedback is a powerful tool for career growth, but it can be hard to give and to get. When learning becomes the priority, feedback becomes much easier and more effective. This week, Helen and Sarah explore three ‘stop and start’ practices to make feedback more impactful. Whether you’re giving or receiving feedback, these actions can help you to reset your approach and focus on growth. More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:1. Read our latest Harvard Business Review article2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint3. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the final episode of our Videobook Club series where Helen and Sarah review and reflect on 4 different Videobooks to identify ideas everyone can put into action to support their development. In this episode, Helen talks to Dan Ariely about how his work on decision making can inform our career thinking and help us to make better choices. The Squiggly Careers Videobook Club is brought to you in partnership with LIT Videobooks, who have given the Squiggly Careers Community access to their library of videobooks for free in January and February 2025. Use this link (before the end of Jan 2025) to sign-up and get free access: https://amazingif.typeform.com/videobookclubFor more information on Squiggly Careers, email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com1. Join our free Videobook Club: https://amazingif.typeform.com/videobookclub2. Sign up for our Squiggly

Welcome to week 4 of the Squiggly Careers Videobook Club. This week, Helen and Sarah are diving into decision making and discussing Dan Ariely’s Videobook, Predictably Irrational. Together they talk about the statements that stuck, what surprised them and the action they are going to take as a result of watching. The Squiggly Careers Videobook Club is brought to you in partnership with LIT Videobooks, who have given the Squiggly Careers Community access to their library of videobooks for free in January and February 2025. Use this link (before the end of Jan 2025) to sign-up and get free access: https://amazingif.typeform.com/videobookclubFor more information on Squiggly Careers, email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com1. Join our free Videobook Club: https://amazingif.typeform.com/videobookclub2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly su

This is our second episode on Burnout as part of the Squiggly Careers Videobook Club series, running throughout January. Each week, Helen and Sarah focus on a different Videobook and identify insights and ideas that everyone can put into action to support their career development. In this episode, Sarah talks to one of the authors Amelia Nagoski about the stress cycle and why we need to find new ways to release the stress in our bodies to prevent burnout. The Squiggly Careers Videobook Club is brought to you in partnership with LIT Videobooks, who have given the Squiggly Careers Community access to their library of videobooks for free in January and February 2025. Use this link (before the end of Jan 2025) to sign-up and get free access: https://amazingif.typeform.com/videobookclubFor more information on Squiggly Careers, email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com1. Join our free Videobook Club: https://amazingif.typeform.com/videobookclub2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillss

Welcome to week 3 of the Squiggly Careers Videobook Club. This week, Helen and Sarah are diving into Burnout: The secret to solving the stress cycle by Amelia and Emily Nagoski.Together they talk about the statements that stuck, what surprised them and the action they are going to take as a result of watching. The Squiggly Careers Videobook Club is brought to you in partnership with LIT Videobooks, who have given the Squiggly Careers Community access to their library of videobooks for free in January and February 2025. Use this link (before the end of Jan 2025) to sign-up and get free access: https://amazingif.typeform.com/videobookclubFor more information on Squiggly Careers, email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com1. Join our free Videobook Club: https://amazingif.typeform.com/videobookclub2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Caree

This is the second episode of the Squiggly Careers Videobook Club where Helen and Sarah focus on a different Videobook each week in January and identify insights and ideas that everyone can put into action to support their career development. This week, the focus is on Influence by Robert B. Cialdini. In today’s episode, Helen and Robert discuss his work and how it can be applied to people’s career development. The Squiggly Careers Videobook Club is brought to you in partnership with LIT Videobooks, who have given the Squiggly Careers Community access to their library of videobooks for free in January and February 2025. Use this link (before the end of Jan 2025) to sign-up and get free access: https://amazingif.typeform.com/videobookclubFor more information on Squiggly Careers

Welcome to week 2 of the Squiggly Careers Videobook Club. In our second episode of the series, Helen and Sarah discuss their experience of watching Influence, a Videobook from Robert B. Cialdini. Together they talk about a statement that stuck, something that surprised them, and what action they are going to take as a result of watching. The Squiggly Careers Videobook Club is brought to you in partnership with LIT Videobooks, who have given the Squiggly Careers Community access to their library of videobooks for free in January and February 2025. Use this link (before the end of Jan 2025) to sign-up and get free access: https://amazingif.typeform.com/videobookclubFor more information on Squiggly Careers, email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com1. Join our free Videobook Club: https://amazingif.typeform.com/videobookclub2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read o

This is the second episode of the Squiggly Careers Videobook Club where Helen and Sarah focus on a different Videobook each week in January and identify insights and ideas that everyone can put into action to support their career development. This week, the focus is on How to Change by Katy Milkman. In today’s episode, Sarah talks to Katy about some of the key principles in her work that can help people to make the changes that matter to them. The Squiggly Careers Videobook Club is brought to you in partnership with LIT Videobooks, who have given the Squiggly Careers Community access to their library of videobooks for free in January and February 2025. Use this link to sign-up and get access: https://amazingif.typeform.com/videobookclubFor more information on Squiggly Careers, head to amazingif.com or email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to week 1 of the Squiggly Careers Videobook Club. In our first episode of the series, Helen and Sarah discuss their experience of watching How to Change, a Videobook from Katy Milkman. Together they talk about a statement that stuck, something that surprised them, and what action they are going to take as a result of watching. The Squiggly Careers Videobook Club is brought to you in partnership with LIT Videobooks, who have given the Squiggly Careers Community access to their library of videobooks for free in January and February 2025. Use this link to sign-up and get access: https://amazingif.typeform.com/videobookclubFor more information on Squiggly Careers, head to amazingif.com or email helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Helen and Sarah are ending 2024 with a list of their top 10 things to read, watch, listen and learn from. They share the books that have made the biggest difference to their development, the TED Talks that have had a lasting impact, the podcasts that made them think differently, the newsletters that actually got read and the people they prioritised to follow. If you'd like some learning inspiration for the year ahead, then this will be a great episode for you.More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers: 1. Join our free Videobook Club: https://amazingif.typeform.com/videobookclub 2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’: https://www.amazingif.com/books/If you have any questions or feedback (which we love!) you can email us at helen

This week's Squiggly Podcast episode is a special recording of the Career Collective Live, where Helen and Sarah we joined by fellow podcasters to share their different perspectives on work and personal development. Listen and learn from Bruce Daisley (Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat), Jimmy McLoughlin (Jimmy's Jobs of the Future) and Isabel Berwick (FT's Working It) as they discuss team work, how to get a payrise and what we really need to know about AI.More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers: 1. Join our free Videobook Club: https://amazingif.typeform.com/videobookclub 2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’: https://www.amazingif.com/books/If you have any questions or feedback (which we love!) you can email us at helenandsarah@squ

This week, Helen and Sarah wrap up the year with 5 quick-fire questions and 3 thoughtful reflections on their personal insights and learnings from 2024. They’ll take you behind the scenes of the squiggly reality of what it’s really like running a company together, sharing the highs, the challenges, and everything in between. You’ll also be able to use the same questions to reflect on your own year, helping you close out your year with clarity and set yourself up for a successful and meaningful 2025. You can find the PodSheet, PodNote and full transcript for the episode at https://www.amazingif.com/listen/. More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers: 1. Join our free Videobook Club: https://amazingif.typeform.com/videobookclub 2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read o

Being generous with your time and expertise can payoff in lots of ways for your career. You build stronger relationships and feel better about the work you do. However, if you give too much you can be at risk of burnout. This week, Helen and Sarah talk about different types of giver and where risk can creep in. Whether you can be a bit of a people pleaser or have a tendancy to be an adhoc helper, they share practical ideas for you to give without getting it wrong.You can find the PodSheet, PodNote and full transcript for the episode at https://www.amazingif.com/listen/. More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers: 1. Join our free Videobook Club: https://amazingif.typeform.com/videobookclub 2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘Y

This week, Helen and Sarah discuss how to build a healthier relationship with rejection in your career. They share 4 practical steps to help you process rejection, from giving yourself breathing space to creating a full-stop response.Whether you're facing rejection yourself or supporting someone who is, these actions can help you reflect, learn, and move forward with confidence. You can find the PodSheet, PodNote and full transcript for the episode at https://www.amazingif.com/listen/. More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers: 1. Join our free Videobook Club: https://amazingif.typeform.com/videobookclub 2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’: https://www.amazingif.com/books/If you have any questions or feedback

This week Helen and Sarah are talking about what to do when you don’t feel like you’re being heard at work. They talk about tactics and techniques that create space for you to speak. From bookending meetings to finding a supporter who can bring you into the conversation, they share 5 practical ideas to help you take action. You can find the PodSheet, PodNote and full transcript for the episode at https://www.amazingif.com/listen/. More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers: 1. Read our latest HBR article: https://bit.ly/3XmAcki-hbr10 2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’: https://www.amazingif.com/books/If you have any questions or feedback (which we love!) you can email us at helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com Hosted on Acast. See aca

In this week’s episode, Sarah is joined by author and expert Robert Poynton to explore the often-overlooked skill of pausing. Drawing from his book Do Pause, Robert shares insights on how introducing intentional pauses into your day can improve performance, sustain creativity, and help you thrive in your squiggly career. Together, they discuss:The barriers that stop us from pausingHow to think of pausing as a “plastic concept” that adapts to your needsPractical tips to fit pauses into the spaces between work and life.This episode will inspire you to rethink your relationship with time and consider how small pauses could make a big impact.To learn more about Robert and his work, visit www.robertpoynton.com.You can find the PodSheet, PodNote and full transcript for the episode at https://www.amazingif.com/listen/. More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers: 1. Read our latest HBR article: https://bit.ly/3XmAcki-hbr10 2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprin