Happy UN Career Podcast

Hello, and welcome to today’s episode which is on a topic that probably ranks among the top 3 most burning issues among my clients. 

And it’s all about feeling stuck in your job.

If you recognize this, it may be because you feel your career has plateaued. Maybe your duty station is saturated when it comes to relevant positions in your area. Or maybe you can’t – or won’t - move to a different duty station due to family reasons.

There can be a feeling that you don’t have a way out. Or don’t see a way forward. 

You have worked hard for many years and maybe there’s also a feeling that recognition is lacking, or that you are being overlooked for opportunities - or in recruitment processes. 

When you’re stuck, there’s a feeling that you don’t have options. And that’s both frustrating and demotivating. 

It can feel like you’ve lost agency over your work life. And that’s a hard place to be in.

I know the feeling of “stuckness” 

I’m not really sure that’s a word, but – here it is.

I know that feeling because that was me too. I went through what felt like a long period of feeling stuck in my career. 

I worked with UNDP - in Human Resources - for many years, and I was very proud to be part of the UN. 

For a long time, I was very excited about my job and very motivated. But over time I started feeling a bit “tired”. Needing new experiences, new challenges.

I knew it was time to start looking for new opportunities. 

But my duty station was saturated when it came to positions in my area. And truth be told, I wasn’t very mobile – which is of course an issue if you want a professional career in the UN.  

And work was busy, so I was struggling to find the energy and time to apply for jobs. 

And in that way, months and years went by and the easier thing seemed to be to stay with what I knew. And which was a very good job, I have to say! With a nice boss and nice colleagues. And a good pay.

So, I was losing energy and momentum in terms of looking for – and noticing – options and opportunities for myself. 

I was clearly in a place where I could use some help.

But unfortunately, it took me a long time before I realized that and took steps to get that help.

In the meantime, I was lingering in a place of feeling stuck, and – honestly - a feeling that “someone” ought to help me move on in my career. That “someone” being the organisation or Human Resources or my supervisor. 

The way I heard about people being promoted or recommended for development opportunities in the private sector.

And guess what? That’s just not really the way things work in the UN. And I knew that of course. I was working in Human Resources myself and regularly had conversations with staff about how to take ownership of their own career development. 

But I still secretly longed for that help because I felt like I’d gotten stuck myself.

Long story short - in the end, I left and started my own business. Which is certainly an effective way of getting unstuck! But today I realise that there are many things I could have done while I was still with the UN. And I’ll share some of those with you.

Time to regain your sense of power over your career development

Because you’re really the only one who can do it.  

You get unstuck by pulling yourself to a place of agency, action and taking control. Maybe just one step at a time. But one step after another will lead you out of “stuckness”. 

Read the full show notes at www.barbarakandersen.com/5. 

In the previous episode, I talked about how you can learn a lot of details about what motivates you and what drains you from your daily work life. That was episode 3, which you can find at barbarakandersen.com/3.

Today, I’ll show you how to take a long-distance view and get a bigger perspective. Because you’re going to take a look at (and hopefully appreciate!) everything you’ve done in your career so far. 

A Trip Down Memory Lane
One of the most popular exercises I use with my clients when we work on their career and work situation is one I call “The Career Journey”. 

My clients like it because it’s a very positive exercise that allows you to remember and rediscover all your achievements, the problems you’ve overcome, the challenges you worked through, the great people you met, etc.

And I enjoy guiding my clients in the exercise because it invariably brings smiles to their eyes and pride in their voices when they take me through some of the important highlights of their career and life choices.

The thing is, that in our day-to-day work we’re so busy focussing on all the boxes we still haven’t checked. The things on the to-do list we still haven’t done and everything else that’s not yet been achieved. 

And with our eyes fixed on that, we completely lose sight of everything that we have done, all the things we have achieved in life and work. The challenges we’ve overcome. The projects and tasks we succeeded in. 

When you shine a light on everything you’ve done in your past there’s normally a lot of pride, motivation and energy you can reap from it. Pride and energy that can help you in your journey going forward.

And there is also a lot you can learn – or rediscover - about yourself. About your values, your strong and weak points, and the things that drive you. Things you really should take forward. Because the essential elements of your good work experiences (and the less great ones) are key also for what gives you a happy work-life today.

Get Creative
It’s a visual exercise and if you’re just a bit of the creative kind it’ll spark your artistic energies.

But don’t worry, even if you don’t consider yourself creative at all, it’s an easy exercise that will give you a great overview. And this time you’ll do it all in one go – there’s no need to carry a log with you.

Read the full show notes at www.barbarakandersen.com/4. 

Hello, and welcome to this second episode in a small series I’ve called: “What Drives You – And What Drains You?”

 And I thought that that would also be a fitting title for today’s episode.

In the previous episode (the one I called “Your UN Career Project Starts Here” – which is episode number 2) I talked about how we can easily get so caught up in work and the struggles of daily life that we lose track of what we really want for ourselves. 

So, for many of us, we’ve gotten a bit out of touch – or maybe actually a lot out of touch - with the person we dreamed to be. And the professional life we dreamed to have when we started out in our career. 

Of course, what you want could have changed over the years. But do you ever set aside the time to reflect on what it is?

Where are you going?
Imagine that you’ve been driving your “career car” for a while now. You’ve been driving a bit fast because it feels like you’re late all the time. The traffic is dense and you’re starting to feel tired and in need of a break. You’re busy following the GPS instructions, so you’re not really noticing the direction you’re taking. And you’re no longer entirely sure what the address is that you put in? Or if that is still the place you want to go to? And with the weather conditions and the traffic – you’re also not completely sure that you’re even following the best route?

So, this is your opportunity to pull over, get out of the car, have a good stretch, look at the map (remember those paper maps that you fold out to get an overview of the landscape?), and ponder the best way to go from here.

Set aside a bit of time to put a spotlight on you and your dreams and ambitions for your UN Career.

And the best way to start is by taking a good hard look at the present realities. To stay with the “career car” image, you need to know where you are right now in order to get the best use of the map.

So, in the previous episode, I advocated that you should invest some time in collecting data for your “Project You” – your own personal UN Career Project. Just as you would if starting on a new work project.

In essence, I recommended that you write down what you’re doing every half hour for at least a day – and preferably up to a week. And that you put a smiley next to each task or activity. Using happy smileys, neutral smileys and unhappy smileys.

And if you did what I suggested last time, you then reviewed everything you wrote down - your log - and tried to think a bit like an anthropologist. Being curious and investigative about all the various activities you’d written down.

I thought I would share that the reason why I recommend this exercise is that it’s very helpful for many of my clients. But also because it’s been enormously useful in my own life. 

I did it first time around 12 years back when I worked with a psychologist to get back to work after stress leave. There it helped me find the times of the day that were the most stressful for me and find solutions to those. 

 And later I’ve used it exactly like we use it here today – to find out what were the tasks and actions in my work that gave me the most energy and made me feel good about myself when I left the office at the end of the day. And this became the starting point for the way I changed my own career tracks.

Digging deeper
So, today, we’re going to go more into detail with the analysis of the data you collected – your log. And we’re going to start looking at what you can do to get more of “what drives you” and less of “what drains you”.

Last time, I suggested that for each day you count how many happy smileys, neutral smileys and unhappy smileys you have... Go to Barbarakandersen.com/3 to see the full show notes.

Hello, and welcome to the first episode in a small series I’ve called: What Drives You – And What Drains You? 

Most people I talk to are well into their careers. If you’re anything like them, you’ve had years of serious and hard study followed by years of trying to get into your chosen field and maybe your favourite organization. And at the same time, you may also be starting a family. So, life’s been busy. The days of lounging with your friends over coffee chatting and plotting your dream lives and careers probably seem very distant by now. 

The to do list is long, the meetings are many and there really seems to be no time to sit and contemplate career and life dreams. And you’re a grown-up now, so supposedly, you should have it all worked out, right?

It’s just that, when pressed a bit, many I speak to don’t really feel that they have it all worked out. Career and work just sort of happened. There was – finally - an opening here, and then an extension there. You had wanted to move maybe, but then you were offered to be part of an interesting project and didn’t feel you could reject the opportunity. Or you had your first child and now stability became a big factor. 

And so, life happens. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Often, it’s great!

But if you’re harbouring small feelings of: “I want something more” or: “I can’t continue like this many more years”. Then it’s time to take stock.

And I’m a great advocate for taking stock! And for that, it’s very useful to have some concrete data to work with.

Because you probably have some idea of things you really enjoy – or really dislike. But for many of us, a big part of our days and weeks happen in a bit of a blur. And those days and weeks are actually your life!

So therefore, I want to suggest that you shed some light on those days and start collecting data you can use for your onward journey to create a happier career:

How to Get Started on Project You
1st step is to monitor yourself. Just like you’d monitor an important work project. And if a work project is worth some monitoring and data collection, you should be too. Treat yourself as “Project You”!

Collecting Data for Project You
It’s really very simple – just start with a pen and pad of paper. Or, if you want to get advanced, create an excel sheet or a word document with a couple of columns.

• Now write down, for a full day, what you’re doing about every half hour. Don’t only write work time but include also mornings and evenings. 
  
  You don’t have to write lengthy paragraphs, but just putting in “work” or “meeting” won’t give you much to work with when you’re going to analyse your data later on.
  
  
• This will provide useful information in itself, but you may consider adding a bit of additional info: 
  Next to every half-hour slot – or every activity – you put one of 3 smileys. Either a happy smiley, a neutral smiley or a sad smiley. Indicating whether you were feeling happy at the time, neutral or “so-so” – or unhappy.
  
  
• Writing down everything you do may sound incredibly boring and time consuming – and you’re already busy, right? 
  But first of all, it takes only a few seconds every time you note down for the last half hour. The challenge is to remember to write down consistently, so a tip can be to set an alarm for yourself. 
  My own preferred method is to make a table for myself, print it out and carry the piece of paper around with me. Otherwise I forget. And believe me, you won’t be able to remember in the evening, all the details of what you did in the day.
  
  And it shouldn’t be boring, because this is your life you’re observing...

Find additional show notes at https://www.barbarakandersen.com/happy-un-career-podcast/episode-2/

Hello – and welcome to the Happy UN Career Podcast!

I look so much forward to be sharing guidance and advice with you on how to create that happy UN career. But first I thought I’d you give you a little bit of information about who I am – and why you should be listening to me.

My Story With the UN 

I am Danish and I started out working in Human Resources in an international private sector business in Copenhagen way back in the 90’s. I loved the international environment, so when I saw a posting for a job in Human Resources at UNDP I was thrilled. 

And I felt so lucky and excited when I “got in”.

I worked with UNDP from 2001 to 2014 and I loved to be part of this fabulous, multi-faceted world. It was thrilling to meet and work with colleagues, clients, and ministry counterparts from all over the world. It expanded my worldview in so many ways and really sparked both my personal and professional growth.

I kept feeling proud of working for the UN. And I had great colleagues, great bosses and worked with so many wonderful and interesting people. It felt like such a privilege to be working in a place and with people that really strived for the greater good. 

But, boy – did I also sometimes feel frustrated with the bureaucracy that is an inherent part of a large multilateral organization. The politics and the hierarchy that seemed to have an influence on so many processes and decisions. 

Give Me That Promotion…
And like almost everybody I speak to I really missed feeling that the organisation took an interest in me – from a career development perspective. We all know that in the UN, all processes have to be transparent. So there can be no promotion, no special advancements. And working in Human Resources this was the message I regularly passed on to all of the staff I was advising. But as far as I can judge, most of us longed for that promotion anyway…

In the end, I decided it was time for me to leave and I started my own business. 

In my time with UNDP, career counseling and coaching were some of my favourite job responsibilities, and I have continued to do consulting for UN organizations, specializing in the area of career coaching and personal effectiveness. 

And with both my time in UNDP and the following years, I have gained so much – sometimes hard-earned – experience that I’d like to share.

And then I decided to create this podcast. Happy UN Career.

So, What Is That - A Happy UN Career?
Well, of course that’s an individual thing for each of us, but for me it’s a career where:

• you are happy when you go to work in the morning – and feel satisfied and content when you go home again in the afternoon. At least most of the days!
• you get recognized for your hard work and efforts
• you feel that you have ownership over your career – and you haven’t somehow signed that ownership over to this vague and impersonal thing: “the organization” 
• you feel inspired and motivated – and where you get the personal and professional growth that you desire 
• you have the agency and autonomy to make the decisions that are right for you and your family
• you create powerful options for yourself

So, this podcast is made for YOU, a UN professional who loves the UN, the mandate, the multicultural aspect – but who also LONGS for a career and work-life that you love just as much.

The podcast is going to focus on what YOU can do. Because I often meet highly skilled, intelligent, and talented people that strangely feel like victims of their job – or their organisations. Like they’ve lost their agency to take powerful action themselves.

Find additional show notes at: https://www.barbarakandersen.com/happy-un-career-podcast/episode-1/

When I talk to people in the UN, they often tell me something along these lines: 

“Working in the UN is a dream come true. I’m so proud to be here and to work for a cause that is close to my values and ideals.  And I really enjoy and appreciate the multicultural environment. But…”

They may be feeling stuck somehow. Unfulfilled maybe. Sometimes underappreciated. Often overwhelmed with the workload.  

There’s a feeling that they’re missing out on something. 

I know that feeling, because that was me too. 

I worked with UNDP - in Human Resources - for 13 years, and I was proud too. And I loved to be part of this interesting and multi-faceted world.  

But, I also often felt stuck in my career. 

In the end, I left and started my own consulting business. But there are many things I wish I’d done – or done differently - while I was still with UNDP.  

So, this podcast will have a lot of practical guidance and inspiration to help you create the UN Career you dream of. 

Episodes will cover topics such as:

• Grow your influence and your impact
• Sharpen your goals and your focus
• Improve and leverage your network, and 
• Raise your self-mastery

We’ll also explore how to improve important work relationships and create a balance between work and private life.

In the meantime, start listening to episodes: go to https://www.barbarakandersen.com/happy-un-career-podcast/

And don’t forget to subscribe on your favourite podcast app so you don’t miss out on anything!

Happy UN Career Podcast is hosted by me, Barbara K Andersen, Career Strategist for UN Professionals. 

Take charge and have a great day!