[MUSIC] Today's workplaces a very fast paced, and our life and work can get busy quickly leaving us no time to strategically think through how to move forward to ensure that our career is evolving in the right direction. Ironically, despite higher demands at work, companies rarely offer career development support, and instead, we have to take control of our career planning in order to progress and win in the long term. George Bernard Shaw once said don't wait for the right opportunity create it. And this is becoming a living mantra and the reality for many bright individuals at work, who are already diligent, thorough, and always get good job feedback, yet feel forgotten about by their employer. Despite growing standards of living and education levels in many places around the world, in the last decade, we have been experiencing a lot of changes in the world of work. Advances in technology may have made us more productive and autonomous, but at the same time, it continuously challenges our skills and work life balance. Many workplaces have fast and busy environments, but also dysfunctional cultures that make people overwhelmed and disengaged, which causes stress and even depression, leading to feeling stuck at work. If one wants to progress in their career, they often can only achieve this goal by moving laterally, or switching organizations. Careers are no longer linear and there is no more job security either. So how can you find the right path or adjust your current route to bring fulfillment, and accelerate your career success? Amidst the fast pace and evergrowing workload, you will need to find time to contemplate what you truly want, and work out the plan on how to get there. This course will take you on a mini journey of professional rediscovery in the context of the contemporary jobs marketplace. And it will also provide specific advice on how you can prepare, and launch yourself in the direction that you want. Hello, I'm Dr. Alina Salbaliva, and in the next six weeks I would like to help you sharpen your career intentions. By providing different career planning and management techniques, so you can align your personal values and professional aspirations. Sharing specific advice to help you improve your career prospects in various situations, from preparing for an interview to developing your cultural and self-awareness, to dealing with a midlife career crisis. Identifying how you can set yourself on a successful career path through investment into personal branding. In Week 1, we'll start with a overview of the current changes happening in the jobs marketplace. And how they influence the nature of work of managers and leaders. Next, your focus will be drawn to how crucial it is to find an experience deeper meaning in one's work, project, or career. And you will be asked to review your passions and career values. Continuous learning is the secret to staying relevant and up to speed. And you will be exposed to the ideas of learning in the context of your team as well as individual learning. in Week 2, you will be invited to try exploratory investigative techniques. So when ready, you will know how you can discover more about careers in different industries, which is especially important if you don't know exactly what your career goals should be. For example, you will learn about the cultural values of leading companies, that can be used to evaluate your current organization, or future employers. At the end of the week, you will also apply Ikigai framework to determine where you are in your career. And if the work that you do corresponds to your life calling. In Week 3, we'll continue experimenting and you will test the design thinking approach in the career planning context, which will include creating a new persona of yourself. Then you will be invited to rediscover and refresh your knowledge about your personality. Such self awareness can further assist in understanding where you can be happy and successful. Next, we'll review more than hiring practices that you need to be ready for, especially with the advent of the use of artificial intelligence technology in the initial stages of recruitment. At the end of the week, you will be invited to write a flexible career plan using an adaptive approach. In Week 4, we shift our focus to what you can do differently to improve your current career by using emotional intelligence. First, we'll discuss the benefits of networking, and then we'll review how to recognize and manage dark personality traits in yourself and others at work. By the end of the week, we'll look at the strategies you may need to draw when changing careers, or even undergoing a midlife career crisis. In Week 5, you will get specific practical advice regarding optimisation of your LinkedIn profile, and updating your resume, or writing a new one from scratch in line with the latest trends. We will also go through strategies to polish your professional communication skills for job interviewing, or job negotiation situations. And finally in Week 6, you will learn how to increase your cultural competency. This skill is essential for developing new ideas and innovation in your team, and in your workplace. Then you will review approaches on how you can stand out by adding more visibility to your profile, and finding ways to contribute value. We will conclude this course with a discussion about the power of personal branding. That when used skillfully, will not only differentiate you from others, but can also attract sponsors from higher professional ranks, who will advocate and lean in for you, and create career opportunities previously unimagined. Along the way, I'll ask you to reflect on the issues discussed in the lessons, and to apply the strategies to your personal experiences. By thinking deeper and trying different approaches, you will develop a better grip on your career. So during challenging times, you will see solutions and opportunities to be with your career in the direction you want. Let's get started. [MUSIC]