Amazing If

✨ Welcome to Squiggly Shortcuts — a series from the Squiggly Careers podcast, bringing you quick career tips in just 5 minutes, every Thursday.In this shortcut, Sarah shares a practical idea to help you confidently ask for a pay rise. While the conversation can feel anxiety-inducing, waiting rarely works — you need to advocate for yourself and highlight the impact you’re having. Sarah breaks it down into 3 simple tips to set you up for success.How To Ask For A Pay Rise Episode 501⏱️ Timestamps00:00 Welcome to Squiggly Shortcuts00:24 Create don't wait 01:23 Tip 1 – Understand the pay rise process in your company02:26 Tip 2 - How to approach the conversation 05:09 Tip 3 - Summarise what's been said 05:08 Think about your pay rise tradeoff 

Is “just be yourself at work” really the best advice? In this 500th episode of the Squiggly Careers podcast, Helen and Sarah explore the tricky topic of authenticity — and why being 100% yourself at work might not always help you succeed.Borrowing brilliance from Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, they discuss the difference between effective vs. ineffective authenticity, why trust often matters more than “being real,” and how to adapt without feeling fake. You’ll learn three practical actions to help you show up authentically and intentionally in ways that work for you, your team, and your career.Episode 500

✨ Welcome to Squiggly Shortcuts — a brand new series from the Squiggly Careers podcast, bringing you quick career tips in just 5 minutes, every Thursday. In this shortcut, Helen shares a practical idea to help you spot and stop people pleasing at work, so you can set boundaries, protect your time, and focus on what matters most.How To Stop Being A People Pleaser (3 Tips) Episode 499⏱️ Timestamps00:00 Welcome to Squiggly Shortcuts00:35 What is people pleasing? 01:09 Tip 1 - Find your pause statement02:06 Tip 2 - Use "don't" rather than "can't"03:45 Tip 3 - Practice your no-cabulary05:10 A reminder for your week

What can a Nobel Prize-winning physicist teach us about navigating squiggly careers? In this new Borrowed Brilliance format, Helen introduces the curiosity-driven ideas of Richard Feynman and Sarah helps turn them into practical actions for work. Together, they explore how Feynman’s playful approach to learning can help all of us grow with more clarity and confidence.You’ll discover the power of the Feynman Technique, why keeping a Don’t Know Notebook builds smarter learning habits, and how Problem-Testing can help you see new solutions to old challenges.Episode #498

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This is the fifth and final episode of the Squiggly Careers x AI skills sprint series.Today, Helen and Sarah talk about exploring Future Possibilities in your career. As careers become less linear and more unpredictable, having multiple options and directions is essential for resilience and control.In this episode, they show how to use AI prompts to generate a mind map of career possibilities, from obvious to ambitious, pivot, and dream options. They also introduce an AI tool for practicing curious career conversations through role play, helping you build confidence and get feedback first.With people having 10-15 different jobs on average throughout their working life, embracing a variety of possibilities actually reduces career risk and builds long-term resilience.

This is the fourth episode of the Squiggly Careers x AI skills sprint series. Today, Helen and Sarah are talking about Networking. Before you skip this one (we know some of you want to!), remember this squiggly stat: 70% of people's roles come through connections.The key is reframing networking from "people knowing people" to "people helping people." This creates career karma - when you help others, good things come back to you over time.In this episode, Helen and Sarah introduce AI tools to build your personal career board with different personas like challengers, supporters, and questioners. They also explore Crystal Knows, an AI tool that helps you communicate better with your team and network by understand their communication style.

This is the third episode of the Squiggly Careers x AI skills sprint series and today Helen and Sarah are tackling Confidence. We all have gremlins - those beliefs, doubts and fears that hold us back in our careers. They're often hidden and they can grow when we don't address them. When you learn to cage them, you get better at navigating tough moments and saying yes to opportunities that stretch you.In this episode, Helen and Sarah introduce their brand-new custom Gremlins GPT - a tool they've trained with everything they've written about confidence. This AI coach helps you identify what gremlins are getting in your way and practice difficult conversations in private. You'll discover how to create visual representations of your gremlins, role-play challenging scenarios, and build a "confidence gremlin gallery" with your team.

This is the second episode of the Squiggly Careers x AI skills sprint series and today Helen and Sarah are diving into Values. Your values are what motivate and drive you - they're your internal compass that guides decision-making and career choices.In this episode, Helen and Sarah share the best tool for identifying your values and how AI can accelerate the actions you take about your values, turning them into a brilliant filter for your future. They'll show you practical ways to use your values to respond to challenges at work, and share some playful approaches you can also use with your team.When you understand what really drives you, you make better decisions for your career and become more confident as a result of having clarity about what matters most to you.

This is the first episode of the Squiggly Careers x AI skills sprint series and today Helen and Sarah are kicking things off with Day 1: Strengths.Our strengths are what we're known for - they shape how we show up and help us make more impact at work. And because strengths develop throughout your career, it's important to keep reflecting on them.In this episode, Helen and Sarah share how to give AI the right prompts to help you spot your strengths in action, stretch your strengths in your team and build a clearer and more confident LinkedIn profile.AI doesn't know you better than you know yourself, but it can act as a sparring partner - giving you new ways of looking at your experiences and surfacing patterns you might miss. By combining reflection with the power of AI, you'll walk away with practical ways to build on your strengths and accelerate your squiggly career.

AI is on everyone’s minds and we’re getting curious about how it can help to develop our squiggly career skills. Join us for a 5-day sprint from the 15th September where we’ll be exploring lots of AI tools to support our 5 squiggly career skills: Strengths, Values, Confidence, Networking, and Future Possibilities. Just 10 minutes a day for lots of ideas and insights on how AI can help you to accelerate your squiggly career.

This is the fourth and final episode in the Squiggly Careers Quote Series, and today Sarah shares the quote that has shaped her approach to leadership: “Be yourself more with skill.” Inspired by the book and article Why Should Anyone Be Led by You?, this episode explores how true leadership comes from leaning into your strengths and embracing uncomfortable situations that spark growth. There’s no blueprint for being brilliant, and whether you're in a leadership role or not, you don’t need to become someone you’re not—it’s about being a better version of yourself. ⏱️ Timestamps00:00 Introduction & Announcement02:33 The quote: "Be yourself more with skill"07:44 Action 1: Job Crafting – Be the architect of your career10:30 Action 2: Ask for feedback on blindspots13:03 Action 3: Have a squiggly stretch

Are you making big decisions without applying real judgement? In this Ask the Expert episode, Sarah speaks with Sir Andrew Likierman about what good judgement looks like at work—and how to improve it. They talk about the difference between decisions and judgement, the stages of the judgement process, how to get better at reading the (virtual room) and learn from poor choices. You’ll learn how to apply a practical framework to improve your own judgement, no matter your role.⏱️ Timestamps00:00 Introduction00:54 Is judgement a quality or skill? 01:50 Judgement and decision-making05:25 The 6 stages of the judgement process08:43 Establishing a trusted person10:06 Reading the room, zoom or teams meeting13:21 Understanding your strengths and weaknesses16:54 Famous examples of bad judgement18:11 The importance of listening19:24 Persevering when it's time to stop22:33 Common watch-outs with judgement23:35 Should you trust instinct & gut feeling? 25:43 Managing risk29:22 Final thoughts

In this episode, Helen and Sarah explore the common complaints we all have about work—and how to respond to them in ways that are realistic. From endless meetings, to never having time to think, they unpack why certain complaints come up so often and how to take small, doable steps forward. They share practical tactics like "co-working meetings," “to-think” lists, and a forgiving approach to navigating the inevitable frustrations of work life—so you can focus less on moaning and more on momentum.⏱️ Timestamps00:00 Welcome and intro to the episode01:00 Why we all complain (and why that’s okay sometimes)03:00 Common complaints: too many meetings, too much to do, not enough time to think08:58 Complaint #1: Too many meetings10:30 Imperfect solutions: Shorter meetings, co-working time, reclaiming your calendar15:48 Complaint #2: Too much to do17:00 Zoom in/zoom out to clarify what matters most19:00 Good enough is great: Adjusting your effort with intention21:45 Complaint #3: No time to think23:00 The “To Think” li

Ever had your day derailed by a last-minute request? A sudden change of plan? Or that dreaded moment when you're put on the spot and don’t have the answer? In this episode, Helen and Sarah explore the curveballs that show up in our working week—and how we can respond to them with more confidence and control.From tech fails to surprise tasks, curveballs can throw us off track and test our confidence. Helen and Sarah share personal stories, reflect on their own curveball capability, and offer practical ideas for action to help you deal with the unexpected, think on your feet, and stop small things from snowballing.⏱️ Timestamps00:00 Welcome to the Squiggly Careers Podcast00:33 Day-To-Day Curveballs05:52 Acknowledging & Receiving Curveballs07:46 Why Curveballs Feel Hard In The Moment09:06 Curveballs Are More Likely In Squiggly Careers11:00 Rating Your Curveball Capability16:55 Idea For Action — Anticipating & Thinking On The Spot20:35 Idea For Action — Using Multiple Workarounds26:14 Idea For Action — Av