Shelley Johnson - Sort Your Career Out: And Make More Money

1. Chapter 3
2. Chapter 4
3. Chapter 6

1. Chapter 3
2. Chapter 4
3. Chapter 5
4. Chapter 9
5. Chapter 10

First published in 2023 by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd

Level 1, 155 Cremorne St, Richmond Vic 3121

Michelle Johnson and UrbanGhetto Pty Ltd 2023

The moral rights of the authors have been asserted

ISBN: 9781119899556

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the address above.

Cover design by Jess Pearson

Cover design concept by www.askjasonknight.com

Back cover and candidate portrait photos: Caitlin Schokker

Front cover and internal image (money in the air): Cammeraydave/Dreamstime.com

Car boot image: DreamStockIcons/Shutterstock

P227: Live Laugh Love image: Christal Steele/Shutterstock

Disclaimer

The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter which it covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decision. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the authors and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based on the information in this publication.

We acknowledge the Awabakal people, Traditional Custodians of the land on which we build our careers, and pay respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

We extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who may read this book.

Location: flexible

Pay: blood, sweat, tears and a packet of Tim Tams

Must be able to:

• write lots of words
• not bore people to death with human resources (HR) jargon
• help people maximise their career opportunities
• use their (extensive) experience to deal with messy career problems, like how to work out if its just a bad day or if its a bad boss, or if it's a complete career crisis and it's time to make a big change, to go and study something new, to change industries, or maybe its time to go on a holiday to Tahiti *breathe*
• help readers build a career they love
• focus on practical over theory.

Well, we got the job! Guess we'd better write all those words now (hehe).

If you read the HR memo on the previous page, you know we're here to help you build a career you love.

So, let's do just that.

Glen in the driver's seat

Think of this book as your career handbook. It's just as much for career newbies as it is for those looking to optimise their current career situation. The system we've created is applicable to all career situations because it's driven by strategy first, and practical activities second. At the beginning of each chapter we've included a TL;DR (too long; didn't read) to provide a summary of what to expect in the chapter so you'll know before you dive in.

I write this as a business owner, an employer of people, someone who has had to change their own mindset and break away from societal norms. As Shell lives and breathes all things careers, has managed plenty of people of all ages and has almost seen it all, she will offer her own strategic and practical insights that will enable you to apply what you learn right away.

In my book, Sort Your Money Out & Get Invested (I will refer to it as SYMO moving forward), I shared an illustration of building your financial life like a house: starting with solid foundations before you worry about the walls like your lifestyle goals or investing. While SYMO could be read in any order, it is highly recommended that you read this book in chapter order.

I honestly believe this book is the prequel to SYMO as the best investment you can ever make is in yourself. That's investing into your mindset, your confidence, your health, your relationships and of course your career (the list does go on . can you think of anything else?). The best investment return you'll likely make will be in your own career and ability to earn an income.

It is also so important that you're moving in the direction of a career you love. We all have bad days, so ask yourself: on balance, do you like your work or career? Whatever the answer is, this book will help you. If you love your career or job, you will be able to learn strategies and one percenters that will take you further, faster. If you love your career but hate your job, you will get the tools to make that move. If you have just left school or commenced university, this book will equip you with setting things up in the right order.

To get the most out of this, lean into the exercises, challenge your own thinking and write all over it. It's a workbook and a space for you to brain dump. Only feel guilty about writing all over this book if you have borrowed it from the library!

And, just as we have here, we will make it clear at the start of each chapter or section who is writing.

Shell in the driver's seat

This book was born out of a career crisis . mine.

I'd worked in human resources (HR) for over a decade, mainly in large, notforprofit organisations. After having my second baby, Bowie, I decided to quit my fulltime role leading an HR team, and start a new job as an HR specialist in a small business. Despite being in the same industry, it was a very different role from anything I'd done previously.

It was about 4 months in when I realised the job wasn't right for me. I'd always been such a confident and decisive person when it came to work. I was hosting a successful careers podcast. I was the person who solved everyone else's weird work problems. And yet here I was completely lost, stuck and confused.

I had no idea what the heck I was doing with my career. But I knew I couldn't stay where I was. So I quit my job.

No job lined up. No plan of whereto next. No cards up my sleeve.

Well, except for one. I called my friend Glen James.