Are you a bit of a time optimist?  Do you often take on a new task thinking: “Oh - I can easily squeeze this in between the next two meetings”?  Only to find that you needed the time between meetings to go to the bathroom, find your papers, respond to an urgent email and a question from a colleague... And at the end of the day, you’re feeling deflated and behind in your work – even if you’ve been crazy busy all day?  If you recognize this kind of scenario - then today’s episode is for...

I’m excited to share an interview with my friend and former colleague in the UNDP – and someone I consider a mentor - Ms Christine Heyting. Christine is Australian and we met in 2013 when she worked with UNDP Headquarters in the area of performance management and leadership development. Since then, she’s been a regular contractor for various UN agencies doing missions on four continents.  Before that, she was an HR Director in the private sector for about 15 years.  I asked Christine to come...

Read the full show notes at www.barbarakandersen.com/23 where you’ll also find the 3 keys to take control of your own reality. This episode is about a topic that is on the one hand very basic – but on the hand quite essential for how you can effectively - and successfully - deal with your career. And your life!  Simply put, it's about working with the reality you’re in! Or dealing with the hand you’ve been dealt, you could say. I’ve noticed how we spend a fair bit of time and energy...

Hello, and welcome to this 4th episode in a small series I’ve called: “Plan and Succeed”.  Previously in this series, I’ve talked about effective planning principles, goalsetting and the underrated importance of having an overview. All of these things are of course interlinked and influence each other, but in this small series, I’m trying to take them apart a bit so that you can apply them more easily in your own work and life.  Find the FULL show notes at www.barbarakandersen.com/22 where...

I’m thrilled to be able to share in this episode an interview with my good friend, Dr. Akjemal Magtymova.  Akjemal is a national of Turkmenistan where she started her UN career in 1998 as a G5 programme assistant with UNFPA. Today (in 2021) she serves with WHO as a D2, Head of Mission and Representative in Syria.  I asked Akjemal to come on the podcast because she’s had – and has - a very interesting career and I’m fascinated by her approach to work and life and how she, together with her...

Is it time to get going? Hello, and welcome to this short episode which is about a mindset issue that many of us struggle with:  When is it time to take the next step?  Or to use my favourite car analogy: When is it time to go from “being parked” to “start driving”? Do you want something else? For this episode, I was inspired by a conversation with a new client the other day where she shared with me how for several years she had been feeling, well... - not really happy in her job. She had a...

Hello, and welcome to this 3rd episode in a small series I’ve called: “Plan and Succeed”. Have you ever had that feeling at the end of the workday that you couldn’t really tell what you’d been doing all day?  Back in the days, I distinctively remember evenings where my husband asked how my day had been, and I responded something like “umm, ok, I guess?”. All the while I was frantically searching my brain to find out what I actually had done that day.  Sure, I’d been crazy busy attending...

Get great at goal setting and create actionable goals and milestones for your UN career.

No matter your personality or your job function, your ability to plan and prioritise can be a key determining factor for creating a happy UN Career.

Do you know what your UN CV will look like 10 years from now? And what can you do about that?

3 simple ways to let the performance review help you stay on track with your UN career development and ensure that you take time to take action, and take charge of your career.

3 reasons why you want to set goals for the next year (and the 8 steps you need). Because if we want change in our lives, we have to find a way to look for – and create – that change ourselves.

Hello, and welcome to today’s episode which is about using the end of the year to take stock and celebrate everything you did and all that you accomplished in 2020. Remember the Career Car analogy that I talked about in Episode 3? Well, imagine that...

Do you feel that your career has to live up to other people’s expectations? This episode is about owning your UN career and feeling confident about the choices you make.

In this episode I share 5 key principles for writing a great, professional CV to help you move on in your UN Career. Plus a tip for helping you always keep your CV updated. And a way you can make CV writing enjoyable!

I’m thrilled to share an interview with my good friend and former colleague, Mike Dodd. Mike is from the UK and he worked with UNDP from 1991 to the end of 2015. In the interview, Mike shares his own career journey and how the chances he's taken along the way have enriched not only his career but also his personal life.

In this episode you'll learn the 5 benefits from having your updated CV ready. And not least, you'll find out how to get there in a way that's much less troublesome than you think.

Should you really apply for a new job even while you're perfectly happy in the current one? Hear 5 reasons to start looking for the next job in your UN career.

Are you ready to take action to create some changes in your UN career and work life? This episode shows you how to make time for action with 3 simple steps.

Take a 360 degree view of how your work life and your private life influence each other. The Wheel of Life exercise will help you see any imbalances you need to attend to in order to succeed in a happy UN Career.

Feeling stuck in your UN career? Does it feel like there's nowhere to go and nobody to help you? This episode is about how you can regain control - and motivation! One step at a time.

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

Have you lost touch with the the professional life you dreamed to have? Do you even know what you want? Listen here to reconnect with what drives you and what drains you.