Be bold in your career course helped me realise my potential

The be bold course is actively promoted internally on our staff intranet site. I spoke to our head of HR and a previous colleague who completed the course to get a better understanding of how it could benefit my future aspirations.

After completing university and a couple of dissatisfying jobs, I eventually began working as a customer services advisor at Cottsway. I had never worked in housing before but after a few months, I soon realised that I wanted to make a career out of it, as I enjoyed being a part of an industry that makes a positive impact.

The one thing I loved most about customer service was the sense of fulfilment from helping a customer to overcome a problem. However, the role had some restrictions and I wanted to make a difference on a larger scale. When Be bold in your career was advertised, it seemed like a good opportunity to organise my thoughts and figure out how I could contribute towards making a positive impact in the long-term.

I found the career story timeline very useful; plotting out previous jobs and highlighting the parts of the jobs you most enjoyed and least enjoyed helped me realise what I needed to look out for (and avoid) when making my future career choices. The SWOT analysis was also really helpful as it made me feel much more confident about my abilities and experiences.

However, the activities and resources that I found most rewarding were those that centred on creating conversations about your career. Be Bold helps you to keep a running record of all of your achievements; to never lose sight of what you’re capable of doing, and most importantly what you enjoy doing. You’d be surprised about how much you can learn from other people if you talk to them about their career story as well as your own.

I feel like I never would have realised my full potential if it wasn’t for the course; I wouldn’t have felt comfortable enough to talk to my manager or colleagues about my career progression, but now I feel I can have those conversations.

Cottsway supported me the entire way throughout the course. I put aside two hours each week to commit to completing the activities and listening to the webinars; having that focus helped keep on track with my goals.

Two of my colleagues started Be Bold in Your Career at the same time as me, so we used that to our advantage and made a sort of informal support group. Every time there was a webinar we’d listen in together and then compare notes. Then every two to four weeks we’d get together for half an hour to have lunch and go over our progress with the course and brainstorm ideas.

I feel very lucky; a lot has changed for me since signing up for the course! After a few conversations with my support group, it was suggested I go down the education route to expand my knowledge of the industry. So halfway through Be Bold in Your Career, I signed up to study the Chartered Institute of Housing Level 4 Certificate in Housing as I wanted to have a formal qualification under my belt. After finishing the qualification I’ll be able to use it as a tool to strengthen my abilities and future career prospects.

Towards the end of the course, a position became available within my company that completely suited my ambitions to make a positive impact. I successfully applied and at the beginning of this month, I became the new Community Investment Officer at Cottsway. I am certain that all of the hard work I put into Be Bold in Your Career, and the lessons I learned from it, contributed greatly in obtaining my new role.

Since completing the course, I have been inspired to create a LinkedIn profile for myself. I had never considered making one beforehand, as I didn’t think that I had anything worth-while to put on it. However, with the help of Be Bold, I have realised my achievements and I’m starting to find connections outside of my organisation. I feel much more confident about putting myself forward for new projects and opportunities and I am more focused and positive towards my goals.

I would recommend Be Bold in Your Career. The course content and activities apply to anyone who needs guidance with their career; whether or not you work, or have an interest, in housing.

The advice I’d give to someone thinking about registering is to just give it a go; make sure you put time aside to have those important career conversations with your colleagues and to be positive about making changes or trying something new, even if it is just something small.

If you’re in a similar position like me; where you’re at the beginning of your career, just starting out and not sure what direction you want to go in, Be Bold will make you realise the opportunities that are out there. It can be difficult knowing which career path you want to follow and how to go about getting there but the course will help to guide you. Be Bold changed my perspective on my strengths and the ways of learning about myself as a person; I feel a lot more confident about my future.