When people ask me, what are the main skills that employer’s are looking for then one of the first things that I say is curiosity. I don’t mean being nosy necessarily, but the ability to be open to ideas, to question and to think - is this really the best way to do this or can I see way of improving the quality of that task or activity?

Curiosity is also connected to how you engage and interact with other people. Are you interested in what others have to say as well as picking up on what they are not saying! Be interesting back - recommend a recent podcast, talk or an article that you’ve read & why or talk about a project that you are doing at the moment that is keeping you energised and motivated.

Curiosity has also be shown to make people feel happier and ultimately build more effective relationships with others.

Albert Einstein, famously stated,

“ I have no special talent, I am only passionately curious.”

A career activity that you could do to expand your career possibilities, is to think about an activity or skill that you feel is a strength. I sometimes do this in individual sessions or training on career curiosity to help generate career ideas. Let’s say for example that you feel that you are a good communicator.

Who do I enjoy communicating with? Think about the groups that you work with. Do you enjoy communicating with children, adults, families, your colleagues etc.

Where am I when I enjoy communicating? Am I in a 1-2-1 setting, in a team, teaching others in a large group or presenting at events etc. In this part you could also start to think about the environment that you are communicating in. If you worked in medicine for example, you may start to think about whether this is in an acute setting, a clinic, or even at someone’s home?

What aspects of communication am I particularly good at? Some people are really good at communicating difficult information, communicating when in a crisis or communicating when they have all the facts at their disposal.

I’m sure that you get the idea. Do get in touch if you’d like to talk to me about curiosity & careers - really happy to help.