Who Am I at Work?

Warm-up: Let's Talk About Your Work Life

4 warm-up questions

• What do you do at the moment, and how did you start doing it?
• Which part of your week do you look forward to most?
• Is there a task you always postpone? Why do you think that is?
• In your opinion, what makes a job a good job?

Reading: Start With Yourself, Not the Job Ads

Read a 217-word text about Start With Yourself, Not the Job Ads

Start With Yourself, Not the Job Ads Most people begin a career change in the wrong place. They open a job website, read fifty adverts, and feel confused. A better first step is to look inside. Three questions worth answering 1. What do I value? Values are the things that matter to you at work: security, freedom, helping people, learning, status, or time with family. Two people can do the same job and feel completely different about it, because they value different things. 2. What am I good at? Your strengths are not only technical skills. Being calm in a crisis, explaining difficult ideas simply, or noticing small mistakes are all real strengths. Ask a colleague or a friend what they think you do well. Their answer is often a surprise. 3. What gives me energy? Some tasks leave you tired even when they are easy. We can call these drainers. Other tasks are hard, but you finish them feeling awake and positive. These are energizers. "I didn't hate my job. I just did the same three drainers every single morning." Keep a simple list for one week. After each task, write + or -. At the end of the week you will see a pattern, and that pattern is far more useful than fifty job adverts.

Vocabulary: Talking About Yourself at Work

8 items

Practice: Energizer or Drainer?

Matching exercise, 6 items

• Solving a customer's problem
• Filling in the same form again
• Explaining an idea to a new colleague
• Sitting in a meeting with no agenda
• Finishing a project you designed
• Answering fifty emails before lunch

Practice: Complete the Self-Assessment Sentences

Gap-fill exercise, 6 items

• My job ____ me when I get to solve real problems.
• Long meetings really ____ my energy.
• I ____ honesty above everything else at work.
• Working alone for hours ____ me out.
• Helping new colleagues gives me a lot of ____.
• One of my main ____ is staying calm under pressure.

Discussion: Your Own Answers

5 discussion questions

• Which three values matter most to you at work? Why those three?
• Tell me about a task that always energizes you.
• What would a colleague say your biggest strength is? Do you agree with them?
• Have you ever felt close to burning out? What happened?
• If money were not a problem, how would your working week look?