Most people I work with are highly driven, committed, and hold themselves to high standards.

They’re also tired.

But our energy shapes how we think, decide, and lead, and how we show up for the people around us.

That’s the perspective behind my work.
I focus on creating high-energy lives - at work and beyond.

If that angle resonates, you’re in the right place.

We all deserve better energy.
Not one-day-off energy.
Not “recover-on-vacation” energy.
But steady, sustainable energy that supports clear thinking, good decisions, and a life you actually enjoy.

That belief led me to create Rising Yellow - a wellbeing brand built on a simple idea: life is too short to stay in a bad state, and we can choose to shift it every day.

For over 15 years, I worked in global organizations, leading People & Culture and transformation initiatives. I was capable, driven, and always “on.” For a long time, I ignored the signals my body kept sending, until I couldn’t.

That moment didn’t break me.
It redirected me.

Today, I work at the intersection of wellbeing, leadership, and People & Culture. I help companies and leaders protect and reclaim energy, especially during growth, pressure, and change.

My work is grounded in:

• Functional Medicine principles
• Positive psychology and behavior science
• Hands-on experience in corporate transformation

I focus on closing the gap between what people know is good for them and what they actually do on busy workdays.

How I help people and organizations:

For individuals:

• Daily insights on LinkedIn
• The Weekly Energy Shift Newsletter
• The Energy Shift Journal
• Private community: Yellowers (Energy Shifters)

For organizations:

• Workshops for leaders and teams
• Keynotes on energy, resilience, and performance
• People & Culture consulting

If you believe performance and health don’t have to compete, and that better energy changes everything, we’re already aligned.

📩 Open to corporate collaborations, trainings, workshops, and keynotes
More here: https://risingyellow.com/

Contact: gozde.imamoglu@risingyellow.com 💛

Gözde İmamoğlu

Last year, I learned more than I had in my entire career.

It was a deliberate decision to leave my corporate job and push myself to step out of my comfort zone.

Turns out, when nobody’s watching, you find out who you really are.
There’s no such thing as “I don’t know.”
There’s only “go figure it out.” 

But you don’t need to take a huge leap to grow.
You just need to refuse to stand still.

Here’s how to make sure you’re not in the same place next January:

1️⃣ Pick one new skill and commit 15 minutes a day
 → Not a massive course that overwhelms you
 → Something you can practice immediately

2️⃣ Say yes to one thing that makes you nervous
 → The presentation you’d normally pass on
 → The cross-department project
 → The conversation you’ve been avoiding

3️⃣ Ask someone you trust: “What’s my biggest blind spot?”
 → Your manager about growth areas
 → A peer about how you collaborate
 → A client about where you could add more value

4️⃣ Track something that proves forward movement
 → Problems you’ve solved
 → Connections that opened doors
 → Skills that changed how you work

Where were you last January?
If today feels exactly the same, that’s not stability.
That’s stagnation.

The good news?
You can change direction starting this week.

P.S. Future you is watching 👀
Will you make one small move this week?
Yes 💪 / I’ll think about it 🤔

👋 New here? Hi, I’m Gözde Imamoglu. I help people build energy-rich lives through small, sustainable habits.
💌 Join my newsletter for more: https://lnkd.in/di3iSKmx

Gözde Imamoglu

Follow me for career, well-being, and personal growth strategies | 15+ years driving change for people & workplaces | Get the energy to match your success | Board-certified functional medicine health coach

The most successful people I know subtract more than they add.

They understand something most don't: 
Your capacity has a ceiling.

Think of your life like a business budget.
Fixed resources. Infinite options.

Every hour you spend here is an hour you can't spend there.
Every "yes" to something mediocre is a "no" to something exceptional.

I stayed at my recent corporate job for more than a decade because it felt safe. Decent salary. Manageable work. Good colleagues.

What I wasn't calculating: opportunity cost.

While I was comfortable, I wasn't available for:

→ The role that would have doubled my impact
→ Projects that matched my actual strengths  
→ Networks that could have accelerated everything
→ Skills I never developed because I didn't need to

Most people ask: "Is this bad enough to leave?"

Better question: "What am I NOT doing because I'm here?"

3 signs it's time for strategic subtraction:

1️⃣ You're maintaining instead of building
Your energy goes to keeping things stable, not growing them.

2️⃣ Better opportunities feel "impossible." 
You can't even imagine them because you're at capacity.

3️⃣ Your growth has plateaued
You're the same person you were 6 months ago.

The highest-value opportunities come when you have space to see them.

Strategic subtraction isn't about running from problems.
It's about running toward potential.

P.S. What might you need to subtract to multiply what matters?👇 

🔄 Repost to inspire others. 
👋 Follow me Gözde Imamoglu for more on building energy-rich, strategically designed careers.

For years, I told myself “next month." Waiting didn’t make me more prepared. 

It made me wish I’d started sooner.

Thank you to my friend Dr. Heather Maietta - Coach for Career Coaches  inspiring me to share this. Make sure to follow her. 

Most people never feel 100% ready. 

Confidence isn’t a prerequisite.

It’s a byproduct of action.

You gain it by trying, messing up, and figuring it out.

Even the awkward, uncertain steps move you forward. 

Each one teaches you something.

The gap between you and your goals won’t shrink with more planning, more money, more time.

At some point, you have to quit strategizing.

And start moving.

Waiting for perfect alignment is how dreams expire.

Momentum is built by choosing to begin. 

Every week, we get a chance to start anew.

How will you spend this gift? ⬇️ 

🎁Your dreams need your best energy! Get my free guide with 100 micro habits across 10 life areas to build it.  https://lnkd.in/dhR3AyCt

🔄 Repost to help your network. 
➕ Follow me Gözde Imamoglu for more.

7 quiet signs your culture actually respects people:

(without perks or pay raises)

1/ Meetings end early when the work is done
↳ No one feels obligated to fill the full hour just because it was scheduled

2/ People disagree openly without fallout
↳ Conflict stays focused on ideas, not personalities, and relationships stay intact

3/ Leaders say "I don't know" without losing credibility
↳ Curiosity gets rewarded more than having all the answers

4/ Sick days mean you're actually resting
↳ No guilt, no check-ins, no expectation to prove you're "sick enough"

5/ Bad news travels up as fast as good news
↳ Problems surface early because people trust they won't get shot for being the messenger

6/ People leave on time without explanation
↳ Boundaries are respected, not questioned, and overtime isn't a performance metric

7/ Success is shared, failure is owned
↳ Teams get credit for wins while leaders take responsibility when things go wrong

I can't repeat enough that culture isn't built in everyday moments.
How you handle the person who speaks up.
Whether asking for help feels safe.
If people can be human without penalty.

Companies with healthy cultures don't just keep talent.
They become magnets for it.

🔄 Repost if you believe culture is your strongest competitive advantage.
➕ Follow Gözde Imamoglu for more.

I watched a leader kill psychological safety in 8 seconds.

He had no idea.

A team member asked a question. His response? "We literally just talked about that."

Everyone went quiet.

Not because they had nothing to say. Because they learned it's safer not to.

Here's what I mean: Psychological safety doesn't live in your company values. It lives in how you react when someone opens their mouth.

And most leaders destroy it without even knowing.

You sigh when someone asks a question. 
You check your phone while they're talking. 
You say "that won't work" before they finish.

Small moments. But your team is always watching.

So what actually builds safety?

Pause before you answer. Even if the question feels obvious.

Don't jump to why an idea won't work. Ask what would need to be true for it to work.

When someone pushes back, thank them. Out loud. In front of the room.

Put your phone down. Look at them. Let the silence breathe before you fill it.

None of this is complicated.

But it signals everything.

Because trust breaks in seconds and takes months to rebuild.

Next time you're in a meeting, ask yourself: Am I making it easier or harder for the next person to speak?

That's where real culture starts.

What's one thing you'll do differently in your next meeting?

🔄 Repost if this resonated.
➕ Follow me Gözde Imamoglu for more on leadership, culture, and building teams where honesty doesn't feel risky.

Image Credit: Justin Wright

Careers can be rebuilt.

Health is harder to negotiate with.

Think about the extra hours you’re putting in at work right now.
Late evenings. “Just one more thing.” Weekends half on, half off. 

Now stretch that over a year.
Then over many years.

Often, it’s for a bonus.
A title.
A promotion that might come.

But the cost is very real.
Your body feels it.
Your focus drops.
Your nervous system stays on edge.

So here’s the shift I made:

I started betting on myself.

That means protecting:
 • my time
 • my focus
 • my energy
 • my relationships

Not someday. Now.

If overworking is your default, try one of these today:

1. Pick a clear end to your workday
Choose a real stop time. 
Close the laptop. Step outside. Change rooms. Signal the end.

2. Schedule recovery like it matters 
A walk. A short rest. Reading for pleasure.
Put it in your calendar. Treat it like a meeting with yourself.

3. Pause before saying yes
Ask: Is this worth my energy right now?
If not, delegate, delay, or decline.

Nothing dramatic.
Just small choices that protect yourself.

Because overworking at the cost of your health is not worth it. 💛

P.S. If you protected one thing more this year, what would it be? Time • Energy • Focus • Health or all of it? 

♻️ Repost if someone in your network needs this reminder.
➕ Follow Gözde Imamoglu for more.

One bad day can turn into a bad week.

Unless you interrupt it in the first hour.

You know I’m all for protecting your energy at work and in life.

Anything that drains it should deserve your attention.

We all know these moments:
• The message you overthink all afternoon
• The meeting where your tone didn’t land
• The comment that sits with you longer than it should

Before you realise it, you’re four days deep in a low-energy spiral that started with something small.

Last week, I walked out of a conversation feeling unheard in a way that touched my core values.

My chest was tight, I kept replaying it, and I carried that tension into the evening.

By the next morning, I remembered that we always have a choice. The choice to shift our state, protect our energy, and reset our direction.

Here’s what actually helps break the cycle:

1️⃣ Name it out loud
 "I'm having a bad day, not a bad life."
 It separates the feeling from the story.

2️⃣ Protect your sleep
Bad days spread fastest when you're tired.
Sleep brings your energy back online.

3️⃣ One small kind act
For yourself or someone else.
A tiny gesture interrupts the spiral.

4️⃣ Choose your circle
Telling the story to five people keeps you stuck.
One grounded conversation helps you move forward.

5️⃣ Give tomorrow one bright point
Something simple to look forward to: morning coffee, breakfast, a short walk.

Remember: 
Your state is yours.
Treat it like gold. 

P.S. What do you do first to shift your energy?

📒I’ve been building my biggest product that will help you shift your energy in unexpectedly simple ways. 

If you want to be the first to know, you can sign up here: https://lnkd.in/di3iSKmx 💛 Coming very soon!!!

Back-to-back meetings are energy vampires.

You walk into meeting number five feeling like a ghost of your former self.

But here's what I share with my clients all the time: 
You can reset your entire state in under 2 minutes.

Here are 9 science-backed micro habits you can do between meetings:

1️⃣ Inhale for 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8.
A single round activates your parasympathetic nervous system and reduces cortisol levels instantly.

2️⃣ Cold water on your wrists
Your pulse points are cooling stations for your entire body. Cold water triggers an alertness response that lasts hours.

3️⃣ Look at something 6 metres away
After staring at screens, your eye muscles lock in “near focus.” Distance gazing relaxes them. 

4️⃣ Stand and reach for the ceiling
Sitting compresses your diaphragm. One big stretch opens your ribcage, increases oxygen flow, and signals energy to your brain.

5️⃣ Drink a glass of water (250ml) mindfully
Dehydration drops cognitive performance. It creates a mental pause that resets your nervous system.

6️⃣ Roll your shoulders 5 times backward
Forward head posture reduces lung capacity and creates tension. This realigns your spine and opens your chest.

7️⃣ Step outside or near a window
Natural light regulates cortisol and boosts serotonin. Even 60 seconds of daylight shifts your internal state.

8️⃣ Name 3 things you can see, 2 you can hear, 1 you can touch This grounding technique pulls you out of mental overwhelm.

9️⃣ Set an intention for the next meeting
Instead of rushing in reactive mode, take 30 seconds to choose how you want to show up.

Small shifts compound into massive energy changes.

I've been testing these with my clients for months. The difference is immediate.

And honestly? I use number 7 between every single call myself. (It’s been a childhood habit of mine.)

Tomorrow I’m sharing my complete guide:
“100 science-inspired micro habits across 10 key life areas” in my newsletter. You don't want to miss it. 

Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/di3iSKmx 

Which habit resonates most with you? Drop a number below 👇

🔄 Repost to help someone feel a little less stressed today.
➕ Follow me Gözde Imamoglu for more energy management insights 💛

5 daily invisible leadership mistakes:

And each one can be fixed in under 15 minutes.

1️⃣ Mistake: Leaving people guessing

When priorities aren’t clear:
 → Every decision becomes a guessing game
 → That constant weight of “Am I doing this right?”

The fix:
 → Monday morning priority email

2️⃣ Mistake: Meeting addiction

Every unnecessary meeting fragments focus:
 → 30 minutes to get back in the zone
 → Constant mental task-switching

The fix:
 → Friday calendar cleanup
 → Replace meetings with async updates

3️⃣ Mistake: Missing the warning signs

Early signals are easy to miss:
 → Missing small deadlines
 → No longer volunteering for projects

The fix:
 → Weekly energy check-ins
 → Adjust workload based on what you hear

4️⃣ Mistake: Priority whiplash

If there’s an “urgent” project every week, it creates:
 → Learned helplessness
 → Fear of committing to anything

The fix:
 → Monthly priority protection meeting
 → Choose 3 priorities that won’t change

 5️⃣ Mistake: Only seeing problems

Great performance goes unnoticed. Only fires get attention.

Over time, this kills:
 → Motivation to excel
 → Connection to the mission

The fix:

 → Friday wins email
 → Highlight 3 specific contributions

When you fix these 5 mistakes:
 → Your team stops second-guessing
 → Focus returns naturally
 → People feel seen for their strengths
 → Energy comes back without burnout

P.S. No judgment zone: Which number are we unlearning together? 

🔄 Repost if someone in your network needs this reminder
➕ Follow Gözde Imamoglu for more on building teams that thrive.

5 leadership blind spots quietly draining your team

Stop sacrificing your health for success.

The healthier you get, the more wealth you can create.

And you have more control over this than you think.

Because 80–90% of chronic conditions are lifestyle-driven not genetics. 

That’s biology responding to inputs.

And listening to the signals and partnering with your body can be the most important skill you will ever learn. 

So here’s a more useful way to think about it:

1. Sleep
If you wake up already tired, your body didn’t finish its repair work. That’s information.

2. Movement
If a full day passes without your heart rate changing, your system stays in “idle mode.”

3. Food
If meals leave you foggy or hungry again fast, your body didn’t get what it needed. That’s feedback.

4. Breathing
If your jaw is tight or shoulders are lifted, your nervous system is asking for a pause. A few slow breaths can change the signal.

5. Connection
If you feel drained after social time, something felt unsafe or rushed. If you feel calmer, that’s regulation.

Quick honesty moment 👀
Is your body whispering 🤫… or shouting 🚨 already?

🎁 If this resonated, download my free guide with 100 micro habits for better energy across 10 key areas of life: https://lnkd.in/dhR3AyCt

➕ Follow me Gözde Imamoglu for more on career, growth, and high-energy work life habits.

A company reached out and asked for a proposal to present to their leadership team.

I had all the content ready.
Except the deck that speaks their language.

They wanted me to offer my workshop to help their teams build energy-rich routines.
Great opportunity.
Short timeline.

I had to turn everything I already had on my already existing presentation into a clear, credible pitch deck - fast.

Because decision-makers need the problem framed in their world and a structured solution with a clear timeline showing:
• what happens,
• for whom,
• in what format,
• and when.

Here’s how it works:
You create one base deck with placeholders.
Then you remix it by adding the client’s specific details.

Gamma instantly generates a customized version for that exact audience.

Instead of rebuilding slides, I remixed my base deck in minutes, then stayed in the same flow to:

• adjust the tone for decision-makers
• tighten the structure
• refine visuals without starting over
• make it feel boardroom-ready

And once it was done, I reused and remixed it again for:
• follow-up conversations
• the workshop itself
• future client pitches

Your time and energy are valuable.

Use it for:
• real conversations
• building trust
• impressing business partners
• closing the right opportunities

Not fixing fonts at midnight.

👉 Try NanoBanana in Gamma https://lnkd.in/evaBDUk7 and spend your energy where it actually matters.

🎥 Watch the short example video to see how you can do the same.

P.S. What usually takes more of your energy?
🧭 Turning your work into a clear story
🎨 Font-size therapy at midnight
(Be honest 😅)

#gammapartner

Heather Maietta, Ed.D., CDFI

Director of Career Services/Asst. Director of the Professional Development Seminars Program

Coach for Career Coaches | Delivering Internationally-recognized Career Coaching Certifications | Follow Me for Daily Career Insights

I train professionals in the career coaching space on how to LAND MORE CLIENTS through better coaching. 

📌 Trained and certified over 1,000 career coaches.
📌 Guided over 10,000 clients through career development and coaching.
📌 Author of Coaching for Coaches Handbook (NCDA, 2023).
📌 CMCS Credential Commissioner 

For the past 20 years, I’ve trained career coaches how to get actionable results from their coaching. 

My clients span private practice, career services, workforce development, academia, HR, and talent acquisition. 

My mission is to help career professionals generate a steady base of clients by developing and honing their coaching skills.

🔑 How I Can Help You:

Career professionals who master coaching techniques, integrate cutting-edge tools, and refine their approach consistently land more clients and deliver better results for their ICP.

✔️ Training & Certification – Courses that deliver practical, real-world coaching strategies and resources you can use immediately.
✔️ Personalized Coaching – Whether you're launching your coaching career practice or refining your coaching approach, I’ll help you generate more clients by strengthening your coaching muscles, improve your techniques, and grow your toolkit of strategies.

🌏 Why This Work Matters:

My own career path wasn’t linear. I tried 14 different jobs before finding what truly fit. That journey taught me how critical the right guidance is during career transitions.

Now, I help career professionals become that guide for others.

Career coaching changes lives. Every coach deserves top-tier training and support to attract clients and make a lasting impact. Over the years, I’ve worked with professionals worldwide, helping them build thriving careers while making a difference in others’ lives.

📩 Let’s Connect:

Ready to elevate your coaching practice? I’d love to help.
📧 Email me: heather@careerinprogress.com
📅 Register for the FCD Course or book a consult today

Owner

Executive career and professional development coach for aspiring and seasoned career coaches and career changers. 

Coach and mentor professionals in the career services delivery space to grow and develop their own coaching talents. Work with organizations to train their workforce development and career services staff members on career delivery and industry trends. 

Certified MA Small Business and Women-Owned Business. Certified by MA Dept of Education to award PDP for professional development.

Dr. Heather Maietta

The one person critical to your promotion (hint: it’s not your boss):

Let’s get real for a minute.

I work with incredibly talented, high-achieving professionals every single week. People who are crushing KPIs, leading complex projects, and keeping the wheels turning.

But when I ask them, "What are you most proud of accomplishing?"

I get two responses:

Crickets.
Or worse, the immediate deflect.

It was nothing.
I got lucky.
It was the team's good work.

blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...

Stop right there. 🛑

Why are we so allergic to owning our awesomeness?

We've internalized the idea that being proud of our work equals arrogance. 

We were taught to put our heads down, work hard, and wait to be noticed.

Here's what I tell my clients, even the executive ones: Waiting to be noticed is a terrible career strategy. 

I mean terrible.

If you are waiting for the universe to validate your hard work before you validate it yourself, you will be waiting a long time. 

Everyone else is too busy worrying about their own careers.

Having your own back means recognizing the sweat equity you put in. 
It means allowing yourself a moment of genuine pride before rushing off to the next fire drill.
It means being your own best advocate.
Your own best friend.

If you don't believe in yourself.
Why should anyone else?

If you don't loudly champion your wins.
Who will?

If not you, then who?

In the comments, I want you to practice. 
Drop one win from this week!
____
🔔 Follow Dr. Heather Maietta - Coach for Career Coaches for supportive career advice.
♻️ Share with someone who needs to hear this message.
🖇️ Save for days when self advocacy is low.

Dr. Heather Maietta - Coach for Career Coaches 

Award-Winning Coach for Career Coaches | Delivering Internationally-Recognized Career Coaching Certifications | Follow Me for Daily Career Insights

Seek first to understand.
Then to be understood: 

Awkward feedback can shut down a coaching relationship fast.
 
Not because people are unwilling to hear.

But because most feedback is unstructured.

If you coach, manage, or lead people, you've seen (and probably gave your fair share of) feedback.

And I’d venture to guess that most of it was vague, untargeted, and impossible to act on.

I just wanted to share… 
Something I've noticed… 
In general... 

Sound familiar?

Feedback needs an anchor.
A container that makes it usable.

Here are 8 feedback models I keep in my coaching toolbox.

And when I use each: 

1/ GROW (Goal-Reality-Option-Will) 
➤ Use when the feedback is really a decision conversation.  

2/ SBI (Situation-Behavior-Impact) 
➤ Use when you need clean, specific, non-dramatic feedback. 

3/ Feedback Sandwich 
➤ Use sparingly (like cologne). 
➤ Works only when the middle is specific.

4/ Pendleton’s Rules (Self-assess first) 
➤ Use when you want to foster ownership.

5/ DESC (Describe-Express-Specify-Consequences) 
➤ Use when a boundary needs to be set and maintained.

6/ Start/Stop/Continue 
➤ Use when someone needs a reset.

7/ Feedforward (Focus on future)
➤ When defensiveness or shame blocks learning. 

8/ Build-Up Model 
➤ When confidence is low, but potential is high. 

Quick guide on choosing the most appropriate model based on your desired outcome:

Decisions → GROW 
Clarity → SBI 
Motivation → Feedback Sandwich
Boundaries → DESC 
Defensiveness → Feedforward or Pendleton 
Behavior change → Start/Stop/Continue 
Confidence → Build-Up 

Being good at feedback isn't about being nicer.

It's about being structured.

And structure is kindness. 

It tells the other person: 
I care enough to be clear. 

🖇️ If you coach, lead, or manage people, save this for future reference. 
____
 Join my free career coaching masterclass: https://lnkd.in/epyeuSwU

♻️ Share to improve feedback

If you’re white-knuckling your career right now, read this.

There’s a fable that perfectly explains why forcing your way forward often backfires. 

It goes something like this...

The North Wind and the Sun get into an argument about who’s stronger. To settle the argument, they agree on a challenge: Who can get a traveler to remove his cloak?

The North Wind goes first. He blasts the traveler with gusts of cold, harder and harsher. But the more he pushes, the tighter the traveler clutches his cloak. 

Then the Sun takes a turn. He shines steadily, radiating warm and calm.

Little by little, the traveler relaxes.
Eventually, he removes the cloak on his own.

The Sun wins.

Not by force, but by influence.

This isn’t just a cute fable. 
It’s basically a workplace case study on how people change.
Including you.

1/ Force creates resistance. Support creates movement.
Career stress often comes from North Wind strategies. Resistance often sounds like:

► “I should already know this.”
► “If I push harder, I’ll figure it out.”
► “I just need more discipline.”

That kind of pressure can work short-term, but usually leads to overthinking and burnout.

Approaching with Sun energy is often better better: 

► steady skill-building
► realistic pacing
► encouragement and accountability

Environments that make you want to grow help you build momentum without frying your nervous system.

2/ Progress is often self-led. After the conditions are right.

► The traveler removes the cloak by choice. 
► Same with career moves.

The most durable decisions, like pivoting and negotiating tend to happen when:

► clarity increases
► confidence rises
► fear decreases
► support exists

In your career, you don’t just make moves, you make moves you can sustain.

3/ Influence beats intensity.

The North Wind is intensity: forceful, immediate.
The Sun is influence: consistent, strategic.

In your career, influence looks like:

► building credibility over time
► showing your work without chest-thumping
► earning trust through reliability
► investing in relationships before you need something

Opportunities start coming to you because people remember how working with you feels.

4/ It applies to coaching, too.

If you coach or lead people, this is your reminder:

► Pressure creates compliance
► Respect creates commitment

You stop getting performance theater and start seeing real behavior change.

Try the Sun Strategy this week:

Loosen the grip: 
↳ What are you pushing too hard on that needs a different approach?

Turn up the warmth: 
↳ What support would make this easier? 
↳ How can you draw on mentor feedback, clearer goals, a boundary?

Choose influence: 
↳ What small action can you repeat for 10 days?

Your career journey doesn’t have to be a battle of endurance.

The next level doesn’t come from blowing harder.
It comes from working smarter and steadier.
______
🖇️ Save for future reference
♻️ Share with someone who could use a career boost

Most job seekers make one costly mistake. 

They don't execute with a strategy:

My husband recently had hip surgery.
In his downtime, he rewatched the Star Wars trilogy.

I found myself thinking: 
This storyline has a lot to say about career growth.

You don’t need Jedi powers to land your next role.
But you do need more than just a resume update.

There’s a sequence to an effective job search.
And when you follow it, things fall into place faster:

🗡️ Start with your mindset.
Confidence and resilience are non-negotiable.

🗡️ Sharpen your skills.
Get clear on the technical and soft skills today’s roles demand.

🗡️ Expand your network.
Most opportunities come from people (not job boards). 
Start with mentors, former colleagues, industry peers.

🗡️ Update your materials.
Tell a story that connects with the role you want.

🗡️ Be intentional with applications.
Target roles that match your goals and values.

🗡️ Practice your interview presence.
 Prepare stories. Ask questions. Show how you think.

🗡️ Negotiate with clarity.
Know what matters to you. 
The best outcomes benefit both sides.

The Force is optional.
A strategy isn't.
_________
👉 Save this if you’re job searching.
💬 Share with someone who'd appreciate the lightsaber logic.

Going back to work after the holidays can feel harder than expected:

The good news?
Time off helps.

The APA Work and Well-Being survey reported 58% of working adults felt more productive after a holiday or work break.

The challenge? 
The effect doesn’t always last. 

In the same survey, respondents said the benefits disappeared immediately (24%) or lasted only a few days (40%).

So, how do we preserve the recharge? 

Create structure that helps you maintain momentum.

1/ Make a re-entry plan for your first day
💡Identify no more than 5 priorities:
➤ One fast win, one must-do, one delayed task, one follow-up, one preparation for tomorrow.

2/ Prep before action
💡Set a timer to avoid getting pulled into reactive work.
➤ 20 minutes to review your calendar and upcoming deadlines.
➤ 20 minutes to scan your inbox, archive what you can, flag what needs action.

3/ Define your top 3 outcomes for the day
💡Choose 3 results that would make the day successful. 
➤ If you don’t choose them, your day will be driven by other people’s priorities.

4/ Use short momentum blocks
💡If focus is low, start with 15 minutes on a single task. 
➤ Progress increases motivation more than waiting for motivation to arrive.

5/ Protect one uninterrupted focus block
💡Schedule 45 minutes of distraction-free work.
➤ Move results forward to reduce the backlog feeling.

The first week back isn’t about doing everything at once. 

It’s about re-establishing routines so the recharge benefits of your time off last longer.
_____
🔔 Follow Dr. Heather Maietta - Coach for Career Coaches for sane career advice.
♻️ Share to brighten someone's Monday.

Stop calling your workplace a family. It's not serving anyone:

Especially not the people exhausting themselves to prove they belong.

We need to retire the idea that work should replace your life.

You can care about your coworkers, be proud of your team, do meaningful work together, and still hold clear boundaries.

When work becomes a stand-in for belonging, people tend to over-give and under-protect themselves. 

And the cost shows up everywhere:

> 44% of employees report daily work stress; most tied to workload they can't control.

> Burnout is now officially recognized as an occupational phenomenon, not a personal failing.

> Long hours and blurred boundaries consistently correlate with anxiety, sleep issues, and people walking out the door.

None of that improves loyalty, performance, or culture.

A strong workplace functions more like a community when it has:

1/ shared values
2/ mutual respect
3/ clear roles and expectations
4/ room for dissent and voice
5/ Understanding that people have full lives outside of their jobs

Create a work life where respect doesn't depend on being always-on and belonging doesn't cost you your boundaries.

You're allowed to care about your work and protect your life. 

_____
🔔 Follow Dr. Heather Maietta - Coach for Career Coaches for honest career advice without the corporate fluff.

♻️ Share to help someone set better boundaries at work

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Dr. Heather Maietta

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taplio

The Battle

Gözde İmamoğlu

Dr. Heather Maietta

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Gözde İmamoğlu's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreGözde İmamoğlu's LinkedIn Performance