Career advice, job search strategy and honest reflections from career coach Alice Graves.https://alicegraves.com/en-gbhttps://alicegraves.com/what-salary-are-you-looking-for-how-to-answer-this-question/https://alicegraves.com/what-salary-are-you-looking-for-how-to-answer-this-question/Twenty minutes into a friendly call with a recruiter, when it’s all been going rather well, the question arrives. “So, what are you looking for salary wise?” And you hear … Read moreThu, 22 Oct 2026 07:00:00 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/what-to-do-when-you-feel-unfulfilled-at-work/https://alicegraves.com/what-to-do-when-you-feel-unfulfilled-at-work/If you’ve typed that into Google, you’re probably not in a crisis, but you can just feel that something isn’t quite right. You’re good at your job. You’re paid well, … Read moreWed, 14 Oct 2026 21:01:52 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/i-dont-know-what-i-want-what-to-do-when-you-cant-answer-the-career-question/https://alicegraves.com/i-dont-know-what-i-want-what-to-do-when-you-cant-answer-the-career-question/It’s the single most common sentence in my work, and it almost always arrives with an apology attached. “I know it sounds ridiculous, but I genuinely don’t know what I … Read moreThu, 03 Sep 2026 09:54:00 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/why-september-is-the-best-month-to-change-your-career-and-january-is-the-worst/https://alicegraves.com/why-september-is-the-best-month-to-change-your-career-and-january-is-the-worst/Every year, around the second week of January, my inbox fills up. The messages are all some version of the same thing. “I’ve had enough.” “This year has to be … Read moreThu, 20 Aug 2026 13:58:23 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/is-it-the-job-or-is-it-you-how-to-stop-changing-jobs-and-start-changing-your-approach/https://alicegraves.com/is-it-the-job-or-is-it-you-how-to-stop-changing-jobs-and-start-changing-your-approach/You’ve changed roles before. Changed companies. Maybe even changed industries. And yet somehow you keep ending up in the same place. Same frustration, different desk. If that pattern sounds familiar, … Read moreWed, 12 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/why-your-holiday-wont-fix-your-burnout-and-what-actually-will/https://alicegraves.com/why-your-holiday-wont-fix-your-burnout-and-what-actually-will/Every summer, the same thing happens. You count down the days until your break. You fantasise about lying on a beach with no emails, no meetings, no one needing anything … Read moreWed, 05 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/10-reasons-not-to-change-jobs/https://alicegraves.com/10-reasons-not-to-change-jobs/If you want to stay exactly where you are, this is your playbook. My business coach Tim Brownson recently wrote a blog about all the marketing mistakes he makes as … Read moreThu, 23 Jul 2026 12:58:12 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/why-im-taking-mondays-off-this-summer-and-what-it-taught-me-about-career-strategy/https://alicegraves.com/why-im-taking-mondays-off-this-summer-and-what-it-taught-me-about-career-strategy/I just decided I’m taking Mondays off this summer. Wednesdays are already my day with the kids, but I looked at the school holidays stretching out in front of me … Read moreThu, 16 Jul 2026 09:54:55 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/when-your-career-happens-to-you-how-to-take-back-control/https://alicegraves.com/when-your-career-happens-to-you-how-to-take-back-control/There’s a moment that comes for a lot of people somewhere in their late 30s or early 40s. You look up from whatever you’ve been doing for the last two … Read moreThu, 09 Jul 2026 15:19:29 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/5-signs-youve-outgrown-your-career-not-just-your-job/https://alicegraves.com/5-signs-youve-outgrown-your-career-not-just-your-job/There’s a difference between needing a new job and needing a completely different career. And most people mix them up. A bad job has obvious symptoms: a terrible manager, a … Read moreTue, 16 Jun 2026 20:45:48 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/feeling-stuck-in-your-career-you-might-just-be-in-the-wrong-room/https://alicegraves.com/feeling-stuck-in-your-career-you-might-just-be-in-the-wrong-room/I joined a running club in January. In Holland. It was, without question, one of the dumbest decisions I’ve ever made! See I’d always wanted to be a runner. Runners … Read moreTue, 09 Jun 2026 13:33:55 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/why-career-change-feels-so-scary-and-why-thats-actually-a-good-sign/https://alicegraves.com/why-career-change-feels-so-scary-and-why-thats-actually-a-good-sign/You’ve been thinking about it for months. Maybe years. A different career. A different direction. Something that actually fits the person you are now, not the person you were when … Read moreTue, 26 May 2026 17:03:22 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/why-fine-is-the-most-dangerous-word-in-your-career/https://alicegraves.com/why-fine-is-the-most-dangerous-word-in-your-career/There’s a word I hear all the time as a career coach. From smart, successful, put-together professionals who are quietly wondering if this is it. That word is “fine.” “How’s … Read moreThu, 21 May 2026 19:53:15 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/linkedin-messages-that-actually-get-responses/https://alicegraves.com/linkedin-messages-that-actually-get-responses/If you’ve ever sent a LinkedIn message and heard nothing back, you’re not alone. Most people are unknowingly sending messages that guarantee they’ll be ignored. In this post (and video), … Read moreTue, 25 Nov 2025 12:00:00 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/how-to-target-companies-that-arent-even-hiring-yet/https://alicegraves.com/how-to-target-companies-that-arent-even-hiring-yet/If you’ve ever waited for a perfect job posting to appear, only to find hundreds of people applying for the same role you’re not alone. But the truth is, the … Read moreTue, 18 Nov 2025 12:00:00 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/best-way-to-apply-for-jobs-in-2025-turn-every-application-into-5-network-connections/https://alicegraves.com/best-way-to-apply-for-jobs-in-2025-turn-every-application-into-5-network-connections/If you’ve been applying for jobs and not hearing back, you’re not alone. In 2025’s competitive market, the best opportunities rarely come from online applications, they come from the connections … Read moreTue, 11 Nov 2025 19:26:56 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/why-youre-not-getting-hired-even-with-a-great-cv/https://alicegraves.com/why-youre-not-getting-hired-even-with-a-great-cv/Watch the video below, or read the transcript if you prefer. The Real Reason You’re Not Getting Hired If you’ve been applying for jobs and not hearing back, it might … Read moreFri, 24 Oct 2025 12:37:29 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/the-confidence-paradox-why-take-it-or-leave-it-gets-you-hired/https://alicegraves.com/the-confidence-paradox-why-take-it-or-leave-it-gets-you-hired/I want to talk about something uncomfortable but necessary… People can smell desperation a mile away. And in job interviews? It’s toxic. I don’t make the rules of the game, … Read moreThu, 27 Mar 2025 12:58:33 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/how-to-prepare-for-your-job-interviews-to-feel-calm-and-confident/https://alicegraves.com/how-to-prepare-for-your-job-interviews-to-feel-calm-and-confident/If you want to get lots of job offers, you need to be able to perform well in your interviews. That means you need to prepare well for them. Because … Read moreTue, 18 Jun 2024 08:31:02 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/how-to-make-an-amazing-cv/https://alicegraves.com/how-to-make-an-amazing-cv/Your CV is the gateway to job interviews. Without a strong CV you will never get invited for an interview. So if you’re looking for a new job, having an … Read moreThu, 18 Apr 2024 08:55:38 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/how-to-find-a-job/https://alicegraves.com/how-to-find-a-job/If the feeling of trying to find a new job has you feeling totally overwhelmed Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Looking for a job has become increasingly difficult. It’s become … Read moreTue, 12 Mar 2024 07:59:55 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/i-said-my-children-were-my-priority-but-were-they/https://alicegraves.com/i-said-my-children-were-my-priority-but-were-they/How often have you found yourself saying ‘When I’ve done XYZ then I’ll find time for the other things’ The “other things” being the truly important things in your life. … Read moreWed, 08 Nov 2023 16:30:34 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/what-padel-taught-me-about-comittment/https://alicegraves.com/what-padel-taught-me-about-comittment/COMMITMENT IS AN ACT, NOT A WORD – Jean-Paul Satre Sometimes you have to learn a lesson a hundred times before it finally sinks in. I had that last week … Read moreTue, 12 Sep 2023 15:49:09 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/how-to-use-an-umbrella/https://alicegraves.com/how-to-use-an-umbrella/It’s raining outside and a person is getting wet. A stranger gives them an umbrella and they slowly start to dry. Once they are dry they no longer think they … Read moreTue, 12 Sep 2023 15:46:29 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/how-do-you-define-success/https://alicegraves.com/how-do-you-define-success/Will being successful really make you happy? I used to believe that when I was “successful” everything in my life would be better. I’d be slimmer, smarter, richer and happier. … Read moreTue, 12 Sep 2023 15:43:53 GMThttps://alicegraves.com/do-you-struggle-to-put-yourself-first/https://alicegraves.com/do-you-struggle-to-put-yourself-first/Why Challenging How You Think Is So Important I was brought up believing that ‘only the weak get sick’ and as much as I knew my father said this in … Read moreTue, 12 Sep 2023 15:31:38 GMT