My Career Crisis

For the season finale, Sue and Ruth answer the job problems sent in to the postbag. Questions like 'how do you ask for a pay rise?' 'my boss is manipulative' and 'I'm scared of committing'. There's no guest, just a heap of bulls*** free advice. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You can't underestimate peer pressure from family and friends when you are making choices about your early career. Sue helps 24 yr old pensions administrator Amanda find an alternative narrative around her life to help her feel more confident about the series of choices she has made and worry less about what other people think of her life choices. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How to manage a business crisis. Sophie returns from Season 1 when newly pregnant she was terrified about telling her business partner she was expecting a baby. They ran a successful business, a bar in south London. A real passion project which they are both utterly committed to. Sophie was dreading exploding everything they'd built up together with her news. A year later she's back and we find out how her partner took the news and meet Baby Golda. Only now trouble has hit the business big time and Sophie's whole livelihood is in jeopardy, Sue shares her thoughts on how to crisis manage the business and Sophie's career. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s a new year and time to look afresh at our working lives. Can we be happier at work? Is it possible to turn the Monday morning blues to Monday morning hi fives? Caroline says she has never been happy in any of her jobs as an accountant and is a loss at what to do. We also hear from Richard Boston, a psychologist who specialises in team performance and leadership. He gives Caroline (and presenter Ruth) some advice about how to be more positive at work, how to fix difficult relationships with your boss and take back control of your day to day happiness. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There comes a time when you have to say 'enough's enough'. When an employer demands too much that it takes it's toll on your home life it's a good time to reconsider your priorities. 31 year old Fiona loved her job working for a boutique design agency, but when she had her daughter - everything changed. Quitting has been as emotionally hard on her as ending a relationship - Sue has some excellent advice for how to move on. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

School teachers are under so much pressure to deliver on educational targets and the emotional wellbeing of our children. At 50 years old, english teacher Judy finds herself overwhelmed and unhappy, but what else can she do? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's the age old problem - can parents hold down successful careers whilst raising young children? This week solicitor Sandra is struggling to see how she can be the parent she wants to be at home whilst smashing it out of the park at work. Right now she feels like she is failing at both. Can Sue help? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Becoming a freelancer can be at once the most liberating and terrifying of career moves. Angie is a musician and ad industry creative who was made redundant 18 months ago and now finds herself on the freelance rollercoaster. Uncreative admin work to pay the bills is taking its toll on her self esteem but the big paying jobs are few and far between, then try getting people to actually pay you! Sue has some great advice for the freelancer in all of us, how to manage your expectations, keep on top of your finances and find your target market. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After applying for 100 corporate jobs, Roz is beginning to think that her lack of success in landing a new role is a sign from above. Should she be rethinking her aspirations? Sue offers advice on everything from nightmare competency interview questions to whether Roz should take a minimum wage job to stay afloat. A top episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There's nothing worse than feeling undervalued, undervalued in terms of your sills and experience and also your pay packet. 28 year old Ellie works in a sector she loves but is vastly overqualified for the job, can Sue help Ellie ask for more money and climb that hallowed ladder? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We had already recorded most of series two before the #MeToo phenomenon took place, but we wanted to get Sue and Ruth's thoughts about what to do if you are experiencing unwanted attention in the workplace as well as trail our new series of My Career Crisis which begins next week, so here is a prequel of series 2 with some food for thought. If you want to add your thoughts and experiences to the conversation, please do drop us a line on twitter @mycareercrisis and it's business as usual next week. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ruth is on the look out for new contributors for season 2. Do you have a career problem that Sue can help with? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

To round off Season 1 of My Career Crisis it's over to you. Ruth and Sue dig through the mail bag and answer your queries on everything from dealing with a colleague's terrible body odour to how to ask for that pay rise you want so badly. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week's guest has unhelpful voices in her head telling her she has ruined her education by making the wrong career choices. Is this the reason she feels like she is always underachieving at work? She has had a variety of careers, none of which have felt spot on, from P.R. to stand up comedy, corporate communications to TV presenting. On the eve of having her first baby at 41, can she reconcile these negative feelings about her career and fix herself going forward? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bouncing back after a breakdown - both in your personal life and in your work life is easier said than done. Annie was signed off work and found herself on a yoga retreat in Mexico with Drew Barrymore. That's a life changer all right, and on returning to London she's slowly picking up the pieces of her real life. We talk imposter syndrome, patching together your shattered confidence and getting back on the career wagon on your own terms. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A career as a musician is glamourous right? Wrong! Making a living as a musician is an age old conundrum, how do you earn a living following your passion which pays you next to nothing? Charlie Hinchcliff has had some success as Dear Pariah, the name she records under. Successful support slots for big names and her own sold out shows. But things are so slow to get going and often seem to grind to a halt completely. How can she keep going when she's mentally and physically exhausted from working as a nanny to pay the bills? When will she get her break? Ruth and Sue are joined by Tom Bridgewater from indie label Loose Music to give Charlie some guidance on surviving the music game. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Job interviews can be hideous....imagine going to an interview and being advised ‘don’t tell people you’ve got cerebral palsy' and wondering how the hell you hide the fact that you have a disability. Natasha shares a lifetime of awkward moments like this and why she wants to make a change in her 40s. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Is getting made redundant after working in a job for 15 years a blow or an opportunity? This week's guest, Hannah has been made redundant after a long haul working in jewellery and isn't sure what to do next. A single parent with a mortgage to pay, she takes some hard advice from Sue about how to manage her CV, the pressure from people around her and make the most of the time she has. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nothing can prepare you for the loss of a child. When this week's guest Hattie found herself faced with this unbearable grief, her life changed forever. Once a successful food writer, Hattie gave it all up after the death of her third child and became full time carer and campaigner for her first child who has special needs. Now looking to start afresh with her newfound skills, Hattie wants to build an enterprise that fits around her family life, but she needs Sue's help. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Do you dread going in to work every day? Do you feel trapped because the money is good but the job makes you unhappy? Perhaps your job is a gilded cage. Careers counsellor Sue Ahern explores when it is time to jack in the job and how to do it with style, panache, and most importantly, without risk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

One big curveball as a small business owner could be when one of your staff has a baby, but what happens when that person is the boss (a.k.a. you)? How will you manage your own maternity leave, or keep the business going whilst looking after a small baby? This weeks guest, Sophie, is trying to work out how to prioritise between her burgeoning business and her burgeoning bump and she still hasn't told her business partner she is pregnant.... over to Ruth And Sue for help. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Photographer Lottie Davies asks is it ever possible to earn money in the creative industries? Sue Ahern and Ruth Barnes help answer career advice questions on happiness in the workplace. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ruth Barnes introduces this new show that guides us all through our sh*tty times at work. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.