The Joy of Sticky Notes

If there is one tool that I consider essential for the career coach, it is a pack of sticky notes. The creative uses of sticky notes are many – you can make lists and rearrange them, you can play games with them, you can sort them into categories or use them as book marks.

Here are just a few things you could try:

– Get your client to brain storm all the things they care about, enjoy or are good at, and put one on each sticky note. Then prioritise them in order of how important it is that each  item features in a future career. Ask your client to take a photo.

– Draw a see saw on a larger piece of paper. Ask your client to describe the reasons they don’t want to make a change, putting each one on a sticky note. Place these on one side of the see saw. Then ask them to list the reasons they do want to make a change and put these on the other side. If some are especially important they can be allocated two or three sticky notes. See which way your scales tip.

– Ask your client to imagine themselves at a future place they want to be, then brainstorm all the actions they had to take to get themselves there, putting one action on each sticky note. Then rearrange the sticky notes into the order that they need to be done in (and take a photo).

– Write each of the clients options onto a sticky note, then fold them up, and ask the client to pick an option at random. As they open the sticky note, ask them to imagine this is the option they have to follow, and note how they intuitively feel, their first response. This helps them get in touch with gut feeling.

– Ask your client to list the things they most want an employer to know about them, and list each on a sticky note. Attach the sticky notes to the place on a CV or application form where they can be described.

– Draw a backpack on a large sheet of paper. Help your client to write all the skills, sources of support and resources that they have access to or could develop on sticky notes. Then ask which they want to pack in their rucksack for the career journey ahead.

– Ask the client to think of the things that they want to research, putting each on a sticky note. Then take some larger pieces of paper and label each with a website or other source of information. Help your client attach their questions to the most likely  source of answers.

The uses for sticky notes are endless and can be completely spontaneous once you get into the habit of reaching for them. You don’t need to be artistic to use them. They just help you organise your client’s ideas.  They appeal to more kinaesthetic learners and the activities are more memorable then straight conversations. And no, I am not on commission!