At Indeed Flex, our mission is to provide a faster way to find temporary work that fits your lifestyle. This year, we want to take that a step further; we want to help you to build the skills and experiences to help your career to thrive.
We’re pleased to introduce Grow with Indeed Flex.
“In 2022, we spoke a lot with our Flexers, and one of the topics raised the most was a want for support with careers. And that’s what Grow with Indeed Flex is about– a new initiative where we’ll actively invest in all sorts of exciting development opportunities for you,” stated Matty H., Indeed Flex Learning and Development Manager. At the start of each year, due to the seasonal decrease in consumer spending, businesses tend to need fewer temporary workers. People eat out and shop less. So while things are a little quieter than usual, it’s a great time to focus on our careers. To that end, over the next few weeks, we’re delighted to bring you a mini development program based on ‘Squiggly Careers.’
Inspired by the folks at Amazing If, it consists of a mixture of blogs, guided exercises, and support materials. This four part series will help you explore more about yourself and develop critical skills to help you thrive throughout your career.
The Squiggly Career
When most of us think about a successful career, we imagine promotions, pay raises, and climbing the career ladder.’ We think about it like this: We imagine steps or a ladder– in other words, a linear journey with specific points we have to reach in order to progress. For example, if I want to be a restaurant manager, I must first be a 
waiter, then a team leader, then an assistant manager, etc. But what if the next step differs from the one you want to take? What if you want to try something that isn’t founded directly on a prior action? In the world of temporary work, it can be challenging to take specific steps at all.
Does that mean you can’t be a temp worker and still build a career?
No! Perhaps the ladder is holding us back. The world of work is evolving, and frequently moving between roles, industries, locations, and even careers is becoming normalized. Your path might look more like this one– a squiggle: A squiggly career is both full of uncertainty and full of possibility. Change always happens, and success isn’t one-size-fits-all. Your squiggle is as unique as you are. You can go from working at the world’s most significant sporting event one week to creating handmade products the next, or from serving luxury banquets to delivering Christmas gifts.
In a squiggly career, you constantly try lots of different things. Hiring managers the world over are learning to appreciate the value of the squiggly career more and more because it suggests that you have skills and experience that are more varied, diverse, and tested as opposed to someone who may have a more traditional progression. Someone who’s been coaching their kid’s football team for years is better suited to managing a warehouse team than somebody who’s only worked on a production line. Someone who’s got a side hustle creating content on Tiktok or podcasts is better suited to being a restaurant host than the person who’s only worked as a waiter. It’s time to get off the ladder and dive into the squiggle.
Where do I start?
Granted, rethinking our career approach can be overwhelming at first. Where do you start? This program is all about helping you explore your wants, skills, and beliefs to create a squiggle that works for you.
How will it work?
Kicking off the week of February 6, 2023 every two weeks, we’ll send you a written piece with some new ideas to think about, followed up with guided exercises to help you practically apply this theory to your own life. You can do as much or as little as you’d like—dip in and out when it best suits you. This program is designed to fit your lifestyle and is offered to you for free.
Module 1: Super-Strengths: We’ll help you discover your strengths and how to use them more successfully at work.
Module 2: Values: Explore what you care about in a career and how it motivates and drives you toward happiness.
Module 3: Confidence: Identify personal confidence gremlins that hold you back, and learn how to cage them.
Module 4: Futureproofing: How to identify career possibilities and develop the three essential skills to futureproof your career– whatever you do. As Helen and Sarah would say; “Ditch the ladder. Discover opportunity. Design your career.”
To receive updates, be sure to tap “sign up now” on the Grow with Indeed Flex email!
Recommended Read: The Squiggly Career – Helen Tupper & Sarah Ellis
Recommended Watch: Why Squiggly Careers Are Better for Everyone (9 mins)
Recommend Listen: The Squiggly Careers Podcast
