Career Refresh Digest #30
Welcome to the latest edition of the Career Refresh Digest – the final one for 2025.
I'll be taking a break over the Christmas period and will bring you the next edition in January 2026. I hope you've found the tips useful and the reflections helpful. Do email me if you have suggestions for topics for the new year. In the meantime, wishing you and your nearest and dearest a restful, safe and joy-filled break!
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WORTH THINKING ABOUT
Using values to guide work choices
A couple of months ago, I wrote a newsletter all about values misalignment because it’s one of the most common reasons people start questioning their work. That continues to be the case. I’ve been speaking with a lot of people feeling a clash of values in their roles – particularly across the public sector.
More than 800 people have now completed the Career Wellbeing Quiz, and only one in five say the work they do feels aligned to their values, or that their values were aligned to the organisation’s culture and purpose. A values mismatch inevitably affects wellbeing so it’s an important understand and address it.
This is why I’ve decided to make the values session from my six session 1:1 coaching programme available as a one-off option. Hundreds of people have been through my coaching programme and this continues to be one of the most impactful sessions for them.
If you, or someone you know, would benefit from this offer, you (or they) can email me directly at lucy@Luminous.co.nz (or reply to this email). You’ll receive access to the Luminous Values app to identify your core seven values, followed by a one hour session with me to unpack the \ insights, understand how your values influence your work and job choices, and explore where the misalignments might be. The session gives people a clearer sense of what needs to shift, and the confidence to act on it.
The values session is NZ$297 (including GST) and if you decide to continue with the full six session programme at a later stage, the cost of the values session will be credited towards your programme fee.
It’s a great way to begin the new year with clarity, and set yourself up well for 2026 and beyond.
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WORTH REFLECTING ON
"Who even am I?"
Someone recently shared a conversation they’d had with a friend. Their children were grown up and didn’t need them as much anymore, and were relishing the thought of more ‘me time’.
Then they both realized they had no idea what to do with that time! The freedom to make choices for themselves based around their own needs felt foreign and a bit confronting.
They began wondering “Who even am I?”
That’s completely understandable. As I said in my recent LinkedIn post, most people have been busy with life and operating on autopilot for so long they’ve lost touch with what suits them or what their preferences are.
Being able to reconnect with these things matters. It’s important to know yourself well enough to be able to articulate what your ideal work and home life would look like. Otherwise, it’s unlikely you’ll recognise the opportunity to make it happen.
You can read of the LinkedIn post here for a couple of prompts on getting familiar again with what good looks like for you, along with a personal example of how this played out in my own life.
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WORTH DOING
Holiday tips for career wellbeing
The summer break can be a useful time for a reset. Here are a few small exercises to help with that:
Notice what restores you:
Pay attention to the moments over the break where your energy lifts – the conversations, activities, or environments you naturally gravitate towards. These are often clues to what you need more of in your working life.
Step back from autopilot:
Give yourself a day or two without schedules or expectations to see what you choose instinctively. It can reveal preferences you haven’t had the space to notice during the year.
Reflect on the work that energised you:
Think back over the year and note three pieces of work, projects, or interactions where you ended the day still feeling energised. These can help you start to refine your career criteria for the year ahead.
Imagine the ideal:
Picture what you’d choose for your work and home life if you could design it without constraints. You don’t need a detailed plan – even a rough outline helps ensure the steps you take now will lead you closer to what you want, rather than a path you chosen by default.
Create one small boundary:
Choose one practical boundary that will support your wellbeing next year, something small enough to sustain, but meaningful enough to make a difference.
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If you've been noticing a mismatch between what you value and how you're spending your working week, a 15-minute conversation is a good place to start. Book a free call here.
All the best for 2026!
- Lucy
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ABOUT THE CAREER REFRESH DIGEST
The Career Refresh Digest is a fortnightly newsletter for mid-career professionals who feel stuck or out of step with their work. Each issue shares practical insights and tools to help you reset direction, make clearer decisions, and reshape your work to better fit your life – drawing on recommendations, research, and insights from client work.