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Heather Harper

Heather Harper is the lead content manager for The Career Project. Her interests include organizational psychology and the impacts of variables upon workplace productivity and job satisfaction. Heather holds an MSc in Organisational Psychology from the University of Manchester, as well as a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from University of Lincoln. While at the University of Manchester, she completed her master's thesis which was entitled: "The variability of personality expression in response to situational cues and it’s relationship to job satisfaction". Heather is based in Cambridge, UK.

The advantages of working from home

By / September 28, 2020

Coronavirus has completely changed our lives. The ‘new normal’ means that many businesses are scrapping office working and encouraging their employees to work from home. For many of us, we can see the advantages of working from home and are thrilled that we won’t have to find ways to tackle coronavirus anxiety when heading back to work.  However, many of us will be struggling with the new adjustment. It can feel odd not conversing with your coworkers each day. Maybe you’re finding it hard to distance work life from home life. Or, maybe your internet connect is really beginning to …

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How “Passive Entertainment” is only a recent concept, historically speaking

By / September 28, 2020

There are many ways to entertain ourselves in our free time: reading books, playing sports, baking or watching a film. Until very recently, I had never paid much attention to the idea that each of these activities, the ones that prevent us from getting bored, are not simply just ways to fill our time. The types of activities actually fit into one of two categories: active or passive entertainment. Now, this is a recent concept and there is actually very little information on the subject. However, as we all have a lot of free time on hour hands at the …

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10 Questions to ask yourself before changing careers

By / September 5, 2020

Changing career can be very stressful and overwhelming. When we feel overwhelmed and stressed, it can be hard to process our thoughts correctly and think rationally. So, to help you find clarity in your decision, this post will discuss 10 questions to ask yourself before changing career. 10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before a Career Change Firstly, before ask yourself the following questions, consider this big one: Do you hate your career, or your job? The difference between a career and a job is that a career is a series of connected employment opportunities that offer you skills, experience and …

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How to Write a Successful Business Plan: 5 Top Tips

By / September 5, 2020

I’m guessing that as you’ve clicked on this post, you’re considering starting your own business. Perhaps lockdown has taught you what you’re passionate about. Perhaps you’ve lost your job. Or, maybe you just fancy a change. Whatever the reason, with 20% of business failing within their first year and 50% by their fifth, it is crucial to have a successful business plan to follow. The importance of a business plan Before I tell you how to write a successful business plan, it will, of course help to understand why you need one. Having a business plan is like having a …

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The classic signs that its time for a career change

By / September 5, 2020

There are no two ways about it: having a career can be very hard work at times. However, if it always feels like a constant battle, then maybe it is time for a career change. With the pressure of modern day life, it is actually really hard to tell what level of stress is normal and what isn’t. However, a huge 14% of all U.S. workers reported being ‘very dissatisfied’ or ‘somewhat dissatisfied’ with their jobs, according to results from the CNBC|SurveyMonkey Workplace Happiness Index. With this number worryingly high, it is more important than ever to understand the key …

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Why the gender pay gap still exists (and what we can do about it)

By / September 5, 2020

This is a bit of a different topic to what I normally write about, but I am really interested as to why the gender pay gap exists and what it means for women in todays society. Before I dive any deeper into the subject, the gender pay gap is the average difference between the remuneration for men and women who are working. This pay gap looks a little different around the world. For example, in South Korea, women are paid 65 cent for every dollar men make. Whereas, in the United states women make around 81 cent for every dollar. …

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How to write a personal mission statement

By / September 5, 2020

All successful and motivated companies have mission statements that outline what they believe, the things they want to achieve and how they’re going to achieve those things…  why shouldn’t we, successful and motivated individuals, have one too? Well, we can – and its called a personal mission statement. Why should I have a personal mission statement? A personal mission statement defines who you are and identifies your purpose in life, how you aim to pursue that purpose and why it matters to you. It is an incredibly useful and powerful tool as it aids us in meeting our long-term goals …

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Masterclass review: is it worth it?

By / August 22, 2020

Materclass is a San Francisco based online learning platform designed specifically with creatives in mind. They offer unique classes, taught by the absolute best in the industry. And, they they can be accessed from anywhere in the world… So, I have decide to give masterclass a review! Masterclass targets a niche of professionals and creates content with writers, musicians, artists, chefs, and creative students and professionals in mind. Classes include acting taught by Samuel L. Jackson, writing taught by James Patterson, basketball taught by Stephen Curry, cooking taught by Gordon Ramsey and directing taught by Ron Howard. This, however, is …

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A short, but sweet, review of Udemy

By / August 22, 2020

If you have ever searched for online educational courses, then I am almost certain you will have stumbled across Udemy. It is one of the most popular and well-known online learning and teaching marketplaces in the world. With over 100,000 courses in over 65 different languages and 24 million students (or so they say), it certainly looks attractive on the surface… so I decided to conduct a review of Udemy. They offer courses for a wide range of subjects. However, their top categories being design, development, marketing, IT and software, personal development, business and music. As Udemy is developed with …

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Calling All Night Owls: The importance of morning routine

By / August 21, 2020

I am lucky enough to have always been a morning person. Much to my mother’s despair, I was the child up at 5:30am on a Saturday morning wanting to start the day. Since then, I have always found that I am most productive in the morning and I thoroughly enjoy getting up early and carrying out certain routines to get myself set up and prepared for the day ahead. I personally like to give myself an hour in the morning before I leave the house to carry out my routine. I get up and wash my face. Next, I make …

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