Moving from Career Crisis to Career Clarity

Are you in a career crisis? Many people describe a career crisis as a crucial or decisive point in their career, perhaps a turning point and a time when they have to make some big career changes - either forced or 'voluntary'. If you are reading this then perhaps you are at that stage yourself.

For me the word crisis is also quite an emotional word and one that implies some level of urgency about the situation. When we find ourselves in highly (negative) emotional states it can be hard to think clearly and objectively about the choices we have available to us and some often simple, but effective and positive action we could take to move us forward.

Sometimes it can even be difficult to define what we actually mean by a career crisis and personally I find writing down my thoughts and questions and ideas is a great way to determine where the problem actually lies. Why not try writing down what it is that's causing this pain or crisis and what options have that will enable you to change your situation for the better or at least takes positive steps towards it. Who or what can help you?

Ask yourself what does career success really mean for you personally and how could you achieve it? Success is very personal, and we often feel trapped or perhaps fearful by what we imagine to be the global meaning for success - i.e. material wealth, status, moving up the corporate ladder etc. For some people success just means enjoying what they do and looking forward to going to work each day, for others is may mean being home by 6pm everyday to have dinner with their family. Define success on your terms, what does it mean for you?

If you are looking to get out of your career crisis by changing career, learn how you can transform your career and your life when youjoin us on this 2-day fun,creative and inspiring Career Transitions Workshop or weekend Career Transitions Retreat

Is your career fulfilling you?

Last week I was sent a very interesting story about a film maker and I thought I would share it with you.

The films she created were documentary styled interviews of people who were coming to the end of their lives.

One of the interesting things she discovered through conducting these interviews was the fact that most people died with regrets. But oddly enough, these regrets were very rarely about wealth or status.

Their regrets she said, centered around not pursuing a life path that they were truly inspired about. Whether it meant taking better care of their health, devoting more time to their relationships or choosing a more fulfilling career path, most wished that they had trusted their inner urges to live life on their own terms.

In today's fast paced and often stressed-out society it is very easy to lose sight of what's really important. We spend too much of our time striving for greater material gain or status and forget to take time out to reflect on what is really important to us and what makes us happy and fulfilled - very often it's the simple things that bring us the most joy and contentment.

What we often forget is that we do have a choice - we can choose how we spend our leisure time and who we spend it with and we can choose to trust and listen to that small inner voice that guides us so wisely.

What small steps will you take today to move you towards happiness and fulfilment?

Enjoy this moment

To discover your ideal work, join us on this 2-day fun, creative and inspiring Career Transitions Workshop or weekend Career Transitions Retreat

Career Advice or ............................

I know from my research and analysis that when most people find me that are actually looking for careers advice as opposed to career coaching. And you may be wondering "what exactly is the difference between career coaching and careers advice?" Coaching is generally non-directive - this means that as your coach I do not give you advice on which career would suit you best or run profiling tests that come up with a list of suggested careers; my job is to help you find your own answers, your own strategies and your own solutions.

Career coaching takes into account not just your values, strengths and passions, but also your beliefs and fears around whats possible for you. It also takes into account your current situation and how your career goals fit into other areas of your life too.

When it comes to career advice, I may have some specific industry or professional knowledge that is relevant to your search and discovery and I may have some ideas which I will throw into the mix when you are brainstorming your options, but ultimately my job is help you find your own answers and come to your own conclusions, help you gain confidence, overcome any fears and keep motivated and track with your search. My job is to ask you the powerful questions that you haven't asked yourself, challenge you to move beyond your own self-imposed boundaries and find the work that really will make you leap out of bed each day!

Career advice or career coaching - you decide!!

To discover your ideal work, join us on this 2-day fun, creative and inspiring Career Transitions Workshop or weekend Career Transitions Retreat

Are you feeling 'stuck' in your career?

Ever heard the phrase “what you resist persists”? The more you resist making changes in your life and more specifically your career, the more stuck you will feel.

We often use the term 'stuck' as a metaphor to describe how we feel when we are not sure what direction to take. Of course you are not really stuck, you are not a tree rooted to the ground, you are a fully functioning human being, with the ability to think, see, read, write and take action. If you think you have lost your direction you will not find it between EastEnders and Coronation Street or on the beer mat at your local bar! You must take action, and you must make time and space for discovery, awareness and planning your future career. Whatever action you take, it will get you moving in some direction. Often people are afraid of making the wrong decisions and taking the wrong action; how can you know it’s the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ action until you take it? How can you know that the one tiny step you are resisting taking, will not lead you along the path to a purposeful and fulfilling career?

Imagine yourself on a country walk, or even a mountain one, and you come to a section with 4 or 5 different pathways, you don’t have a map so you have to make a decision based on what you can see, sense and feel and any knowledge you may already have. How will you decide which path to take? If you feel stuck, directionless and refuse to make a decision then you’ll likely still be there when the winter snow falls and buries you under 6 feet of the icy cold stuff – and then you really will be stuck!

If you hate your job, your boss, the company or the responsibilities you have, you are the only person that can do anything about it. Your boss will continue to behave in the same way and your job will likely remain the same unless you take action to change it. I worked with someone at the beginning of the year who had been ‘waiting’ for redundancy. The redundancy had not come and so she had taken some action towards looking for a new job. She came to me again seven months later, feeling ‘stuck’ and I discovered, still ‘waiting’ for redundancy! I asked her how long she was going to wait – 6 months, 6 years or maybe 20?! So then she said, “Well, what if I find another job and then a few months later I find out that my old colleagues have been offered the redundancy I had been waiting for”? Yes, what if? What if they do and what if they don’t? What if your new job potentially offers you a greater package in the next five years than the whole redundancy package AND what if you are also doing work that fulfils you in and environment that you love, that energises you and utilises your skills and talents?

Hmmmmmmm What if? There are no guarantees in life and you can only move forward by taking action, exploring, researching, asking helpful questions and being willing to make changes in your life and in your own behaviour. Of course it's not necessarily easy but from personal experience, I would say it's definitely worth it!

Looking for a career change and not sure which direction to take?

To discover your ideal work, join us on this 2-day fun, creative and inspiring Career Transitions Workshop or weekend Career Transitions Retreat

Career Transitions need professional ongoing support

My first experience of coaching was on a weekend workshop, which was great, really inspiring, gave me more clarity and helped to remove some blocks that were stopping me moving forward. All good stuff and a great way to kick-start any major life changes you are looking to make. However what was missing then and what I notice is missing in any other 1 or 2-day workshop is the ongoing support needed to keep you motivated, accountable, on-track with your goals and feeling supported on your journey of change. I found that as I moved into new territory I would unearth new fears and limiting beliefs that would act as obstacles to my progress and having an objective sounding-board for your ideas provides both clarity and motivation.

1:1 coaching is great at providing this and many people find being held accountable and having the next session booked is a great motivator in itself. I do recognised however that for some people the cost may be prohibitive and you may prefer to work with small groups of people rather than 1:1. For this reason I have created a new 3-month Career Transitions Program as a cost-effective way to receive ongoing career coaching and mentoring. The program consists of 3 half-day workshops, a career transitions workbook and an online forum for support, encouragement and motivation between the workshops. It's a great way to develop yourself and your career and meet others who are on a similar journey.

To discover your ideal work, join us on this 2-day fun, creative and inspiring Career Transitions Workshop or weekend Career Transitions Retreat