Wednesday 24 October 2012

Career Change after disease

If you have recently recovered from a disease and are wanting a different life then this blog is for you.

It's often assumed by people that we will 'return to normal' when in fact that is rarely possible and yet your life can get better.

Having to make changes such as slowing down or acknowledging your true feelings will leave you wanting to do something new. Like Rebecca Loncraine who took up gliding after surviving breast cancer and now writes about her passion as well as giving talks about flying to organisations supporting people with cancer. Her ambition is to enjoy every day.

Experiencing and then recovering from serious disease is a wake-up call.

You may think about what caused or triggered your disease such as diet and other lifestyle factors such as your stress levels on a daily basis.

These considerations may well cause you to want to change your career and/or your relationships.

Survival from disease in particular makes you think about enjoying living in the moment more and so your values change. Old, unexamined values that anchor our identity in our daily lives and work, doing things out of habit that do not really matter to us, are thrown up in the air.

What values are important to you now? Do you want a role in the world that helps others more? Do you want more time with friends and family?

Some of my clients decided to leave a stressful job because they only realise how exhausted they had become when they crashed and burned out. Realising this helped them to reflect and see that life is too short to move around and around the mouse wheel.

You may want to make baby steps initially if you are cautious such as working less hours rather than a complete career change.

Disease makes you re-evaluate. Having contracted type 1 diabetes and hyperthyroidism in my late thirties I have personal experience of this. I understood that I was not immortal suddenly and thought what do I want to do now that has meaning for me?

A good question to help you to think about what you may want to do next is to explore when you are really happy. What are you passionate about? From your answers to this ideas about what you may want to do will come to you.

When is the right time?

Now.

If you have found this blog useful please leave a comment.

If you would like help with your career transition please get in touch via www.westofenglandcoachingandcounselling.co.ukselling.co.uk

Thursday 18 October 2012

Does your Work reflect your Values?

If your work does not reflect your values then you will highly likely feel demotivated and you will be performing at less than your potential.

For example, if your top value is health and your work allows you little time to eat right and take exercise then you will likely feel stressed and anxious.

What is important to you?

Brainstorm all of the things in your life that are important to you such as spending time with family and friends, money, recognition, learning and results.

Then prioritise your top five most important values.

Now take some time to consider which of your values are met by your work and which are not.

Where a value is not met by your current work think about what you could in your current role to meet the value.

For example, if a key value is learning and growth and is not currently being met, you might discuss taking on a particular project with your line manager which would provide you with new learning.

If your important values cannot be met in your current role, is there a role within your current organisation that could meet your most important values?

For example, if you want a role that involves less travel is there an internal role that you could move to which would satisfy this value?

If the answer to this question is no and the value is important to you, you may well want to explore other roles outside of your existing organisation that would meet your values.

Your values will highly likely change over time so this is an exercise worth repeating every time a significant change happens in your life such as growing a year older, having a child, experiencing a loss, moving house etc.

For all of your career coaching needs including managing work relationships better and managing projects and people better please get in touch via www.westofenglandcoachingandcounselling.co.uk

Thursday 11 October 2012

More on managing your career transition

If you are looking to change your career then this blog may provide you with some food for thought and action.

I have been coaching one client recently and this blog is dedicated to his experience.

We started with a diagnostic primarily using Myers Briggs Type Indicator with his best fir type being I, S, F, J.

The I preference refers to introversion and my client prefers to be driven by his internal world for example uses his past experiences to help him to tackle current challenges.

The S preference refers to him paying attention to the details in information.

The F preference refers to him making decisions based on his values and others values.

The J preference refers to him being structured and organised in the way he lives his life.

We used the diagnostic to help to arrive at a list of possible careers that would best match his personality and ensure that he was working towards being a 'round peg in a round hole'.

My client recognised that he had changed and what he valued had changed for example wanting to have more of a work life balance in particular not working weekends.

We narrowed the career options befitting his personality and values down to three.

We then focused on a cover letter and CV for each career option keeping the cover letters and CV very specific and tailored to the role.

My client is now in the process of proactively applying for positions and preparing for potential interviews.

He is feeling very positive that the application and interview process will give him further insight into which option is right at this time.

He is even thinking that one of the career options, property management, may become a side-line for him, something that he does as well as his substantive job.

If this blog has helped you then please leave a comment.

For all of your career coaching needs please contact us through www.westofenglandcoachingandcounselling.co.uk

Saturday 6 October 2012

Getting ready for a career change?

If you are wanting to make a change in your career then you will want to get your head in the right place.

There are a number of steps that you will want to focus upon in order to make the transition well.

1. Commit. Make a commitment and then share that commitment with somebody else. This will make you more accountable to your career goals.
2. Make a plan. Write a plan that is going to be best for you, which helps you to achieve what you want in the way that you want it. The more specific you are in your plan along with realistic time scales the better.
3. Do not wait for the 'right time.' I think it is important to recognise that there is never a perfect time to change your career rather like starting a family. Life is short...

4. Get in the right mindset.  Think about everything that you have to gain from making the career change such as the benefits to your life as a whole.

5. Be realistic. Think about how your life is right now, and what you can realistically achieve in terms of your career plan. That means considering all aspects of your life, including work and family responsibilities.

6. Know what motivates you and what you value. Ask yourself questions to determine what will help you meet your career goals. For example, "Do you need a reward at certain goals? These answers will help you formulate a plan that you can stick with.

7. Create a network for your career change. Who do you know who has changed their career and what advice do they have for you?

8. Use outside resources. If you are unsure of what to do in terms of where to start or relish the prospect of working with a supportive individual who has experience in the field then it is a good idea to use a coach.

Let us know how you get on and leave us a comment.

For all of your business and personal coaching and counselling needs please visit us at www.westofenglandcoachingandcounselling.co.uk