I’m a career coach for women changing direction AMA

[Angliski]

Hello

I’m a career coach with 15 years experience of heaping women find the right rile and change direction. I also have a newborn cluster feeding so am pretty bored. Ask me anything!

I have just started reading your book today :)

@floffel thanks for buying the book! Please do review on amazon if yo mind get the chance!

@MrsSneeze ok great so this gives you a set of criteria. How can I...
spend more time in a more collegiate environment
, working on psychiatry or maybe emergency/ extreme medical situations without being in the field necessarily...

Your question is who offer this work and need me?

Tell us three places where this work could he found ina set up that suits you.

How do you feel about multi level marketing?

@Mirakima thanks for the positive feedback.
Congrats on the wee one.

Ouch my boob action going on here!

See notes above given on my last answer.

What kind of environment might afford you the opportunity to have this impact? Can you be more specific about what that economic and tech empowerment looks and feels like?

Is it giving them a good retraining in a new field? Is it using your insight on behaviour and markets to help them make bette ringing decisions? Be specific.

When we are making a new choice, specificity is important. If I say o want to inspire people it’s a bit hard to find my gig. But if I say I want to deliver talks on how women can become financially free, it’s easier for me to get into action around that.

It’s great you are doing all this research and exploring the field. The more you know what you are looking for the more targeted this effort can be!

Do You Know if you want a role or want to devise your own work? Do you know what orgs, companies or initiatives might value your ideas?

There is a third way between running your own thing and having a job. Quick true story are used to work for a training company called QA. I met a gentleman there who run their apprenticeship program. He had been working in the third sector working with apprentices and realise that there was a huge opportunity to provide apprenticeship programs to the corporate sector. He could’ve gone out this on his own but would’ve liked resources and taken a while to get momentum. So instead he found a company that had the resources and brought his idea to them. That company was QA. Three years before I met him he approached the CEO explaining the market opportunity and identifying that as a trainingCentres they were really well set up to capitalise on the opportunity. The apprenticeship division of QA went from 0 to 10,000,000 in three years as a result of partnering with him and his good idea. Could something similar apply to you?

@Bluewavescrashing tbh I hate it personally

Really can I AMA? I don't know where to start. I'd love to ask you what I should do please. Actually, I don't know if I need a life coach or a career coach. My kids are at uni (1 nearly finished), and after absolutely loving my role as a SAHM for the last 22 years, I really am redundant. I have a small business selling occasionwear from home, but it is very part time and I don't make much money (the money isn't actually a key factor here), however, I do quite enjoy it. I've just been googling Barbara Sher scanners, & I think I'm one!

I'd like to be a de cluttering consultant, but I think would get bored after one room! I'd like to be a make up artist, but I know less than nothing about make up, I'd like to be a data analyst, but I really have no skills in that field.

I love having my freedom and being able to do what I want when I want, but is it possible to find a career at 50 that I would love and would trade my freedom for. And, would it give me a purpose. (or do I need a life coach for that?!). Thank you so much if you've read this.

Thanks so much for starting this thread OP. It couldn’t be more timely for me as I’m at a crossroads in my life and feeling a bit lost. I’ve also bought your book which I’ve started reading although haven’t got far yet. But I love the idea of being the hero/heroine of your own story. I so want to be that person.

So for 15 years I’ve worked in finance news on the editing side, more or less all with the same company. For the past 7 years I’ve been freelance, so that I could balance work with looking after my children, but still the majority of my freelance work has come from this company.

I’ve recently gone back to work for them part time, but realised a bit too late that the position was a demotion to where I was previously but felt forced to accept it. I wish I hadn’t as my confidence is through the floor and I have people who I hired years ago now working above me. It’s a f*ing joke.

During my freelance years I also did a college course just for fun of creative writing for children which I loved and I have a dream of writing my own children’s book/books but I’m not ready for it yet...I don’t have the time or financial resources to dedicate to it at this point in my life. But it has made me think that I’d rather be working in children’s publishing rather than finance news. But I don’t know how to make the move. I feel like there are synergies there with what I do now and what I want to be doing as they are both in the publishing sector but whenever I look for jobs they all want relevant experience in children’s publishing...how do I get that experience if I can’t make the move into the sector in the first place? Am I really expected to start at the bottom of the pile again even though I’ve had 15 years in a not totally unrelated sector? It’s so demoralising and as someone who is suffer from depression at the moment it just seems insurmountable.

For years we’ve priorities my husband’s job and he travels a lot so I also feel there are the barriers to having to work around his job and the children (aged 11,7 and almost 2). I just need to feel like I’m doing something positive to move towards where I want to be. I hate my life at the moment. Should I be studying a course while I’m in a dead-end job?

Help me please!

Sorry for the essay!

Feeding fun here - I will get back to you all soon- thanks for your questions.

@MrsSneeze yay thank you- would love to know how you get on - pls post a review.

@bringbananas you are not redundant - you are about to reblossom! The roles you expressed an interest in are quite varied - what is it about each of them that appeals? I would step back and say - in this next decade - how will you be defining success? What will really make you feel as though your time at work has been well spent?

We broadly measure success in one of four ways.

Which one is you?

Getting results - more money, hitting a target, getting things done

Innovation- making and sharing new things and new ideas

Process- being thorough, creating efficiency, simplifying

People - helping others, being of service, making an impact on a life, building relationships.

So once you know this you have your orientation.

Then it comes down to what are your natural skills and what interests you?

And what kind of environment or work rhythm would make you happy.

Combine the answers to these questions and you know what you are looking for!

And enjoy the discovery phase- it’s fun.

Get Barbara’s ‘refuse to choose’ book - she will Show you how you can do several different things well. She is also on YouTube giving advice in her 80’s - go Barb!

@CoffeeChocolateWine sounds like you feel quite stuck at the moment. And that you have sacrificed some of your interest and focus for the good of the family. And now it sounds like it is time to step into a new phase exploring what can be possible.

The hero or heroine does not know HOW they will get there, they just commit to getting there.

Yes some companies will want relevant experience. Some will also consider the right person an asset. You just need to find out who is who.

Is there anyone in children’s publishing that you could speak to and ask these questions? Who are the top ideal employers in this space? Can you make an approach to their HR or talent team? Ask about programme for women returners maybe?

Where you look is where you go. Focus on how to get what you want not on the barriers. My client who went from a very dry academic publisher to CBeebies did so post maternity leave. It can be done and you can do it. Take the first step- research, conversations ... go from there.
And keep reading the book!

@NickMyLipple I forgot to reply to your question about careers coaching. Yes it cna definitely help - always check chemistry before committing. Usually starts around £60 an hour but can go into the hundreds just depending on experience and sector focus.

Life coach directory is a good place to look. Or the ICF website.

@Angliski Thank you so much for such a detailed response. I'm about to go away for the weekend and I'm not sure I will be able to login and read it properly, but I will try. Whereabouts are you based?

Really useful thread, thanks for starting this.

One of the things I absolutely hate is writing my own CV. I end up waffling and struggling with business jargon. I've been looking at professional headhunters who offer bespoke CV writing - is this something you would recommend?

Oh and congratulations on the birth of your baby!

OP I started a new job on Wednesday... it's my tenth job in 14 months
I just keep leaving jobs!
I'm setting myself a challenge to stay here for at least 6 months... how can I best achieve this?

@Hillocrew impressive number of job changes! What’s going on there then?

What wee the last three jobs and why did you leave?

@BaolFan I do think it’s important to have a really well written cv. A CV is basically your shop window - it showcases who you are and it’s purpose is to get you an interview - to lure the reader into meeting you in person.

A good CV can also be pasted into your linked in with just a few tweaks so it’s two for one.

There are a lot of sharks out there in the CV writing space. The two I know are are good and have dealt with personally are fuller CV and city CV. I am sure there are others but MAKE sure you ask for an example of their work, check then on trust pilot and take a recommendation from someone - my step mum got badly fleeced recently by In Touch who produced a super bad CV.

Anyway it is also worth learning how to write your own cv so you have the skills to rewrite it.

The most common mistake people make Is to focus on responsibilities rather than outcomes. Let me give you an example I might say I was responsible for the development of a new website. But so what so is every other web developer. If I want to stand out I need to explain the way in which I developed that website and the value that I added as a result. For example I developed a new website and brand identity that resulted in 500% increase in traffic and 200 new enquiries per month. Or I was responsible for managing a team of four. So what. Nobody cares. But if you say I designed a new induction program that helps staff members become fully functioning members of the team within two weeks., Well that’s useful and interesting. So focus on revising your CV to look at your accomplishments rather than your role responsibilities. And be specific about what you’ve done because specificity is interesting and memorable. If you produced a blog about hedgehogs that resulted in a huge amount of traffic then you become the hedgehog person and therefore more memorable.

And it goes without sayingThat you want to check doublecheck and triple check your CV for any errors. Most recruiters will throw away your CV because there is one typo 95% of them or throw it away if there’s two.

@bringbananas I am based in Brighton.

Btw everyone thanks for giving me these interesting questions - they stop me being bored whilst chained to the boob monster! It’s lovely to get to use my brain and be jailed so please keep them coming. Plus your questions generate answers that will be useful to others so it’s a win/win all round!

@Angliski, sorry for slow reply but just want to say thank you for your reply and the advice. I do have a small number of people I could speak to in the sector I’m interested in so that feels like a good starting point.

In the meantime, I’ve seen a job that I’m considering applying for. It’s a good fit for me and my current experience but a step up which is great. But I just feel myself getting so confused about whether I should be focussing on making progress in my current field or whether that would be a distraction from trying to move to the field that I actually want to get into. Do I need to make a choice between the two things and go for it or is keeping options open a good thing?

Tell us three places where this work could he found ina set up that suits you.

Currently we are planning to relocate for improved quality of family life and trying to decide where to move. Currently live in a city but thinking about whether rural life could suit us.

1. Rural GP - I've contacted GPs in the areas we are considering and work is less rushed, more time to mix with colleagues, can have longer consultation times with patients. I think I would enjoy this work setting more, and I could carry on working 3 days a week and use my free time to explore my other interests through hobbies. The disadvantage would be if we didn't like rural living, and if I wanted to move away from general GP work there would be fewer opportunities.
2. A specialist interests GP programme- I see these advertised where you work as a GP half the week and are employed to develop a specialist interest the other days, eg work in a hospital clinic and gain a diploma. In areas where they need more doctors within the speciality. This could be a better working environment eg more contact with specialist colleagues, longer appointments with patients, the satisfaction of knowing a lot about a particular subject. Disadvantage would be some loss of work/ life balance during the training period, eg would prob need to work more days, and some of the special interests available are not things I'm passionate about, but could be interesting.
3. Stay in a city/ town and try to build a portfolio career. e.g. free NHS coaching course to coach within NHS, some work teaching medical students, normal GP work. Disadvantage is increased living costs in city and the more interesting work is generally paid less.
4. try to build up an education career- I spent some time teaching medical students and it didn't feel like work, it was really fun. This work is competitive and hard to get many shifts, eg I was doing one day a month, and it is paid less than half a normal GP shift. If I wanted to build up more I could prioritise applying for these shifts, take a diploma (££).

Really we are discussing a lot whether to move to a rural area, town or stay in city. How do we make a decision like this? We keep going round in circles.

@MrsSneeze what experience are you Most looking for as a family? What do you think would be fun, rewarding, adventurous and pleasurable?

@CoffeeChocolateWine

There isn’t always just one definitive right answer. Sometimes if you aren’t sure it is worth planting a few seeds and seeing what sprouts. Till you have two job offers in your hand you don’t really have a dilemma do you? The challenge is - take action, apply for what you want and when you have an offer THEN worry about what route to take. Just keep taking action.

By taking actions what you want will become clear. You can’t think yourself into the solution - you have to let the universe guide you and feel into the variety you routes by making the applications.

Crack on McDuff!

I'm continuing to 'chose' to stay at the job I know I will shortly lose, despite toxic environment and stress. Today I engineered a few more weeks work there, which will be worth it for the money. I've realised I need a break after I leave, partly to let the dust settle but also to really work out what I want to do next, but a break will only be worth it if I feel I can justify it financially. If I can make it to the end of May I'll skip out of there without a care in the world. Realistically I think I'll make it to the start of April. To stop myself from grabbing at the first thing that comes along when I leave I've registered interest with an organisation that will soon be offering relevant paid internship/retraining starting later in the year. To fill their diversity remit they actively want older applicants and the pay would actually just about work out. Hadn't even considered this before and has genuinely interesting placements. Something to think about.

Thank you @Angliski! There is so much here to think about!