I want to let you all know that I have been there too!
Many people ask me about my career and what led me to running my career coaching business and so my blog this month is all about my own career change journey.
I want to let you know that I have been there too! I have spent time wondering about and imagining a career I would really enjoy and I have spent time planning and developing this career. It is these experiences that have enabled me to build a career coaching programme with a lot of understanding behind it of what people go through in their careers and how they can create a fulfilling career.
From the beginning…
Many of you may not know this, but I actually did a music degree at Birmingham University. I chose music because it is a subject I am very passionate about. Whilst studying music, I started to think about my next steps and made the decision for music to become more of a hobby than to provide me with an income. At this point, I started looking into law. I was particularly interested in family law as I wanted to be able to help people resolve issues in their personal lives.
A few years later I did indeed qualify as a solicitor in family law. It was an amazing experience, representing individuals from a range of backgrounds. It was also hard work and you had to learn fast. I will never forget walking into the office one day as a newly qualified and being told I was going to have to go and do a court hearing (alone!).
However, something still wasn’t quite right. After a few years, I was still really wondering what else was out there in the world of work. It fascinated me and I knew I had other passions I wanted to explore. I decided to take a career break to allow me time to make these explorations. My plan was to do some voluntary work within the charity sector as well as build more experience of working with children (two areas I am really passionate about). As it happened, within a few weeks of leaving my job, I was offered a job as a teaching assistant for a very good teacher friend of mine which I did at the same time as doing the Place2Be Certificate in Counselling Skills for Working with children. When these came to an end, I managed to secure a major gift fundraising role at Macmillan Cancer Support. I had carried out a lot of research through networking in the charity sector and had previously done some voluntary work abroad and so I already knew a lot about the roles available.
My time at Macmillan was extremely inspiring, working for an organisation which delivers such a fantastic service and with people who are so passionate about the cause. It was also fascinating to work in a place where there are lots of different jobs available within one organisation. Although I missed parts of my role as a family law solicitor, at this point I knew my career was going to take a slightly different direction.
What led me to career coaching?
After making the move from law into a different sector, lots of people started to ask me for career advice and I realised I was really enjoying the process of speaking to them about their own careers. Deep down I’d always wanted to work for myself and so looked into how I could make a career out of giving careers support helping those who are struggling going into work each day. I discovered career coaching and you all know what happened next!
I have now been running my business for 10 years. I coach many solicitors as well as many individuals from other backgrounds and professions.
What about my passions for children and charities?
…and I haven’t forgotten about my other passions…children and the charity sector…
My passion for helping children has continued in a voluntary capacity leading me over the last couple of years to designing my primary school confidence coaching programme (My space 4 me) as well as a secondary school careers programme.
As you will no doubt realise, none of this happened overnight. It took time, thinking, experimenting, talking, getting things right and getting things wrong!
My Book
Everything you read in my book (The Tea Model), I have done personally as well as used this programme to coach 100’s of individuals. I have made goals, assessed my skills. I have developed a career vision, overcome that tricky negative mindset. I have explored different options through paid and voluntary work, networked to help me find the answers as well as battled with that work-life balance (which is always a work in progress for everyone!).
I want you to know that carving your own way through the world of careers may take time, but it is possible, and it will be worth it as I can honestly say I love what I do. If you are not enjoying your job, please do use the people around you who have been on a similar journey like me. There are always times in our lives when we need a bit of extra support and that is okay!
It is possible to find a fulfilling and satisfying job for you.
It’s that time of year when I do a round-up of all my articles and blogs for the year. I do this so that when reflecting on your career (as many do over Christmas and New Year) you can quickly scan through this round-up and read what is relevant for you. I hope it is helpful!
Do you enjoy a relaxing cup of herbal tea to ease the worries of the day? Which combination of ingredients would be your perfect choice of tea? Perhaps your favourite is green tea with strawberry and vanilla or perhaps it’s apple and ginger. There are so many types to choose from, all with a unique flavour made from a combination of different ingredients.
It doesn’t seem that long ago when I was writing my 2017 round up and already we are looking forward to our next Christmas break. I wonder what lies ahead for your career in 2019. Will it be a career change? Will you be returning to work? Are you facing any uncertainty at work, perhaps through redundancy? Perhaps you are contemplating having a break from work? Is there a promotion you have your eyes on?
Now I know many of you will own a work mug and feel a strong attachment with this mug, especially when others request to use it. Often it is the design of the mug reflecting part of our personality that forms this strong bond. It becomes part of you and who you are!
At a wedding I attended a few years ago, I started chatting to a lady during the reception. The reception was taking place in a marquee in the beautiful countryside and, as expected, everyone was in good spirits. The lady I was talking to was extremely friendly and, having introduced myself to her, I asked:
My third interview is with Toni Sharp who talks about how she created an inspirational portfolio career spending part of her working week in her role as an Employment and HR solicitor whilst also spending time working as a travel consultant. Portfolio careers are a great way of creating a career which matches your interests and provides flexibility. The increasing range and variety of jobs available allows for a more creative and flexible approach when designing your career path. Toni’s journey in creating her portfolio career is an inspirational read as she details how she made her decisions to find different roles which match her passions, skills and interests.
Tessa Armstrong 