Career coach? I started out like any other hopeful MBA armed with a hard earned degree from a top 10 business school ready to take on the world. I began my career diving deeply into data at Fortune 100 companies. Working closely with marketing, I truly enjoyed designing, implementing, and interpretating primary research that shaped products and services. The creative element of successfully putting together features and marketing campaigns that filled market gaps and served demographic niches was so gratifying. Using secondary research, I was able to report on economic trends that were reported to upper management. I had absolutely no thoughts of being a career coach.
Starting Out in the Fast Lane
After life in the corporate lane, I decided to take a step back and raise a family. It wasn’t something I planned. It just was something that I felt I personally needed to do after my first child was born. I took on that project head on like I had taken on every project before that. It turned out that I loved that too. So much that I stuck around for more kids! I did the carpools. I did the PTA. I did the school trip chaperoning. All fantastic experiences. I was the project manager of my fiefdom.
I gradually worked my way back into the work world by running the marketing for a few small businesses. I went from traditional direct marketing all the way through to digital marketing with a specialty in content marketing. In that capacity I got to understand the mindset of founders and small business owners who had to carefully consider how each dollar was spent and if it paid off.
Seeds of Career Coaching Planted
Throughout this time, I had so many young people in and out of my world that I developed a really good sixth sense as to both how to approach them and what they would be good at. I could tell almost immediately what environments they would excel in. Starting with my own children, I supported each one of them as they each embarked on wholly unique and compatible professions that suited their strengths and values. As each one approached high school graduation, we started seriously thinking about the future. It was a fun challenge. And, a challenge that I enjoyed with each of the young people that passed through my door and shared meals with us.
Sad Decisions
The saddest thing that I came across was the resignation. If a friend of my son or daughter admitted to me that they were only becoming “x” because they had no idea what else to be. They said if “so and so” is doing “x”, I might as well since I have no idea what else to be.
Picking a lifelong path and career based on what their friend was doing seemed to me a recipe for disaster. I saw the cause as not being given the space and tools to figure it out on their own and to me that was almost tragic. Sure unforeseen things happen during the twists and turns of life and adjustments, even pivots, need to be made, but to start out almost behind the eight ball like this is such a waste of emotional and physical as well as monetary capital.
I saw these kids going in a few directions;
- Going into a job they did not enjoy, or even hated, just to do “something”.
- Spending a lot of time floating in and out of higher education institutions until finally landing on “something” for better or worse.
- The worst case that I still see is intelligent, well educated youngsters who are still floundering with no real direction perhaps taking low (or very low) paying jobs while they are still finding themselves.
All this due to a lack of career education from the start.
My Big Decision
I had come to a point in my own years-long career where I felt a change had to be made and I saw helping out the new generation as a way to really make a difference. I wanted my work to really mean something and I felt my training as a parent of now adult children and the ancillary cohort could pay off. Thus, I embarked on new certifications.
I dove deep into being certified as a career coach, resume writer, career advisor, and general coaching before hanging out my shingle. I bring my education, experience, and talents (yes, talents!) as a researcher and problem solver to the table as I help children as young as juniors and seniors in high school and up come to a clear career path that they will be happy pursuing. I understand the challenges they are facing and am gratified when I can help them on their way to successfully setting up their own homes, families, and careers.
