Feeling lost and lacking confidence after being made redundant, Sarah was offered outplacement coaching by her employer. This enabled her to prioritise her needs and values in order to secure a job she loved.
Sarah was made redundant at the end of 2020. Although unexpected, the timing gave her space to think about her next move, and while in the throws of home schooling, we began coaching together.
Sarah is ambitious and driven. She knew she wanted to turn that drive into something meaningful but wasn’t sure where to start. She had over 10 years industry experience but recognised that she’d lost her self-belief and was nervous about ‘putting herself out there’.
Sarah’s employer approached me to support her in discovering her next move. An important part of the process for Sarah was to take a step back and recognise the feelings of grief, hurt and loss that she carried with her. Once she allowed herself time to grieve the loss of her job, she was able to move forward in a more self- compassionate way.
She began to recognise her needs and the importance of introducing self-care measures to get herself in a mindset to search for desirable roles. Simple steps such as taking time in the day for herself, reintroducing exercise and mindful activities were important in regaining her self-worth.
She reflected deeply on her values and how in her previous role these were being challenged. She could now see why some things hadn’t felt ‘right’. Bringing her values to life, and examining what those meant to her, meant she could identify career paths and companies of interest that aligned with those values.
At the point of finding new roles that excited her, she talked about how her inner narrative would kick in and try to tell her that she wasn’t experienced enough or didn’t have the capabilities. She would then dismiss that role. Together we began challenging that narrative and questioning how truthful it was being. When unpicking the narrative, we discovered that it rarely spoke the truth.
Sarah rebuilt her confidence by consistently looking for evidence; past experience and knowledge, successes that were present - and there were many. Sarah became aware of her inner narrative and began to challenge it with increasingly empowering and truthful statements. Over time, this became more of a habit.
The result?
Sarah's confident approach enabled her to reach out to her network and uncover the jobs she really wanted to do, that she was passionate about. She went for it and got 'her dream job' - her words.
Not only that but she was confident in finding out more about the company and asking the questions to see how their values aligned with her own.
Do you want to make a change, but are not sure where to start? Get in touch to discover if coaching could help you find your 'dream job'.
Gemma Brown is an associate certified coach with the International Coach Federation, working with people to navigate successfully through transitions - be it career, relationships or life in general. Her belief is that when we confidently bring our whole selves to all areas of life, anything is possible. Transitions exist in both our personal and business life, and so often, the two fiercely overlap. Coaching with Gemma focuses on you as a whole, enabling you to identify your strengths, build confidence and to live a life with increased purpose and direction. Gemma is based in Cambridgeshire and carries out face to face coaching in the area as well as 1-2-1 coaching via Skype and Zoom. For more about Gemma, visit her 'About' page or contact her directly.