Career change coaching for smart, capable professionals who want to take stock and figure out their next step
Clarified direction and next steps
“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life next! A friend of mine suggested coaching. I just felt that I was a jack of all trades, I’ve experience in so many different areas and no one real ‘expertise’ (OR SO I THOUGHT!).
I wasn’t sure where to look next for a job but I knew I wanted to leave my previous job (for various reasons).
I liked that the hour was well planned out by Nicola, I felt like we got through a lot. I also liked how approachable she was with emails etc, and I know that she would reply if I had any further questions.
I’m now seriously considering starting up a venture on my own – it might not be overnight but I will start thinking about it properly. I had a lot of fear around that. Also, it has made me realise that I don’t necessarily have to automatically go for jobs that involve people management just because I consider myself a leader.
I’ve decided now that a real non-negotiable for me is using my voice (presenting/public speaking) for social change, I need to have that in any job I take.
Nicola won’t tell you what you should do with your life, rather she will ask you questions that guide you and spark ideas.
I would also encourage people to take their time with the process, like I did. I got the pre-session exercise immediately and had lots of time to think about it, and I think that helped immensely.”
— Jennifer*, decided her non-negotiable
“I needed to get through the untamed jungle of possibilities and decide on a path to follow so I invested in career coaching with Nicola.
The guidance and structure was really helpful. I liked having a format and process to follow because it gave me hope that it would help clear up the murkiness. I appreciated the notes from each session and the experience has been positive.
Nicola’s reliability, calm and confidence made the process feel doable.
I’ve identified a good place for me to start (coach certification) and to be able to justify the decision in concrete language using my blueprint, a one-page visual summary of what I’m looking for from my career going forward. This is immensely helpful when the doubts creep in, or other shiny opportunities pop up.
I finally have a direction!”
— D.S., training as a coach
“I needed to get clarity about next steps, and have the structure and accountability that coaching could provide so that I could shift my career in a new direction.
Nicola’s understanding, experience, and the way she could pull out key themes, pieces of information in ways I hadn’t necessarily thought of were immensely helpful. There were so many “yes, that is it” or “Oh I hadn’t realized that, but you’re right” moments.
This session has validated that ‘connection’ is key to me: it’s a skill, motivation, and value that I’d like to dig into more. I gained useful knowledge about the career change process, how it takes time, and that values, and testing your ideas are a key part in the process.
What’s more, I realised that you don’t have to wait until you’re ready to engage in the career change process - engaging is what will ensure I’ll be ready when the right opportunity comes along.
A genuine thank you Nicola for your kindness and understanding – I really enjoyed our session and you have given me a lot to think about!”
— Emily, academic who is shifting her career
“I decided to invest in an Ideal Career Coaching Session to get help with the direction I wanted to go in next with my career. Nicola asked great questions that were thought-provoking, which gave me a clearer view about what I value in a career. I have more confidence as a result to make some small changes in the short-term. I’m also more hopeful about my future career. Thanks for everything Nicola, it was great working with you and I look forward to hopefully working together in the future.”
— Cliodhna, teacher, more hopeful about her future career
“I decided to invest in coaching to help gain some clarity on my career. What I liked best were the helpful reflections, prompts, and questions that really focused my thinking. I now have some good questions - and a better structure - to think about what I want out of my career. Honestly, I can’t think of anything that would have improved the experience.”
— David, taking a structured decision-making approach
“I felt like I wasn’t happy with my job but I couldn’t figure out why exactly that was the case. There were way too many thoughts going on in my head for me to identify the problem at hand.
The questions that Nicola asked me have helped me think through what I was struggling with.
As a result of our work together, I’ve explored the different avenues that I could take in my career and I have learned something from each of those explorations - this was great. I’ve also identified my strengths and values which helped me clarify what some of my goals are, even outside of my career.
I really can’t remember being this excited about my future career since leaving college. I think this is amazing!”
— K.R., feeling excited about their future career
“I was in a rut, had left my job and the pandemic had left me feeling unsure about where I wanted to go next.
As a result of working with Nicola, I have clarified what motivates me: that purpose, having a team and crucially having fun are really important to where I work. I am exploring a very different avenue of work to what I was thinking about 6 months ago and understand better how some of the work and careers I was considering weren’t a great fit for me and thus didn’t feel right.
The best thing about coaching was having an insightful, caring, motivated and expert person to talk to. It was really motivating and the sense of accountability of having a call booked and having a deadline really worked for me.”
— Sinéad, exploring careers in advocacy and activism