In career transition? 10 pearls to help you through

In 2000 I combined my 15 years of experience and training in organizational/leadership development, communications strategy, corporate coaching and personal branding, and launched my first business—a career coaching and consulting firm dedicated to helping men and women integrate who they are with what they do. 

While it’s been years since I’ve done individual career coaching (we’ve got a great senior career coach who does this), I have so many close friends and family that are up late at night right now worrying about job searches and interviews, financial stability, re-positioning and re-inventions, relocating and life purpose, I’ve been moved to share some reminders.

If we were sitting down over a mug of tea, here’s what I’d remind my friends in career transition:

• Everything’s going to be alright. Living in the unknown can feel gut wrenchingly painful at times, but it fortifies the soul and strengthens the heart. Trust the process. Read more.
• Don’t forget to ask for help. Don’t forget to ask for help.  It’s everything.  Read more.
• Give this lots of time and space. On average a career change takes two years—longer if you’re launching a new business. Career transitions and launching new businesses always take more money, time and resources than you think they will. Keep remembering this.
• Put your attention on what you want, not what you don’t want. Feeling miserable at your current job and stuck in a negative spin-cycle? This can shift on a dime when you start to direct your energy to what’s next, what you truly desire.
• Keep perspective. This stretch of time can feel like an eternity but in the scheme of your life, it’s a blink. You’re in the “in between” –the valley between who you used to be and who you’re becoming.
• Be compassionate with yourself. One of my favorite life purpose authors Gregg Levoy says, “Generally people won’t pursue their calling until the fear of doing so is finally exceeded by the pain of not doing so, but it’s amazing how high our tolerance is for this kind of pain.”
• Listen to your gut. Don’t feel pressured to have coffee or lunch with every person your friends send your way. Follow your intuition. Some contacts will be a yes, some a no and some a maybe or not now.
• Keep your partner and family up-to-date on your plans even if they’re in flux. Those close to you need to know where you are in the career transition process; they want to support you. Sit down with your partner at least every two weeks with an update. Let yourself be vulnerable and share your fears and insecurities. (Read Holding it Together is Overrated.)
• There is no one recipe for a job search or career change. It’s messy.  And it requires you to balance action with contemplation (read more about the dance of the yin/yang). I highly recommend the “baby steps” approach.
• Take this time to get your financial house in order (career and money stuff are always intertwined). Design a new budget, look at where you can create more financial breathing room. Commit to revisiting your budget and financial picture monthly or quarterly.
• Be prepared to leave behind that which is no longer serving you. Not just the outdated wardrobe, but the outdated thinking, views and ways of being that no longer serve you (read The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks for more support here).

We’re in dynamic and chaotic times. It can feel like we’re being served up new curve balls each week. Realize this and know that now more than ever it’s essential to practice good self-care and to remember when things get really tough, sometimes we have to break down to break through.

SEEKING SUPPORT FOR YOURSELF OR YOUR TEAM? HERE ARE TWO OPPORTUNITIES::

• I’m scheduling fall/spring custom online retreats and workshops now! Consider hiring me to create an online experience to help your team, organization or employees feel less stressed and more resilient, creative and focused. For 20+ years I’ve been coaching professionals worldwide on how to find balance through practicing the art/science of self-care. Whether it’s a workshop, keynote or mini-retreat via Zoom, I’d love to discuss how I can support your organization. Learn more here.
• *Almost full!*  Sept. 27th, 1-4 p.m. REVERENCE: Spiritual and Soul-Lifting Practices to Nourish & Sustain ~ a women’s online virtual retreat. Learn more and register here. Space is limited.

Subscribe here to Live Inside Out, a weekly blog written by life balance coach/author/speaker Renée Peterson Trudeau. Passionate about helping men and women find balance through the art and science of self-care, her work has appeared in The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, US News & World Report, Spirituality & Health and more. She and her team have certified more than 400 facilitators in 10 countries around the globe to lead life coaching groups and women’s retreats based on her work. She’s the author of two books on life balance including the award-winning The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and 18-year-old son. More on Renee here.