Typical Client Stories

My job is to enable you to find your definition of success, so you can transition out of your corporate career into what's next knowing that you're making the right decision for you.

Making a difference for people is why I do what I do, and below you can read fsome examples of how I've helped people do this.

Adam invested in my Career Change Success programme. We explored his Strengths and how he enjoys using them, and then explored what matters to him. From these insights Adam identified what he wanted from his next move, and how he wanted work to align with his life now.

It became clear to Adam that it wasn’t the work he did that was the problem. He still really enjoyed HR and the difference he could make for employees and organisations; but he’d been working in the wrong environment. The culture was competitive and macho, and the CEO had created a toxic culture but they weren't willing to recognise that. Adam realised that if he could find the right organisation for him he could enjoy his work again.

Adam identified his ‘non-negotiables’ and we built these into his job search strategy and then worked on how to tailor his CV for the roles he wanted. Adam quickly secured interviews in the Charity sector and we ensured he could confidently talk about his transferable strengths, skills and experiences and how he would make the transition into the new sector. Our final session focused on which job offer Adam would accept and how he would create his ‘First 90 days’ plan.

Outcome: After 12 weeks and 6 hours Career Change Success coaching, Adam started his new role with an organisation that aligned with his values and and strengths.

Adam

At the age of 53, Adam was exhausted by his role. He'd worked hard to achieve an HR Director role and was good at his job. But he didn’t enjoy it any more. Exhausted by the politics and long hours, he knew he needed need to leave. He really wanted to do something different - but it felt like a huge leap into the unknown.

Caroline invested in some Explore coaching sessions to help her work out what she wanted to do next - and how to do it. She initially thought she’d find Consultancy work as she knew she could deliver change projects and liked the idea of the flexibility this type of work would give her – she could work hard for the duration of a contract and then take time out before taking on her next contract.

In our first conversation we looked at options for consultancy work, what she needed to put in place to support this way of working and the potential 'pros and cons'. During this conversation Caroline mentioned that she has a long-held dream of learning how to make jewellery and then selling it at local markets and craft fairs. I asked her why she did not plan to pursue that now and she said it was her plan for when she was 60 and would ‘retire properly’.

Caroline then went on holiday for four weeks, saying she would think about the things we’d discussed while she was away.

On Caroline’s return she said she wanted to find short-term contract work as she wanted to take regular holidays. We then looked at what she did and did not want to do, in order to create a CV / Bio and to prepare for conversations with agencies. During this conversation Caroline realised that she was reluctant to commit to a contract of more than a few weeks duration as she wanted the freedom to go on holiday whenever she wanted. She was also starting to feel anxious about going back into a corporate environment and culture. This led us to talk more about what matters to Caroline, and how she could align work with this.

Caroline decided to take some more time to think this through, and I proposed some activities she could do to help her gain further insight into what matters – and what doesn’t matter - to her now.

After 8 weeks, and another holiday, Caroline was ready to talk through some further insights. She had realised that initially she felt she should get some type of corporate work because she didn’t feel ready to be ‘retired’ or to give up the money she had been earning. At the same time she valued her freedom and time for travel more than she wanted to work. Another insight was that she did not need to earn the money she had been used to: working hard for long hours had deserved rewards, but those rewards now felt meaningless.

So we then explored different things Caroline could do, that would enable her to work on her terms and live the life she wanted to for the next 10 years or so.

Following some more research and exploration Caroline enrolled on some jewellery-making courses in Italy and Spain. She also placed her house on the market with the intention of ‘downsizing’ so she could work only for pleasure, and around holidays.

Outcome: After 4 hours Explore coaching over 6 months Caroline was happy to declare herself ‘early retired / part-time self-employed’ and looking forward to travelling more and making / selling jewellery when she was home.

Caroline

Aged 57 Caroline found her role as Strategy Director was being made redundant. She was trying to see it as an opportunity to work less, do something a bit different – less ‘corporate’. She wanted more time for herself, for travel, for family and friends. She knew she had an impressive career history and a lot to offer the right employer – but didn’t have a CV, hadn’t had an interview for 20 years and had no idea how to find a job.

Sam invested in my Transition to Retirement programme. In our first conversation we explored Sam's strengths, during which she revealed that a change of leadership in her organisation had resulted in her feeling excluded and undermined in her role, leading to a loss of confidence and self-belief. She knew she was capable but didn’t have the confidence to ‘sell herself’ to a new employer. Exploring Sam's strengths gave her the opportunity to recall how she’d used them and most importantly, what they mean to her for this career transition.

Sam came to our second conversation feeling more energetic and enthusiastic. Reflecting on her strengths had boosted her self-belief and she felt more confident that she could make a success of whatever she chose to do next.

While exploring what matters to Sam, she said she felt ‘removed’ from her community. She had always been so busy with her career she barely knew her neighbours despite living in her house for over 20 years. She also wanted to know her nieces and nephews better, to keep up with what was happening in their lives. As Sam’s top strengths include Curiosity, Legacy and Relationship Deepener, we explored how she could use these to make this difference.

Sam came to our third conversation full of energy! She was setting up a charity coffee shop in her local community, and had started to develop an app for her nephew’s business. Sam still wanted to do some contract work but this now felt like less of a priority.

By the end of Sam’s coaching she was happy to stop looking for contract work. She was really enjoying working in her community and with her nephew, she had joined a gym and her days were busy. Her partner, seeing how happy she was now, had decided to leave his corporate role as well and they were planning some ‘bucket-list’ activities for the next few years.

Outcome: after 4 hours Transition to Retirement coaching, Sam achieved her programme goals – she had regained her confidence, she was learning and keeping her brain active, she was developing relationships that mattered, she was having fun, and was looking forward to her retirement.

Sam

Sam's Head of Technology role had been made redundant. She was 62 and the last few years in her role had left her exhausted. She knew she didn't have the energy for another corporate role but she did want to keep learning and keep her brain active. Financially she didn’t need to work but ‘retirement’ felt like too big a step . She was thinking about a few short-term contract roles until she was 65 (more of a 'retirement age'!) She also wanted to have fun as this had been lacking with the pressures of work.