Help Your Clients Reinvent Their Careers

I have my clients identify their true values and strenghts. Then I have them dream of their ideal work and work environment. As they become clear on what they want we use the tools of attraction to begin to draw what they want to them through very intentional actions.

Particularly in this financial environment, I find that helping people who are dissatisfied with their current or previous job to be a lot like juggling.

Unless the person has built up a lot of savings, the clock is usually ticking quite loudly. And I don’t think any of us can or would promise how long it will take a client to find a new job or new career. Furthermore, I’ve seen evidence that it can take up to 2 years to identify and move to a new career. And, it is often unclear what the short-term and long-term financial implications of a move will be, further increasing clients’ anxiety levels (I have been unable to find any research on the financial implications of changing careers, for example).

Unless a client is entrepreneurial, has the financial resources, and has the right idea at the right time, I think that exercises around dreaming up the ideal job based on the client’s passions can lead to more dissatisfaction, as the client realizes they can’t afford (or aren’t willing to afford) the financial consequences of following that dream.

Clients who experience burn-out in their current or previous jobs often have difficulty identifying where the dissatisfaction comes from – how much is specific to that job and employer, how much to the type of work, and how much to the client’s personality. Also, since we only see the workplace through the eyes of the client (unless we are able to shadow them), we don’t know what the workplace really looks like and how “crazy” the boss really is.

I recently spoke with Francine Campone (who has also posted on the Commons) about working with these clients and I liked her idea of creating “springboards” as a way from getting from where the client is today to where they might like to end up. In some cases it may be working to make the current job more tolerable and to beef up the resume. In other cases, it may be moving to a new job that will be a step closer to the goal. While still difficult at times, I find this approach to be pragmatic and respectful of the client’s financial goals.

I also wonder whether some clients might find greater overall satisfaction by finding more passion outside of the workplace – in some cases work and “life” may be so out of balance that clients think only of the workplace when looking for passion, flow, and a place to flourish.

There are a lot of clients asking themselves (and us) questions about what to do next, professionally. I’d love to hear more about how other coaches are handling what I see as a balancing act between helping clients to maximize (or at least improve) their job satisfaction while being mindful of our clients’ need to pay their bills and plan for their financial future.

Fran, This is wonderful. In order to reinvent yourself, you need to know what you want to be different; aka where you want to go. Our clients want to jump into the “doing” first. But in order to be successful at reinvention, you have to “be you” first. You sound like a great coach. Deborah

Jonathan, I think it’s about transitioning. You can’t jump into a new career if you don’t have the financial’s to back it up. But you can get ready. This market has had people assess what they want to do with their lives. Their timetable for attainment may be longer than they like, but at least they are doing the work to get ready.

I agree with your point about doing things outside of work that give you satisfaction. This has always been an important part of our work, helping our clients be balanced no matter what’s happening around them.

I am not a professional coach but do a lot of coaching in my job supervising 4 staff members in a busy office. In my one on one conversations with staff, I ask them what they are enjoying most in the job, what they would like to learn more of, what they would like to do in the future (even in a new position or career), then evaluate organizational needs. Then I provide opportunities for further learning, training, development, creative procedure implemenation that will not only benefit the staff member’s experience and future job transition but will also benefit the department and our role with the greater org.