The discontent of the American worker has left a lot of people wondering where they want to go with their career. – What fuels their passion…what gives them job satisfaction? The answer they need may come in the form of a “human GPS” – a Career Coach, to offer some direction and planning. A Career Coach helps you define what kind of employment will give you meaning, purpose and a sense of joy. With an average of 90,000 hours spent on the job in a lifetime, it should be something you love doing. While a Career Coach can offer guidance on job search strategy basics like resumes and interviewing, a Coach also offers another dimension to your discovery process by helping you focus on your strengths, values and putting an action plan in place.
Lloyd invited Career Coach, Lisa M. Owens, MS, CCSP, GCDF, to share her thoughts on how to get started on your career journey or take it in a new direction.
By Lisa M. Owens, MS CCSP, GCDF
What else brings me joy? It’s what the start of a new season represents. I was thinking about a number of new beginnings. Some in career, business, family, relationships and just life in general. Perhaps a new beginning and fresh start for you depends on where you are with your goals and in your story and journey. The end of the month marking the end of Q1 is a perfect time to reflect on where you’ve been in the last 3 months, where you stand today and how you can map out the next 3 months, 3 weeks or 3 days if you need it.
This reflection is for anyone, but for the purpose of this post, who better to jump-start this conversation than with someone in career or business transition. Let me ask you, what does this new season look like for you? For me, I’ve been on this self discovery journey for some time now and much of what I teach and encourage is for others to do the same self evaluation. You’ll find that this is relative to how you map out your long and short term goals. You see what you learn about yourself in this new season will determine what your future plans look like.
I want you to consider who are you now. Are you in a career transition? Are you focused? Do you struggle with procrastination? Are you easily distracted? Are you introverted? Are your priorities out of order? Are you spiritually centered? Are you afraid? Did something just not work? I know it’s a lot, but think about the answers and let them direct you.
If you’ve taken a few moments to reflect now consider a few goals to set. If you are not familiar, try the S.M.A.R.T. way. It’s going to be a pretty easy to follow.
You can break down any goal using this method. I have an example I often use in my workshops so I can keep it simple and relatable. Right now I have a goal to drink at least 64 oz of water per day. It’s specific and definitely measurable. It’s something everyone can achieve. It’s real and can be set for a time block. Kinda easy right? But when when you consider barriers like those I mentioned, being a procrastinator turns any planning into a daunting task you avoid.
I personally struggle in even starting to plan. I’m sure it’s not just me which is why I thought about you when preparing this post. So many people I coach share the same challenges in planning and setting goals and what happens when experiencing those challenges is going into freeze mode and doing nothing. I’ve learned it leads nowhere and its not something anyone wants for themselves. I want you to think differently about how to approach the process.
Go back to the beginning of this post. Recognize the things you like, think about how a fresh start provides a new perspective. Then learn about yourself. Considering these steps as a part of your goals and plans will set the tone for how you approach what you want for yourself in this 2nd quarter of the year.
I promise its ok to erase and start over or just tweak what you’ve outlined. You may need to, but just take the step. It doesn’t have to be for the full 3 months. Start with one goal for the first week, then the next you’ll be well on your way to an effective plan leading to the life you want and one you’ll enjoy along the way.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
She can be reached at: lisa@bejourneyinspired.com