After she became a mother, Amanda knew something had to give with her 8am-6pm job as a manager for a telecommunications company. Her number one client, a banana-encrusted cutie with a penchant for predawn meetings was now top priority.
It was at a professional meeting that she heard a woman mention a career coach. Before long, Amanda, then 38, hired coach Kimberly Bowen of Career Life Designs. Amanda wanted to find a job in which she could deliver excellent results and still be a hands-on mom. What the coaching experience helped her realize is that she didn't have to be her father, who worked full-time, and she didn't have to be her mother, who was a stay-at-home mother who raised 3 kids. She was free to pursue a new path.
Kimberly gave Amanda a framework and some criteria by which to judge career opportunities. Soon Amanda started a new business that offered her the luxury to work from home and do what she enjoys plus spend more time with her son and husband.
Women hire career coaches when they are contemplating or experiencing a career or job transition such as changing careers or returning to the workplace after being a stay-at-home mom. Career coaches can help map out steps to achieve a goal, whether it's "make more time for yourself," "make a job change" or "move up in your career". They help you assign yourself "fieldwork" and if you don't follow through they will call you on it or help you solve the problem in a new way.
For an individual career coach, expect to pay a monthly retainer for a set number of fixed-length private sessions, often on the phone but sometimes in person. Making a 3-6 month commitment to the process is important. And check with your employer about possible reimbursement and with your accountant about possible tax deductions.
You can test the waters by taking Kimberly up on a free introductory session to make sure that the coach-client fit is a good one. Coaching is a great way to get a big view of your life and make new choices with the opportunities that you make available. Email Us!
