Career Management
Being caught up in the day-to-day demands of our fast-paced world makes it easy to lose sight of where you’re headed, let alone whether you are enjoying the trip. In both career and life, you need to know where you’re going, or you will end up somewhere else.
Strategic career management involves taking charge of your career and making wise decisions to nurture it. To do that requires a realistic understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses, as well as potential challenges and opportunities in the market. It also involves realizing that your career is your most important asset. It needs to be maintained by continuous efforts to build your profile and brand; creating strong networks, and ensuring your skills keep pace with evolving realities.
Career-management coaching helps clients maximize their career potential, fulfillment and sense of security over time. Insight to Action will support you to determine a career-management strategy and action plan and guide you through its implementation.
Who should consider career-management coaching?
- managers and professionals who feel they have lost their enthusiasm for and sense of direction in their work, and realize it’s time to take stock, re-evaluate their goals and priorities, and put a plan in place to achieve them
- individuals who want to be clear about their unique strengths and brand, and leverage this awareness to maximize their career credibility, profile and ultimately, advancement
- individuals who are currently employed, but want maximize their career potential by developing skills and attitudes for career success – including self-awareness, presence, communications effectiveness, emotional resilience, assertiveness, relationship management
What are the benefits of career-management coaching?
Our career-management clients have reported experiencing:
- greater energy, fulfillment and success in a career that is designed around their personal priorities and goals, rather than subject to chance or external influences
- greater career resilience and adaptability that comes from keeping abreast of developments in your field
- awareness of personal brand, that leads to increased confidence in communicating about your strengths and achievements, stepping forward for opportunities and learning from setbacks
How does career-management coaching work?
Insight to Action’s career-management coaching process is customized to your needs, and consists of one-to-one sessions incorporating some or all of the following elements:
Career-Life Review
- Take a guided walk through your career, educational background and significant volunteer/recreational activities. Use this opportunity to reflect on your accomplishments and recognize what motivates you. Consider the lessons learned through your career highs and lows.
Self-Reflection
- The first step involves discussion and exercises to stimulate self-awareness of core competencies, values, and compatible work environments to provide fresh insight into your career requirements.
- Next, scientifically validated psychological assessments of interests, personality preferences, and strengths help you further take stock of who you are, what you offer to others, and what you want.
A Brand Called You
- Pull together what you’ve learned about yourself into a clear concept of your personal brand; consider what differentiates you from others and makes you unique.
- Develop succinct, clear messages that capture the essence of who you are and the value you bring in your work.
Strategic Planning & Action
- One-to-one coaching to leverage strengths and address potential barriers to career progression in your current organization. Create a professional development plan, and develop strategies to build your network and raise your profile, both internally and externally. Seek out “stretch” opportunities that position you for the next step.
- If, after careful consideration and coaching, you decide it’s time to move beyond your current job, Insight to Action provides job-search support to guide you through the process. Develop your search strategy, create a professional resume and online profile, conduct an active networking campaign, prepare for interviews – all the elements of a professional job search.
How career-management coaching has helped others
Elaine’s clients share how Insight to Action’s career coaching made a difference to their careers.
“I wanted to let you know I have a new position. The environment is really good and I have flexible hours and the salary is higher. When I prepared for the interview I drew on what I learned during our time together and it worked! I want to thank you very much for giving me the tools and confidence I needed to take this step.”
A mid-career professional whose career had been stalled after 17 years in the same organization.
“The coaching process worked wonders for me. At a critical career juncture where I was faced with an important decision, you helped me discern a path that aligns with my unique strengths and interests. Even more, I now feel more fully equipped for my leadership role. I was impressed by your professionalism and found the whole process very worthwhile.”
A successful entrepreneur, who was considering several opportunities that could have result in a significant change to her business, sought the direction that would best fit her own career and life motivations.