Career Transitions

Career Transitions 

A few years back I was at a crossroads in my life, in my career.  Restless with my consulting practice, I was looking for a change in direction.

First step: reflection.

I had to do a lot of reflection.  I wrote several pages identifying the things I liked to do, places that made me happy, dreams of where I’d like to be.  Even reflections on places I had wanted to be and would have if I had chosen a different path at age 22.

Does this sound like you? Have you made a decision to re-evaluate your life and career with the goal of making a change?

Take time for reflection. Like I did, take time to really think about what you like – places, activities, people, work.  Can you think of a time (or if you’re lucky like me) of times that you were truly happy?  When was that and where were you?  Do you have any photos from that time and place?  In looking at them, are you taken back in time to that moment?  How does it feel?

You can’t return in reality to that time but you can recreate how you felt.  What can you do now to recapture that sense of content and joy?

Think about that.

What are the moments of delight that you want to revisit?  What can you do now to feel that way again?

One Man’s Journey:

Tom spent many years in telecom.  He started in the mailroom.  He worked his way up to general manager and became an executive.

At age 46, with two decades of service to his company and the industry facing consolidation, he was led to make a major life change. That change included moving to the San Francisco Bay Area where he found a church that led to a call to professional pastoral ministry. He entered the seminary to earn an MDIV to qualify as a minister. Half way through that process he was called to a church to become their pastor.

As the head of a congregation, the shepherd who guides his flock, he is still a leader.  All those skills from his days as an executive served him well in starting a church and building a following.  He says that his corporate life taught him about people, leadership, mission and accountability which God is now using to work in his life’s business.

He smiles a lot now. Oh sure he has the stress of a weekly sermon and managing layers of employees and volunteers.  But it is work that he believes he was born to do.

Recapturing “Everything is Possible”

Eva co-founded, built and sold two enterprise software companies.  After the acquisition of the second company she took time to reflect on her experiences as a woman in tech and the inequities she encountered in the industry. She remembered from her childhood when “everything was possible” and how that came to a halt when she joined the acquiring company.

She heard other women tell similar stories “you’re not worth as much as a man”.  She decided this wasn’t right.  She needed to do something about it.  Now was the time.

She founded an organization designed to consult with executives on how to change their corporate culture to recognize women and promote more of them into executive jobs. Her objective is to challenge everyone from leaders and individual contributors to take their responsibility as a complement to programs and processes for equality.  According to Eva, this effort impacts culture change as well as behavioral change to transform the culture.

Her desire to facilitate discussions about promoting women into leadership roles convinced her that men andwomen needed to engage in the conversation.

She has hosted forums in the US and Europe inviting men to the join the dialogue to share their stories about how they are supporting women.

Today she is a recognized speaker on equality in the workplace.  She is a catalyst for change who is influencing others to examine these inequities and start talking about how to reach gender equality.

Sometimes it isn’t a calling that creates a career change.  It is a recognition that now is the time to act and be the change agent.

She turned her memories from childhood “when everything was possible” into a forum that encourages open dialogue on how to achieve gender equality.

These profiles are inspiring but will this work for me?

How about you?  Are you ready to make a career change, one that will set you on the course to your dream job?

We don’t have the power to break through the clouds and call you to the ministry, but we can start you on a course that will lead you to realize your innermost thoughts and desires.

You can start today.