J had been working at his current job for nearly 3 years, a few months longer than he expected. In his career plan J had decided that 2 years would give him additional knowledge and enough of a challenge to add to his CV before he moved on and upwards in his career.
I had coached J previously. He came back to see me at this crucial time of making his career change. After spending an hour discussing the various pros and cons of the move it seemed pretty obvious to me that he should move on, but it is not me, as the coach, who is important. As a coach, it is vital that I stay neutral and allow the coachee to work it out for themselves. When we had completed the session, I sent him the form below which he completed as follows:
Career Questionnaire
Your Name…Please note confidentiality is also vital as far as coaching is concerned. J has seen this article and is happy for me to share it.
| | WANT | MUST HAVE | ENJOYMENT | Which three do you pay closest attention to? |
| | | | | |
| The Company | Medium size – big enough to have opportunity and also not to have to do everything yourself but small enough to have an impact | Medium size – big enough to have opportunity and also not to have to do everything yourself but small enough to have an impact | Being able to make an impact | |
| The Culture | Reasonable working hours Balance between a hard and soft culture | Reasonable working hours | Culture where things get done. Teamwork and collaboration to achieve | 3) |
| Values | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| The People | Limited amounts of people who come to work for a gossip/chat | Competent and skilled professionals | Working with people who care about what they do and want to do it in the right way | |
| Tasks | To be a decision maker Not too technical Be able to add value | Limited amounts of technical accounting | Management accounting | |
| The Boss | Non micromanaging Supportive Nice person | Same as culture | Getting along with the boss both personally and professionally | |
| Emotional | Feeling needed/wanted Appreciated Doing a good job | To feel like doing a good job | To feel like doing a good job | |
| Location | Close to home | Max 90 mins each way on train | Close to home | 2) |
| Package | £75k+ in London with pension and bonus and minimum 28 days holiday | £75k+ | £75k+ in London with pension and bonus and minimum 28 days holiday | 1) |
| Your Learning and Development | Room for progression People to learn from | N/A | Room for progression People to learn from | |
With the knowledge gained from the coaching session, completion of the above form and further discussions with his wife, J is now looking forward to starting his new role in 2020.
Coaching sessions remain absolutely confidential, so you will never know who J is. He has given me permission to publish this example of career choices, so people can see how certain aspects of coaching works.
If you want to discuss your career with a totally independent professional to support you whilst making difficult choices, contact neil@nvwsolutions.co.uk
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