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Career Coach Wendy Billie,
who divides her time between a Fortune 50 company and
Feroce Coaching, has been coaching women for many years.
Below she sets out a typical conversation you might have
with your career coach for a woman.
In the excerpted coaching
session below, one of our women coaching clients, Sue, begins to realize some of the
barriers that stand in her way to making a career
change. Sue shares with her coach (Wendy) her
father’s resistance to women pursuing careers. Sue
also defines her husband’s resistance to change and his
views on her employment search. We catch them in
mid-conversation . . .
Wendy: What was the first thing you thought of
doing for a career when you were younger?
Sue: I wanted to be a teacher but I have never
been an expert at anything, so decided against that
career.
Wendy: Why do you need to be an expert? Tell
me a person in your life that you feel was a career role
model for you.
Sue: I don’t know. My father’s job was in
the trade industry and he was against women going to
college. He didn’t like change and he felt that it
had never been acceptable for a woman to go to college.
I didn’t learn anything about careers at home because my
father’s view was that mom could work to supplement the
family income and she didn’t really follow a career
dream—I don’t even know if she had one. The joint
subject of careers and women was not discussed in my
family.
Wendy: How does your father feel about your career
choices so far?
Sue: We don’t talk. Our relationship was
very bad after I decided to go to college. Women do not
choose a career. They can work to make money and
help support the family.
But, I know now that this is why I am seeking career
coaching. I have not had a career role model and I
never knew what I wanted to do after college.
Wendy: You said you always wanted to be a teacher,
but you are afraid that you won’t know everything a
student may ask you. Are you a woman who has
chosen careers in which you can be successful
immediately to prove your father wrong?
Sue: That's probably true! My husband is
very similar in that he has this idea that he can decide
what I do for my career. I used to make a lot of
money and he never understood why I left that job.
So, he feels as if I should either make a lot of money
with the career I choose or go back to my old job.
Wendy: It sounds as if you have just identified
some barriers to changing your career path. We’ll
talk during another coaching session on how to address
them. First, let’s focus on identifying your life
passions and we’ll use them to focus your next career
move . . .
In addition to the
coaching, we have the expertise to guide you through
powerful career
assessment tools.
Other Articles by Wendy Billie:
Career Coach
for a Woman
Personal Career
Coach
Career Life
Coach: Rev Up Your Energy Level
Washington DC
Career Coach
Career Coaching vs. Career Counseling
Other Career Coaching Articles:
Personal Coaching -
it's life coaching, really.
Our Life Coaches
- Feroce's life and personal coaches.
Attorney Coaching -
Head Coach Cameron Powell offers coaching for attorneys to
move up within, or out of, the law.
Career Change Coach
Individual Coaching - Career Resources
Recommended Books: Career Resources
Free Career Test
Career Aptitude Test?
Skills Testing, Schmills Testing!
Career Coaches
Washington DC
Career Coach
Career Development --
Stuck in Mid-Career?
Career Life Coach:
Rev Up Your Energy Level
Career Help -- Get off the
Treadmill
Life and Career Coach
Career Coaching: 14 Early
Warning Signs of Career Trouble
Career Coaching
on Cover Letters and Resumes
Find a Career Coach
Learn more about a
career coach for a woman in a
free coaching
consultation.
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