Emily’s Story
My job was awful and I was miserable. I was in a place where I felt like I couldn’t go on. I knew a change needed to be made. I needed to get out, but I was so far in the hole, I didn’t know where to start. I was dealing with daily unhappiness. I was in a place of hating to go to work every day. I was also so tired from the long hours of my job. I felt limited on time and money to even look for a new job.
I worked with a resume writer who wrote up my resume and gave me a spreadsheet to track job applications. I was open to doing anything to get me out of that job, but that meant I was all over the place in terms of what I applied to. I didn’t get any offers.
I would stay up until 2 am on Monster.com. I’d email myself 20 things. But then there was no way I could update my cover letter for 20 different jobs.
I also worked on a special certification for my industry.
Each time I had something to do it gave me hope that my situation would change.
I even started asking people for help, which is really hard for me to do. And, of course, I asked people for things that I thought would be easy for them to give.
I asked my sister to help me to pick out an interview outfit to help me feel confident. I thought we could do it together, and I could get some support. I didn’t have an interview at the time, but I didn’t want to be caught off guard.
My sister said, “Go to the mall, buy some pants, take a picture, and send it to me.” That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. She didn’t have any idea how important it was to me.
Getting the Right Support
I felt so hopeless. I thought, if this is my life, this isn’t a life worth living. If this is what I have to do for the next 5, 10, 20 years, then I don’t want to be alive.
I felt I couldn’t pursue a job of my dreams because I was financially stuck. I’m not married, so it’s not like there’s both a husband and wife bringing home the bacon.
I needed help zeroing in on a starting place and figuring out that path, but I felt a big hesitation on where to put my energy. I didn’t want to work with just anybody. I didn’t know enough to make a good decision on what type of help to get. I felt super stuck.
I was concerned about wasting time and money. Money was huge to me at that point. In retrospect, it wasn’t that big of a deal. But I felt squeezed and squashed, pressured and in a hole. I was anxious and panicky. Switching jobs felt huge. Everything felt big.
I was thinking that I needed to save money for health insurance and retirement because I might not have a paycheck. I worried, “Am I gonna die as a bag lady?” I really didn’t want any investment I made to be wasted money.
After an initial conversation with a Cardy Career Coaching team coach I realized that I needed something more than a new resume or how to network or nail the interview. There were so many other emotional issues going on. My coach met me where I was, and I liked that.
The impact of working with the Cardy Career Coaching team on my life has been huge. It helped with a lot of things, including relationships, friends, family, health, home, work, and neighbors.
The coaching work was about using your own strengths, interests, passions, and dreams. It was less on nuts and bolts of resume and interview prep. Work and personal life are intertwined. It’s easy to lose sight of that when you’re feeling so unhappy.
When my hairdresser, coworkers, family, or friends compliment me now, I tell them it was all because I had a career coach back when I was looking for a job.
Helping in Little AND Big Ways
My coach helped me to think about what three things I could do to set up my day for success. I learned how to work in exercise while caring for my elderly dog when I didn’t have a ton of time. I needed those practices. I needed help thinking through those steps. Like what’s the least I can do to exercise? I can walk around the block.
I throw out a little coaching to people all the time now. I ask them, “What kinds of things have you done before that have been successful?”
As a result of working with the Cardy Career Coaching team I benefitted socially and emotionally, which positively affected my work experience. I landed and prepared for a new job.
The coaching has even carried over to now, a few years later. I have the tools to handle things. I know about confidence, self-care, and exercise. Coaching made me feel better. It was broader and bigger than looking for a job. It’s spilled over into so much of my life.
Not Sure What Your Next Career Steps Are? We’ll Help You Find Them!
