Melissa’s Story
Before working with Cardy Career Coaching I was in a career driven panic that infected the rest of my life. I was very seriously considering leaving. It was a definite tipping point.
Leaving would have meant financial loss and burning bridges to escape a bad work environment. I needed to escape gracefully or find a way to make things better.
My real dilemma was whether I quit it or stick it out. If I was going to stay, I’d need some way to make that bearable. So much of the negative feelings about work were seeping out in my personal life and I needed to do something to change that. Work was miserable which made me unhappy which made work more miserable. It was a chicken and egg situation that I needed to get myself out of somehow.
I didn’t know what my alternatives were. I tried to imagine doing something else and I tried to understand why it was so bad and these things weren’t working.
My biggest fear was becoming unemployed. I didn’t feel that I was qualified to be doing anything else and I was afraid of being stuck in this position. I couldn’t see an alternative. I felt helpless at work as I was low on the chain of command and I suffered in silence.
I wanted there to be someone to decide for me. I found myself endlessly googling things like ‘Should I quit my job?’ and ‘What’s the right career for me?’ I was constantly doing searches on grad schools. But Googling wasn’t getting me out of the situation.
Getting an Expanded Perspective
I needed an outside perspective and that’s where Cardy Career Coaching came in. I found the work I did with Cardy Career Coaching enlightening. A lot of us are really smart when it comes to others and what they should do, but not so smart about ourselves. Everything at work is such an emotional and personal issue.
Working with a coach who had a panoramic view of things helped me to see things that I wasn’t seeing for myself. It was a huge and important step for me and the experience was a real drawing out of emotions.
I didn’t quit my job, which in retrospect was the right decision. With the new tools and ways of thinking of thing I had, things got better. I was able to recover and re-find my footing within my organization. I’ve taken the lessons I learned, moved to a new post in my company, and am doing very well there. Working with the team was like career therapy, and it was just what I needed.
Could you do with an Outside Perspective? Some Career Therapy?
