Three Questions to Ask Before a Career Shift

I heard a really good litmus test for career shift timing.

If when you leave, it doesn’t feel bittersweet, you’ve stayed too long.

I love that it honors the fact that even when you know the change is the right thing for you, it will still be hard. There are people you’ll miss. Projects you’ll leave unfinished. A reputation that earned you respect and flexibility.

And yet, even with all of these gems in place within your current situation, there’s a nudge to move on. It’s hard to explain to your people AND also it grows to the point of being tough to ignore.

As I share with my clients, exploring your next move DOES NOT mean you’re quitting tomorrow. It simply means, you’re open to something new and you’re willing to take the steps to figure out what it is.

A thoughtful process includes getting clear on WHAT YOU WANT instead of responding to all the boring job descriptions YOU THINK YOU CAN DO. You must start inward to find the role that is on your terms, based on your priorities.

So how do you know if it’s the right time to start this process? I ask potential clients these three questions to see if they’re ready.

1. Are you hungry for something new (a company, different type of work, level of impact, company culture, way of working)?

2. Are you open to a period of time where you are exploring, where you don’t have all the answers right away?

3. Are you ready to make your needs, dreams, aspirations a priority--like truly making some time for yourself and this process each week? Hot tip: It doesn’t have to be A LOT of time. Even with 1-2 hours a week, you can make progress and gain momentum.

If you answered yes, to all of these questions...what are you waiting for? Let’s talk!

I’m now offering a 6-month, Career Transition 1:1 Coaching option that combines 1:1 Coaching Sessions and access to my online course, the Career Command Process. This online course is comprised of video modules, worksheets, and prompts - my Career Command Crew Members are RAVING about these resources. I’m thrilled to be able to bring my most powerful tools and private coaching together for one transformational program.

Only 5 spots are available for this new Career Transition 1:1 Coaching program so grab yours now!

Learn more about the program and feel free to schedule a call.

A Love Letter to My Career

I’ve been talking to many women lately who know they’re ready for a change, but they’re worried…

They won’t be able to figure out what they want.

It will be hard on their families.

They’ll walk away from things they like in their roles and never find them again.

They’re not good at change.

I know these thoughts intimately.

This is where I was before I made my own career transition. All of these thoughts compounded my feeling of hopelessness.

They were the beliefs that made me want to prioritize my partner’s career. He seemed to have more momentum, so why not focus energies on helping him thrive while I simply maintained a career that kept us afloat financially?

In all of this overwhelm of being a working parent to two small children, there was a kernel of agency that began as an itch, moved into an ache, and then grew to flood my body with despair.

I wanted more.

And I was embarrassed to admit it.

Instead, I focused on my gratitude for two healthy children, a partner who loved me, and just enough money to live the lifestyle we wanted to live (though it didn’t feel that way at the time).

But even with all the goodness in my life, I wanted to have something of my own. To contribute to the world in some way. To wake up energized by my work and my impact.

I wanted all of that, but I didn’t know how to get through the stuckness to have it. That stuck, lost woman was and is a part of me and she was trying to get my attention. One of the most powerful ways I’ve learned to tap into what she wants over the years is to connect with her directly, to see her, to believe her.

I show her love with words, with letters that give her a space to want what she wants. At the beginning of my transition, I wrote a forgiveness letter to myself, an exercise that I now include in my career pathing process with clients. While the original version is in some journal somewhere that was no doubt, Marie Kondo’ed, here’s how I remember it so you know how to write your own letter if you so choose. You know I like to give homework!

Dear 30-something Rachel,

I’m sorry I’ve been ignoring you. You’ve been sending me signals with tears, overwhelm, boredom, tantrums, mindless eating, and insatiable devouring of the Twilight trilogy. You want more in your career, but you don’t believe you’re capable of anything else. I’m so sorry you feel that way. I’m sorry I let you believe that. We’ve survived unimaginable things together and we haven’t made it through these tragedies so you can live an “it’s fine” life. No fucking way. I want you to know, I’m listening now. We may not know what it is that’s next, but I’m open to believing there is something else and that our dreams are worth exploring.

Love,

Almost 40-year old Rachel

PS. Are you really going to make me run a fucking marathon to figure this out? Well, I’m signed up, so here goes.

Now that I’m 47 as of last week (happy belated birthday to me!) I am present to the power of addressing the hurt parts of me with compassion. I can acknowledge their pain instead of beating them into submission. Yes, I’m resilient, but I don’t always have to be surviving something. I want to be thriving.

I encourage you to write your own Career Love Letter. In this practice, you can create a space to forgive and acknowledge yourself and trust the nudges you’re getting to go for more.

I’d love to hear how it goes. Feel free to write back to this email or set up a time for a clarity call if you’re ready to honor your curiosity for what’s next.

Sign Up for a 30 Minute Complimentary Call Here!

Podcasts for Your Summer Commute

As I typically do during summer, I’m taking some extra time to think...and also absorb a fairly ridiculous number of podcasts.

I have a 30 minute walk to my new office (which I love--more on that another time) so I fill that time with the treat of podcasts. Sometimes they relate to my work and sometimes not, but I’m constantly brimming with new insights, inspiration and some audible laughter that tends to make some heads turn on my commute.

It’s made me think (yet again) about starting my own podcast about women and careers, envisioning what we want to feel in our work and creating it in our lives. What do you think?

While you’re waiting for me to put this crazy dream into action, here are some of my recommendations for summer listening:

We Can Do Hard Things - Glennon Doyle
Episode 10 - Our Bodies: Why are we at war with them and can we ever make peace?
Episode 6 - Overwhelm: Is our exhaustion a sign that we’re CareTicking time bombs?

How I Built This - With Guy Raz
Filmmaker Ava Duvernay

In Support Of (on Armchair Expert podcast feed) with Kristen Bell and Monica Padman
Episode 3 - Oprah Winfrey

The Ezra Klein Show
Critical Race Theory, Comic Books and the Power of Public Schools (with Eve Ewing)

Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Kathryn Hahn
Daniel Radcliffe

Wild and Holy Money with Megan Hale
Episode 38 - Healing Transgenerational Money Stories
Episode 33 - The 5 Love Languages of Money

If you’re still hoping to find more creativity, calm and ease in your career this year...it's possible! And hopefully you will continue to build in podcast listening time.

Feel free to reach out for a chat. While I’ve closed the latest cohort of Career Command, I will be opening the doors again this fall...and I still have a few 1:1 coaching spots available.

Sign Up for a 30 Minute Complimentary Call Here!

What's Driving Your Money-Making Choices?

As a business owner, I am grateful that I am in charge of my time, when I rest and how and when I make my money. 

Yet, this concept has not and does not come easy for me. It’s something I must continue to remind myself. 

Part of this process is in investigating...where the hell did I come up with my beliefs about money, about career, about wealth? Are these beliefs relevant for my life and the time in which I’m currently living? Are these beliefs serving me for the life I’m creating?

According to my serial entrepreneur father, you always have the ability to make a lot of money when you’re doing the thing you’re best at, on your own terms. Check...this one is working for me. 

That said, he also believed, if you have it, you can and should spend it...even if you don’t have it in hand yet. This one has taken some time to unravel...and over the past six years I’ve become grounded in the reality of my money, stewarding it in directions that are in synch with my values and planning for expenses rather than spending beyond my means.  

On the flip side, most of my parenting team—my aunt and both grandparents subscribed to the, “hard work will build you enough money to survive plus a few extra’s that should only be bought on sale” mantra. This meant after growing up very poor, they spent years in stressful and unfulfilling jobs to have enough for their families. Career was a means to an end and not an outlet for satisfaction or creativity. 

As I dig deeper into these questions, the answers make me uncomfortable and also they build my awareness of whose stories I’m using to define my path. At this point in my adult life, I’m more than capable of writing my own beliefs about money and career that may be different from those passed on by my family and also those of my friends with different life experiences and different goals. 

The more I learn about my relationship to money, the more curious I get about how this is impacting the women I serve. How’s it driving their career choices and decisions? 

That’s why I’m excited to host Money Mindset Coach, Rose Wu, as our July Guest Expert in my Career Command Membership on July 14th at 8 PM! Rose is a money coach who helps people create healthy, stable, and trustworthy relationships with money. She’ll show you how to release your emotional baggage with money so you can openly receive abundant wealth.

If you’re in a job search or career transition, looking for community, tools and a roadmap in your search—and you’ve been considering the Career Command Membership, join now so you can attend this transformative evening unpacking all that’s holding you back in your relationship to money. Making it, saving it and enjoying what you have instead of fearing what you don’t. 

Here’s how to join Career Command: www.rachelbgarrett.com/career-command