Career Shift Blog
by Rachel B. Garrett
Love Letter to 2024 Me
If you’ve been following along with me for awhile now, you know…I write myself a lot of letters. They help me connect with my inner wisdom, my brokenness and the bridge I build daily between the two.
One letter I wrote to myself in January was to my 2024 self. Because it turned out to be a bit of a love letter, I decided to share it with you on this day that’s all about love.
I highly recommend you write your own love letter to you – whether it’s past, present or future you. I learn something new each time and the quiet reflection allows me to silence all the experts and thought leaders living in my brain and tap into the person who knows me best of all.
Here we go…
Hello my Friend,
2023 was the year I learned how to truly be a friend to you. And I found a calm and a peace knowing I'm always with my friend. Not an asshole boss. Not a strict teacher policing and critiquing my actions and choices, expecting perfection. Nope. My friend. Who’s learning an acceptance for all of me and all I’ve been through.
It was the year of allowing for polar opposites. Wild expansion in my business. And deep inner work to heal childhood wounds. It was the year I learned you can do both things at one time if you create space, set boundaries and tell the truth.
Beyond my client work, I focused on my writing this past year. And while I wasn’t always the most creative, inspired or prolific writer…I did my best. I committed. I showed up. I’m really proud of this because while I love writing, it’s challenging work. I was up for that challenge – even though I didn’t know (and still don’t know) what will happen with any of it or if it will indeed become a book.
2024 Friend, I hope you continue to be an open and curious student of how to mother teenage daughters with compassion for them and you. You did not have a model so this is all new territory. I’ve never learned more about myself than in my relationships with my kids in 2023. I love how we finally figured out you don’t need to bake and craft to be a great mom for them. You can use your gifts. You can write them letters too and I did – often. And yes, friend – they were damn good and cherished by their recipients.
I dream for you, friend. That you continue to connect with the people who energize you. People who celebrate you and people who give you the space to fall apart. You are loved by your people and you and I are finding our way to that love too. It’s a prickly path and while we weren’t always responsible for installing the landmines, we are in charge of deactivating them. That’s part of our life’s work. So go ahead and rally 2025 Friend and the rest of them to let them know we come in peace and acceptance and love.
Love,
2023 Friend, Rachel
Now your turn – feel free to share your letter or how you’re showing yourself love today!
Happy Valentine’s Day All!
Black Voices to Follow on LinkedIn
To kick off the start of Black History Month tomorrow, I’d like to share the profiles of five Black Influencers on LinkedIn who are broadening our perspectives and helping organizations think differently about how we break down systems of oppression.
Blessing Adesiyan
https://www.linkedin.com/in/blessingadesiyan/
CEO, MH WorkLife | Building work-life care infrastructure for today's workforce
Talks about #futureofwork and #futureofhome
Rocki Howard
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rockihoward/
Bold diversity advocate | Passionate voice for the excluded | Creating high performing, inclusive and equitable cultures
Talks about #leadership, #inspiration, #workingmoms, and #diversityequityandinclusion
Jodi-Ann Burey
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaburey/
Speaker. Writer. Disruptor. | Author of AUTHENTIC (Flatiron Books, Fall 2023) | TED Speaker | Creator + Host of the Black Cancer podcast
Desiree Adaway
https://www.linkedin.com/in/desiree-adaway-4373265/
Principal at The Adaway Group
Talks about #training, #inclusion, #racialequity, #racialjustice, and #diversityandinclusion
Danielle Coke
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellecoke/
Activism Through Illustration | Social Justice Advocate & Founder of Oh Happy Dani
Talks about #art, #dei, #justice, and #activism
I encourage you to go ahead and follow these courageous innovators who are saying the hard things. I’m grateful for all of their work as it has deeply influenced and inspired my own and I’m honored to continue to spread their respective messages and help to amplify their voices.
How To Work With a Career Coach
Job searchers often seek me out for a few reasons:
To connect them with recruiters.
To send them tons of job listings that are relevant for them.
To tell them which type of role is the exact right choice for them.
It’s understandable that they would want all of these things. I mean, haven’t we been taught with any problem – seek out a guru who has all the answers and can tell us what to do?
There’s just one itty bitty snag with this approach. I don't do any of that.
Going straight to the tactical work of job searching based on what somebody else told you is right for you, will leave you going after roles that are on someone else’s agenda.
Either you won’t get them because you have a hard time feigning interest in the interviews – or perhaps worse – you will get one and think to yourself…”how the f*ck did I get here” on day one.
Instead, I work with clients as a guide.
I share tools that help them reflect and tap into their own career desires.
I ask the right questions so they can find their answers.
I help them identify their terms and priorities so they can find roles and leaders and cultures that are on their own terms.
I say the hard AND compassionate truths about what I’m hearing and seeing as they share their fears and desires out loud.
I hold them accountable to stay on the path even when it’s hard, even when they’d prefer to think about any other thing rather than what’s next in their careers.
I am their cheerleader who helps them believe in themselves again, believe in the possibilities that are waiting for them, believe they are worthy of those possibilities.
Yes, I know the landscape of many industries so I have my own hypothesis of options and roles for you when we begin. But we don’t start our work there.
We start with you. Your agenda. Your goals.
We do the deep work of reconnecting with you – and then we make connections to in-demand roles and opportunities that align with who you are and what you want.
If you’re interested in learning more about 1:1 Coaching, feel free to check out my program and set up a complimentary 30-minute Zoom call.
My January Picks: Two pods and a movie
I’ve gone inward. I’ve been planning for my year and listening to some smart and inspiring humans to keep me motivated on these short winter days.
Plus, I had a rare weekend afternoon to myself and I decided my pup, Taco, and I would snuggle on the couch and watch a movie…a non-Marvel, non-animated indie movie I wouldn’t need to sell anyone else in my family on. Yet, here I am recommending it to you because it was beautiful and I can’t stop thinking about it.
Here are the two podcast recommendations for your chilly walks, commutes and laundry folding evenings:
Work Appropriate featuring Laura Mariani (a neuroscientist-turned-recruiter)
This is one of my favorite new podcasts for obvious reasons. I binged them all in December and was instantly excited to share this episode about tactics to find a new job in 2023. The emphasis on networking in your own way is very aligned with the process I share with clients. I hope you find a nugget or two that can open up some possibilities for your own job search.
We Can Do Hard Things featuring Tracee Ellis Ross
How to Make Peace in Your Own Head
I know, I know – I always have a Glennon/Abby/Amanda pod episode on my list. It’s because they truly are saying the hard and vulnerable things you don’t hear elsewhere AND this one is a gem. Tracee Ellis Ross is her full self and tells the truth about how hard it is to be so all the way herself in a culture still so dominated by patriarchy and racism. It’s a beautiful conversation I may or may not have listened to more than once (not saying how many times).
And if you get some time to yourself or with another grown up who wants to adventure off the beaten path with an indie film…
Aftersun
Written and directed by Charlotte Wells, starring Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio
This is Charlotte Wells’ first feature film, she reluctantly calls - emotionally autobiographical – about a young father and 11 year old daughter who go on a holiday together to Turkey. Their bond and closeness is so tender and real –something you don’t see on screen between a father and daughter…really ever. Beyond the beauty and creativity of the storytelling, the looming loss of this struggling father is something that has stuck with me. Paul Mescal’s performance is so vulnerable and honest. I’ve been a fan of his since Normal People and I do hope he gets recognized and the film gets a wider release…so I’m doing my part.
What is keeping you motivated and inspired during these short winter days? Drop your recommendations in the comments below!