From Recruitment to Fitness

From Recruitment to Fitness Success Story > From: Job To: Portfolio career From Recruitment to Fitness “I’m thoroughly enjoying the new challenges after years of feeling stuck in a rut.” * From Recruitment to Fitness When a tragic loss changed Shanade's priorities in life, it was only a matter of time before she knew she had to get out of recruitment and start doing something she loved. Find out how she harnessed creative thinking, energy, and action to get out from behind her desk and launch her own online fitness business. What work were you doing previously? I forged a solid and successful career working in the City within large HR departments that focused on Recruitment and internal Staff Deployment. What are you doing now? Life took an exciting turn in November 2012 when I founded StudioONE, an online pay as you go fitness studio. Every day brings a new challenge. I'm involved in anything from filming, directing and location scouting, to day to day admin, and web development. Why did you change? At the beginning of 2012 I tragically lost my father which dramatically changed my life’s perspective. I suddenly had a huge desire to spend my time doing something which was challenging, rewarding and personal. I have always had a passion for fitness, and saw a gap in the market. Not wanting to quote a cliché but life really is too short. It felt like the right time to make a difference. When was the moment you decided to make the change? After the loss of my father I started to evaluate my life and quickly realised that the largest proportion of my days are spent in a work environment. I wanted to spend this time doing something that would give me a sense of achievement, and excitement to get up in the morning. Are you happy with the change? Absolutely! I can honestly say it has been one of the most exciting times of my life. I would be a liar to say it hasn’t come with a truck load of challenges but each and every one presents me with new skills. I now have an ever evolving thirst for business and entrepreneurship. It’s been a complete turn around and I’m thoroughly enjoying the new challenges after years of feeling stuck in a rut. Careershifters definitely helped me take the first scary step, after reading about others who had made the move I felt totally inspired (and a little bit competitive!) What do you miss and what don't you miss? The buzz of a busy office is something I missed initially, and having no one to bounce ideas off can be de-motivating. So to combat this, I decided to rent desk space in a great creative office and continue to keep my toe in the corporate world by taking on a part-time role. How did you go about making the shift? The first thing was to confront my fears and plunge into a world of part-time employment to free up some time. I spent endless hours researching my market, competitors and potential customers. Once I was comfortable with knowing where I wanted my business to go, I drew up a business plan and started having conversations with influential people. How did you handle your finances to make your change possible? My employer was extremely accommodating and offered me a new part-time role that helped me create a four-day week. This income combined with my savings helped me on my way. What was the most difficult thing about changing? The uncertainty of the unknown, and bearing the responsibility of making the change work for me. What help did you get? I used my relationships to help. If I had a problem or question I would tap into my network. If they didn't have the answer, they usually knew someone who did. I even had my bank manager linking me in with a new start-up network! What have you learnt in the process? So very much. Listen and be a sponge, soak up as much information and advice as possible. Know your market and product inside out. If something doesn't work out the first time around, dust yourself off and try again. Chances are the second time around will give you a better result. What do you wish you'd done differently? Nothing yet, it's been a blast. What would you advise others to do in the same situation? Do it, do it, do it. What lessons could you take from Shanade's story to use in your own career change? Let us know in the comments below.

What Do Career Counselors Do - VocationVillage

What Do Career Counselors Do - VocationVillage One of the most common questions I am asked is, “What do career counselors do?” Usually people ask this question for one of two reasons: (1) They are considering becoming a career counselor themselves and they want to know what the day-to-day job is like, or (2) They are considering hiring a career counselor and they want to know what career counseling looks like in practice. I wrote this article to give some insight into how career counselors work.When I meet with a client for the first time, I ask questions and I listen closely. I ask clients to tell me their stories, their favorite things, what they are good at, what they enjoy, and their current barriers and successes. For me, helping a person reach their career goals is about each individual’s story, what they love, who they want to be, and how they want to get there.As an example, one client I worked with knew he wanted to go into the field of psychology, but he was unsure of what to do next. Over the course of our time t ogether, I asked clarifying questions including, “What type of work do you see yourself doing?” and “What about the field interests you?” Among other things, he shared that he was interested in working with clients to make their lives better. We discussed how broad the psychology field is and that there are many different paths to counseling and therapy. We discussed who in his network could connect him to different professionals  in the field, and how to set up quick informational meetings with people in his network to learn more. I helped by providing the structure and outline so he could take steps forward toward getting his questions answered.When we next talked, he had spoken to a number of people in the field and decided about which area of psychology he wanted to focus: Marriage and Family Therapy. Over the course of our next meetings, we talked about resumes and personal statements for graduate school applications, how to apply, how to organize, how to choose a unive rsity and program, and how to interview. Because he had researched fit, knew what the program was looking for in applicants, knew that he wanted to focus in the same areas as the program, and was able to express this throughout his application. Because of the thoroughness of his research, he was accepted into his first choice program.Many clients I work with are in transition. They are transitioning from a university to the working world, from one career field to another, from not working for a while to working again, or from a lower level to a higher level position. Many people feel lost at sea when they are trying to make a big career transition, so I pride myself on helping them navigate. With me as your compass, you have a guide to accompany you in the journey toward attaining the goals you want to achieve.I am a great partner in your career journey because you’re the expert on you, and I’m the expert on career development. You contribute your self-knowledge, and I can help you  discover or develop the  directions you choose to go. I present  options; you make decisions. I give direction; you determine what will work  best for you. The best news is you can check in with me every step along the way.Logistically, in the beginning of our sessions, we will decide on short and long-term goals. We’ll discuss the purpose and intended outcome of our meetings and what you hope to walk away with. We’ll map out a plan for about how many sessions it will take to get there. Then we’ll focus on this particular session. We’ll figure out what we can complete right away, what work needs to be done outside the session, and when we should meet again to discuss progress and next steps. Some people prefer to meet weekly, while others like more time in between sessions to complete tasks we have mutually agreed upon. I encourage each client to determine what works best for his or her situation.I have found that clients feel empowered when they know what they’re doi ng makes sense. When a client tells me, “My friend who works for so and so told me to do this,” I always ask why. What was the reasoning for doing that? Sometimes the reasoning is sound, and we agree it’s a great idea and something to keep doing. Sometimes the reasoning was for a particular time or a particular position or employer and doesn’t apply to where they are now. Since time is valuable, it is important to examine each possible action to utilize time in the best way possible.My favorite part of my job is when I hear from a client that they had an epiphany about what avenue to pursue, were accepted into  medical or graduate school, or got the job. I love celebrating successes with my clients. That’s the best part of the work we do together!April Klimkiewicz is the founder of the career counseling company, Bliss Evolution. Please visit her site to learn more about the services she offers to help clients find or create their best fit work.