What is a career impasse?
The definition of the word impasse is “A situation in which no progress is impossible.”
When you are having an impasse, it can feel very difficult. Stasis, lack of progress, impotent, disempowered etc.
The good news is that an impasse is only temporary – it will shift! It can shift as a result of a career epiphany!
What is a career epiphany?
The definition of the word epiphany is “A moment of sudden and great revelation.“
A career epiphany is a sudden revelation about your career that shifts the impasse. It is like a welcome release of tension – you feel relief, empowered and able to move forward again.
5 tips to shift a career impasse
Tip 1) This model really helps to crystallize your thoughts – ask yourself and write down your responses to these 4 questions:
- Where am I and why am I there?
- Where could I be?
- How could I get there?
- How will I know that I have achieved what I set out to do?
Tip 2) Get a coach – an experienced strategic one.
Tip 3) Coach yourself. Take yourself to a quiet coffee shop, garden or park with a notebook. Ask yourself “What’s the block?”, “What’s stopping me?” “What is the positive intention of this career impasse for me?”
Tip 4) E mail me to receive your free Energise article ‘Overcoming procrastination’ – it is a fascinating topic and ‘Becoming unstuck’.
Tip 5) Give yourself time to enable your thoughts and feelings to rise to the surface.
What tips would you add?
Client examples
Debi
Debi, having been made redundant, kept on saying that she wanted a new job in the area that she has been working in for decades. Project management in the design industry. But her body language and energy was telling me a different story. ‘Reading between the lines’ is an important coaching skill.
In a coaching session she sat forward in her chair while I remained still and silent. ‘No’. She exclaimed emphatically. ‘What I really want is to run cheese holidays in France.’ So she is.
Caroline
Caroline realised that she had spent all her life being responsible and working in an industry that wasn’t really her – PR, and communications for government. When I helped her to understand her values, what was really important to her, the no 1 value was freedom. She left London and PR, moved to rural Herefordshire, got a horse and dog and now shows dogs. She is living her most important value every day.
Mary
Mary had become a lawyer because her parents thought it was a good idea. She was working in an especially political law firm as a commercial lawyer. She was signed off work with stress. Coaching with me helped her to realise what vocation was right for her. She retrained as a therapist and is thriving in her new vocation.
My own examples
Epiphany 1
My career began in client-side marketing in the food industry. I remember seeing the career progression ahead to Marketing Manager, Marketing Controller and Marketing Director. In my employer at that time, people stayed for many years so there were no promotions opening up. In addition, I have never ‘played politics’ and this would have been essential to progress where I was.
My career epiphany came from reflecting on what parts of the marketing vocation I enjoyed most, and it was the brand, design and communication elements. In that moment, I decided to move to the agency side and become a brand strategist, a role much more me! It was. I did it employed and then freelance for 4 years.
Epiphany 2
I have focused on 1 target audience for over 20 years – law firms/private practice, written lots of articles, chapters and books. For someone who loves variety and newness, this is a long time! I found myself feeling really demotivated to take action – a career impasse around the very thing I specialise in and had worked really hard to build up my career capital in.
It was a chance conversation with someone that created the shift and led to a career epiphany. “I can imagine you being really useful to help Consultant Lawyers” they said.
I looked on-line about Consultant Lawyers and the platform law firms that had been set up – a part of the legal profession which is growing hugely. The epiphany came when I was really honest with myself– I had never liked the law firm model. The fee earning targets, the politics, the tradition, the 6 minute fee earning units of time and pressure to succeed, and the ‘pushing people out’ who were deemed not good enough.
Consultant Lawyer was a role that I could relate to and which provided working mothers especially with benefits so that they could enjoy a healthy work life blend and get fair rewards for the effort that they put in. This was a massive and important shift for my business Energise and a new direction that was not only growing, it was and is very ‘me’.
Epiphany 3
After 28 years of running my own business, I have written about just about every possible career topic to help people. Newness, variety and originality are important to me. It felt like a content and inspiration impasse!
The epiphany came unexpectedly! I had written an article and recorded a webinar about personal branding. “I know, I need to trade mark my own personal brand ‘The Talent Liberator’ – it is a brand asset.” And so I have! ™
Epiphany 4
I am pretty decisive by nature, so when I found myself not moving a project forward – it was a frustrating impasse. I had worked really hard researching and writing a white paper. Then I felt stuck – the next step felt really daunting in the fast changing digital age! I found a white paper about best practice publishing and campaigns to create awareness about it, and the project came to an unexpected and frustrating stop.
You don’t have to do this bit yourself, I told myself. The epiphany was that I needed to write a really clear brief, in fact 2 briefs, 1 for the white paper and 1 for the campaign so that I could expediently outsource it to someone with the skills and experience and get it done! Everything shifted.
• What career impasses have you had?
• What have been your career epiphanies?
Coaching
Did you know coaching is an unregulated market?
This means that anyone can set up as a coach after a weekend course. Because of this, there is more and more competition. Coaches, like other professionals need to monitor trends and reposition themselves with changing needs and motivations (internal) and trends and market changes (external).
I have been coaching for nearly 25 years and love it as much as I always have!
How does career coaching helps shift a career impasse and create a career epiphany?
These are extracts in their own words from a recent career coaching client about how they found coaching useful. They successfully achieved their career goal. Out of 100 candidates, they were offered the job and really impressed the interviewers.
• The process of being coached helps you identify both your strengths and weaknesses, enabling you to take tailored action on areas of your life that can be improved or expanded.
• In my opinion, coaching is one of the most effective forms of rediscovery.
• Having someone by your side, guiding you through a reflective process, allows you to uncover parts of yourself that may have been hidden, unnoticed, or underutilized.
• It neutralizes limiting beliefs you have about yourself and helps you break down everything you are or have, allowing you to view it in a positive light and helping you rewrite any story that’s holding you back from achieving your goals, and being the best version of yourself.
• Being coached helped me realize that my past experiences weren’t obstacles but stepping stones that shaped some of my greatest strengths today.
• Through coaching, I was able to identify the values that motivated me, work on my skills, build my confidence, and tailor my job search to roles and companies that were the right fit. I learned to trust that the right opportunity would come.
• Coaching supports you through transitional periods – when your current situation isn’t where you’d like it to be, and some days feel more daunting than others.
• Since starting coaching, I have noticed a significant increase in my confidence. I also learned valuable techniques to improve my organization and time management skills.
• I discovered that having a vision, alongside small, achievable goals helped me keep me committed to my long-term dreams. I became more organized, patient, and kind to myself, while also raising my standards in terms of what I could achieve and what I deserved.
• Coaching enabled me to showcase my personality, experience, skills, and job expectations with far more confidence, allowing me to excel and stand out from other candidates.
• I am also confident that coaching will continue to be an invaluable tool in helping me perform well in my role.
• Overall, coaching provided me with the tools not only to find a job but also to find the right job for me – being more proactive and intentional with my search. Given the market conditions, I was able to achieve this very quickly, and within the timeframe set for this to happen.
• Rachel is not only an extremely talented person with a wealth of experience and expertise, but she is also a wonderful individual with exceptional people skills. She genuinely cares about her clients and is willing to invest her talent and time until her clients’ goals are achieved. She truly is a talent liberator, and her personality shines through her coaching style.
• Rachel is very approachable, and from the first day of coaching, she makes you feel comfortable opening up, being honest and vulnerable, which allows you to create great professional and personal plans. She is also excellent at tailoring her approach to what works best for each client, making feedback always welcome, and ensuring you never feel forced or stuck. Her ability to connect with people makes coaching feel very personal and very pleasant. Each session feels unique, and her learning resources are incredibly insightful. Overall, her coaching style makes results tangible and attainable quite quickly.
Client testimonial
“I met Rachel at a networking event, and after hearing about her services, I approached her to learn more about her and her business. From the very first conversation, I was impressed by how knowledgeable and insightful she is—immediately, I knew she was someone I wanted to learn from. We stayed in touch and collaborated on several projects, and over time, Rachel became a valuable mentor in my professional journey. She introduced me to an incredible network of contacts, and her guidance helped shape my career in meaningful ways.
Working with Rachel has been an absolute pleasure. Her ability to share her extensive experience with warmth, and enthusiasm makes learning from her very enjoyable. Her expertise has not only helped me professionally but has also had a positive impact on my personal growth. Anyone who meets Rachel will undoubtedly leave feeling re-energised!”
Leonna Mora.