After several years focused on one career path, I knew I wanted to make a change. My passion lay in a different area but I wasn’t sure how to go about planning and successfully achieving a step-change.

Outside all the usual concerns that come with the idea of a change, like money considerations and moving into something with a completely different skill set, I was struggling to figure out whether I should, and could, do more of what I love by pivoting to an entirely new role. 

Alison helped me in two ways. 

Firstly, she got me to break down my ultimate pivot goal into really small, logical steps. Rather than considering the change as a whole, I started to approach it in bite-size pieces that felt do-able, which stopped me feeling daunted about making a start. 

I started asking myself ‘what is the one thing I can add to my work week that aligns with my passions?’ so that I had smaller end goals to focus on. 

Then Alison had me consider which individuals within my organisation I needed to influence to open up those opportunities and make them happen, so that I ensured I got exposure to new and interesting work that developed my skill set in the right areas. 

Secondly, after several years working for the same company and finding myself at a cross roads with some time to reflect on what I really wanted to do with my career, Alison helped me better understand my true values and skills, and what this new role might look like in practice.

I used this framework for decision making: to identify the right job role, ask the right interview questions and decide on a role when a number of offers were on the table.

I’ve now been in my new role for three years and I love what I do. I found a fantastic job, company and people to work with, which align closely with my values, strengths and skills. 

Ultimately, I believe I’m doing what I ought to be doing, and it feels great!