Welcome to Episode 72 of my podcast, The Executive Edge. This week I’ve asked Sarah Burrows on to the show.

Sarah is passionate about helping people change career and finding a role that is suited to them. She feels this is possible and looks to align it with their values. She supports her clients to break down the overwhelm, and increase motivation. This ultimately helps them find a job that fulfils them.

What did we discuss?

Sarah and I discussed how we can identify the need to change careers and what to look for. Each of us has our own reasons for what we do for work or a career.  Sometimes, we may have stumbled in to it or been drawn in by family. In these circumstances it’s not always a ‘given’ that we’ll enjoy the work.  Enjoying what you do is definitely a benefit in life. It’s so much easier to live well when we feel happy.

We all like to feel purposeful in life and valued, but that can be more difficult to achieve if work isn’t making you happy. Sarah recognises this and finds there are common themes when people come in for coaching. She recommends that when you feel fed up, that alone may not be enough. If you tackle what you can influence first, this is a good step. That way you’ll know if it’s a one-off feeling which is resolved once the problem goes away, or a persistent issue. The latter is more of an indication that you might value exploring your feelings and working out what you want to do next.

Often the first sign of unhappiness is tiredness.  As she says, tiredness goes away with a bit of focus and effort. If it’s replaced with a dread or a sense of ‘feeling stuck’ then it could be a sign you’re ready to leave. She also finds whilst it takes courage to ‘move’ careers, or retrain for something else, often the prize is in the achievement once you’ve made that choice.