What should you do at a career crossroads?
Starting this month: the 4-week Career Crossroads challenge. A free virtual coaching experience for those seeking direction through career uncertainty.
Happy Wednesday,
This newsletter provides the strategy and mindset hacks you need for building a successful career path.
If you’re not subscribed yet — here’s your cue.
Slightly different format this week to mark the launch of something new because… It’s September! We are back in business after the summer lull. It was a relief to find my inbox busy again with client work, media opportunities, and collaboration requests after a quiet August.
But what if this month isn’t all systems go for you — due to furlough, redundancy, or lack of client work? Or you’re in a job you know isn’t right and want to make a change.
The economic climate is difficult right now and I can’t make miracles happen but I can support you, my subscribers, as best I am able to with the time I have.
So for the month of September, this newsletter will be dedicated to supporting those of you who need extra support during this time of uncertainty.
Announcing the 4-Week Career Crossroads challenge
For subscribers of this newsletter only, this is a free virtual coaching experience designed to support you if you are seeking direction for the next steps in your career.
I have distilled four key pillars of content that I’ll be guiding you through, plus some exercises to make it personal to you.
Expect the following newsletters:
9th September: Conduct your career review
Introspection comes first. Here we’ll figure out what has worked for you so far (and what hasn’t) to help best decide what to do next.16th September: Personal branding & social media
Positioning yourself correctly for the work you want to do. We’ll cover Linkedin no-nos and how to create authority through your online profile.23rd September: Applying to jobs and working with recruiters
We’ll explore how to get in front of the jobs you want (including those which aren’t advertised) and the low down of working with recruiters30th September: Negotiation and sealing the deal
The toolkit you need when landing a job, how and when to negotiate, and pitfalls to look out for.
Alongside the newsletter content should you wish to get involved I am also offering a virtual coaching experience to make each theme personal to you and gain maximum learning from it.
The 4-week Career Crossroads challenge includes:
Content + Exercises + 1-hour coaching call
Content in the form of the newsletters; exercises to turn the theory into action and coaching for the transformational mindset work & changes you need.
Why coaching? I am an ICF accredited Transformational coach. In my coaching, I bring my prior experience hiring hundreds of people into London’s top VC backed startups.
Read what others have said about coaching with me:
To say that Ellen's coaching was useful would be an understatement. One hour with Ellen helped unlock many of my limiting beliefs, and I found myself saying "Huh, I've never thought out about" more than once. I felt confident and equipped to take those steps immediately after our conversation
— Janel, L&D Manager, went from job seeking to landing a role at Tinder in Silicon Valley
The time pressure forced decisions that I'd have otherwise have dwelled on, perhaps unnecessarily long in some cases. So it moved me to action faster than if I'd not had the session. In addition Ellen was prepared with tools that were tested and so saved me who knows how long of blundering around conducting my own experiments to see what helped and what didn't.
— Malcolm, Product Manager
Ellen has a very kind, but also no-nonsense approach, which is really refreshing and motivating. I think it made me take the session more seriously. I really appreciated it when Ellen put on her recruiting hat to share anecdotes, and found it helpful to compare job hunting to dating which was really relatable.
— Safia, Product Consultant
Ellen’s questions were clear and targeted. Rather than being prescriptive or didactic, she opened up new doors in my mind. I felt as though I was active in generating solutions.
— April, Writer & Reporter
Everything is completely free of charge with no catch or hard sell.
Why am I doing this? Changing your career path is not easy. I have done so twice before and know the work involved. If you are willing to do the work you will be rewarded by results — I want to reward those who are willing to put the work in.
It’s my mission to help people do the work they are designed to do in this world and know that accountability is key when making changes. This virtual coaching experience could one day be a paid service I offer but for this month only it is free. Free for those ready to make a commitment to themselves and see the change they are seeking, and make a lasting impact.
The next steps for the 4-week Career Crossroads challenge
Subscribe to The Ask newsletter (if you aren’t already)
Email me to let me know you’ll be taking part in the challenge before 9th September
You will then receive a link to your own Career Crossroads online page, where exercises will be uploaded each week.
Complete the exercises & update me via our private accountability thread (4 exercises throughout September. You can spend as long or little as you like on them)
A one-hour coaching session over Zoom will be held during the first week of October. Designed to review what you’ve learned and make a plan for your next career steps. This is reserved only for those who have completed all exercises.
Are you ready? Hit reply to let me know you’re in.
Or do you know someone who needs this too? Give them a gift that might truly change the course of their career by sharing this now.
For everyone else….
If the Career Crossroads challenge isn’t right for you, you will still benefit from the content in the newsletters this September and hopefully, learn something you can apply to whatever situation you’re in.
Also if you are considering coaching I have a couple of 1-1 Coaching spaces available left for September. If you’re interested in exploring how coaching can help you reach your career goals, get in touch for a complimentary discovery call. Read testimonials of other clients to hear how it’s helped them.
September events schedule…
The Ask has partnered with Out of Hours to host an event anyone pursuing side projects, creative or entrepreneurial ventures and currently experiencing the side effects of negative self-talk.
On Thurs Sept 17th 6-7.15pm we’ll be doing a deep dive on the inner critics than can hold you back from doing the work you were meant to. Expect super-practical strategies and actionable takeaways, with coaching techniques and case studies.
For you, subscribers, access a get a 10% with the code FRIEND10
What is The Ask Newsletter?
As Chief Coach & Founder of The Ask I write this newsletter to answer commonly asked questions across careers, personal development, mindset, and entrepreneurship. Delivered to your inbox weekly every Wednesday.