Anna, in her late 40s, had wanted to be a teacher all her life, but lacked the confidence to tackle the barriers that stood between her and her objective. This is how we helped her.
Anna got in touch following her withdrawal from a Master’s degree course due to ill health. She was working in Human Resources, but her job had been just a ‘means to an end,’ something to keep her earning while she finished her degree.
Having to end her studies prematurely made Anna realise just how much becoming a teacher mattered to her. However whenever she thought about what was required to achieve this goal; sourcing a qualification certificate from school days in her native Italy; obtaining entry qualifications in Maths and Science; writing an effective personal statement; being successful at interview, she questioned whether she had the ability and confidence to succeed.
Coaching with me helped Anna understand and find renewed confidence in her strengths and abilities, and together we prepared an action plan that led to her ultimate goal of becoming a teacher. The step by step plan reduced overwhelm and enabled Anna to tackle each barrier one at a time and obtain the qualifications required.
A further session helped Anna to develop effective strategies for coping positively with the interview process and Anna successfully achieved her goal and is due to start her post-graduate teacher training course in the next 2 months.
“With absolute calm, respect, understanding and empathy, Rachel guided me to think about the obstacles that stood in the way of my chosen career and to reflect on how to overcome them, something I had been unable to do by myself, mainly due to a lack of confidence.
Rachel gave me back my confidence in my ability and in my chosen career, and inspired me to do all I could to achieve my goals. Immediately after our meeting, that is exactly what I did , and I am now on track to achieve my professional goals. Thank you Rachel!”
She is a great example of someone with a clear vision and how important it is to keep going, get support when stuck to identify the obstacles and overcome them to achieve success. Passion about a career vision plus persistence pays off!
Anna Colgan