I’m delighted to share Part 4 of Jo Green’s career change story – 15 years after we first worked together!
The Beginning
I met Jo in 2009 when she first moved to Australia from England, seeking a more meaningful career. Together, we explored her skills and motivations, empowering her to delve into the world of not-for-profits.
Not-for-Profit Organisations
By 2010, Jo was making significant strides in fundraising with CanTeen.
She then spent three impactful years at Caritas, where she led their annual fundraising campaign, raising an impressive $11 million each year for international aid and development programs.
But Jo’s journey of career transformation was far from over.
The Journey to Coaching
“In 2015 I realized I needed a break. I was exhausted after a stressful role at Caritas, and I felt no excitement in taking on the same type of work again.
I knew fundraising made a big difference in the world but I had felt like a square peg in a round hole in the industry. There had to be a career out there that fitted me just right and allowed me to make an impact.
To find it, I travelled to India to join in a program called ‘Be The Change Journey’. With fellow career changers, I spent days exploring and working to uncover my purpose.
I found myself fascinated by how the coaches guided us through this transformative, challenging and exciting process.
This experience opened my eyes to new ways of working and illuminated areas of life that sparked my interest.
I realised exploring career options wasn’t done through endless Googling, but through rich conversations and experimentation. Finally, I flew home with a bundle of career ideas to explore and a plan of how to do it.
Back in Sydney, I immersed myself in exploring possibilities. One which leaped out quickly was career change coaching.
Inspired by the coaches in India, I was drawn to helping others on their own career journey.
To learn about career coaching, I connected with Jane. She generously shared her career path and the realities of being a coach.
Jane was a huge inspiration, both as my coach and her impact in facilitating career change for so many others.
Careershifters
In 2016 and 2017, I started training as a coach, including advanced courses in the UK with Careershifters (the sister company of the organization behind the program I attended in India).
Finding My Calling
I felt like I’d found my calling! For the past eight years it’s been an honour to work with individuals at pivotal moments in their lives, uncertain of their next steps.
I love helping them unpack what’s important to them in their career, what’s holding them back from making a career change, and empowering them to explore new career paths.
It’s funny, looking back, all my previous roles now make sense; they all involved elements of psychology, human behaviour, and project management.
Somehow they led me to running my own business and career coaching.
More importantly, it’s my own struggles in finding that perfect career that I believe give me the empathy and understanding to support my clients on their journeys.”
Read more about Jo’s career change and the lessons she learned.
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