CAREER CLARITY
Teacher Career Coach offers 1-hour “Career Clarity Sessions” for around $120 to anyone enrolled in the course. My bank account was extremely lean after the holidays, and I was skeptical that a stranger would know better than I did which career I was best suited for. But it was now the middle of February, and I would be unemployed in 4 months. I had planned to start applying in April and to be gainfully employed by summer. I actually would still be getting teacher paychecks through the summer, so my new but still tight timeline was 6 months.
MAKING THE CALL
I scheduled a call with Kaylyn Blair through TCC. Emily Schultz is another TCC Career Clarity Coach. So many other teachers in the community had met with either Emily or Kaylyn, and they all raved about how much difference it made in their transition journeys. Both women offer resume coaching services as well. They provide services outside of Teacher Career Coach too for anyone not taking Daphne’s course, but it turned out the $120 fee is a significant discount for members. The call was a brief 15-minute conversation to help us determine if Kaylyn would be able to help me. She seemed confident that she could help, so I forked over the money that day. Kaylyn sent me a survey to fill out that gave her an idea of who I am, what I’m looking for, and what I wanted from this session. The day we met on Zoom it was clear Kaylyn was prepared and ready to make the most of every single minute.
ZEROING IN
It hadn’t occurred to me at this point that I should be aiming for my “ideal” role. I was still thinking in terms of “What COULD I do that would provide an income comparable to my teaching salary?” Imposter Syndrome was blocking my view and I think I still had a “beggars can’t be choosers” perspective in the back of my mind. So when Kaylyn started asking me questions about the parts of teaching I loved the most and why and then asked me to describe the qualities of a new dream job, I figured I’d humor her for a bit until we came back around to my reality. I was 56 years old and had 4 months to find a decent-paying job.
The more I heard myself talking the more I realized I was describing an eLearning Developer/Instructional Designer or a Customer Success Specialist! By the end of our session, I had 2 pages of notes about what I really wanted out of my new job. I was seeing that not only was it possible for me to find my dream job, but I had every right to expect it. That was it! Kaylyn didn’t have a magic career aptitude test or tell me what career I should be pursuing. She just helped me to see through the Imposter Syndrome and panic clouding my brain so that I could tell myself! Suddenly, my direction was crystal clear. I have heard from a few people that they still had doubts at the end of their sessions, but the number of people in the TCC community who seemed to have experiences similar to mine was undeniable. Kaylyn wrote up her notes and key takeaways from our session and sent them to me later that day, but I was already making plans for my new career path.
I took a deeper look at the 3 options on my list. I was still confident that I would love being a Customer Success Specialist for an education-focused company like Promethean, but there were a few reasons I quickly crossed it off my list. As I read through job postings, I realized my passion was for educational technology. I would be fantastic at helping teachers get the most out of a product, but when I imagined being in that role for any other industry I knew I could be successful but it didn’t get me excited. Also, living in Southeastern Connecticut the options were limited. There are no big ed-tech companies within a 90-minute commute from my home. Most of the postings were either hybrid (but too far away) or remote. Most of the transitioning teachers I spoke with were hoping for remote roles because they were looking for ultimate flexibility. When I started this transition I fantasized about working in silence at home, but I’m pretty sure that was a knee-jerk reaction to the stress of teaching. In my session with Kaylyn I realized that I loved collaborating with peers and I would probably be happier with the face-to-face interaction at the office. I was really hoping for a hybrid position with just enough flexibility to work from home on occasion or pause my workday long enough for a doctor’s appointment and then make up the time later. For all of the reasons I had ruled out Corporate Trainer (see CHOOSING A CAREER), Customer Success wasn’t going to be a good fit for me either.
DECISION MADE
In my research, I discovered that Instructional Design and eLearning Development are very closely related. eLearning Development is a specialized part of Instructional Design. I knew eLearning was my strength and something I truly enjoyed creating, but after learning more about the broader role of Instructional Design in business I was sure it was the right choice for me.
If you are interested in enrolling in the Teacher Career Coach Course, click here and take your first concrete action step and take control of your future!
Interested in connecting with the Career Clarity Coaches before you enroll? Click on a name to find Kaylyn and Emily on Linkedin.
