Toward a job that suits you better
After 5 years of working, I reached out to a coach through VDAB. I was stuck. I felt reluctant to go to work, procrastinated a lot, didn’t feel good about myself. Even though I had started the job with much enthusiasm. My coach helped me see where I had gotten stuck and guided me toward what suits me better: mentoring people and working on projects. That wasn’t yet a specific new job, but I could move on.
I prefer people who are straightforward and honest. And who have my best interests at heart at the same time. That’s where I learn the most. Like my first boss, who said, “You don’t know what you want.” That hit me hard, but actually, he was right. Back then, I wanted everything at once, and too much. That has stayed with me and made me grow. Images help too. Someone once told me, “You are a sponge. Even though you don’t have the expertise yet, you ask questions, you take everything in, clarify it, and do something with it. That’s more important to me than knowing how to do it already.” I found that beautiful. That someone voices what you’re good at or what makes you special. Or people who believe in you and give you that push. I am currently working as a freelancer with someone who is always excited about what I am doing. At the same time, she gets me to say what I really dream of and sometimes gives me an assignment that is way out of my comfort zone.
I want to be that supporter for others too. It never fails to give me great satisfaction when I notice during my career coaching sessions that the question marks in people’s eyes disappear and make way for enthusiasm. I help sort things out, clarify them, and make people conscious. Put things in order and make conscious choices. Then I see people gaining more confidence and growing excited to tackle things or take action. The effects are beautiful to see. No matter how specific people’s situations sometimes are, the questions are always very common. Everyone struggles at times, including with their career. I love to put my back into that.
Exploring a range of possibilities
In my own career, I often turned to coaching myself. The common thread running through these conversations …
No-frills conversations
In my career, everything went smoothly for quite some time. A nice trajectory with interesting offers, successful job …
Supporter of people
Some years ago, I turned to career guidance with Captain & Stoker, because I was curious about what I still wanted to achieve professionally. I had a fun job …
Working with what the coachee brings to the table
Some years ago, I turned to career coaching myself, initially not to change jobs – I enjoyed working as a coordinator of a crisis team …
Peeling back the layers with care
During the first few years of my career, I found myself navigating rather blindly. I did my best, very much so, but I lacked feedback or a mirror. I kept going and worked in teams …
Our professional facilitator
Birte Kooken is our final team member. As a professional facilitator and coach, she helps us brainstorm about the direction in which we cycle, our approach, and …
Daring to leap, with enthusiasm!
Coaching is my second career. Prior to that, I was a physicist and worked in marketing for a publicly traded American company. I enjoyed my job immensely…
Pausing Together to Move Forward
I am a trained psychologist, and my career began as a trainer and facilitator in areas such as assertiveness, competency development, communication skills, leadership, …
Empathetic, powerful, and with a touch of humor
With a background in social work and a long-term tenure at VDAB – where my passion laid in guiding job seekers – I eventually found myself in the world of coaching …
Learning to Balance in Life
The coaching bug got to me when I completed the Inspiring Coaching course and discovered the value of coaching firsthand as a coachee. Truly remarkable things …
