My career journey has been anything but linear. I’m working to land a position in publishing while also getting certified as a career coach. The two don’t seem to overlap at first, but it turns out when you are working towards a professional goal or job change, learning by doing is what makes you qualified. Certifications alone don’t prove anyone an expert in their field. It takes grit, hands-on experience, documenting your processes and results, and showing up with a strong portfolio and online presence. The steps and roadblocks I’m facing now to switch to publishing give me real-world insights into navigating uncertainty and finding opportunities, which sets me up to be a career coach.

Why I Want to Become a Career Coach

Self-improvement, including professional development, is my passion, and since I graduated school a few years ago, I’ve gleaned a lot of advice and tips I wish someone had given me at 18 years old. This fuels my desire to help guide young people entering university who aren’t sure how to navigate their options, as I understand the overwhelm. Now, my personal experience, research, and strategies for making decisions and setting goals with actionable steps can benefit undecided students. I will pursue certifications because there’s always something new to add to your skill set and knowledge. The mistakes and avenues I’ve gone through fine-tuned the necessary methods and lessons I long to pass on to others. 

From Marketing to Publishing 

Constantly in my mind, publishing became one of the reasons I majored in English in college. It’s a challenging industry to get your foot in the door, and I never knew what department I’d fit into. However, I’ve found that what I’ve learned, the skills I’ve gained, and work I’ve done are all transferable. These include communication, time management, copywriting, content writing, persistence, and resilience, which also apply to coaching. In the beginning, I couldn’t see myself succeeding as I didn’t have the confidence and roadmap to jumpstart my profession after graduation. 

In retrospect, I realize that I hesitated to take the leap because of feeling like I lacked potential. Yet it was due to no sense of direction. I visited a career counselor, followed by a coach, but the process increased my confusion. In the midst of uncertainty during the height of the pandemic, I decided to focus on myself and explore my interests, allowing my curiosity to lead the way. It’s by diving into uncertainty and fear-of-failure moments that you get to discover what you don’t want. At least you cross out some options to clear your path. These past years gave me the clarity I needed to reach this point, and it was by navigating setbacks and applying the lessons I’ve learned. Although I’m grateful that this journey led me here to recognize how these fields intersect with the skills I gained, I would like to simplify it for others. I don’t plan to give general advice such as “embrace the unknown” or “go out and try different roles.” Yes, you may do these things, but there should be a backup plan as something to fall back on in case it doesn’t work out. 

Working in publishing and coaching necessitates the ability to adapt to change, keep up with trends, and build effective strategies that bring results, all while maintaining awareness that multiple reiterations are inevitable when unexpected situations arise– and that’s okay. Nothing is linear, and success looks different for everyone, with many pivots and challenges. What’s important is holding on to perseverance and lifelong learning, which I’m continuing to do as I’m using my combined experiences to break into these paths. 

Editor: Shannon Hensley