Career Management

I need to step up my career game

Most of our us will spend 30 to 40 years on the job, which makes career management a crucial component of career counseling. Thriving on the job requires a wide range of skills, from emotional intelligence to boundary setting to leadership. Career management counseling focuses on identifying the challenges you’re facing in your career and helping you develop and implement solutions. It provides a safe, confidential sounding board to think through risks and opportunities before making a move.

Is your career in need of some extra time and attention?

• My career has gone completely off-track.
• My boss seems to hate me/my work.
• I have a direct-report who makes me crazy.
• My boss is a micromanager or doesn’t give me any direction.
• I’ve been assigned to a new role, not of my choosing.

• I think my boss is trying to get me fired.
• I was fired. Is my career over?
• I was passed over for a promotion.
• I work all the time and I’m burned out.
• I have some work behaviors that I want to change.

I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), not a coach. There’s significant overlap between the worlds of counseling and coaching. I refer to and collaborate with both coaches and counselors because there’s much similarity between the two professions. The biggest difference between my approach and standard coaching approaches is that I’ll ask about your past to understand your present and your future. Most coaches have a strong future orientation and tend not to delve too much into the past, not wanting to cross over into “therapy territory.” Because I’m licensed as a therapist, I’m more willing to examine the past to understand today’s puzzles. I suggest that you talk to several people — coaches and counselors — to determine who feels like the best fit for you.

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  • One conversation with Karen sent me on a path I had never considered or even knew was possible in my industry.

  • Thank you for providing the guidance and encouragement to broaden my horizons. The world beyond my current professional circumstances now seems much more open and promising.

  • Karen was fantastic at helping me navigate my career evolution and progression. She helped me think about my career as a journey and broke down the steps both psychologically and logistically.

  • Working with Karen has helped me tremendously as I navigated through a difficult period with a previous supervisor, and helped me set the stage for future career success. Her advice and guidance helped position me to get noticed, and I was!

  • I love working with Karen because at the end of each session I feel re-energized and motivated in my job search, with a concrete plan of action. She always has new ideas/approaches, is positive and encouraging.