Legal Career
In-House Sports & Media Lawyer at Sky Sports in London and Foxtel in Australia.
New Career(s)
Career Change Story
Initially, I left the legal profession to set up my own property business and to pursue my interest in coaching by working as a performance coach.
I spent a lot of time mulling over when and how to make the career change. As well as much personal soul searching, I worked with a coach who helped me on a range of things from mindset to more practical things such as a transition plan and financial planning.
I had worked in the legal profession for 10 years and was asking myself whether I wanted to be a lawyer for the next 10 years of my career. I enjoyed being a lawyer, and landed two of my dream law jobs - one working in sport and the other taking me to Sydney in Australia.
However, I had a nagging feeling there was more for me in my career. I wanted to try a more entrepreneurial venture at some point. I was also getting much more interested in re-training as a professional coach and developing my own coaching practise at some stage.
In short, it was to have more control over my time, decisions and direction. I also wanted to be able to help individuals make their own changes in their careers/lives through coaching.
Career Change Reflections
10 years on I can reflect and say it was the right time for me to make the move. It's been an interesting journey, with plenty of adjustments needed - a big one being that you have to initially do everything in your new business yourself. It's a shock after coming out of a large corporation with all the support that includes. I still miss my secretary today!
My main tip for making the move is to see it as a process. It's very unlikely you will suddenly identify the exact next thing to move to, have a 100% positive mindset about it and make the change without some degree of discomfort. This is the same for all significant changes in our lives.
That said, you can spend time exploring your values, your skills and the various options that are out there until you start to identify some appealing possibilities.
This is a hard road to travel on your own so you need to surround yourself with supportive friends and family, and seriously consider getting the support of a career coach.
You also need to be mindful of those people who will have a negative influence on your exploration of such a change - very often there will be a natural resistance in others to a change in the status quo. This can stop you before you take even the first few steps to explore the possibilities so it's best to pick your support network carefully.
My final tip is to seek out lawyers who have already made a transition - invite them for a coffee and ask how they made their move. This first-hand insight can be invaluable.
