Helen Ford, Chief Sustainability Officer & COO at Vestey Holdings Limited

I was ready to take any job for any company but Shannon and the Group Coaching was an effective forum to build confidence and seek peer feedback to ensure a more intentional choice about my next career move.

The Challenge

My main challenge was understanding what would be a good fit for me in terms of organization and role.  Before finding Shannon I would have taken just about anything.  But her group coaching helped me to see that I needed to get clear on my criteria and that there needed to be an equal fit on both sides.

The Solution

During the Group Coaching weekly calls it was great to hear peers' perspective on my experience.  Shannon created a safe space where I was able to practice presenting my career story in a real-time setting.  Sometimes the reactions were different to what I had meant to communicate so this helped me to refine my messaging before having to deliver it at an interview.

As a group we also leveraged each other as sounding boards to work through the tools and the comprehensive 17-step online course. 

One of the tools I liked best was the values and skills exercise.  It was super helpful when mapping my values and skills to role descriptions to see if they were going to be a good fit for me as well as visa versa.

Answering the "So What?" question about my achievements was a crucial way to enable others to see what I could offer them in tangible value. Shannon always guided us to drill down more in writing our achievements with - how many, what time frame, what was the impact - making my impact stories all more punchy and more quantifiable.  

The Result

I always felt supported and never alone in what can be a lonely job search process.  It was very confidence building to get live feedback about how I was presenting myself to others. 

"I now have a really effective CV and thorough understanding of the value that I had accumulated in my career and therefore the value that I could offer to a future employer. "

As Shannon always encouraged us, pick your company carefully.  Culture fit really matters.  I am now in a great role in a wonderful family-owned global holding company with 16 companies across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.  I get to wear lots of hats and have been promoted regularly from CSO to COO to Board Member while also covering marketing and supply chain activities.