WELCOME
If you have landed on this page, you may be a college student trying to identify what your major should be, or you may be an older adult looking for an alternative to retirement However it is most likely that you are seeking a career or job change and in addition to the usual job search issues not sure of what you want do next, not progressing in your career or sending out resumes that don't result in interviews, you have been diagnosed with ADHD or have traits typically associated with ADHD. Poor organizational and time management skills, difficulty setting priorities, problems with task initiation and follow-through, impulsiveness, or other issues has brought you into conflict with colleagues and managers, missed promotions, and even job loss.
Fortunately, the neuro diverse brain that give rise to ADHD brings positive attributes that may help you achieve career and/or life success. You may be more intuitive, insightful, enterprising, energetic, entrepreneurial, innovative, creative - a problem solver who thinks outside the box, able to hyper-focus on activities that really interest you, artistic, empathic and likely to possess a strong sense of justice for all, than those with neurotypical brains. ADHD is not a barrier to a successful career.
How Does ADHD Career Coaching Differ from Regular Career Coaching?
Although every career coach has their own definition of the scope of career coaching, most coaches agree that career coaching will help you optimize your career. This usually means:
- uncovering your interests, skills, strengths, and values
- identifying your career options
- identifying short-term and long-term career goals
- assisting you in navigating a job search and preparing for the interview process
- uncovering answers to your career questions.
As a career coach working with those with ADHD, I add, if needed:
- identifying your natural talents and strongest passions
- addressing the skills needed to strengthen Executive Functions
- recognizing and challenging the "gremlins" who wreak havoc with your self-esteem and confidence
- discovering your niche environment and what makes a workplace ADHD friendly.
Who Can Benefit from My Career Coaching Services?
Coaches are often told they should pick a niche group to work with. Well this is one of the "rules" I choose not to to follow. After years of teaching Development Psychology and Self-Assessment and Career Planning, and running a resume writing business, I have no favorite career-seeking niche. So who can benefit from my services?
- College students, high school seniors and adults who need to select a college major or post-secondary vocational program
- Adults who want to change careers
- Adults who do not want to change their career but want to work in a different "industry" (pivot coaching)
- Adults approaching retirement age or already retired. Seniors with ADHD typically find deciding to retire and being retired an challenge. Retirees with ADHD need to create structure, find healthy sources of stimulation and retain a sense of purpose in retirement.
Coaching is a co-active process. Both you and your coach are experts. When it comes to your life/school/work history, you are the expert. As coach my expertise is to take you through a process of self-assessment and, discovery. I will ask you the most powerful, provocative questions I can, to assist you in integrating the results of your self-assessment, developing strategies to manage your job-related ADHD challenges, and setting goals for a career you may never have imagined. The topics we cover will be customized to your specific areas of focus and goals.
What's Next?
2
Strategy and Planning Session
What do you want to accomplish during your coaching sessions? What Career Preferences need to be identified? Are there Executive Functions that need to be strengthened? Are there fears or anxieties concerning change that we should address? When do you want to or need to begin your Job Search or declare a college major?
3
Let's Start
creating the career you want.
We will begin by investigating your interests and natural talents.
For most of my adult life I have taught Psychology, Self-Assessment and Career Planning, and a variety of Developmental Psychology courses. Life Span Development, Psychology of Aging and Self-Assessment and Career Planning have been my favorite courses to teach. However, I have always been a part-time or adjunct professor which gave me limited control over when and where I would teach and how many courses I would teach. So, with school-aged children at home, I filled in the time gaps by starting Career Development Services, a home-based business that provided resume writing and career coaching.