Are You Ready for Life After Corporate America?

By Lisa Berquist, President – Embrace The Leader Within, LLC and CWCC Member

I recently read an article on Forbes.com entitled “Millennial Women Are Burning Out At Work By 30…And It’s Great For Business”.  The article suggested that this younger generation is getting frustrated with their corporate careers and striking out into entrepreneurship in search of independence, fulfillment and control.

Realizing at an early stage in your career what is important to you and having the courage to pursue a work environment that fulfills is smart. But Gen Y’s aren’t the only ones figuring out there is more to life than a j.o.b.  Many of us are realizing we want more from our work.

No matter what your age or gender, consciously looking at where you currently are, what you really want out of a career and what your ultimate definition of success is can be vital to your overall well being.  Whether you come to this realization on your own or whether unfortunate circumstances force you there, consider it an opportunity–a gift.

You may be in the wrong job, the wrong organization, the wrong company, the wrong industry or better suited to be an entrepreneur.  The good news is, many of your skills and strengths will benefit you in a variety of environments.  When I left my corporate job to become a small business owner, I was terrified about what I didn’t know as an entrepreneur.  I quickly found that many of my skills such as planning, making presentations, supervising and networking served me well in my new career.  In some cases it even gave me an advantage.

Now that didn’t mean I could do it all.  Just as in my corporate role, there were things I was good at and things I needed help with.  It gave me great satisfaction that the first 30 years of my career were a valuable asset and learning experience.  And it gave me even greater confidence that I had a strong foundation from which I could successfully achieve the next phase of my career as an executive leadership coach.

What are your skills, strengths and values that will serve you well in whatever career you decide to pursue?  Take the time to identify them and be grateful for them.

If you’d like to find out more about career transition from Corporate America, join Lisa and co-facilitator Aimee Cohen of Cohen Career Consulting for the CWCC Mentoring Panel Discussion, “There is Life After Corporate America” on January 27, 2012 at 9:00 AM.

Lisa believes that people are the key to success and that knowing their strengths and desires and aligning those to the goals of the individual and the organization leads to excellent results all around.  Her approach is direct, honest, challenging and supportive.

Lisa is a certified coach through Coach Training Alliance.  She is a graduate of the Women’s Vision Leadership Institute, past president of the Qwest Women Diversity Resource Group and a current member of the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce.  Her training includes Six Sigma as well as Stephen Covey’s Great Leaders, Great Teams, Great Results.  She is currently the founder and president of Embrace The Leader Within, LLC. For more information, go to www.embracetheleaderwithin.com.