#1 Creating Space to Change

WELCOME to your new home on LinkedIn for all things Teacher Career Change!

Having supported literally 1000s of teachers to find fulfilling work outside of the classroom which gives them much-needed time with their families, and reaching over 30k+ followers on LinkedIn ??, it felt time to celebrate with a NEW WEEKLY newsletter.?

Thank you to everyone who helped chose our wonderful name - ?Life After Lessons was the winner (I may have added the magic sparkles #sorrynotsorry) and we love the multiple meanings.?

I’m looking forward to sharing lots of behind the scenes gold from our Academy membership, including tips from our recent workshops and plenty of ideas for how to rebuild your confidence and position your amazing transferable skills.

The newsletter will be released weekly and in three parts to reflect what we do at Adventures After Teaching - Burnout Recovery, Career Change Coaching and Business Start-Up Strategy.?

Something for everyone! ??

Back to Balance?

This week in the Academy membership we shared a workshop on Understanding Boundaries. While many of us know what having good boundaries and being assertive looks like, maybe we've never really embodied this ourselves. I often find a good place to start with coaching clients is to really reflect on why we say “yes”, when we want to say “no”.

Within the context of education (and I imagine many other industries/organisations) the inability to simply say, “Sure I can do that. What would you like me not to do?” makes the concept of needing to have stronger boundaries a contentious one! It’s not easy to say “no” at work - many fear extremes of ostracisation and capability plans. ??

So what can we do??

We can maybe...

...Not offer to help in the first place - I know it can be hard, but metaphorically sit on your hands!?

...Practise saying “no” to ourselves (think watching one more Netflix episode ??).?

...Reclaim space from those taking advantage of us.?

Most importantly, we can learn what “no” feels like in the body and listen to it. Ignoring this, pushing it down and avoiding it can lead to burnout.

Yes, saying “no” may feel uncomfortable, there may be guilt (more on that another time!) but choosing not to fill your time - choosing not to give all of yourself away - is more than ok. We're so used to taking on as much as we can physically handle, that we often exceed what we can mentally hold.

Is there something you can do to reclaim a little space this week?

Career Change Confidence

This week I released a new podcast interview with the amazing Rachael who is now Head of Administration and Communications for a Franciscan Missionary. What I loved most about hearing about Rachael’s journey was her reflections on doing the groundwork. Getting ready to launch!

When Rachael first came to work with me she did what all Academy members do and got stuck into our Phase 1 resources - working out her financial baseline, taking time to reflect on her previous roles and audit her transferable skills.?

It was clear from doing these things that she has strong organisational skills and would excel in an operational role or perhaps project management. Because she slowed down to speed up (a favourite phrase in the Academy!) she was able to create her skills-based CV and LinkedIn profile using the Phase 2 resources, feeling really clear on the direction she was heading in. ???

She had rebranded herself so well in fact, that at the time of being invited to interview for her current position, she had five other interviews lined up!

Doing this foundational work meant Rachael was able to more confidently sell herself (and her skills) to her new employers - if you’d like to hear more about her day-to-day role, check out the podcast episode here.

And for anyone at the start of the career change journey, don’t be afraid to take your time to explore your skills, look at different career change ideas and pick a lane - before launching into applications.?

Business School News

Starting a new business is never easy but there are many perks to being your own boss and managing your own diary. For many of us ex-teachers turned online business owners, our number one driver is creating space for family while enjoying creative work.

I loved seeing Nicola Downs' post this week about her post-school-run-calm! Nicola left her role as Head of Drama this August to go full-time in her Virtual Assistant business, Ink and Click.

We've had a number of teachers in the Business School follow the Virtual Assistant Pathway, and having had several ex-teachers on my team, I know how amazing they are for problem-solving all the back end tasks that need doing!

"Half an hour to plan my day before my eye test. Mornings look so different out of the world of teaching. Don’t get me wrong, running my own business is a super big job. But it is so much fun. And these moments of calm after the school run make everything worthwhile.

It’s never too late to choose a new path!"

I’ve been enjoying a similar spaciousness this week having kicked my lovely husband out of the garden studio to go and work in the house with Pirate the pup (sorry Matt Howard ). Building a business around your family can be incredibly empowering, and while tutoring is an amazing option, there are many different paths! Have you got a business idea you'd love to bring to life?

I hope this first ?Life After Lessons Newsletter has inspired you and given you some useful ideas for your own career change. If you need any help, you know where to find me. ??

Have a wonderful week.

Jo