Jan Shurtz is a member of the 22-23 cohort of the NIFW Gotham Fellowship. Jan is a Career Coach who guides people through career transitions, supporting their desire to integrate their faith with their work lives. In this post, she shares how her own faith journey and experience with career transitions have impacted how she approaches coaching her clients.
For twenty years, I have been coaching people through career changes. Some of them have been laid off, and others simply want to move on to something different. I, myself, made a career change some years ago when I decided to leave consulting and become a Career Coach. I had been traveling for four years Monday through Friday, and I needed to have a better life balance, get back to my Christian connections in Chicago, my weekly prayer group, a small group Bible study, and just time for myself.
So, I took control of my work life.
I quit.
And that was a costly mistake.
Burned out and exhausted, I abruptly resigned from my consulting company without a solid career change strategy in place. Practically, I had to get certified as a Coach which involved taking 15 courses, a yearlong process. I needed income and used savings instead of working a low-stress job.
As an alternative, I could have taken a month off to regroup and pray for God’s guidance. I might have hired a career coach to talk about alternatives. During my time of retraining, I could have taken a short-term job.
I did become Career Coach, however, and I now help people take control of their careers, but with a transition strategy that supports them spiritually, financially, and emotionally. For some clients, changing jobs is their choice, as in my case. For many, it is not a choice, but a company layoff that abruptly ends employment.
Below I will share a snapshot of a coaching conversation I had with a client who lost his job because of a company layoff.
Client: “I arrived at work yesterday morning to work on an interesting IT project with my team. After lunch, the CEO announced that our small medical device company will be acquired by a large global pharmaceutical company. Oh no, I thought. A buyout probably means a layoff. My heart went cold. Just a year ago, 50 of us were laid off just two months after an acquisition.“
Client: I couldn’t sleep last night, I could easily lose my job. I have come to talk to you because I want to get my career under control and find a stable company where I will have absolute security. No layoffs. Stay there for a long time. I have a family with two young children. I believe in God’s plan for me, but I live with constant anxiety and fear.”
Coach: “First of all, I’m glad you are taking charge of your career and preparing for a potential change at your company. I believe God wants us to be aware of potential problems at work. Many people stay in denial, waiting it out, hoping a layoff won’t happen. God could be alerting you that it is time to change and move on. So, let’s use your anxiety as energy to get going.”
Client: “I have been feeling guilty. I thought maybe my anxiety meant I don’t have enough faith in God. If I truly trust God, I wouldn’t be afraid or nervous about losing my job.”
Coach: “Well, as believers, we often quote just the first few words of Philippians 4:6-7, ‘Do not be anxious about anything’ and we conclude it is a lack of faith to be anxious. But we need to read to the end...‘but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’”
Coach: “I don’t believe God means for us to simply declare, ‘I will not be anxious!’ We are told to pray, thank God, and give our needs to Him. Praying about anxiety is a process. I may pray about a situation for some time before I can leave it with God. My suggestion is to keep praying about your job until you sense God’s guidance, but resist feeling guilty about your anxiety. I also don’t believe your anxiety will be completely alleviated with a new job even with a seemingly secure company. However, you can take some control of your work life. In the past few years, people have begun to strategically take control of their careers, more so than in the past. Here is what they tell me:
Stay Alert
Be alert to your company transitions and changes going on in your industry. What is your competition doing? How does your company align with industry trends? Do you see signs of weakness in your company?
Know Your Marketable Strengths
Review your strengths and career history. What are six or seven success stories you can prepare to tell future interviewers? Are your resume and LinkedIn profile current so you can pivot quickly if necessary?
Talk to God
Pray for your company, the leaders, your manager, and your colleagues. Your prayers will powerfully affect your company and your role there. Seek God’s wisdom for your next steps whether at your current company or a new job.
Focus on a Biblical Promise
Choose a biblical promise or principle to think about throughout your workday. People who meditate on God’s promises throughout their day report less anxiety.
Stay in the Game
Don’t quit too soon! Quiet quitting has become an attitude in the workplace recently. But strategic people do just the opposite and stay in the game, working diligently until it is time to change to another job.
Coach: “I know you want to land a secure job. That may or may not happen, however. You may go thru several layoffs throughout your career. But you can take control. You can stay alert to your company’s bottom line and potential buyouts. You can match your skills with job postings on LinkedIn. You can keep your marketing materials updated and stay involved with your network.”
Coach: “You can talk with God.” ‘And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’”
We appreciate Jan sharing how her faith journey impacts how she coaches her clients as a career coach today.
