20: A holistic approach to a career change

Welcome to Season 2! I speak with career coach Vilma Usaite, who believes in taking a holistic approach to making a career switch.

In this episode of Career Switch Podcast, Vilma breaks down her signature program for finding a fulfilling career into three stages. Her goal? For each person to have a career where it feels like you’re, essentially, getting paid for being yourself. 


Find Vilma Usaite at:

Website: www.vilmausaite.com/

Instagram: @vilma.usaite

Podcast: The Holistic Career Change Podcast

Music credit: TimMoor from Pixabay

Podcast info:
What's your career switch? What do you think about this episode and the show? Tell us at careerswitchpod.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Transcript

Lixandra: Hi, everyone. I'm Lixandra Urresta, and this is Career Switch Podcast. This show is here to encourage you to take action with whatever career change you're considering or working on. Maybe you're trying to switch industries or professions or break out on your own and start a business. In some episodes, I talk to people who've made their own career switch, whether by choice or circumstance. They share the good, the bad, and the truth about their journey, including what worked for them and what didn't. 

In other episodes, I speak with experts who offer their best career advice on challenges that can come up during the process of making a career change. After all, it takes guts to switch things up, and it's not easy. However, it is possible. So I hope you hear something in this episode, an idea, a suggestion, a piece of advice that'll spur you into action with your own career switch, whether it's taking that first bold step or trying something new. Welcome. I'm glad you're here. 

Welcome to season two. I decided to start this new season with a different way of looking at making a career switch. I speak with certified strategic intervention and career coach Vilma Usseyti, who believes in a holistic approach to making a career change. In this episode, she breaks down her signature program to finding a fulfilling career into three stages. Vilma is also the host of the Holistic Career Change podcast. And as she tells us, her goal for each person is to have a career where it feels like you're essentially getting paid for being yourself. 

Thanks for joining us today, Vilma. I'm always on the hunt for new episode topics, and your podcast, the Holistic Career Change Podcast, caught my attention. I found it intriguing and uncommon that you help your clients make their career switch in a holistic manner. What does it mean to take a holistic approach to making a career change?

Vilma: In general, when we say that something is holistic, we usually think of an approach that sort of views each person as an ecosystem. And this implies that the treatment will take into account all kinds of mental, emotional, social factors versus just treating, say, the symptoms of a localized disease. You know, what we're doing with a holistic approach, we are creating this all encompassing, comprehensive treatment plans that have very high success rate, especially in medicine. Over the years, I've sort of observed this approach and what I did, I've taken that same logic and sentiment and I've applied it to my coaching practice as well. What does that look like? I look at the whole system of any individual that comes to me holistically, which firstly means that I need to sort of help them determine the root cause of why the person is in a situation that they're in, why they're feeling that they need to change, why they're feeling unfulfilled and stuck and, you know, help them with the self-analysis. what I usually refer to as self-audit, which means that we're looking at the multitude of unique aspects that they are before we crystallize that next career move and before we get clear of, you know, what that next career of alignment should be. Unfortunately, I don't believe that a holistic career change approach is yet very common, just like you said when you did a little bit of your research. Let's be honest, like any system that we look at, not exclusively, but in general, the systems in medicine and health care is usually built to just alleviate the symptoms. And like I said, it's applicable to really any industry and sector, and especially it's applicable in career change coaching. You know, when I hear over and over again, advice, like you need to analyze your skills and see how these skills could apply to a different industry or try to apply to similar roles. I always say, I don't think that's the best approach because it's not going to solve your issues sustainably. And that is essentially just putting a band aid on an issue.

Lixandra: How then do you look at the concept of a career change?

Vilma: The new paradigm is working out who you are, what you are about, and then designing a career path to match and to essentially celebrate all that you already are. I think we cannot continue sort of turning the blind eye to the fact that, you know, each and every one of us, the way I see it, at least, are these beautiful, unique containers of all of our character traits and experiences and values and strengths and interests. And we really need to look at all of that when we're looking for a new career that would tick the boxes and that would feel like essentially like getting paid for being yourself. And I always say that that is my ultimate goal and my wish for everyone who is currently stuck and who feels very confused as to what that next career step should look like.

Lixandra: Now, you created this holistic approach based on your own experience. Tell us about that.

Vilma: I really want to send so much compassion for those who currently feel stuck because I really know what it feels like to live in a dark and very lonely and sometimes confusing state. And I know it because I've lived it. And I know what it feels like to feel lost and really unfulfilled in your career and then your life in general. Actually, this holistic approach that I'm talking about was basically the fruit and the result of my own seeking and my own quest when I was looking for meaning. Just really briefly, my background is in business and finance. And for some time, I worked in financial institutions and I did management consulting, and I even worked for the government. And with each career change, I was just so desperately seeking to find something that would stick. or the way I used to call it, I just need to find something that feels like home for me, that feels mine. I really wanted to be passionate about what I do. I wanted to feel like what I did was purposeful. So basically, I just went on this quest. And it really took me a very long time. And I went on a lot of windy roads. I just used a lot of different resources. I worked with career consultants, I did psychometric tests, any anything that's available under the sun. I went to astrologists, I went to psychics, I read the books, basically, I did it all, you name it. And here's the issue that I had, though, at the end of it. And I feel like, again, that's something that a lot of your listeners may be relating to, is that as I started to explore, like all these options and try to sort of consolidate all the information that I was getting, it really felt like a lot of it was contradicting. I just could not make sense of it all. And it really made me feel so desperate and even more scattered than when I started. And I remember many times where I just sit in this desperation thinking, I wish there was like one source or I wish there was one person I could go to. And they would help me to make sense of all of these different complex parts and different experiences that I had. And I wish someone could just see all of me because I felt like whenever I was going to these different experts or went to these different sources, they were just looking at me through one narrow, limited lens, just my job experience or just my interests. But really deep inside, I just wanted to be seen, accepted and validated. I wanted someone to help me sort of unite all of my unique gifts and my character traits and my passions and my values and my experiences, and then help me design a career that would be in alignment with all of that. A career that would be an extension of who I already am. That really was the beginning of me starting to define the main principles of this holistic career change approach, which then became a program in my practice. So my rule of thumb now is to essentially welcome each and every individual in all of their uniqueness and complexity and their beauty, and then put it all together and then sort of help them to build an ideal career based on that foundation. And I feel like when we do that, that's when the change can be sustainable.

Lixandra: Okay, let's dive into your program. Like you said earlier, if focusing only on your skills is simply a band-aid when you're trying to figure out a career switch, What else do you look at?

Vilma: Basically, I have like this whole process that is outlined. And while I don't believe that there is sort of one solution that would fit all, I really think there could be sort of a rough outline or a few steps that people could follow in order to arrive to their answers. So the example I like to give is when you're not feeling well, you usually go to the doctor. And what does the doctor do first? They will examine you. They ask you questions, they inspect. They do that so they would have enough data to recommend you the best treatment, right? So that's pretty self-explanatory. And I really think that the same approach broadly could be taken when we're embarking on a career change process. So when we hear stories of failed career changes, I really feel like the problem is that people start taking the steps and they really rush into transitioning without having gone through the proper examination. They don't have enough data. They just, you know, they just sort of improvise and go, Oh, let me try this for a bit. Fingers crossed this would work. Or some people do, which pains me when I hear that, where they say, oh, I'll just talk to recruiters. But the recruiters really rarely get excited if you tell them that you're thinking of a career change, because that makes you less marketable. That makes you harder to sell and harder to earn their commission on. So what my main message is that stabbing in the dark like that is inefficient. What I suggest doing is really starting with some in-depth prep work, which is your self audit, like I mentioned before.

Lixandra: What does the self audit consist of?

Vilma: This self-audit piece consists of three puzzle pieces. What I'd like to mention here, the disclaimer that I'd like to share is that when we do this analytical work, when we do this self-audit, at this stage in particular, we really need to leave behind all of our prejudice, all of our experience and education, and really need to look at ourselves again with essentially like a fresh set of eyes.

Lixandra: I just want to clarify that the self audit is actually part of stage one of your program, which you call identify. What are the three puzzle pieces that make up the self audit?

Vilma: First, we'll look at your unique strengths. A lot of people think that strengths equals to their skills. And I hear that a lot. And while that could be true, the important sort of point that I like to make here is that skills is experience you've gained, but it doesn't mean that it's your strength. So my definition of the strength is that which gives you energy. A lot of the skills we have, while we may be extremely good at them, like we might have spent years training ourselves doing them, they may not necessarily are our strengths. So it really is important to identify what gives you energy and what comes super natural for you. Whether it could be communication skills, research skills, you need to look at what people compliment you on. So there are like a series of questions and exercises that are specifically geared towards identifying what your unique strengths are. That's sort of the first puzzle piece. As a second puzzle piece, we'll look at the core values. That is what you stand for. What do you believe in? Values are often overlooked when people do this work, and I've seen it through and through that. If your values don't match the values of the company that you work for, or there is, say, a value clash between you and your boss, Even if you get to use your unique strengths, and you may actually like the job, you will not be able to stay with this company for too long because a job that does not support your values will not be sustainable. And at some point, you will just end up leaving because it's going to be very taxing for your system to stay in such an environment. And the final puzzle piece is your passions and interests. Now, again, you will see, you know, if you just do a simple Google search, how to change careers or how to find your purpose, you will see a lot of career change advice out there, which says that all you need to do is just find your passion and you'll be able to find your ideal career or business. However, again, if your interests and your passions are not in alignment with your values, and they're not in alignment with your strengths, You won't be able to turn it into a long-term career. You may turn it into a hobby, or maybe it will be just something that you will do for a year or two. It will be very hard to sustain it.

Lixandra: Now, Vilma, what do you do after you figured out these three puzzle pieces, your strengths, core values, and passions and interests?

Vilma: We analyze all of these three, then we put them together, and then we'll have a very good idea of which direction we need to go to next. And that essentially becomes the foundation for the next phase of your career transition. What it does is essentially gives you a set of criteria for you to compare against potential career options. When we have that sort of list of criteria, then we just essentially look at potential career paths and we ask ourselves which out of these paths could meet all three or could tick as many boxes out of these set of criteria. And then you will not be stabbing in the dark anymore, but you'll be making very educated decisions. This whole three-puzzle piece, analytical work that we do, this is the first stage of career transition, which I call identify. So this is basically doing the prep work and really getting organized, getting clear, becoming your own self-expert and your own best friend, and really understanding what you are about.

Lixandra: Can you tell us about someone who did the self-audit and their results?

Vilma: An example that I could give here is one of my clients who was working in pharma and she was extremely unhappy and she was thinking of a career change forever. But she really struggled to identify what sort of the next move could be for her, what that industry could be for her. All she knew is that she loved traveling and she loved planning her trips and she loved hospitality. When she came to me, she was telling me that, you know, I really don't think that is a viable career option for me. It's not like I want to be a travel agent. I don't even know what's available out there and so on and so forth. So when we did this whole analytical work, what we realized is that at her work in pharma and her position, she actually was using a lot of her unique strengths, which was, she was very organized. She was very detail oriented. She was very good with delegating. So basically, a lot of what she did in her project management role were her unique strengths. However, when we started analyzing her core values, when we looked at her interests and passions, it became very clear that that career had no future for her. That's why she was struggling so much. She would say like, you know, it really feels like my soul is suffocating. She would really struggle to get out of bed and she had all kinds of psychosomatic symptoms. Her whole body was resisting going to the work because her values were not in alignment with pharmaceutical industry. She really struggled to believe in the product that she was selling. And her interests and passions really were elsewhere, which was to do with being free, with physical movement, with traveling and so on and so forth. So that role was essentially just completely out of alignment for her.

Lixandra: Are people usually surprised by the results of their self-audit since they may already have ideas about what they can and can't do? Like your client came to you already thinking she couldn't go into travel.

Vilma: It's not going to surprise you. The results that you're going to have is probably going to be something that you felt, but you really putting it on paper, answering questions, doing this work, sitting with each question is going to give you a lot of aha moments and validation to show you that actually that gut feeling that I always had. I'm not crazy. There is something to this.

Lixandra: Great. Let's move on to stage two. What's involved in this stage?

Vilma: Once we have a few career options that we have identified that meet all of the criteria that ticks the boxes, then we go into the second stage, which I call the test drive stage, where basically we test out those options. There's basically one thing to think that a position looks like a good fit on paper. But really what we need to do and to make sure, especially when we are embarking on a career change, say when we're a little bit older or if we have family and if we have dependents, really need to make sure that we also test it out and we experience and we put ourselves in the trenches, so to speak, so we get to taste what it's like to be in that position. It allows us to collect the data and the feedback that we can then take all in and analyze and select the most in alignment option. I had a client who was convinced that she wanted to have her own bakery. What she did is basically what we suggested, uh, the, the play project that we decided to take on is for her to, um, spend the weekends baking cupcakes and then going to like a local market. and having a stand or catering to her friends' parties. And after she tried it for a month, what she realized is she actually, the aspect that she loved the most was not baking, but actually watching people enjoy her food and interacting with people. So what she learned that if her job would be sort of somewhere at the back of the bakery, getting up really early in the morning, doing all the work, it would not be something that she would enjoy because she really needed a lot of interaction. when she came back with that data, with that feedback, we could then sort of course correct a little bit.

Lixandra: Do you recommend that people test out their career options while still at their current job?

Vilma: Absolutely. Actually, very rarely, I will advocate for this instant switch, where essentially you hand over your resignation on Friday, and then you start your job or your business on Monday. I'm a big fan of a gradual switch, and that means that I would suggest to stay in a career that you're currently in. You need to collect your paycheck, you know, not put any financial strain on yourself and simultaneously work on building that new career or building your business.

Lixandra: Okay. And finally, stage three, transition. What happens in this last stage?

Vilma: When we do this test driving, when we select one option, only then we really sit down and we start to draft a career transition plan, which is outlining the steps, the timeline, the phases, et cetera, et cetera, of what it would take to transition successfully.

Lixandra: I know we've covered a lot in this episode. So Vilma, how can listeners learn more about your holistic program and reach you?

Vilma: If your listeners are interested in learning more, you may actually go and find my podcast, which is called the Holistic Career Change Podcast. The first 10 episodes I've dedicated to outlining my process in detail. So you'll have essentially each stage and the worksheets you can download and fill out. So there really is no excuse. It doesn't cost you anything. You just need to tune in and set some time aside and do the work. And I really believe you can get those answers that you're looking for. And if you'd like to take this work further, you can also visit my website, which is www.vilmausaite.com, which is my name, surname.com. Instagram handle is at vilma.usaite.

Lixandra: And as we wrap up, since this may be a new concept for many people, what would you like listeners to keep in mind about taking a holistic approach to making their career switch?

Vilma: When I share the outline of the work that we're going to do with my potential clients, I often hear people say, oh, but what about my education or what about my skill set? Because it's in a different industry and so on. And this is, by the way, particularly true for those who are thinking of a double switch, which is changing the role and changing the industry. My tip here, and I feel like I can't stress this enough, is not to worry about your skills because majority of your skills are perfectly transferable and can be applied across a gazillion of different industries and functions. That's number one that I really want to stress. Another point is that while the first phase of identify is, I would say, very deliberate, it requires introspection. It requires intention. The second phase is more adventurous where we go out and always suggest people to look at this as, you know, a play. As adults, we forget how to play. So being able to test out and experience different industries, talk to people who are experts in the field, I think like that should be fun. And the final stage, which is the actual transition stage, this is where, like I mentioned, we build the in-depth transition plan. And this is where we get very strategic, very detailed. We'll look at our savings. We'll look at our financial plans. We talk about how to negotiate the best package for resignation when the time has come. So this is where we're very, very strategic and again, intentional, right? This is where we do our business. And I feel like a lot of people who don't spend time doing the first few stages, identify and then test drive. Usually they rush to the last stage and sometimes they don't even spend time on creating the transition plan. And they just thought, okay, let me try this. But really each stage I found has very particular purpose. And when you actually follow them, I really feel like you can get amazing results. You know, you'll have to be creative and use, you know, think out of the box. At the same time, I really can say that, you know, on behalf of my clients who've completed the switch and myself, it really is all worth it because, you know, a life you lead when you get up every day and get to do the work that you love and then even get paid for doing it, I feel like is straight up magic.

Lixandra: Thanks to Vilma Ussaiti for being our guest today. You can find Vilma at our website, vilmaussaiti.com, on Instagram, and on our podcast, The Holistic Career Change Podcast. You can find links to the resources mentioned in this episode and more helpful information in the show notes and on our website, careerswitchpod.com. 

So what's your career switch? Are you motivated to take action after listening to this episode? Tell us at careerswitchpod.com. We'd love to know, along with any feedback you have about the show. Let us know too, if you'd like to be a guest. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn at careerswitchpod. And please rate, review, and share with your friends and colleagues. It'll help get the show out there. Thanks for listening today. Till next time.