50. Transforming Your Career Narrative: Strategies to Overcome Career Struggles and Unlock Opportunities

Have you been stuck in a career rut? Dreaming of making a change  but can't figure out how to make it happen? That's exactly what we're talking about in this episode. I'm channeling my years of experience as a lawyer and career coach to provide you with a roadmap to overcome common career struggles. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I would coach my client on the three common struggles  they face when they come to me: not believing that there are opportunities out there for them, not knowing how or where to start, and the inability to recognise the value of their unique gifts and experiences.

Now, imagine harnessing your unique abilities and experiences to open up unseen opportunities. Imagine having a clear-cut strategy to propel your career forward. That is exactly what we explore in this  episode. We delve into the art of conducting a  career audit, the power of introspection, and strategies to meet the requirements for your dream role.

Whether you're contemplating a career change, wanting to step into a leadership role or looking to make the most of your unique gifts, this episode is bursting with practical tips to help you navigate your career with purpose and confidence.

Join The Unbound Lawyer Program Waitlist HERE. 

Connect with the host:

Website: https://marijaduka.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marija-duka/ 

Instagram: @marija.duka

Transcript

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Overcoming Career Struggles and Finding Opportunities

Speaker 1 0:06

Welcome to the Career Confidence podcast , the podcast for driven lawyers wanting to step out of the traditional path and build fulfilling and purposeful careers . I'm your host , maria Ducar , legal counsel and career coach , helping you navigate your career with intention and confidence . In this podcast , we don't show away from having real conversations about topics that matter to us . Driven AF go-getters From manifesting your dream career , negotiating the salary you deserve , creating your personal brand , knowing when it's time to pivot . We cover these topics and so much more . You ready , let's dive into today's episode . Hey , hey , welcome to another episode of the Career Confidence podcast . I hope you're doing well . I hope you're having an amazing week .

Speaker 1 1:02

So far , we've hit episode 50 . That's like halfway to 100 . I can't believe that . This is crazy . I don't know if you actually know this about me , but I had a podcast before the Career Confidence podcast . It was called the Raw Pod . I'm not sure if it's somewhere in the ether still , but that was my first podcast and I never reached I don't think I reached even 45 episodes with that . You know what I'm celebrating Reaching 50 episodes . That is huge . I hope that you take this moment to also celebrate something that you've achieved this week as well . I think it's really important to celebrate the small wins and not to let them go unnoticed , because if we're not celebrating them , then who is The way we are going to be running this podcast episode today ? I really want to take you behind the scenes on how I coach my clients through their struggles that they come to me with . I want this to be a really practical episode so that you may recognize some of these struggles within you , and I hope that through this episode I can provide you with some practical tips through my coaching on how you might be able to approach that struggle as well . This is kind of taking you behind the scenes with me on how I would coach my clients through struggles that they have . In particular , we are going to be going through the three biggest struggles that my clients face when they come to me . These three are one not seeing or believing that there are opportunities out there for them . Number two not knowing how or where to even start when it comes to taking those next steps in their career . Number three not believing in the power of their unique gifts and existing experience .

Speaker 1 3:22

Now , before we dive into the how part of this episode in terms of how I would approach , helping my clients with these struggles . I just want to , i guess , a little disclaimer in that I approach each coaching client differently , depending on their specific needs and their goals . So what I will be talking about today will be more of a general approach . So , of course , if you were to work with me , you would have a tailored approach that is specific to you and your goals and your needs . So , yes , i just wanted to put that in there , because everybody is different and everybody is at a different point in their life in Korea and requires different type of coaching and assistance . But , yes , so what I will be talking about will be more of a general approach that I would take , just so you can get a bit of a look into , as I said , behind the scenes , of how I would approach and in terms of coaching my clients through some of these struggles that are quite common when my clients come to me . So let's start off with the first one .

Speaker 1 4:29

So not seeing or believing that there are opportunities out there for them This is a really common struggle that my clients come to me with because they are at a point in their career where they feel like they have Exhausted every option in their career and they've hit this point of Stuckness , essentially , for lack of a better term . So they feel very stuck and confused and they feel like they can't see beyond The current situation , beyond the current role . And each time will have different reasons why they feel stuck and we're not going to go into that . But , yeah , for one reason or another , they feel like they have , i guess , reached the glass ceiling or the end point of their position and they just don't know what to do next . And it is easy And normal in this situation to feel like there's nothing else out there for you , because you are in that scarcity mindset where you can't see beyond your current situation , because You probably haven't been exposed to different types of ways you can approach your career . Maybe you're not surrounded by other people that are approaching their career in a different way . Maybe you don't have mentors around you that can spark a different path for you . So , yeah , for one reason or another , they can't see and they don't believe that there are opportunities out there for them . So this is a common struggle that my clients have and , working with many clients that have come to me with this struggle , i've come to realize that They need support in getting clear on what they actually want their next career move to be , and I know that that sounds very simplistic , but let's just keep diving into that .

Speaker 1 6:36

So A lot of my clients you know they're very driven they've pursued a specific path within the legal profession . They've climbed up the corporate ladder and they've been doing all the quote unquote you know right things to progress in their career . But they get to that point of Feeling like there's a lack of purpose and fulfillment there and like they've reached the tether of of their career . And something that I've witnessed within my clients is that they haven't actually given themselves the time or the space to do a bit of a career audit and to reflect on what it is that they actually and truly want . So not The next logical step or you know what someone else wants that looks shiny and fancy , but really doing that in a work , turning inward and getting real with themselves about where they would like to see themselves next . And this is a very hard thing to do , because sometimes this may actually be that you might want to leave the industry altogether , but you haven't fully allowed yourself to face that truth . You might want something else in a completely different career path And you've been dreaming about that and you've been secretly hoping and wishing for that , but you haven't probably taken the time out for that to fully come out , for you , to essentially face the truth of what you want .

Speaker 1 8:17

So with this struggle , i really dive in deep with my clients through powerful questions and holding the space for my clients to unravel and to allow what they truly want to come up for them . Because my clients , deep down , they know what they want , they do , and I just support them to extract that , to allow that to come to the light and to the surface so that they can then go oh , this is where I want to be , this is where I want to go . And in giving them the time , the space , the guidance through my questions and space holding , they're able to uncover that and get granular on what they want that next career path to look like . And the next part of that is we get really clear on what's actually required of them to get there . So it's one thing to really want something and it's one thing to get clear on what you want your career to look like , right , but that next step to help realize that goal , that dream of yours , is to really harness and know what's required of you to get there .

Speaker 1 9:46

And that could be different things that depend on what that goal is . It could be upskilling and doing a course to be able to move into that role or industry . It could be meeting certain people in that field . It could be putting yourself out there and starting to create content . I think you know where I'm going with this that essentially , what's required of you would be obviously tailored to your situation and what your goal is .

Speaker 1 10:20

Another part of that in terms of not seeing or believing what opportunities are out there for you , there's a big mindset piece to that too . So when we are working through this aspect with my clients , i really support them from a mindset perspective as well And I challenge them . I challenge them to think differently , to give them a different perspective of something , because sometimes we can't truly see the magic within us and we need someone else to point it out and to put it right in front of our face and say , hey , look at this , this is where you're able to go next . You just need to believe in yourself , and I know that again , it's saying it in a simplistic way , but you can see what I'm saying in terms of having that person , that expert that is able to hold up a mirror for you , to challenge you and to ask you really powerful questions and hold the space for you As you unravel what those next steps look like and what's required of you to get there and support you from that mindset perspective so that you open up different pathways in your mind and you know what's possible for you . You start to unlock that . You then become truly unstoppable because once you can see the opportunities out there for yourself even though you can't physically see them , but you believe in them and you can envision them then you have something to work towards . You have clarity .

Speaker 1 12:10

Now let's move on to the next struggle that I spoke about at the start of this episode . So the second struggle is not knowing where or how to start . This is tied in with the first part in that . Okay , well , now you might know what it is that you want to achieve next in your career , but where to from here ? How do you start ? Where do you start ? You know you can feel very overwhelming when you realize what you actually want to do next , and then you go oh shit , now I feel like I have to get there tomorrow and now I feel overwhelmed with all of the things that I have to do to get there , oh my gosh , and you start to spiral . So that is quite common .

Overcoming Career Struggles and Achieving Goals

Speaker 1 12:59

But this is where I help my clients build a framework that works for them . So I help them map out practical steps to move them into that next desired career or that next season of their career . So at the beginning we paint the picture for what they want . They envision what they want , they get clear on what it is that they want . They fully feel it and embody it , and then we get to start mapping out okay , from a practical perspective , what does this now look like ? So I sit down with my clients and we together because we're a team we collaborate on their goals and dreams with them and we map out those next practical steps and we put a time frame on them so that they can actually then go off and action them . There is that time pressure to keep moving forward which keeps them accountable , and the way I structure my coaching with my clients is that we have goals every fortnight , so we set those action steps for the next fortnight . They have access to me in between , so I support them with any roadblocks that they might hit along the way . We set more action steps for that next fortnight and we keep going so that they , by the end of our time together , achieve their career goals . Without that framework and without someone strategizing with you , it is so easy to get lost in the overwhelm of what do I do next ? Now on to number three .

Speaker 1 14:41

The third thing that my clients struggle with is not believing in the power of their unique gifts and their existing experience . This struggle is particularly common for my clients that are wanting to pivot into an area of law or an industry that they have not had experience in directly . So this is where we extract their unique gifts , so the value that they have to offer that is based on their past experience as well as their natural gifts , of what they are good at , what they're skilled at , and we identify transferable skills into that industry or that area of law , whatever it may be . So we are using what they have . So we're not making up anything brand new for the sake of applying for a job . We are extracting what they already have , their existing experience , and getting really clear on how we can shift those and transfer those into their desired pathway .

Speaker 1 16:02

And there is always something that you can latch onto , whether if it's like you've had experience working with that type of client in that industry , or applying your broader skill set as a lawyer in that different area of law , that different industry or that different pathway , i guarantee you that I can always find a transferable skill in there . Even though you think , oh , nobody , i don't have the experience of the skills and I'm not able to , yes , there is always a way and we can definitely extract the way forward . So I help them extract their unique gifts and I coach them on how to leverage these for their desired role . So you have to be your own salesperson right . So when you are applying for a job , going into an interview , putting yourself there online , you are your biggest advocate . And that doesn't mean being salesy and being cocky or anything like that .

Speaker 1 17:05

No , but I truly help my clients to be able to present themselves in a confident way so that they can confidently communicate what it is that they bring , what they already have , and to really own their existing experience , because this is a very , very common struggle and one that can really stop you from going for your goals and your dreams if you allow that to be something that defines you . So maybe it's my stubborn trait in me , but I always love to find a way that we can transfer what you have into where you want to go , so you can go from A to B and do it in a way that is authentic and really not making up anything , and so that my clients can achieve their goals . I actually did a more extended episode on this , so if you go onto Episode 15 after you listen to this episode , i talk about how to apply for a role when you don't have the exact experience they're looking for . So in that episode you can hear more about how I help my clients transfer their existing experience into a role that they haven't had experience in . So there you have it , friends .

Speaker 1 18:30

So those three struggles that my clients come to me with one , not seeing or believing that there are opportunities out there for them . Two , not knowing where or how to start . And three , not believing in the power of their unique gifts and existing experience . These are three common struggles that my clients come to me with . These may be current struggles of yours , and I hope the tips that I provided in this episode allows you to overcome these struggles so that you can move forward and start taking action towards your career goals . I can't wait to be in your ears next week and until next time , see you later . Have an awesome rest of the week . Bye , thanks for tuning into the Korea Confidence podcast Like what you learned today . Why not share this episode with your work , bestie , and leave us a five star review on ? wherever you listen to your podcast on , we'd absolutely love to get into more ears and help more women just like you build fulfilling and thriving careers . Until next time .