A Career Transition Cheat Sheet for Helping Professionals
After the past few years, many folks in the helping professions are ready for a change. As a former mental health professional myself, I understand how challenging it can be to consider exiting a job that feels like a part of who you are. But if you’re a therapist, psychiatrist, social worker, teacher, school counselor, public health official, etc., struggling with burnout or financial insecurity, I have some good news:
The market value of one of your most finely honed skills, emotional intelligence, has never been higher.
As you explore new career horizons, you might find yourself having conversations with forward-thinking leaders and hiring managers who are eager to engage someone with your expertise. But at the same time, you may struggle to effectively articulate how your unique, highly transferable skill set will benefit their organization.
Fortunately, I’m here to help.
As a career coach with deep roots in education, tech, and mental health, I know what it takes to make the big leap from direct service to entrepreneurship. What follows is a career transition cheat sheet for helping professionals and it’s chock full of language you can use to describe your most valuable offerings to prospective employers and clients. Feel free to copy/paste whatever is helpful and use it in your cover letters, portfolios, and interviews.
A Career Transition Cheat Sheet for Helping Professionals
Helping professionals like therapists, psychiatrists, social workers, teachers, school counselors, public health officials, etc. are some of the most emotionally intelligent individuals on the planet.
That means they’re self-aware, they uphold healthy boundaries for themselves and others, they know their limits, and they lead by example. They care about what motivates people and they’re equipped to help organizations develop solution-focused strategies that will make the world of work a better place.
This sort of thing pays off, quite literally.
Research shows that emotional intelligence training can yield a whopping 1484% return on investment. So imagine what having an emotionally intelligent leader on your team could do for your business!
But there’s even more.
In addition to unmatched emotional intelligence, these helping professionals possess an arsenal of multidisciplinary tools for driving growth:
They’re hyperfocused on evaluating systems and approach problem-solving with a strengths-based perspective. Teams thrive under their empathic leadership.
They pay attention to how all the different parts of an organization work together so they can capitalize on overlooked opportunities and uncover the challenges that need attention. They’re operational audit machines that maintain a sense of compassion for every link in the chain.
They are unafraid of tough conversations. They can say hard things without being hurtful. They elicit meaningful change because they can be clear on expectations while honoring the inherent dignity in each person.
They know how to deescalate a situation quickly and get to the underlying issue at hand. They’re well-versed in crises response and risk assessment and they don’t ruffle easily because, well, they have a crystal clear understanding of what actually constitutes a crisis.
They know that businesses thrive on relationships and they’re expert bridge builders. Your staffing and marketing KPIs will soar because they know how to make your team and your audience feel seen and heard.
As natural coaches and mentors, they love helping others grow. They encourage their team to show up as their authentic selves and are naturally curious about their gifts. When it comes to talent retention and development, they know what keeps people engaged.
They’re expert listeners. They’re constantly taking in body language and making note of what’s being said (and not being said). They know how to ask questions in a way that makes people feel comfortable sharing. Recruiting, retention, and user testing thrive under their leadership because they ensure that feedback is gathered and examined with fidelity at every touchpoint.
They know that all behavior is language and they’re excellent translators. If they’re building a product or providing a service, they use this insight to evaluate customer behavior. They don’t shy away from questions like “why are people dropping off at this point in our sales funnel?” or “how can we improve so that our audience stays more engaged?”
Having spent years in agency or public sector work where budgets are notoriously slim, they know how to run a lean operation. They’re unapologetically candid about what’s possible given the resources at hand, but they’re adept at maintaining growth amidst challenges.
They understand the principles of instructional design and can evaluate learning styles amongst their team. When it comes time to offer staff training or professional development, they know how to make sure their team gets what they need to do their best work.
Everything about the promise of their product or service is evidence-based. They know how to measure what matters and how to embed opportunities to collect and examine outcomes within experiences. They enjoy doing research and love making complex ideas easy to understand.
They understand the stages of change and can shepherd their team through transitions. Change is constant in this era of “the new normal,” and business operations need to pivot quickly. Having an expert change navigator on hand ensures no one gets left behind.
As detail-oriented documentation wizzes, they easily find creative ways to collect and disseminate important information. They know which details matter and strive to balance integrity-building transparency with a commitment to privacy and confidentiality within their team.
Clearly, hiring a helper is an excellent business decision!
But if you need some additional support navigating your next career transition, that’s what I’m here for! I’d love to hop on a quick call to talk to you about how I can help you discover and describe your most valuable offerings for prospective employers, clients, and more. Just grab a spot on my calendar here.