Category Archives: Managing The Transition


The benefits of making a non-obvious choice

By Sarah Cooper | Published September 11, 2009

It’s easy to get bogged down when making a big career or lifestyle change. Time and money pressures are very real.
Taking a radical, bold and unusual approach can sometimes be more effective than ploughing on in logical, incremental death-by-a-thousand-cuts steps.
I’ve certainly experienced this myself, so today I’d like to share with you “The China Cure”, [...]

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10 websites to speed up your career change

By Sarah Cooper | Published August 29, 2009

It wasn’t that long ago that I was in a job that made me miserable. But although I knew what I DIDN’T want, I wasn’t exactly sure what I DID.  I had some ideas but they were vague and unformed, and anyway I had no idea about how to go about achieving them.
Moreover I was plagued by [...]

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Also posted in Great Resources | Tagged , | 2 Comments
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Are your small steps holding you back?

By Sarah Cooper | Published August 7, 2009

When it comes to making a career change, the commonly held view is that small steps are the best way forward.
Small steps are great because they reduce overwhelm and counteract that awful feeling of paralysis. It is true that tiny actions over time can add up to a big result.
Take learning a language for example. [...]

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One of my favourite reads

By Sarah Cooper | Published July 31, 2009

This might sound a little implausible, but reading a 70 page e-book curled up on my sofa one morning last week was honestly one of my favourite experiences since starting my coaching practice two years ago. (Clearly I don’t get out much).
Some of you may know that I’m a coach, writer and workshop leader for [...]

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Also posted in Defining Your Dream Work, Useful Tools and Techniques | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
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Identify Those Elusive Transferable Skills: The 3 Pronged Attack

By Sarah Cooper | Published July 24, 2009

Not long after starting my coaching practice I delivered a workshop to young Chinese professionals on creating the perfect CV.
I was shocked to discover that the majority of participants were simply incapable of naming something they were good at – despite them all being competent English speakers with better jobs than most of their peers.
Half-way [...]

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Also posted in Building Self Belief, Reaching Your Potential, Useful Tools and Techniques | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment
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7 Ideas For Funding Your Dream Work

By Sarah Cooper | Published July 17, 2009

One of the main reasons we stay stuck in a job we don’t like is that it pays us well, or at least adequately. We reason, “well, maybe my job isn’t so great, but at least I can pay the mortgage/fund my kids’ numerous after school activities/go on that Caribbean holiday/justify my daily cake habit.”
Understandably, [...]

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Also posted in Setting Up Your Lifestyle Business | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
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Taking Inspiration From My Daughter

By Sarah Cooper | Published March 13, 2009

 
Two days ago my daughter Elsa (3 1/2) announced that she’d like to cycle herself to school - a local Chinese kindergarten just round the corner from where we live. Her bike was last year’s birthday present from her ayi (like a Chinese nanny). But Elsa never really got the hang of it before winter [...]

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Also posted in Building Self Belief, Reaching Your Potential | Tagged , , | 2 Comments
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Embracing Imperfection: What You Can Learn From a First Pancake

By Sarah Cooper | Published March 9, 2009

 
In shifting from your former or current job to your dream work, it’s likely that you’ll be moving from a position of expertise to a position of relative ignorance.
 
Often, we’re a bit embarrassed by our lack of skill or knowledge in our new area, forgetting that we had to learn the ropes of our [...]

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Also posted in Reaching Your Potential | Tagged , | 6 Comments
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How To Know For Sure If It’s Work That’s Right For You

By Sarah Cooper | Published March 3, 2009

Deciding on a new career direction can be a paralysing experience. This is particularly true if you’ve spent many years in a job or profession that didn’t quite fit.  You really want to make the right choice this time round.
 
I’ve been there and felt the agony of hovering around on the edge of a [...]

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Immigration Officer to Children’s Boutique Owner: Karen’s story

By Sarah Cooper | Published February 9, 2009

What did you do before opening your own children’s store?
 
Originally I taught English, first in Canada (I’m Canadian) then in China for many years. Just prior to starting my own business however I had been working as an Immigration Officer at the Australian Embassy in Beijing.
 
What motivated you to start your own business?
 
The [...]

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