Grow Your Career Trunk

Career Coach & Team Builder

Sarah-Jane VandenBerg, a published author and popular facilitator, with over 25 years experience with individuals in difficult and transitioning circumstances, has empowered thousands of people to make successful life changing career decisions. Her strengths of seeing possibilities, being intrigued by the unique qualities of individuals, and of communicating enable her to focus on you having a fun, enlightening and effective experience. She is known for her humorous and realistic approach in sharing her knowledge and wisdom.

October 9, 2020

What do I mean by “Career Trunk”? Well, let’s look at the what, where, why, when and who of trunks to answer that question.

The trunk is the middle part of the tree and runs between the roots and the crown or top of the tree. The trunk has several layers each of which performs a different function. These functions include:

Protecting the tree from fire, insects, extreme heat and cold and drought
Piping nutrition and water to get from the roots to the crown, which is the fruit of the tree – leaves, flowers, seeds
Providing strength and flexibility to withstand the storms of wind and rain.

What does the trunk have to do with careers? During this time of pandemic, many people are re-examining how they earn a living and considering our careers as trunks can give us some ideas of what to examine.

Does your career protect you, continue to provide you with nutrition and you’re your strength and flexibility to withstand the storms of life? Recently, when talking to a client about her desires for next career, she identified that she wanted a career which was “pandemic-resistant” as her previous work in overnight-camp programing and personal fitness training at a gym had been decimated by COVID-19.

If your career doesn’t protect you, doesn’t provide you with what you need to survive and thrive and/or doesn’t give you the strength and flexibility you need in your life, that’s ok. You have identified some elements that are required to be changed. If you are employed, can you speak to your employer about how to meet your needs – develop skills that are always required, access your salary to see how it can be increased, request feedback to build your strength as a valued employee or see if you can work from home one day/week? If you are self-employed, do you need to obtain insurance to cover you when you can’t work, develop other products to ensure an income during pandemic times, connect with other badass boss women to encourage you and/or shift your work hours so that you can care for your aging parents?

What will you do to ensure your career trunk is protecting you, piping you nutrition and providing strength and flexibility?