Career change: who can you connect with to support and inspire you?
Career change: who can you connect with to support and inspire you?
The newsletter that starts with a question
Hello from the Hope Valley! Welcome back subscribers, and thank you for stopping by curious career changers. This issue rounds up the latest series of questions to explore, introduces you to a Cumbrian guest on my podcast, brings you a brilliant interview by writer and musician Tsarzi, gives you a brief update on things I’m working towards, and offers you the opportunity to join my new online community.
Firstly here’s a recap of the recent questions in case you haven’t worked through these yet:
How would you approach career change differently if you took your focus away from the end result?
What’s just one step that you can take today?
What do you need to do now to feel empowered?
My next question to have a think about is:
Who can you connect with to support and inspire you?
It’s tempting to think you need to go it alone, especially if you’re surrounded by friends who already seem very settled in their careers and lives. But other people can really make a difference to the experience of exploring career change, in many different ways. So I’ll leave the question with you - and if you get stuck, you can open up the question more. What sort of people do you feel drawn to? What kinds of stories inspire or motivate you? If you need any extra support with these questions - especially if you feel stumped - then email sarah@sarahventurer.com and we can go through them together.
To see the next series of career coaching questions please subscribe below if you haven’t already.
“Storytelling runs through everything that we do”
It was so nice to be approached by Steve Wharton, who recently put himself forward as a guest on my podcast to talk about his career change from working in the arts to training as an Early Years Teacher. Initially we had a really good chat on the phone, and then I couldn’t wait to get him on the show to ask him more questions.
Have you watched Terry Abraham’s ‘Life of a Mountain - Helvellyn’ documentary film? The cut version may still be availabe on BBC iplayer, but the full version is even better! Steve was featured in the film, so perhaps like you, I instantly recognised his face when he contacted me. During the interview on my podcast he shares how that opportunity came about, how he became a storyteller in his native Cumbria, and more about his creative work which includes 28 Dales Later - a collaborative podcast in which he tells fascinating stories about the landscapes and heritage of northern England.
You can find all the links to this episode, Terry’s documentary, Steve’s website and work, plus the list of questions that I asked him during the interview, in this blog post. If you have a listen I would really appreciate your feedback, which you can email to me, or send a review on itunes or Podchaser. This will really help me to reach more people, and to show our collective appreciation to the guests on my show.
Starting a career change community
When I was thinking about a career change (around 2015 when I was a data analyst in the oil & gas industry), I wanted to find a community of people to share my ideas, fears and worries. I wasn't looking for networking, or to talk about business. I just wanted to find other people who could relate to what I was thinking and feeling.
I didn’t find it - so I'm starting to create that community on patreon. I’m beginning small, and gradually I’ll build it up as more people join. The first 15 subscribers can choose either a 1-1 brew chat with me, or a small group meetup in Edale, which is in addition to accessing a private facebook group which will include structured coaching questions and invite your input into my future content.
Once I’ve reached 15 subscribers, my next target will be 30, which will mean that I can produce more regular episodes of my podcast and add more tiers to patreon so that I can host workshops and events.
If you’re interested in joining this community and supporting my podcast, please visit my patreon page. Questions are welcome too: sarah@sarahventurer.com
Interview feature: Behind the scenes with writer & musician “Tsarzi” - Sarah Sharp
You know those people who you put you instantly at ease when you first meet them? Sarah Sharp is one of those, with the added bonus that she always makes me laugh. We first met when a mutual friend recommended her as an artist to create my podcast music, and we’ve since become friends who go walking in all kinds of weather on Kinder Scout.
This interview with Sarah has been in planning for a long time, and I’m so happy to finally share it with you because it gives such an honest insight into life as a musician, creative inspiration, and taking a change in direction. You’ll find out why Sarah decided to up sticks from London to Sheffield, what helps to support her financially, and how the lockdowns have made an impact on her life.
“When my tap is switched to ‘on’, everything is inspiration. Little song fragments pop into my head constantly. My phone is full of voice memos of random lines that make no sense but get pieced together later on. Everything is something and sparks a connection. Then, when the tap is off, there’s nothing. I’ve learnt to respect this as ‘processing’ time.”
Best of all - you’ll hopefully be introduced to her music for the first time! Have a read while you listen and let us know what you think.
Featured coaching session
I’m very happy to say that my one-to-one outdoor coaching sessions in Edale are back on! I’m going to start putting a collection of “brew with a view” experiences on my website, which are locations close to the village. I recently discovered this wonderful spot with an amazing view of the Great Ridge, nicely tucked away from the wind.
How would it work as a coaching session? Ahead of meeting up, I would usually send you a few questions by email, which we’d then explore in more depth when we walk together. I would focus on questions that you’re getting stuck on, to help open up your perspective and to discuss any fears or worries that are blocking thoughts or stopping you from taking action. We’d reach a spot with a beautiful view, enjoy a hot drink, and discuss how you might approach things differently, taking inspiration from the landscape. From here we could either continue and explore some of your creative ideas, or focus on some other related issues that are having an impact on your choices and decisions.
Prices start from £35 for a coaching session like this, but there are other options available if that is unaffordable for you. The pace is gentle and set by you, so don’t worry about fitness either. I am still also offering online sessions or a phone call if you’d prefer. To contact me about booking a coaching session, please email: sarah@sarahventurer.com
If you’re not really interested in career coaching but you’d love to meet up for a walk, you might be happy to hear that I’ve started training as a Hill & Moorland Leader, so by autumn/winter I will be offering guided walks for individuals and small groups on Kinder Scout.
Other resources & news
Watch my interview about freelancing - I took part in a series of career interviews hosted by Sheffield Digital looking at the option of becoming freelance in the digital tech industries.
My podcast expenses & equipment - I wrote a blog post about what equipment I use to record interviews, and the cost of producing my show. There’s also a follow-up post about my podcast analytics, with a third post planned!
Last week I interviewed Simon Stokes from Peak Outdoor, which will be the next episode on my podcast about career change. Subscribe on your favourite app for the next release.
Get involved with About The Adventure
If you’d like to get involved with my work, you can:
email me your questions, comments, suggestions or requests to be featured on the blog or podcast: sarah@sarahventurer.com
share this with other people who are thinking or talking about career change.
subscribe to my podcast and contribute a review or share it on social media
follow my social media accounts: Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn
join my brand new patreon community.
Thank you so much for reading my newsletter, I hope that this edition has been useful and inspiring. I am planning to put together some new blog posts, which will include why I’m training as a Hill & Moorland Leader and what it involves. I’m also working on a brand new podcast project, which will be in addition to my current show. I’ve applied for some funding and I’m getting some cover artwork designed for that, more on that soon! What are you working on at the moment? I’d love to hear about your ideas and projects too!