2015 kinda took me for a whirl. Yes, I’m still talking about 2015, but only for a moment.

For most of the year, I was a one-woman show with occasional support to manage my social media platforms and in person workshops. You primarily know me as The PhD Career Coach, but what you may not know is that in addition to coaching individual job seekers, I also provide professional development and organizational development consulting to organizations. Last year, I spent 5 months working extensively with the National Institutes of Health to evaluate Executive Leadership Development Program, their premiere program for institute directors. And, of course, I couldn’t say no when a colleague from one of the most prestigious foundations in the U.S., The Annie E Casey Foundation, asked that I provide board coaching to one of her recently-funded grantees. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg on all the projects I was involved in last year.

In many ways I’m living my dream – to leverage my skills and interests to create a flexible career, and to pass this professional learning on to academics who want to do more with their voice, skills, and expertise.

Still, by November I was wiped out. No seriously, wiped out.

I started to feel like I was back in grad school, doing great work and being recognized for that work, but with waning personal time and waning enjoyment.

One of the mistakes many academics and smart people make is trying to do it all and do it alone. This might sound familiar … Rather than invest in help, you’ll do all your data collection, transcription, data analysis, writing, editing, and every step in between.

Support is available if you ask, and if you make space for it.

Yes, support may cost money, but it’s an investment in your sanity and fuel for the journey.

So I recently brought on amazing support. It’s a gift to have expanded the Beyond the Tenure Track Team with Tiffany HT, Bernadette, and Tiffany F. (I know, how’d I manage to find two Tiffany’s ☺)

tiffany ht_headshotTiffany H.T., our new Director of Strategy, has extensive experience in marketing and strategy for Fortune 500 companies. Because she has a love for entrepreneurial vision and online businesses, she joined BTT to lend her expertise in project management and online course development.

 

TiffanyF headshotTiffany F. has been a career advisor at an Ivy League university and a corporate recruiter for over 15 years. She joins BTT in the role of Career Coach, and is most known for her bubbly energy and gift for wrangling lengthy CVs into trim, focused industry resumes.

 

Bernadette-Gailliard_000

Bernadette is a professor of Communications at an R1 institution. Her research focuses on career choices and professional socialization of minorities upon entering the workforce. With her support, BTT is able to more quickly develop research-based professional development trainings for our corporate clients.

 

I’ve welcomed 2016 with great new clients, not to mention more sanity and fun!

You may not need a feel team to accomplish your goals, but there may be areas where collaboration or support can help leverage your time, energy and resources. What one area could support help you achieve a goal that’s currently on your plate? What one action could you take to get that support in place?  Tell us about it in the comments.

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