By Murtaza Adamjee
Cecile Peterkin is a certified career coach, retirement coach, speaker, and founder and president of Cosmic Coaching Center (CCC). Launched over eight years ago, the mentoring company is dedicated to helping others make better career choices through life and leadership development. Through CCC, Cecile constantly looks for ways to help individuals realize their potential. In the past year and a half, she also launched a corporate mentoring company, helping corporations set up formal plans for project management.
Before CCC, Cecile was senior manager of operations and administration at one of Canada’s largest mutual fund companies. While working in the corporate world, Cecile came across a number of people with the potential to reach their goals, only to fall short; for many today, work is simply a means to an end, a way to earn a decent living. So naturally, unlike most others, Cecile saw the buying out of her former company as a blessing in disguise; calling it the “push she needed to fuel her passion,” Cecile decided it was time to help others.
By working with people to help identify meaningful careers, Cecile shows her clients that it isn’t just about ‘work.’ She shows her clients how to discover what they want by giving them choices, and most importantly, giving them back control of their lives. For example, if a client is unhappy with his/her current place of employment, Cecile shows them how to make it what they want, or leave altogether. Clients are quite capable of excelling in their career choices, but from her personal experiences, Cecile often finds clients afraid to react in the workplace.
She often hears the old adage, “I’m smarter than my boss.” Still, she finds many clients struggle when asked what they would do differently. Cecile emphasizes that although your boss may not know everything there is to know about the job, they’re in a management position because at one point or another, they had the courage and the confidence to get things done.
Cecile insists if you’re at a job, show up…100 per cent. Don’t sit around, waiting for things to happen; you have to make things happen. To a certain degree, office politics are unavoidable, but if you’re open, honest, and direct, others will realize you’re sincere (we lack sincerity these days). Know what you want, address your issues, be vocal, and communicate with your co-workers. Also, never be afraid to ask for feedback.
The key to success?
Set goals. No, set realistic goals, write them down, have a plan in place, and finally, set out to accomplish your goals. A simple fool-proof strategy? It is. With the number of qualified applicants out there, you have to market yourself as a brand. Think outside the box; in today’s workplace, employers are constantly looking for innovative thinkers. To do so, Cecile insists on using social media, social networking tools, and the wonderful technology at our disposal to help boost our ‘brand’ image. Another key tip from Cecile: Establish the people around you who are going to help you achieve your goals. You simply can’t do it alone.
Comments
Post new comment