AboutKathleen Barton Expertise Do you sometimes question where your life is headed? I work with people to help them define their purpose and direction in life. I can help you gain insights into your values and priorities, your passions, your interests, talents, and future contributions. I can provide direction on writing your personal mission statement. A personal mission statement is a powerful document that expresses your personal sense of purpose and meaning in life. It acts as a motivating force, and will help you lead a more meaningful life.
Experience As a keynote speaker, workshop presenter, and coach I specialize in purpose/passion, maximizing potential, career success, and work/life balance. As a career and life coach, I help my clients: clarify their purpose, values, and goals; attain their goals more quickly; clarify career direction; maintain better life balance; and ultimately achieve their full potential.
I am also the author of Connecting with Success book, Finding Your Purpose and Passion in Life workbook, and The Balancing Act: Managing Work & Life audio/workbook.
Organizations I belong to several professional organizations including American Society for Training & Development, National Speakers Association, and Sacramento Coaches Association.
Publications I have written articles that have appeared in numerous publications, including The Executive and Prosper Magazine, among others.
Education/Credentials I earned a Bachelors degree in Psychology and a Masters degree in Business from California State Universities. As a certified Success Coach, I received my training at the Institute for Professional Empowerment Coaching.
Past/Present clients My key clients include Hewlett-Packard Company, M&M/Mars, Nationwide Insurance, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, among others.
Expert: Kathleen Barton Date: 5/7/2008 Subject: Pls advise me
Question Hi
I am lost and I dont know what to do. I wish you could shed some light for me.
I'm 28 years old and a degree holder in business studies. Currently working in the customer service dept for almost 3 years. Although the company that currently i'm working for is good, i dont like my role in customer service. i want a change. i know that if i continue working in my dept, the chances of getting a promotion and salary increase are there.
however, i feel that i dont learn much in my current position. apart from improving my communication skills, writing skills..there's nothing much. i'm afraid if i decide to resign later, i dont know what job that i can choose apart from customer service. and, of course, i might not get high salary if i decide to venture into another field other than customer service. i want to have a skill, just like those people in Human Resource, computer programming, accounting because i know they will surely get a job easily with higher pay if they decide to look for a new job. but, customer service? i dont think so...
anyway, fast forward...i always like to do event management, i.e. managing and coordinating the logistics of an event, get to travel to different countries for the events. although i've never worked in this industry, i really want to give it a try. God must be very kind to me and answered my prayers..cos today an event management company wanted to hire me as event coordinator for their conferences, seminars and workshops. I'm going to work with the event manager and manage & coordinate the conferences and workshop. It'll be almost 80% administrative work and I get to travel to different countries to coordinate the events. Plus, I'm also getting an increment of 30% from my current salary.
I am very happy that the company wanted to hire me. I mean, I should be happy, right?
But right now, I'm confused, worried and scared. I'm desparately looking for job now because i want a change. I want a change in career before its too late. but why am i so worried at the same time? is it bcos i've been working in this dept for 3 years, i know almost everything, i'm a senior executive/team leader in my dept. I'm familiar with the company, the people. I'm almost in my comfort zone. I'm afraid to change. what if i cant handle the new job? what if my new boss puts high expectation on me but i cant perform? what if i cant maintain in my new job for long? a lot of my colleagues have resigned because they know they wont have much future advancement in my dept. but..as much as i want to resign and do something that i like..did i make a wise decision? i have not tendered my resignation letter yet, bcos i'm uncertain. i keep telling myself not to simply accept a new job just bcos i want to get out of my company. i have a feeling that this new job is going to be good. but...
i just dont know wats wrong with me. my close friend said this is a good opportunity. with higher salary and a new challenge..something that i have the ability to do..they trust that i can do it..but why i have this weird feeling? this 'scared, afraid' feeling..
pls help!
Answer Hi Jess,
Thanks for the e-mail. Wow! It sounds like you've been given a great opportunity! Since you like coordinating events and enjoy traveling, this sounds like a good fit. Plus the salary increase is a bonus!
Don't let fear hold you back from taking advantage of a great opportunity. The fear you feel is normal. A lot of people like you are not comfortable with change. In your current job, you know what to expect and you know the job inside and out. The new job will be unfamiliar to you and there will be a learning curve. We all have fears that we may not measure up. The new employer obviously believes you have the skills required, since they hired you. You need to have confidence in yourself to know that you can do the job well given proper training.
Since you mention God answering your prayers, I assume you are a religious person. Therefore, this verse from the Bible may help you. "I can do all things through Christ who stengthens me." Try repeating this verse to yourself a few times each day. Hopefully that will give you confidence and encouragement.
