A new job is only one part of a successful career transition

When a long career chapter comes to an end, it can be an opportunity to pause and think about things you may not have had time to consider while working. You may have come to associate your skills and experience with a particular role, even though over the years you have developed expertise that goes far beyond any one job title. Your view of what matters to you at work may also have changed over time. 

Katriina Aresalo was already reflecting on these questions when we spoke previously. At the time, her next direction was still open. She has now found a new role at OP Pohjola. Before that happened, however, she needed time to pause and consider her expertise and values, as well as the courage to define what she genuinely wanted from her next role. 

You do not have to search for a new role through the lens of your previous title 

When her long career chapter came to an end, Katriina realised that she had defined herself strongly through her former employer and the roles she had held there. Although her career had included many different positions and responsibilities, it was surprisingly difficult to separate her capabilities from them. 

I realised that I can do much more than I had thought. I do not need to limit myself or my capabilities.” 

Through one-to-one coaching, the focus began to shift away from job titles and towards what had remained consistent from one role to the next. Which tasks had she enjoyed? Where had she been able to contribute most? Which strengths had appeared repeatedly across different roles? 

Gradually, Katriina began to see herself as an experienced generalist. Over the years, she had developed business processes and helped organisations create clearer operating models, responsibilities and structures. Her work had also included developing process controls, data management and change initiatives. A common thread ran through these varied responsibilities: the ability to understand complex wholes, identify connections and move change forward together with people. 

After a long career, however, it is not always easy to view your capabilities from a fresh perspective. Hanken & SSE career coach Nina Smidtslund frequently sees this in her coaching work: 

Paradoxically, extensive experience can make your own capabilities more difficult to recognise. When someone has viewed themselves for years through the lens of a particular organisation, role or task, what they do and what they know can easily become intertwined. The purpose of career coaching is therefore not always to help someone decide which new skills they need. It can be equally important to help them see afresh what they already know and which of those capabilities they can transfer to a new environment.” 

Once this distinction can be put into words, the starting point for a job search also changes. The question is no longer simply what have I done, but what can I do and where else could it create value? 

Finding the right direction sometimes means narrowing down the options 

For Katriina, the main value of career coaching was not updating her CV or LinkedIn profile. Her personal coach gave her someone to talk things through with at a time when she had many options but was unsure which direction to take.

She helped me with the discussion about values that I was having with myself. Once the direction began to take shape, we also considered together, in very practical terms, what the right companies or roles might be.” 

This reflection on values soon had a very practical effect on Katriina’s job search. The aim was not to find just any role, but an environment where people were treated in line with similar values. Katriina therefore drew on her network and asked people working at organisations that interested her what it was really like to work there. She decided not to apply for some appealing roles because the culture did not appear to match what she was looking for. 

Sometimes, moving forward is less about creating more options and more about narrowing them down deliberately. Nina recognises this too: 

Many people come to career coaching when they either have too many options or feel that they have none at all. We then explore some very practical questions: Where have you succeeded? What would you like to do more of? What kind of environment suits you? What are you no longer willing to compromise on? These answers begin to form criteria for assessing future opportunities. When considering a vacancy, the question then becomes not ‘Would they want me?’, but ‘Is this the right place for me?’” 

When an opportunity at OP Pohjola later arose, Katriina did not match the most obvious specialist profile for the role. By then, however, she was able to view her experience differently and recognise the transferable capabilities she could bring. She was not offered a role on her first attempt, but the recruitment process strengthened her sense that OP Pohjola was an environment she genuinely wanted to join. She applied for several positions and reached the final stage four times before being selected for her current role. 

When I started, I felt genuinely welcome. It felt as though I had found an environment where there was a place for an experienced generalist like me.” 

Career coaching provided a community that offered support through change 

While one-to-one career coaching helped Katriina clarify her direction, another important aspect came from meeting other people in the same situation. 

The small-group discussions were extremely important. Of course, I received practical tips, but what mattered most was the community.” 

Together with others in a similar situation, she could explore approaches to job searching, share experiences and celebrate when someone found the right role. One small group that formed during a virtual workshop even led to a friendship that continued beyond the job search. 

This highlights something that can easily be overshadowed by the practical tools of job searching when career coaching is discussed. When a job ends, it may not be only the title that disappears, but also the group of people around whom a professional identity has been built. Group coaching offers a community in which professionals from different fields can share their experiences and receive support from others facing a similar transition. 

What does an employer really make possible by offering individual transition security? 

For Katriina, the significance of the support provided by her former employer also became tangible through encounters with other jobseekers. She saw that not everyone entered a career transition from the same starting point. 

After a long period of employment, a person may lack both established job-search routines and a support network outside the workplace. Looking back, I therefore see the support offered by my former employer above all as a sign of appreciation and a way of helping me move forward.” 

This also changes the question an organisation should ask. It is not only: how do we help people find employment? It is also: what capabilities do we leave people with to build the next stage of their careers? 

The success of career coaching should not be measured only by how quickly someone finds a new job. It is equally important to consider whether they enter the next stage with a better understanding of their capabilities, motivation and the kind of environment in which they want to work. In that way, we are not simply supporting one person’s next step. We are helping expertise return to the labour market where it has the best opportunity to be put to use,” Nina says. 

Believe and act 

Katriina is now in a new role, but alongside that role she found something at least as valuable: a broader understanding of her own capabilities and of the conditions she wants to build the next stage of her career on.

When Katriina sums up her advice to someone in the same situation, it is simple: 

Believe and act.” 

Coaching can help someone find direction, recognise options and connect with people who can help them organise their thoughts. Ultimately, however, each person must take the next steps themselves. 

And perhaps that is the most important aim of good career coaching: not only to help someone find their next job, but to strengthen their ability to build the next stage of their career on their own terms. 

Where will the next step take you or your organisation?

At a career transition point, the right support can help you see your capabilities from a new perspective, clarify your direction and turn reflection into practical next steps.

Are you at a transition point in your own career?
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