After getting a BA in International Relations from Wellesley, Lauren went on to earn a JD from New York Law School. From her personal experience with career coaches, Lauren decided to pursue her interests in career coaching by attending the International Coaching Academy. Lauren now specializes in coaching women going through a career transition, guiding them through the process of defining and achieving their ideal career path.
How has your career changed since you originally envisioned it at Wellesley? What other careers did you consider as a student?
My career is completely different than what I’d envisioned while at Wellesley. I considered becoming a foreign service officer or working on Capitol Hill. I actually laughed when my advisor suggested that I go to law school. Turns out the joke was on me because I graduated from law school in 2006, but even then I knew that I didn’t want to practice law. After working with a couple of coaches, I decided to pursue that career and I found that I loved it.
How has Wellesley contributed to your career?
The Wellesley connection among alums is very strong and has been incredibly beneficial to me. When I was first starting my business, I reached out to several fellow alums for advice and to hear about their experience. Almost everyone that I contacted responded and their advice has been invaluable.
What is a typical work day or work week like for you?
A typical day starts with me reviewing news sites and blogs to keep up with what’s going on in the world and my industry. I also read professional development books to increase my knowledge of my industry and the various tools I can use to better serve my clients. I then work on projects for clients. Although I use a social media manager software to post on my various social media pages, I do go into my Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts every day to respond to any questions, post interesting links and connect with others. At some point, I work on my blog posts. Finally, I create my to do list for the next day.
What piece of advice would you offer students looking to get into the Career Coaching industry?
Although it isn’t required, I would recommend getting some training in coaching. I’m a graduate of the International Coaching Academy and I learned a lot by taking their classes and the required practice coaching. Secondly, find your niche. Knowing who your target audience is will make marketing much easier. Finally, if you decide to start your own practice, don’t forget that you are running a business so learn all the business skills that you can.
What do you wish you had known as a student?
That I shouldn’t compare myself to others and their achievements. There’s no real rule that you have to achieve a certain thing by a certain age. That’s a self-imposed rule and one that has led to much unhappiness. Decide what you want to do and pursue it with passion. If you decide that you don’t what to do that anymore, change course and start over. It’s never too late to start over and start living the life that you really want to live. Finally, don’t be afraid to help others on your way to the top. Doing so will lift you up, not drag you down.