My Experiences
I am a qualified Career Guidance Counsellor and Analytic-Network Coach (ANC). Coaching and Guidance work complement each other and I believe I am a better coach given my depth of experiences in both business and education. I passionately believe in the principles of ANC as it involves coaching with PERSONAL AND CAREER experiences and expectations. I work hard to be rounded and objective in my work, with regular supervision and mentoring. I have worked with corporate clients requiring support in their development, teachers and middle leaders in schools figuring out their management roles, students wondering about life after college and parents returning to work after maternity leave. As a parent myself I understand the frustration of figuring out a career life with children.
I regularly guest lecture in DCU on the Masters in Guidance Counselling programme. This programme is not just for teachers, it attracts students with corporate, military and other professional backgrounds. I am professionally affiliated with the Institute of Guidance Counsellors IGC, ANC Network, British Psychological Society, Association for Coaching and the Teaching Council of Ireland. I am trained in Psychometric testing, working with Jung Type Indicator JTI and 15FQ+. I am a graduate of the University of Limerick (1999) and Dublin City University (2005, 2007, 2018). I have trained in Performance Coaching with the Coaching Centre at the International Academy of Professional Development in London and qualified as an Analytic-Network Coach, a coach training framework for advanced practitioners in the area. I am a qualified trainer with a Diploma in Education & Training from DCU.
What About My Career Life?
My career history in brief looks like this: My working life began in Business, graduating from University of Limerick in 1999, working in Market Research initially and afterward in Trade Marketing at Unilever. I decided to move away from the corporate world and began teaching QQI Business Studies courses to early school leavers in Dublin. I quickly found myself in a management position in a Further Education Centre. From here I trained as a Guidance Counsellor and liaised continuously with business, colleges, funding agencies and universities as part of my role. Following the birth of my first child in 2008, I reflected on my career and decided that a step back into business with my newly acquired guidance, interpersonal and leadership skills might be a good next move. In between 3 maternity leaves, I worked as a consultant to a company in Dublin/London in a coaching capacity and began to see private clients. I am currently a director of this company in the Construction sector. In 2015 I officially established ELK Guidance Ltd. T/A ‘My Career Life’ to progress my work in the coaching and guidance areas and to continue in a management services capacity to the construction business. I have worked with clients from many organisations on a one to one basis. I have worked with DCU, UL, Mary Immaculate College, UCD and The Super Generation. I co-authored the Junior Cycle wellbeing programme ‘Learning to Learn’. I regularly work with Careers Portal and with the business I am involved in at a senior level. Throughout this time, I have endeavoured to upskill, train and maintain a forward-thinking and fresh outlook on the world of work, career and leadership.
I would love to hear from you, so please do contact me and we can figure out what you might require!