Case: Katja Odder Erikstrup
What do you do when you find yourself at age 48 without a job in the middle of a global pandemic? When this happened to Katja Odder Erikstrup she felt both excited and lost at the same time, but her conversations with Marianne put her back on solid ground, and then she got the job.
In 2020, the company Katja Odder Erikstrup was working for sold off most of its portfolio. With only eight employees left on the payroll, Katja’s position as HR manager had become redundant.
“I was no longer needed. I was 48 years old, had no job, and COVID-19 had just thrown the whole world into lockdown. I realised this was a truly unique life opportunity for me. I could start anew, with a clean slate, but I also felt confused and insecure. I had no idea where to start looking for a new job,” Katja recalls.
The only thing Katja knew was that she wanted this job to be her last. “I’d had several jobs over the years, and although some were good matches, the last two weren’t. I needed to find the job that would carry/take me all the way to retirement.”
She began thinking about becoming a consultant and setting up her own business. That way, she would be able to leave her feeling of displacement behind and start working immediately. But something was holding her back. “Becoming self-employed meant I had to work on my own all the time, and I knew having no colleagues would be socially challenging for me.”
Conversations with loved ones
She soon realised self-employment was not for her. “The idea had more downsides than upsides. So my husband and I agreed that I should take a couple of months off to figure out what I wanted to work with in future.”
“I spent a lot of time talking with my husband and close friends, and they all helped as best they could. But when you yourself don’t know which way you want to go, you get nowhere. Luckily my husband knows how to push me forward, and we had many great conversations.”
But it was a friend who had just taken the leap to self-employment herself who saw Katja’s need for professional coaching. “I can’t keep my thoughts to myself,” she explains. “So I was frank and open with her about not knowing my direction. And she insisted I give Marianne a ring.”
Coaching with Marianne
Katja called Marianne and was overjoyed, and, even more important, full of hope after their first conversation. She thought, “YES! This is what I need to be able to find my way,” and you can still hear the exhilaration she felt back in 2020. Then she fell silent for a moment before quietly continuing, “It was just crazy,” she laughed, “even my husband could feel how mad it was.” She continued excitedly, “First of all, Marianne is such a live wire – her sympathetic insight into me was astounding! I assume she can turn her energy and appearance up and down depending on who she’s talking to, but she understands people and organisations. For me, it was really convincing and reassuring that she could draw on her own experiences alongside her professional skills. And I never felt like a customer. Marianne was always Marianne – present and attentive.”
Finding a new professional standpoint
It was Marianne’s ability to see her clients’ real needs and desires that helped Katja to view her professional self in a new way. “Marianne used words about me that I would never have used about myself before. Maybe I was too vain or humble, but she gave me clarity about my career destination and professional identity, and this helped me map the route to my perfect job.”
With her new perception of her professional self, Katja could see any given company’s culture and the portfolio that came with a job in a new light. She was now able to control the job-seeking process herself rather than letting the process control her. “Now I know what makes me happy I can go for it without hesitation.” Katja had conversations with Marianne throughout the whole process of finding the right company and landing the right job. “She was with me all the way, being my backbone, keeping me on my feet. And I’m now in a better, more confident position in my professional life. I got my perfect job because of Marianne. Everything is just right – the culture, my portfolio, employees, colleagues, everything – in a way I’ve never experienced before.”
A year has passed since Katja started in her new job. She feels more professional and uses her new awareness of her strengths and weaknesses in her work every day. She still regards Marianne as a thought partner, and there is no doubt in her voice when she says: “She’s the best investment I’ve ever made in myself.”
