Tag Archive for: Career Advice

When “Good Enough” Isn’t Enough: 7 Signs You Need a Career Reset

7 Tell-Tale Signs You Need a Career Transition - By Alexandra HumbelAlexandra Humbel Coaching

You may be surprised to hear that most of my clients don’t feel the urge to change careers because they hate what they’re doing. Work is good. Pay is good. The position is generally satisfying. From the outside, everything looks enviable. There seems to be no reason to disrupt the status quo.

And yet — like them — you may feel it deep down, even though things are going smoothly.

Here are some signals that should make you curious.

1. You introduce yourself with a conversational version of your CV.
When asked who you are and what you do, you deliver a polished, well-rehearsed loop. You mask your boredom with a cheerful tone. But something feels… off.

2. You consume stories about people who reinvented themselves.
You avidly read about those who succeeded in another field, or built a different life. Your rational self says it’s too late, too risky, too complicated — and that you lack the required skills. Still, you keep documenting the topic. Avidly.

3. You’re on autopilot.
You go through the motions because you’ve mastered your job. But you’re not fully there anymore. You’re coasting more than you care to admit.

4. The retirement question lingers.
You catch yourself wondering whether you’ll do this until retirement. The thought has become part of the mental furniture. It doesn’t go away. It quietly unsettles you.

5. Other people’s passion surprises you.
You hear someone speak enthusiastically about the very job you’re doing — and you’re intrigued. You used to feel that way. Once.

6. “What if…?” keeps visiting you.
What if you were doing something else? Living differently? Waking up with another agenda? These inner conversations scare you — and make you feel intensely alive at the same time.

7. You fix the surface, avoid the core.
You focus on small optimizations — health tweaks, home projects, marginal work improvements — while sidestepping the deeper question:
Why are you doing what you are doing?

If you recognize yourself in some of these signs, it may be time to sit with that question.

There is no wrong answer. Money, status, convenience, and security are valid reasons to stay. But what else needs to be heard? Who is the person you would like to become? How far are you from that version of yourself? Where would you be in a year if things unfolded as you truly wished? What are you ready to say yes to — and what are you ready to say no to? How would it feel to remain exactly where you are for another year? Another five?

Every life-changing decision starts with listening — really listening — to your true feelings. It requires the courage to face the confusion and the conflicting demands that will inevitably surface. The moment you begin questioning the status quo of your life and work, you may already be in transition.

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The Quiet Crisis of Successful Professionals—and the Opportunity Inside It

Why you should spend more time thinking about career transitioning - Alexandra HumbelAlexandra Humbel Coaching

“In the first half of life, ambitious strivers embrace a simple formula for success in work and life: focus single-mindedly, work tirelessly, sacrifice personally, and climb the ladder relentlessly. It works. Until it doesn’t.”
— Arthur C. Brooks, bestselling author and columnist behind The Atlantic’s “How to Build a Life”

The momentum that drives you through the first part of adult life fuels your motivation to gain expertise, power, financial security, mastery, leadership, learning, excitement, and social recognition. Hard work pays off. Challenge makes you grow. Experience sharpens your skills to excellence. Your peers respect you. You belong to a league of successful professionals.

And then something shifts.

It may start quietly: a subtle loss of interest in work you’ve pursued with drive and perseverance for decades. A vague craving for something else. Before you know it, you, a corporate leader, a respected expert, or a successful entrepreneur—admired, even envied— are now questioning the meaning of the story you’ve been telling about yourself.

What changes, exactly? And is decline inevitable?

In Breaking the Age Code, Dr. Becca Levy challenges deeply rooted age stereotypes. She shows that several forms of cognition actually improve later in life, including metacognition (thinking about thinking), the ability to integrate multiple perspectives, skill in resolving interpersonal and intergroup conflicts, and semantic memory.

Arthur C. Brooks builds on this idea by describing what he calls crystallized intelligence: a form of wisdom made of accumulated knowledge and lived experience. This intelligence excels at teaching, mentoring, connecting people, and creating value through the cross-fertilization of ideas. It favors meaning over momentum, contribution over competition.

Which raises an important question:

Do you even realize how good you are at managing transitions?

If you did, you would feel less fear. Think of how many transitions you’ve already navigated. From student to professional. From role to role. From corporate to entrepreneurial paths. From independence to partnership, to parenthood, to caring for ageing parents. Some transitions were deliberate; others simply happened. Either way, your transition muscle is well-trained.

What makes this one different is its insidious nature. It comes from within, carrying a message you may not yet understand—and may not want to hear.

Change, however, is inevitable. If you ignore what your inner signals are trying to tell you, change will still unfold, often in ways you wouldn’t choose. Some people double down, pushing harder to stay in the game at all costs. Others experience a slow erosion of motivation—or both. Sometimes the wake-up call arrives sideways: a job loss, a dip in performance, or concern voiced by those close to you.

So what now?

This is the moment for a profound and authentic reset. Not necessarily a dramatic upheaval, but an honest reassessment. Question your current situation, your beliefs, your identity, and what you think defines you. Explore what still makes you feel alive, what you want more of, and what no longer serves you. This step can feel destabilizing—but it is also deeply rewarding. It shapes the contours of your future self.

From there, resonant choices become possible. Choices grounded in connection to your values, your heart, your inner wisdom. They often require saying NO to habits and beliefs that once supported you but now hold you back. And they invite you to say YES to what truly matters: relationships, meaningful work, self-care, and new avenues of personal and professional growth.

Action follows naturally. And this kind of action feels different—lighter, clearer, more energizing—because it comes from alignment. Fueled by renewed purpose, you’re ready to surprise yourself and others.

Don’t wait for the unwanted wake-up call.
Take the lead.

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Behind the Scenes at Thierry Mugler: Leadership Lessons From the Fashion World

Alexandra Humbel - Career Transition CoachAlexandra Humbel

In the picture, this was me around 2000, fully immersed in a corporate career in the fashion industry that I thought I would never leave. The recent passing of the immensely talented Thierry Mugler brought me back to that time, when I served as Director of Public Relations for the company he had created. It was an intense chapter of my life — rich in learning, challenges, and inspiration.

In this photo, I appear calm and confident — the kind of confidence Thierry Mugler wanted for his female clients. His perfectly tailored jackets, elegant with a sharp, sensual edge, had the power to instantly elevate a woman’s presence. That was certainly the effect they had on me — and on the many clients who felt something close to devotion toward him. As Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

This role marked a major step in my career: leading the most strategic department of a highly regarded Parisian Maison de Couture. During those two intense years, I had the opportunity to refine my leadership skills in a complex and demanding environment. Here are a few insights I carry with me to this day.

1. Leading people who are more skilled than you

In previous roles, I had been the undisputed expert in my field. I hired junior team members and trained them until they could manage projects independently.

At Thierry Mugler, I stepped into a team of highly skilled, autonomous professionals who did not need me to tell them what to do. When preparing for Paris Fashion Week, they orchestrated flawlessly choreographed shows from A to Z — casting models, negotiating venues, coordinating logistics, technical teams, music, dressers, hair, and makeup — all the way to showtime. Backstage: 100 people. In the audience: 250 top journalists and international TV crews. All delivered on budget and with remarkable agility, despite last-minute creative changes from the designer.

I was deeply impressed.

So I focused on what I could uniquely bring: strengthening international media exposure and optimizing global PR strategy. But you don’t lead experts by trying to out-expert them. My role was to create the conditions for their excellence — helping them grow and feel valued, navigate conflicts, and represent them at the executive level when needed.

2. Stay curious about change — especially when you resist it

As the company underwent significant structural changes, I found myself caught between two realities. The CEO relied on me to communicate decisions and help the team adapt. At the same time, our daily work was directly impacted by choices that, in the short term, compromised performance.

When we relocated offices and showrooms, we risked losing proximity to journalists and stylists who regularly pulled pieces for editorial shoots. I remained loyal to leadership and committed to implementation — but internally, I struggled. I did not hide my doubts very well.

With hindsight, I realize I could have stayed curious longer. Being right in the short term is not always the most constructive stance. Sometimes the wiser move is to leave space for possible positive outcomes to emerge.

Curiosity is not denial. It is allowing time for new dynamics to settle.

More importantly, instead of trying to shield my team from inevitable change, I could have empowered them more actively to co-create solutions.

3. Never underestimate culture — but don’t lose yourself in it

Working for a designer I admired was an extraordinary privilege. Beauty and artistic vision were everywhere — from iconic Haute Couture creations to the futuristic universe surrounding the brand. Thierry Mugler himself was fascinating: cultured, intelligent, magnetic. Journalists, often rushed, would linger longer than planned just to listen to him speak.

Yet I was not prepared for a Maison with such a strong, unspoken culture. Much of it was implicit. It took time to decipher the codes: the intricate communication patterns, the invisible support systems, the subtle dynamics of power.

The pace was driven by passion and urgency — often with little regard for conventional working hours. I invested enormous energy in adapting. But as the mother of two young children, the long hours and emotional intensity gradually weighed on my personal life.

That chapter taught me something essential: culture can elevate you — and it can consume you if you are not attentive to your own boundaries.

Looking back, I feel deep gratitude for having had the chance to “touch the stars” — the emblem of Angel, the iconic perfume by Thierry Mugler.

I am grateful for the growth, the stretch, the lessons, and the privilege of witnessing genius up close.

That chapter shaped me — as a leader, and as a human being.

 

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If You’re Considering a Career Change, Read This First

If you’re standing at the edge of a career change, you’re likely feeling a mix of excitement and quiet fear. Something in you knows it’s time — and yet everything familiar is pulling you back.

Career transitions rarely fail because of a lack of talent or courage. They stall because of invisible beliefs, inherited rules, and well-intentioned voices that make change feel irresponsible, unrealistic, or selfish.

Before you take your next step, pause to see more clearly. These reflections are the things I wish more people knew before embarking on a new professional chapter. They won’t tell you what to do, but they may help you trust why you’re doing it.

1. The only approval you need is yours

Beautifully expressed by Amanda Gorman, the need for approval is one of the most common hurdles that may stop you in your momentum. The minute you share bold, ambitious dreams for yourself, you will see a number of red flags raised around you. Well-intentioned, loving people in your life will instantly reject the idea that you may get lost in ambitious and risky projects. They want you safe, and the status quo is largely safer than… anything else. Red flags will come from all directions. Colleagues or friends may sense an unavowable pang of jealousy at your renewed aliveness. Don’t take it personally, it’s about them, not you. 

2. Big dreams don’t make you a dreamer

The biggest red flag, though, is in yourself. It is cultural. People with dreams are dreamers. Dreamers are no achievers. This idea was drilled in your subconscious at an early stage, and you will find it on your way to a new career. Don’t buy the simplification. Rather, engage in honest exploration: What is really important to you? What does your future, the one you crave, look like, taste like? What is your own definition of success, from now on? Does it encompass every aspect of your life? Does it bring value to you and the people around you? What would be the markers of your future success? The more aware you are of what you really want and why, the more enticing your vision is, the better. As the genius dream architect Walt Disney said, “If you can dream it, you can do it”.

3. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity

How many times lately have you heard yourself say something like, “She was lucky to get this job”? By default, we tend to attribute positive, unexpected events to luck — whatever that word really means. Yet abundant scientific literature suggests that “lucky” people have their own way of attracting luck. They do so in two essential ways: they put as many chances as possible on their side, and they keep their senses wide open to allow meaningful coincidences to occur.

If you want to share a strong business idea with a highly sought-after person, for instance, you may want to make sure your idea truly brings value to them. You refine it, rehearse your pitch until it becomes clear and compelling, gather as much insight as possible about where and how this person might be accessible — and then you let go. Because if your idea is genuinely good, it will find its way into the world. With or without that person.

4. It is so cool to go back to school

A current cause of stress for career transitioners is the necessity to get extra training. Will you be able to learn as fast as you used to? Is your brain capable of memorizing new knowledge? How awkward will it feel to sit on a school bench at your age? What will your ex-colleagues think? How will you cope with homework, supervision, and exams?  Most likely, all of these fears will materialize. Yes, you will feel intellectually rusted. Yes, you will have to deploy your best efforts to catch up. Yes, it will feel awkward sometimes. Yes, some well-intentioned peer will ask what the hell do you expect, getting back to school at your age. And yes, homework sucks. But the reward is invaluable. Your decision to be a student again is a gift you offer to yourself and an investment in your future. The process is fun too. Learning has its own way to pump up your spirit and upgrade your self-image. 

5. You will never look back

Maybe the most important thing I have learned is that there is no way back. More accurately, there is no desire to go back to square one. You are a creature of movement, like all living creatures in this world. The journey towards a fulfilling second act of life is both bumpy and interesting. We talked about the inner reward of learning, and learning comes in many different ways. Questioning the status quo makes you more alive. Taking bold moves towards work and life that you love triggers renewed energy. And keep in mind that you might well become a source of inspiration for other people’s own journey into their own second act.

 

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Career Transition After 40: 5 Things I Wish I Had Known Earlier

Career Transitioning - Things I wish I'd known earlier - by Alexandra HumbelAlexandra Humbel

My mentor suggested that I write a post about the things I wish I had known earlier about career transition. I liked the idea and, based on my personal journey as well as my experience as a coach, I started with five essential points aimed at helping professionals get on the fast lane. 

1. You are not alone

Studies show that an increasing number of experienced professionals are undertaking a career change, and even more are considering it. Three-fifths of UK workers (60%) intend to make changes to their careers as a result of the Covid outbreak, an increase of seven percentage points since July 2020 (53%).*

So why does it feel weird and lonely? It is because nothing prepared you to handle one or several career changes in your life. Society tends to assign you a role, tied to a life cycle: In your junior years, you prove your competence. As you are getting experienced, you excel in your field. And then, what? You retire. While there is nothing wrong with linear career paths, it does not work for everyone. Probably not for you, if you are reading these lines. 

2. Your skills are transferable – All of them

My clients who crave a new career are taken aback by the thought that their expertise might be lost when they change jobs. It is natural to take pride in those skills you have mastered over time. The good news is, you take everything with you on the journey.  Those skills will manifest in creative ways, coming in handy to serve your goals while you are expanding in your new project. Interestingly, ancient or dormant skills will show up and prove valuable to handle new situations. Your brain creates new circuits while tapping into resources you did not remember you had. And this is particularly refreshing. 

 

3. It is OK to be lost in transition

Describing career transitions as uncomfortable is an understatement. More accurately: Everything which made you feel grounded in social status is gone. Welcome to unchartered territories, where nobody is waiting for you with your name on a sign. No driver, no limousine. It requires courage to leave the familiar in order to become a new version of yourself. Uncomfortable, scared, and excited all together, highs and lows are in order. But, as Maya Angelou said: “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” The butterfly is you.

4. Money and time are no excuses

“I will do a job I really love when I have enough time, or money” (or both). 

Does that sound familiar? Of course, these two factors are critical components of a decision, and critical metrics to monitor all along the way. Controlling your time and financial resources through a career transition will be essential to succeed. Be aware that the conservative, risk-averse part of you will always show up with these massive excuses that are the lack of (or the fear of lack of) time and or money. Or both. It is your call to let these fears be the master of you.

5. Nature is in constant change and so are you

“Nothing is absolute, everything changes, everything moves, everything evolves, everything flies and goes away”.

These lines written by the fascinating artist Frida Kahlo can be interpreted as words of regret and melancholy. Or, from another perspective, as the constant evolution of all things that allow rebirth, re-invention, possibilities, relief, reboot, rejuvenation, and creation. When looking back at your career, you may take pride in what you have achieved, and, simultaneously, realize that this pattern is no longer fulfilling you. You can cherish your past achievements and look forward to what you are going to do next. This is not a lack of consistency in your choices. It is about the inherent nature of all of us, to thrive in movement or shrink in stagnation.

 

 

 

*Aviva “How do we live” Report, 2021

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Reinventing Your Career After 50: What Most People Get Wrong

COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT CAREER TRANSITIONINGAlexandra Humbel

Have you been repeatedly inspired by the stories of friends, colleagues, or people you follow online who changed careers in their fifties and started something entirely different? Have you wondered, even for a moment, how exciting it would be to follow their example?

Then this article is for you.

In all honesty, nobody ever said it was easy. It never is. But the most difficult step may well be the very first one: overcoming your preconceived ideas about what it takes to follow your inner North Star and begin a meaningful second act of life.

Over the years, I have noticed that the same beliefs come back again and again when professionals start considering a career transition later in life. Here are four of the most common misconceptions I hear before the real work begins.

1. I am too old

Misconceptions about age are particularly powerful because ageing itself remains a taboo. Things become even more uncomfortable the day you realise you are now officially part of the “senior” or “older” workforce. At that point, the only visible horizon seems to be retirement.

If that is not what you want — if the idea of stepping out at a given date makes your stomach tighten — you may find yourself asking: “How old will I be when I finally succeed in a new career?”

The short answer is simple: the same age you will be if you stay exactly where you are.

We age anyway. That is a fact of life.

The better answer is this: you have choices. You always do. A new professional chapter may come with a different lifestyle, one where work and personal life are combined in a way that feels more humane and more aligned with who you are today. Research confirms this shift. According to Aegon’s studies on retirement, many experienced professionals no longer want the traditional “cliff-edge” retirement, but rather a gradual transition toward a rhythm that better suits their evolving needs.

2. I will need a lot of training

This belief is also widespread — and often exaggerated.

Once you are truly clear about what you want to do, the rest becomes execution. If additional skills are required, you will acquire them. Motivation plays a far greater role than age ever could.

One of my clients transitioned from being a CEO in the media industry to becoming a professional skipper, sailing clients across the Mediterranean on a luxury boat. While he had been an experienced sailor for years, he needed a formal certification. He committed fully, trained for six months, and graduated with honours.

The desire to learn does not fade with time. On the contrary, as the Brave Starts survey highlights, the drive to learn remains strong — enriched by the perspective, discernment, and self-awareness that come with experience.

3. I will lose my status

Yes, you probably will. And that can feel unsettling.

But the more important question is not what you lose — it is what you gain instead.

When was the last time you revisited your definition of success? What truly matters to you now? What do you want people to see in you? What impact do you want to have?

Perhaps you want to use your experience in a more meaningful way. Perhaps an entrepreneurial idea has been quietly waiting for permission to exist. There are no right or wrong answers here — only an invitation to realign your actions with your values.

Business cards and titles lose their power quickly when they no longer reflect who you are becoming. As you step into your second act, a new form of status naturally emerges — one rooted less in hierarchy and more in coherence, contribution, and freedom.

4. I will be financially vulnerable

If financial concerns are part of your reflection, you are asking the right questions.

Money matters. A career transition must be approached with clarity, not wishful thinking. You need a full-picture view in order to make an informed decision — one that considers both your needs and those of your family.

This exploration is essential because many of us unconsciously cling to financial standards that no longer match what we truly want. You may discover that you are ready to simplify, downsize, relocate, or redesign your lifestyle. Doing work that feels meaningful often comes with rewards that go far beyond salary, sometimes making it easier to let go of things that once mattered more.

Different phases of life bring different priorities. Reviewing your assets, income expectations, and pension planning helps you understand what you already have — and what you actually need — to support the life you want to live.

 

¹ Unlocking the Value of an ageing working force, 2021

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