Introduction

• Do you wish you knew what it was you wanted to do with your life?

• Are you thinking of taking a Career Break or Gap Year to sort your life out because you're in the wrong job?

• Do you ever feel that life, success, and fun are passing you by?

City Life Coaching & Fluid Feeling offer you a fun, practical, affordable and rewarding way of addressing these issues

Together, we offer you top coaching services in relaxed, comfortable surroundings, intermixed with doses of fun, adrenalin packed, outdoor activities.

The idea is simple but very effective:

• We take you out of your normal environment to a great location

• We get you involved in a full day of activities that will require your total concentration, leaving little time to dwell on your past or problems and providing a release for pent up energy and frustrations

• In doing so you will find a physical and mental relaxation ideal for clear thinking

• Coaching sessions then help you structure your thought process, and

• Time alone to reflect

Why Career & Life Break Coaching?

A career break is a terrific way to refresh yourself and your outlook, and think about where you're going. Whether your sabbatical lasts for a few weeks, a few months or much longer, it's an opportunity for you to get a fresh perspective and re-think your options.

But we know that is not necessarily as easy as it sounds. The options for career breaks are wider than they have ever been. You can simply go backpacking, you can get involved in voluntary work, you can try out some extreme sports or learn a new language or other skill. All of these are great experiences in their own right...but the chances are you will get back from your supposedly life-changing experience and you'll still be asking yourself the question: "What do I want to do with my life?"

That's where we come in. We not only offer an exciting range of experiences, we combine these with the highest quality career coaching and advice so that you can think constructively about your career options and make the most of your time away.

Your career coach will help you to:

• Get really clear about exactly what it is in your current career that's not working for you

• Focus on the 3 key elements of successful career planning:
  

  • Your values (what's important to you and drives you);

  • Your skills, signature strengths and personal style; &

  • Your interests and passions

• Use this information to identify career routes to suit you. And we don't just give you the tools and leave you to do the hard work on your own - we'll sit with you and help you brainstorm, so that you go away with plenty of new ideas

• Successfully negotiate the maze of job search options.
  

• Did you know that 80% of jobs are never advertised?

• We will work with you to put together an action plan tailored to you, the areas you are interested in, and the most effective way of accessing the right opportunities

• Write a killer CV that will guarantee you get interviews

• Prepare to make a big impact at interview, land the job you want, and negotiate the right benefits package

• Master the skills you really need to further your career in any field: understanding of context, clarity of thinking, ability to manage uncertainty and confidence in making decisions

• Explore the possibilities for doing your own thing. Whether you want to set up your own business, develop a "portfolio" career, or find other ways of getting and staying out of the corporate world, we have the skills and experience to help you turn your daydream into a practical plan

• Deal with the issues that hold most people back: procrastination, fear of failure, poor time management and lack of focus.

Our course programme offers a combination of group sessions and individual coaching, giving you all the support you need to make some of the most important decisions of your life.

You can have as much or as little coaching as you like, and combine it with our other courses in the way that suits you.

Alternatively, if you choose one of our water sports or language courses, you can include some coaching sessions too, to help you make the most of your experience and prepare you for your return to the real world!

And it doesn't end when your career break does - we will follow up with you and offer you all the ongoing support you need.

Why Gap Year Coaching?

A gap year - whether it lasts a whole year or a few months - is a great way to recover from A-levels and prepare for university, or recover from university and prepare for the world of work.

The options for young people are wider than they have ever been. You can simply go backpacking, you can get involved in voluntary work, you can try out some extreme sports or learn a new language or other skill. All of these are great experiences in their own right...but the chances are you'll get back from your supposedly life-changing experience and you'll still be asking yourself the question: "What do I want to do with my life?"

That's where we come in. We not only offer an exciting range of experiences, we combine these with the highest quality career coaching and advice so that you can think constructively about your career options and make the most of your time away.

Your career coach will help you to:

• Focus on the 3 key elements of successful career planning:

  • Your values (what's important to you and drives you);

  • Your skills, signature strengths and personal style: &

  • Your interests and passions

• Use this information to identify career routes to suit you. And we don't just give you the tools and leave you to do the hard work on your own - we'll sit with you and help you brainstorm, so that you go away with plenty of new ideas.

• Successfully negotiate the maze of job search options.
  

• Did you know that 80% of jobs are never advertised?
  

• We will work with you to put together an action plan tailored to you, the areas you are interested in, and the most effective way of accessing the right opportunities.

• Write a killer CV that will guarantee you get interviews.

• Prepare to make a big impact at interview, land the job you want, and negotiate the right benefits package.

• Master the skills you really need to further your career in any field: understanding of context, clarity of thinking, ability to manage uncertainty and confidence in making decisions.

Our course programme offers a combination of group sessions and individual coaching, giving you all the support you need to make some of the most important decisions of your life. And it doesn't end when your gap year does - we will follow up with you and offer you all the ongoing support you need.

Fluid Feeling Sabbaticals in the news

MENS HEALTH MAGAZINE ONLINE - OCTOBER 2007

Extract from - "The Great escape" by Rob Kemp

A career break can be great for your body, your mind and even your boss

Reap the rewards

According to a 2007 Norwich Union survey, 76% of employees would use a sabbatical to improve their skills, learn a language and gain CV-boosting experience. "That's another point to make clear to your boss," says Ungless. But of course, it's not just your boss who's set to benefit from your sabbatical.

"Aside from the new skills, you'll return to work reinvigorated and you may get a life-changing taste of a new career," explains Richard Fanshawe, whose own sabbatical prompted him to set up www.fluidfeeling.com. "I was an investment banker. I was tired of life and stuck in a rut. I took time off, became a kitesurf instructor and now run a firm advising those wishing to do the same - many achieve a life's ambition and return to work fulfilled, refreshed and a lot more worldly wise and confident than before they left," concludes Fanshawe.

According to a Direct Line survey, one in four employees now works for a company that offers sabbaticals as a staff perk. Although some employers place restrictions on where and how sabbaticals may be spent, others realise that the bulk of us - 43% in the Direct Line survey - simply want to travel to long-haul destinations.

Voluntary work

However, among the other 57% surveyed were those who took on a more altruistic project - and with good reason: "Taking a sabbatical to volunteer for a needy cause such as rebuilding war-torn villages in Africa or conserving panda bears in China may be looked upon more favourably by your boss than snowboarding for six months," suggests Jenny Ungless. "But it's actually on your return where this may well have more of an impact. If you come back and don't want to return to your old job, then a stint of volunteer work on your CV will show a prospective employer that you're self-motivated and not simply someone who goes through the motions."

If you are interested in participating in Volunteer work with a difference, see Teaching in Brazil with Fluid Feeling