Relocation and the "Career Wheel"

If you're helping a relocating partner who's looking for work, the Career Wheel, developed to help people identify what they want in their career could prove invaluable. Sue Clarke explains how it works.

"The company wants me to move to Cambridge. It would be a great opportunity for me. What do you think?" As surveys consistently demonstrate, whether a partner's response is positive or negative increasingly depends on whether that partner believes they will find suitable work in the move.

Work may be necessary simply to earn a second income, or – as is more and more common – the partner has a thriving career and wants the move to promote their career prospects, too. In dual career couples, one partner's lack of career fulfilment may severely strain a relationship – and derail an otherwise successful relocation.

Career counselling for partners is an effective measure organisations can take to address the partner's concerns and needs, turning the relocation into a positive career experience for everyone. Working with a career counsellor, partners fully explore and clarify what they want from their career, and build a profile of their priorities for development and change. The Career Wheel, illustrated below, is a tool that a career counsellor may use to achieve this.

The Career Wheel is divided into eight spokes: Talents, Relationships, Control, Growth, Recognition, Fun, Balance, and Values.

Read the entire article at Relocate Magazine - The relocation industry portal