I have a wide range of professional experiences and because of that, for a long time I thought there was something wrong with me. I come from the sciences, I have an Integrated Master’s Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and I even worked in that field for a short time. I loved the contact with people, but I had poor working conditions and I didn’t identify with the commercial interests of my job in the health sector.

It was then that I made my first career change. I was afraid I was “throwing away” years of my degree. What’s more, it seemed crazy to me that I was now working in an area I knew absolutely nothing about. What if it didn’t go well? What if I couldn’t do it? But I still took a chance. At first I literally felt like “a fish out of water”. I wanted to learn everything at once. But that was mission impossible. I realized that getting it right would take time. At this point, I took on a role as Business Manager in an IT consultancy firm. In this new role I learned how to interview people, manage the client and my team. I particularly enjoyed contributing to the development of my employees and making sure they felt happy in their work. Even then, I considered this to be an important career factor.

I moved on to other IT consultancies and became a recruitment specialist. These job changes were quick. At first I was enthusiastic, but soon the “charm” wore off and I started to get “angry” with the context in which I found myself. I wanted to change the work environment for the better and when I realized that wasn’t going to happen, I went looking for a new job. I kept meeting people and looking for the “match” between their ambitions and the clients’ opportunities in various business areas. I liked the job, but the context left a lot to be desired…

At some point, I moved up to Talent Acquisition Manager. For the first time, I was in a role that focused on what I loved most – engagement! Here I finally had the chance to work with the key factors that drive employee satisfaction and define the organizational culture. I was thus able to extend the impact of my work to a larger scale. But it wasn’t enough… I wanted another job and there was no prediction of when that would happen. It was like being in a waiting room but not knowing the number of the ticket I had been given…

With this experience in the Engagement project, I decided to enter the Postgraduate Program in Applied Management at Nova Business School, with the intention of moving into a more generalist role in Human Resources, and so it happened. I was now managing my own career more intentionally.

In the meantime, I joined one of the Portuguese unicorns and the challenge increased exponentially. I had the chance to work on various topics such as careers, performance, engagement, leadership and training. It was during this professional experience that I first came into contact with coaching, in 2018, when I took part in a face-to-face workshop by Marshall Goldsmith. So, the first chance I got, I took the Executive Coach certification, still not knowing exactly where this first decision would take me.

At the time, within the organization where I worked, I realized that not everyone who moved into a new role did so consciously. Many decided on impulse or on the run. As had happened to me in the past. That’s why I started giving career coaching internally. But I wanted to do more and better. It was in this search for more knowledge that I met Lourdes Monteiro. Initially, she gave me mentoring so that I could help the people I worked with in the company in a more structured and impactful way, and then I ended up asking her for a professional redesign. That’s right – I also decided to think even more deeply about my next step and that made all the difference. I learned a lot about who I am, what I like to do and what I was really looking for in my life. I realized that my role had changed with the growth of the organization and that what I really wanted to do was different from what was expected and prioritized.

After evaluating various possibilities, I decided to become self-employed – something I had always thought “wasn’t for me” – and to continue my training in coaching.

Looking back today, I realize that I put my skills and experience at the service of others in a different way, but my focus on impacting people has always been the same. Becoming a coach turned out to be a natural culmination of my previous experiences. I have found greater fulfillment and happiness in my change and so it makes perfect sense to me to bring exactly this impact to more people.

I believe that when we do well at work, it’s the same in other areas of life! We all have the power of choice and it’s through “small great things” that we transform ourselves and move forward on our path. That’s why I joined the Career Redesign® project to help professionals find their way in a conscious and intentional way.

Qualifications

I have an Integrated Master’s Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Management from the Nova School of Business & Economics. I have a Professional Certificate in Executive Coaching from Henley Business School, in alignment with the International Coaching Federation ICF – International Coaching Federation . I am a Certified Team & Executive Coach by Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching and I have a certification in Emotional Intelligence by Paulo Moreira.