Fiona Setch

Curious to know how coaching can help you to explore change in your life ?  If you do what you've always done,  you'll get what you've always got. Lets try something different! Contact me & discover how to stop and smell the roses in your life !     

I have twenty five years experience of working with coaching clients. I know that coaching can help to enhance your confidence , your career and your life.

I can offer you a down to earth, action focused, pragmatic space to talk about your goals, and to start preparing for what next. I am a coach who is passionate about helping people to enjoy their lives ! Using  a rose garden as a metaphor, having time to stop and smell the roses in your life and if they need a bit of pruning or cutting back, I have some great tools to help you !

Life Coaching is a really practical way of exploring and getting on with what you would really like to be getting on with. 

I can offer you a down to earth, action focused, pragmatic space to talk about your goals, and to start preparing for what next.

I have the experience of changing my own career from Nursing into Learning & Development : teaching adults and Coaching. For the past 30 years I have enjoyed the experience of working alongside people like you who want to change an aspect of what you are doing and develop your confidence to do it!

During my career I have experienced organisational restructure, which at a national cancer charity lead to redundancy. Though this was really tough when my manager sat me down and explained that my role was being made redundant, it gave me the opportunity to work for myself. Every cloud has a silver lining .... 

I can offer you a focused approach just for you from the comfort and safety of your own home, contact me to see how I can help you with your goals. This can be in a package of 3-6 sessions or monthly phone / Skype or Zoom calls. Your coaching will be unique to your requirements. 

About me : I had a first career in nursing which I really enjoyed. However, there was always a thought at the back of my mind " what else I would I like to do. ? ". A coaching conversation helped me to change my career. I retrained in facilitation skills, teaching adults and coaching and this has developed into what I do now...one of the reasons I am so passionate about coaching is I have received it myself. Coaching helped me during my career transition, when one of my roles was made redundant, developing my own business and has enhanced my career. So I know it works and how effective it is in helping with confidence development and at all stages of career development.

2023, we are fortunate to have so much information at our fingertips ! At just a click away there is an abundance of online articles, TED talks and podcasts that will give you tips and ideas on how to transform your life. Having all of these choices and information can be overwhelming, so coaching can help you clarify what you are looking for. As your coach, we can talk through your ideas, pause, have thinking space and transform them into possible goals, actions and plan a time to review how you are progressing with your life !

What is it like to work with me?

I will provide you with a quiet space to think out loud, explore your options and plan what next. Having 20 years Coaching experience I have a very practical, pragmatic approach and offer a menu of possible options which include  all sorts of tools ranging from a blank sheet of paper and pens, to NLP tools and metaphors, Myers Briggs Personality Indicator and sometimes no tools just 'being there.'

If reading this is making you curious about the possibilities that coaching could bring to your life ; then get in touch with me and as your coach I will enhance your confidence and transform your ideas into actions.

Areas that I coach people in :

• Personal & Professional Confidence.
• Career development  : at whatever stage of your career, I can help you think about what next in your career.
• Retirement Coaching : have some time, space and strategies to help you plan and enjoy your retirement, whichever direction it takes you ! 
• Facing redundancy ? how to embrace it and what you can do next.
• Interview skills
• Getting that all important first job after completing your degree
• Thinking about job promotion
• Maternity coaching
• Dealing with negative patterns in life such as ' my glass is half empty'
• Living with Imposter thinking & coping with Imposter Syndrome
• Finding a manageable work life balance
• Enjoying life
• Creating a map to achieve your goals
• Dealing with FOMO : Fear of missing out and managing your social media
• Creative thinking to help you create a joyous life
• The ongoing issues that COVID19 Pandemic has left

Interview skills as part of Career Development Coaching

>Interview Coaching is a series of one to one sessions that will assist you to work towards your interview with increased focus and confidence. This is a combination of one to one sessions by telephone, email, face to face depending on your individual needs, location and type of interview that you are planning and what your requirements are.

It can include:

• Assistance with job application
• CV preparation
• Preparation for interview, matching the key skills & competencies that the University
• Course specification is looking for with your skills & experience
• Practicing questions and receiving feedback
• Understanding yourself and your personal style with tools such as MBTI
• Preparing a presentation and practicing it
• Working with feedback from previous unsuccessful interviews
• Developing self confidence and practical tips on sustaining acquired confidence.
• Finding the right focus and selling yourself at the interview

I suggest that I have an initial 15 minute telephone call with you to clarify your exact needs, so that we can plan a successful campaign for you.

You are also very welcome to download my eBook “The Art of Interview skills “. It is published online through Book boon books:

Here is the link to my eBook: http://bookboon.com/en/the-art-of-interview-skills-ebook

I then ask you to send me any information that you think may be useful: CV, application information, previous feedback, reflections on previous interviews and we get started.

Maternity Coaching enables working mums to manage this key transition in their working life and assists mothers to be before going on maternity leave.

• Supports new parents during maternity leave.
• Supports new parents when thinking of returning to work.
• When back at work, a space to explore strategies to assist with the new challenges of the new work / life balance
  
  Retirement Coaching assists people think about the end of their working life.....
•    A creative space to think what next...
•    Exploring strategies that can assist with enjoying retirement.
•    If retirement from a job means "What next for me ? " exploring the options for a new career.

During this most challenging of times, we can discuss what you can afford and how I can help you navigate through this time of unprecedented hardship.

Your first coaching session will be a complimentary session, sometimes called a "chemistry session" to see if I am the right coach for you. At your first session, I will be able to listen to what your hopes, goals and needs are, we can formulate a plan together and cost that out. As each person is different, each coaching package will be different to make sure that you are getting exactly what you need and want within your budget.

Podcast : 

Episode #29: Fiona Setch – The Freedom That Comes From Impossible Situations — The Coach's Journey (thecoachsjourney.com)

Published work: 

"Looking after yourself "- chapter in Palliative Care textbook “Palliative Nursing” (2000)

Articles in Hospital Doctor "Motivating self, Motivating your team, Team working ":(2004)

‘Interview Skills for Consultants’ in ENT & Audiology News, (2010)

Article in Coaching at Work: "The final Frontier", a perspectives article. (2011)

eBook : Bookboon : “The Art of Interview Skills” 2014.

I think that these testimonials gives you a flavour of how I work and will shine a light on how coaching could assist you:

Some testimonials about Interview coaching :

“With Fiona’s help I was transformed from a sweaty, pale rabbit in the headlights interviewee to someone who could actually give a good answer to the questions and look comfortable and confident in the process. She allows you to practice answering questions in the privacy of her office completely removed geographically and socially from your normal circles of influence, so that you can safely remove the cloaks of British embarrassment, and finally learn to sing your own praises.

Every session with Fiona helped me enormously, and I would thoroughly recommend her to anyone with an important interview coming up.”                       Peter, Locum Consultant

“The interview coaching was structured, made me focussed. The coaching was tailored to my needs and helped to correct my weaknesses. I had a hard time selling myself. You made me focus on selling my skills and abilities effectively.

I was feeling very confident which showed through the whole interview and helped me to secure the job. You were quite flexible and able to accommodate me in a short notice. I was able to attend in my own time in a relaxed environment. Overall it was a very positive experience and an excellent value for money.  I would recommend everyone to have interview coaching with you before his or her dream job. Thank you once again for helping me to secure my dream job and a happy new year.”                                                                                    Frances, Locum Consultant

A Graduate who was seeking a Graduate position at a large Accountancy Firm.

“Despite initial reservations about the benefits of Interview skills coaching, I can honestly say I would now never hesitate to recommend Fiona to anyone toying with the idea of seeking such help. From the moment I contacted Fiona she was immensely helpful – displaying both a genuine passion to assist me and, undoubtedly, a clear flair in her profession.

With Fiona's help I was able to secure a graduate position at a huge global firm – something I would not previously have believed possible. Fiona worked with me both face to face and over the telephone in prepping me for upcoming interviews. She used an effective technique of working on interview questions that were likely to come up, quizzing me on them before then pausing the mock interview to give me detailed and helpful feedback.

Her technique of repeating this process really helped me refine my answers and mannerisms for the interviews, and undoubtedly aided me in procuring the job. Much of this was down to Fiona and her enthusiastic way of teaching, something which I feel has not only aided me in the previously daunting process of job interviews, but which has also allowed me to recognise my own personal strengths on a much wider level.”                 Chris, Graduate Trainee at KPMG

Interview Skills from a Graduate entering the world of employment

“Fiona's help was invaluable to me in realising my strengths and how to sell myself at interview. She also made me really think about the best way to approach an interview and analyse Job Specifications and Person Specifications.

In the current job market it is very difficult for graduates to get the jobs they want and I honestly think that without Fiona's guidance I would not have been able to find a job so quickly or start that job with confidence. The interview preparation that you do with Fiona really helps you to analyse how best to approach the situation and how to overcome any areas where you may feel under confident or unsure how to answer.

I found a job that I love, a job that challenges me and a job that makes me feel valued and I got that job because of the coaching and help Fiona gave me. Thanks Fiona!”

Emily, Classics Graduate.