Hi, I’m Katie Gannon, founder of Career Cognition and content creator for the site. I decided to start Career Cognition because I struggled for a long time (nearly 10 years!) to choose a career direction after leaving classroom teaching due to facing another burnout. In that time I read and learnt a lot about career choices and career change, tried many different careers for size, achieved a Masters degree in Cognitive Neuroscience (I geek out on learning about the brain and psychology), started a business and started a family.

The things that helped me the most to move away from overthinking, overwhelm, confusion, frustration, anxiety and depression were:

• learning about the psychology of career decision-making, and why I was having so much career indecision (as well as general indecision!). If you can understand the fears, they are not so consuming!
• taking online psychological self-assessments to learn more about my values, strengths, personality, preferences etc. Self-awareness is key when you get lost in work and burnout.
• treating action-taking towards my career like an experiment (that’s the scientist in me!). If it is more of a game to see what works and what doesn’t, then it becomes less vital what the outcome is and there is hope that there are always new opportunities and learning to try out.

At the time, there were some really good blogs out there that were very inspiring (and I read a lot of them), but they didn’t get me to take action. I still stayed scared. All of the courses and support were ones that you had to travel to or did not fit with my budget and family life. Most were also based on individual experiences, which did not give me the confidence to fully apply the approaches as they just didn’t fit or make sense.

Aims

The aim of this platform is to share relevant insights from psychology and neuroscience that support career changers and students to confidently make better career choices, achieve career goals and gain greater career satisfaction. This is done through articles, courses, and 1:1 services such as coaching, training and resume reviews/writing.

Here is what others have to say about the Career Choice Psychology Course:

The course is elaborate and covers all the resources you will need to make an informed career choice.

I am half way through the course and loving the course so far.

She has broken down chapters into digestible modules so you can consume them comfortably as you progress.

But keep in mind that you will have to work through and put in the effort required to get to get to your decision. Also you can go through the course whenever you need to make a major career decision.

Here is what others have said of my career coaching and support:

Your feedback was very helpful and provided tips that I understand and can apply.

Your encouragement truly motivates me to keep pushing forward in my career journey.

Values

• Integrity: Insights from psychological research findings and theories are there to give confidence to the beliefs and actions that you take towards a better career. Therefore, we aim to share information that is reliable/valid.
• Action-taking: Each insight shared should lead to an action that you can take to increase your career satisfaction or progress your career. Be your own superhero and take action. Create your own opportunities.
• Empathy/Consideration: Everyone is unique and at different stages of life. We all have different preferences, responsibilities and needs. Your career should fit with your top priorities, and not be influenced by others.
• Environment: We are all responsible for the resources we use and how we treat our environment. Where possible, all worksheets and activities come with a Canva template link for online editing, so there is no need to use a printer. Other ways of supporting the environment while sharing valuable resources are continuing to be reviewed and added.
• Growth: We keep growing by learning and applying that learning. Experimenting to see what works for us and what doesn’t. Keep trying, keep sharing, keep challenging. Learning is fun!

My Personal Values

• Family: I have young children, so they are my top priority. Sorry if I take a while to respond to any queries.
• Balance (home/work): after burning out more than once, and feeling a lack of purpose without a career direction, I prefer to keep the balance of work and life. Sometimes that means having more of a focus on one area of life than another, but overall it balances out.
• Learning/Growth: I feel more satisfied when I am learning and growing. I’m an avid reader, love learning through videos and in the classroom, and applying my learning to see what I can achieve.
• Environment: the world and conditions that we live in, and our impact on them, are important for our health and well-being. I want to have a positive impact on the world. Starting small with gardening for wildlife, growing our own produce, and making positive changes to the impact of actions at home and in business.
• Creativity: I really enjoy the challenge of creating something new. Consumption of content is good for learning, but creating something for others is even better! I’m currently writing and illustrating children’s books in my spare time.

If you are interested in working together, please let me know what support you require by contacting info@careercognition.com.

I look forward to working with you 🙂