It’s Never Too Late To Make a Change
MARLEQ: Can you give us a brief introduction of yourself?
Megan Camacho: My name is Megan Camacho. I’m originally from the US, but have lived in London, UK for over 15 years now so consider myself an American Londoner. I have been a qualified career coach for 12 years now and my professional background is in finance and consulting, working in large corporates such as Goldman Sachs and KPMG. I also worked with Imperial College Business School for almost 5 years as a Careers Consultant providing job search strategy and interview preparation support to MSc and MBA students.
MARLEQ: How did you decide to get into career coaching?
Megan Camacho: During my time at Lloyd’s of London, my team had a coach and I immediately fell in love with the experience and knew I wanted to become a coach one day. About 3 years later, my boss at KPMG offered me the opportunity to gain a qualification and I knew I wanted to do career coaching.
MARLEQ: Will you say your background growing up had any impact on your choice of career? How so?
Megan Camacho: I don’t know if my background growing up caused me to be a coach, but it did help me to see how important mindset is to any change we want to make in life. I grew up in a very small, working-class town where people don’t leave and are not exposed to many other cultures or places. From a young age, I knew I wanted something different for my life and always said I would be living far away someday. I think that mindset to try something different and not be afraid to get out of my comfort zone has led me to where I am today and affects my coaching and how I encourage my clients to try new things and get out of their comfort zone.
MARLEQ: How do you specifically help clients looking to change careers?
Megan Camacho: I focus a lot on mindset and fear, and recognizing where these fears come from. It could be from culture, family, personal pressure and expectations, society, etc. When my clients are able to push past these fears and stop worrying about what others think, they make big changes and find themselves much happier.
MARLEQ: Does your exposure to working in a business school help your relationship with clients?
Megan Camacho: Many of the clients I worked with at Imperial Business School were looking to make career changes and this has definitely helped me to understand how to make these types of changes easier for my corporate clients. I often supported clients with the ‘triple jump’ - which is a change in country, industry and job function, so I know the strategy well and how to advise others on doing this for themselves.
MARLEQ: What advice do you have for GenZ looking to land their dream jobs in the UK?
Megan Camacho: I would actually advise GenZ to not worry so much about landing the ‘dream job’ because it’s very hard to know what we will want for the rest of our lives in our early 20s. The average person changes careers 4-5 times in their lifetime, so don’t put so much pressure on yourself to find a forever career. What do you find interesting? What is important to you? What are your strengths? What are your values? Knowing those things first and being willing to try new things will lead you to your purpose.
MARLEQ: What are the emerging economies and industries in the UK?
Megan Camacho: Tech, green energy, cyber security, healthcare, data science, ESG within finance, sustainable consulting.
MARLEQ: Are there struggles with returning to the office after a long period of working from home? What will you suggest to employers and job seekers?
Megan Camacho: In the UK most employers are taking a hybrid approach with employees having a mix of work-from-home and office days. This seems to suit most people and does not look to be changing any time soon. I suggest that job seekers discuss these things up front in their interviews so they know what the employer is expecting and so they can set their expectations. Interviews are a two-way conversation, so don’t be afraid to let your employer know what they need.
MARLEQ: Tell us, why should potential clients look forward to working with you.
Megan Camacho: My strengths lie in idea creation and brainstorming new opportunities and options. Often times people get stuck in their own heads and freeze from overthinking. They also jump from job to job because they don’t really know what they want or what’s important to them. Working with me will help to provide clarity on their values and strengths with a clear action plan for making their next career change.
MARLEQ: What’s your favorite quote? Movie? Country?
Megan Camacho:
Quote - Everything is ok in the end. If it’s not ok, it’s not the end.
Movie - anything fun and lighthearted - Disney, Elf, Legally Blonde.
Country - Spain, Croatia, Iceland.
