Dionne Edwards – Life and Careers Coach, Master NLP Practitioner and Hotel Business Owner . . . in other words an entrepreneur!
After completing a law degree, Dionne changed her career direction and went into the call centre industry where she quickly climbed the ladder to take on Senior Executive roles.
In 2001 and after only 5 years in full time employment she branched into running her own consultancy as an Interim Manager providing her services to organisations that need to improve the performance of their call centre operations.
Simultaneously she was also started providing recruitment resourcing and careers support on an ad hoc basis through a variety of associate organisations.
In 2006 Dionne established ‘Get On And Live’ her life and careers coaching and training practice providing much needed support to many. She provides practical tips, constructive feedback and great techniques on how to carve out your niche by identifying your key skills, create a C.V. that packs a punch and ultimately secure that all important job.
She currently has a 95% success rating in coaching individuals to interview success!
Find out a little more about Dionne.
What is your current role?
I am an entrepreneur, I work as a life and careers coach both independently and also as an Associate Careers for a leading provider of Outplacement Support. I simultaneously manage my hotel business ( based in Jamaica it is called Pimento Lodge) and also working as an Interim Manager within the corporate sector on an ad hoc basis. . . I don’t and can’t stand still! 🙂
Can you tell me a little about your professional and personal background?
I studied law but took a break after my studies and found myself working in a call centre as a customer service advisor where I quickly progressed up the ranks to becoming a call centre manager within a year! I have continued to climb up the corporate ladder holding senior ‘Head of’ roles in several organisations.
Throughout my career I have been lucky enough to work in organisations that quickly recognised that I had a talent for people management and leadership – always seeming to get the best out of my teams, keeping them motivated in tough times, supporting them at all times!
It became clear to me that my greatest passion was in coaching people to ‘be their very best’ in every aspect of their personal and professional lives. I have worked for a variety of organisations – BT, Marks and Spencer, Brakes and The Financial Times to name but a few. In terms of industries I have experience in telecommunications, retail, publishing, local government, charities, FMCG, recruitment & resourcing. This wealth of experience gives me a great foundation for providing great career coaching support.
On a personal level I was born in Bristol, had a 3 year stint living in Jamaica and moved to london just 6 years ago.
My 3 years in Jamaica was all it took for me to feel like I have a dual home so Jamaica is home and the U.K is home too! I have always been ‘the friend that friends come to when they need support, motivation and ‘a listening ear without judgement’.
Why did you decide to change careers?
I recognised that I didn’t feel totally fulfilled in what I did on a corporate level, I wanted to add greater value to people’s lives and I felt that I could do that through coaching. I wanted to do more, be more and give more – in essence to Get On And Live ( which also happened to be the name of my coaching business).
What are your interests?
Salsa dancing, travel and good food! And of course all things related to personal and professional development!
What is your mantra?
‘Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain’
In other words we need to get on with what we want to do, be or achieve, there will always be something that comes along to try to knock us of course – but how we handle that is key to our own success.
Who do you admire?
From a business perspective Richard Branson
From a personal development perspective – Oprah Winfrey
How do you keep going when motivation and / or inspiration is waning?
I take a step back and look at how far I have come – that always spurs me on because I realise that I am making progress when sometimes it might seem like a slow.
Any new happenings you care to share?
Yes I am excited to be launching the Get On And Live Careers Club in mid February 2013 – this will be a fantastic resource and support for anyone who has been made redundant; for job searchers and for those looking to effect a career transition. If anyone would like more information the best thing to do is to register for my newsletter at www.getonandlive.com
I’m also going to be running life and careers coaching retreats in Portugal in summer 2013!
Where can we find you?
Website: https://www.getonandlive.com
Twitter: @getonandlive
Facebook: www.fb.com/getonandlive
PinInterest: http://pinterest.com/getonandlive/
Flickr: Email: info@get-on-and-live.com
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/thelifecoach101
