Our alumna Jana Kielwein graduated in 2013 (Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Education). She had a specific career plan early on and started her first job full of anticipation, directly after graduating from WiSo. Everything went according to plan!

However, she then came to the realisation that the job did not live up to her expectations and was not as good a fit as she had hoped. She changed jobs several times, but the disillusionment remained. At that time, she started asking herself what really suits her. Eventually she started her own business as a job coach and career consultant in 2019 – looking back, a decision she never regretted. She turned her supposed weaknesses into real strengths. Since then, she has been helping others to gain clarity about their career and, as an expert in new work and mindfulness, brings quite unconventional elements into her coaching.

In our alumni interview, Jana told us how her own development has shaped her professionally as well as personally.

Hello, Jana. You graduated from WiSo with a bachelor degree in business administration and a master degree in business education. Did you have a specific career plan when you decided to study here?

Yes, in fact I already had a very specific career plan. I already knew after my training as a travel agent that I wanted to work with people. A career in HR seemed to be exactly the right choice at the time. So, I focused my entire studies on this goal. I picked side jobs that matched this goal and eventually even took over all HR issues of the General Student Committee as 2nd AStA Chairwoman.

What did your first career steps look like?

After my bachelor degree and during my master studies, I started my first part-time job at a large German bank. It was exactly what I had wished for. A big company name, great salary and fancy title... jackpot! I could already see a great HR career ahead of me. So, I started this first real job full of anticipation. Unfortunately, disillusionment soon set in.

I started my career with the desire to make a difference in people’s lives and contribute to their personal development. I wanted to have an impact. But representing the bank, I could not do that to the extent I really wanted. In my view, the needs and potentials of individual employees were far too rarely addressed. I was very frustrated by this.

I changed jobs several times hoping that things might get better. But that didn’t work out, either. My self-doubt grew and grew. However, I didn’t reflect on my situation. Unfortunately, I didn’t ask myself the really important questions at that time.

My turning point came in 2017 during my training as a systemic coach at the Institute for Applied Psychology. I realised that the be-all and end-all for my professional satisfaction is working in harmony with my own personality, strengths and values.

Every job and experience I’ve had during my professional life has ultimately led me to now do the job I’m passionate about and that really suits me. I am very grateful for that. But if I had thought about what really suits me already during my studies, it might have saved me a few frustrating experiences

After your training as a systemic coach, you finally started your own business as a job coach and career consultant in the summer of 2019. How did this decision come about?

At some point during my old job, I came to the point where I realised I cannot go on like this. I was burned out and had to admit that it was about time to fundamentally change something. But I had no idea what to do next.

I therefore asked myself some basic questions: Who am I? What can I do? What is important to me? What contribution do I want to make? And what conditions do I need for this? A strong “why” then finally tipped the scales in favour of self-employment.

I have a vision of a working world, in which in the end striving for higher levels of performance is not always sought – a working world, in which every single person counts and everyone can develop their full potential. A world in which every employee finds their professional stage that suits them. Of course, this is a very ambitious goal, but I am convinced that many small steps can trigger an entire movement. By supporting clients in finding their job with meaning, I can contribute to gradually changing the big picture.

Today, I am proud that I made this courageous decision. I redefined success for myself and, with my self-employment as a job coach and career consultant, I created a working condition that is the perfect fit for me and my personal life. It turns my supposed weaknesses into real strengths. It fills me with pride and meaning. And it is compatible with my role as a mother.

You are an expert in new work and mindfulness and also incorporate these ideas into your coaching. Can you explain what new work and mindfulness exactly are and why do you cover them?

For me, new work and mindfulness are both very closely linked to achieving professional satisfaction. New work is a mega-trend that is currently changing our working world dramatically. The term was coined by Frithjof Bergmann in the 70s. At the heart of the concept is the question: “What is it that you really, really want?” New work thus brings the question of meaning to the forefront. And this is precisely what I work on during my coaching.

Mindfulness is another important building block in my approach as a job coach. It originates from Buddhism and revolves around being in the moment with your whole body and mind, without any kind of prejudice. It may sound trivial at first, but most of the time we do things on autopilot and don’t really notice what is going on around us or how we are feeling in the moment. However, in order to find the right profession for ourselves in a process of self-reflection, it is essential that we step out of this automatism, come to rest and develop a sense of how we are doing and what we really need. Furthermore, in my work as a Mindful2Work trainer, along with exercise and yoga, increasing mindfulness is an important element of strengthening resilience at the same time. A competence that performs an increasingly important role in today’s working world.

What blogs, podcasts, social media channels, etc. do you follow to keep up to date?

For the topics of “fulfilling work” and “professional (re)orientation” I can highly recommend the podcasts by Juliane Rosier “Der Generation WHY Podcast” and Jannike Stöhr’s “Kopf Herz Erfolg”. Apart from that, I always enjoy reading STRIVE magazine or Neue Narrative and regularly visit the Zukunftsinstitut website.

What would you like our students to take away at the end of this interview?

I would like to preface the answer to this question with one of my favourite quotes attributed to Albert Einstein: “Each of us has incredible potential. But if a fish is measured by how well it can climb a tree, it will always think it’s stupid.”

And that’s exactly how it is. I learned this in numerous coaching sessions on professional reorientation over the past few years. There is just the right context for each and every one of you. Maybe not everyone is lucky enough to find it right away. But that’s ok; that’s part of the process. Be brave, try things and be willing to make mistakes. You can correct your course at any time.

You all have an incredible potential. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be studying at this prestigious university. Never stop believing in yourself and stay true to yourself. Stay authentic, work on your strengths and don’t focus on your weaknesses. Always keep in mind: “No one is like me and that is my greatest asset!”

Thank you for your time and for the interview.