The Career Change Studio

Episode 48: What does it actually feel like to go through the Life-First Career Accelerator? In this episode Dana is joined by Juliette, who was part of the January 2026 cohort, for an honest and moving conversation about where she was when she joined and where she is now. Juliette arrived after a redundancy feeling, in her own words, unemployable and ready for the scrap heap. She felt she had no control over anything and could not see a way forward. By the time she finished the group coaching programme she had been commissioned to write a series of children's books, was setting up as a freelancer, and pursuing a brand new business idea in a field she had never worked in before that genuinely excites her. But this episode is not just about the practical outcomes. It is about the internal shift. The moment her thinking was held up to a mirror. The way she learned to flip her thoughts rather than be run by them. The surprise of discovering that being in a group with other women navigating the same journey was one of the most powerful parts of the whole experience. And the feeling of going from depleted and directionless to, as she puts it, knowing exactly what she wants and what she does not want, and feeling capable of whatever she turns her mind to. If you are thinking about joining the September cohort of the Life-First Career Accelerator, this episode will give you a window to what it is actually like from the inside. Doors close midday Monday 21st September 2026. Click here for more information and to join: https://www.danastevens.com/LifeFirstCareerAccelerator If you want to chat with Dana about whether joining is right for you, book in a free consultation Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 47: Most people who are trying to change careers are not stuck because there is nothing out there for them. They are stuck because they are approaching it in the wrong order. In this episode, career change coach Dana Stevens explains why going straight to the CV, the job sites and the applications before doing the foundational work is the thing that keeps people going round in circles, and what the right order actually is. In this episode you will learn: Why treating career change like job hunting is the most common reason people get stuck The three stage process that actually works Why the order of the stages matters and what goes wrong when any one of them is skipped If you want help, support and expert guidance to go through this proven process join Dana's group Coaching Programme that starts this September. You have until midday 21 September 2026 to join. Find out more about the Life-First Career Accelerator and join the September cohort here: https://www.danastevens.com/LifeFirstCareerAccelerator Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 46: September has a particular energy. A sense of possibility. But for most people that feeling passes without anything really changing. In this episode, career change coach Dana Stevens talks about how to actually use the September fresh start rather than just feel it. This is an episode for anyone who has felt the September pull before and watched it pass without anything shifting. In this episode you will learn: The questions worth sitting with to get honest about your real why before the feeling passes The most common limiting thoughts that arrive with any new intention and more accurate alternatives to each The Mini Change Goal concept and why the small thing you choose matters less than the practice of choosing and following through Why building your identity as someone who creates small changes is the foundation for the bigger career change work In this episode Dana mentions her upcoming free masterclass "Stop Circling and Start Deciding: How To Change Careers" on Monday 7th September at 7.30pm. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP TO THE MASTERCLASS Click here to listen to Episode 19 - Change Fluency: A Mindset Shift You Can Practise. Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 45: So many people who want to change careers say some version of the same thing: "I just do not feel like myself anymore." "I have lost my spark" In this episode, Career Change Coach Dana Stevens explores how that happens, why the obvious solution of just getting a new job is rarely the complete answer, and what actually getting your spark back looks like in practice. She shares the story of a client who came to her after a difficult redundancy, having gradually lost everything that made her feel like herself along the way, and where that client is now. Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 44: One of the most common things that stops people from starting to work on changing their career is the belief that they have to have it all figured out first. In this episode, Career Change Coach Dana Stevens challenges that idea. She draws a clear distinction between having a direction and having a perfect plan, explains why you need the first and not the second, and shares two honest personal stories from her own experience of building her coaching business that show what this actually looks like in practice. In this episode you will learn: Why the first iteration of your plan is almost always the foundation for the next, not a wrong turn How starting is the only way to gather the information you need to find the right direction Why a bridging role or interim arrangement does not have to mean anything about whether your longer term plan is working Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 43: You have probably heard of a money story, the set of beliefs about money that were formed in childhood and shape your financial life as an adult. Career change coach Dana Stevens believes we are all carrying an equivalent work story. A set of beliefs about what work is, what success looks like, what we deserve from it and what is possible for someone like us, formed long before we had the experience to question them. In this episode she introduces the concept of the work story and explains where these beliefs come from. In this episode you will learn: The three main sources of your work story and why none of it is your fault A set of questions to help you identify your own work story and start to see which beliefs are worth keeping and which are worth rewriting Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 42: If the thought of changing careers feels like the thought of losing yourself, this episode is for you. Career change Coach Dana Stevens explores why so much of our identity gets wrapped up in our job title, particularly when we have committed to a career for decades, and what to do about it when it is time to change. In this episode you will learn: Why leaving a career that has been central to your identity involves real grief, and why that matters The personal story of leaving the BBC and what the identity loss felt like the first time Dana changed careers The second career change, leaving a Head of role, and what was different about it because of what Dana had learned between the two What upgrading your identity looks like, and why what you build on the other side is almost always richer than what you left behind Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 41: Are you coasting right now? And if you are, is that genuinely what you want, or just what feels easiest? This episode is about the difference between coasting and growing. Why one feels safer. What the other actually costs. And what to do when your brain tries to talk you out of the thing you most need to do. In this episode, Career Change Coach Dana Stevens shares a personal story that helped her identify this friction in her own brain. And she shares some helpful perspectives to help you figure out what you really want right now. If you've been considering going all in on change or considering coaching and talking yourself out of it, this episode will be helpful. Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 40: If a holiday is the only thing keeping you going right now, this episode is for you. Career Change Coach Dana Stevens talks honestly about what it actually means to live from holiday to holiday, the exhaustion of getting there, the body finally letting go and getting ill, the dread creeping back before the holiday has even ended. In this episode you will learn: Why holidays cannot fix a working life that is not working What a life you do not need to escape from actually looks and feels like day to day Where to start if you want to build that life for yourself Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 39: Have you ever worried that you're not as good as everyone else? That maybe you don't belong in your job? Do you feel like a fraud? Do you worry that people will find out that you don't really know what you are doing? If so, you've experienced Imposter Syndrome. In this episode, Career Change Coach Dana Stevens encourages you to think differently about Imposter Syndrome. She unpacks why acceptance of Imposter Syndrome actually creates a resignation that stops people asking the most important questions. In this episode you will learn: What imposter syndrome is really a symptom of, and why naming that changes everything The real cost of accepting the imposter syndrome identity rather than seeing it as a signal The importance of learning how to take control of your confidence and how it can be built deliberately over time Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 38: Overwhelm is one of the most common things that keeps women stuck when they are thinking about changing careers. In this episode, Career Change Coach Dana Stevens gives you a practical tool to reach for the next time overwhelm starts to take hold. In this episode you will learn: Why overwhelm is a feeling and not a permanent state, and what that means for how you work with it The wave analogy and why making an intentional choice about how to meet overwhelm matters more than just pushing through A practical method to help you manage overwhelm The specific flavour of career change overwhelm and why a structured process is designed to reduce it rather than add to it Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 37: So many people who want to change careers are struggling to belief that it is possible for them. In this episode, Career Change coach Dana Stevens unpacks the thought cycle that keeps people stuck in that gap between wanting something and believing it is possible. In this episode you will learn: Why belief is built through small evidence rather than arriving fully formed before you start The important difference between belief and certainty, and why waiting for certainty keeps you stuck How coaching interrupts the thought cycle at the thought and action stages rather than waiting for belief to appear on its own Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 36: Your brain is always going to tell you that changing careers is too hard, too risky, too much effort. In this episode, Career Change Coach Dana Stevens asks a different question. Not how would you do it, but is it actually worth it, and only you can answer that. If you have been waiting for a plan before you let yourself want something different, this episode will help you start with the wanting instead. In this episode you will learn: Why knowing if it's worth it matters more than knowing the how, especially at the start A guided visualisation to help you picture what a different working life could actually feel like The unexpected benefits of proactively changing careers, beyond just the new job itself Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 35: If you have been thinking about changing careers for a while but have not yet made a move, there is a good chance you are carrying some guilt about that. You may be thinking 'I should have done this sooner', 'I have wasted so much time' or 'why did I leave it so long?'. In this episode, Career Change coach Dana Stevens makes the case that that guilt is not only unwarranted but is actively getting in your way. In this episode you will learn: Why not changing your career sooner was almost certainly the right decision for the circumstances you were in What the hindsight trap is and why it is not a fair basis for self-judgment Why reclaiming your past decisions as conscious and intentional rather than passive or weak is one of the most important things you can do for your confidence right now How the guilt about the past is directly undermining the confidence you need for the future Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 34: One of the most practical and underrated things you can do when you are thinking about a career change is to deliberately surround yourself with evidence that another way of living and working is possible. Not just for inspiration, but because seeing real people with real lives making real changes genuinely updates what your brain believes is available to you. In this episode you will learn: The specific places to find examples of people living and working differently, from podcasts and YouTube to real conversations over coffee What to notice as you gather evidence, and how to use what you find to start getting clearer on what you actually want Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 33: Have you been told that the key to changing careers is to find your passion? And have you then tried to locate said passion and come up more or less blank? In this episode, Career Change coach Dana Stevens dismantles the follow your passion narrative and explains why it is one of the most unhelpful ideas in the career change conversation. If you have been holding back from making a move because you cannot identify your passion, this episode will change how you think about where to start. In this episode you will learn: Why pragmatic reasons for changing careers are completely valid and lead to real and meaningful change The full story of Dana's own career change from BBC radio producer to online content and social media, and why passion had nothing to do with it What you can use instead of passion to figure out what you want, including the Life-First Criteria Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 32: All or nothing thinking is one of the most common thought patterns people get stuck in. It is the thinking that tells you the choice is between staying exactly as you are or throwing everything away and starting from scratch. Between doing something perfectly or not bothering at all. Between total success and complete failure. In this episode Dana explains what all or nothing thinking actually is, how to recognise it in your own head, and most importantly how to think differently when it shows up. In this episode you will learn: What all or nothing thinking is How it shows up specifically in career change and why it is one of the main reasons people stay stuck The real spectrum of career change that all or nothing thinking makes invisible Four practical questions to ask yourself when you notice all or nothing thinking taking over Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 31: What if you could stop focusing on escaping where you are and start moving towards something that genuinely lights you up? In this episode, Career Change coach Dana Stevens makes the case for why joy is not just a nice thing to think about but one of the most practically useful tools in the career change process. In this episode you will learn: Why escaping what you do not want is never quite enough, and what changes when you have a vision of where you are going instead What the Joy Experiment is, and why the only rule is curiosity rather than pressure Why you do not have to wait for things to change before you start having more joy in your life Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 30: This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, and Career Change Coach Dana Stevens wants to talk about the experience of struggling on in a job that no longer fits and the impact that can have. So many people can tell themselves a story that it is their fault; that there must be something wrong with them or it's a sign they are broken. In this episode Dana challenges that story, makes the case that the most likely reason for struggling is a mismatch rather than a personal failing, and talks honestly about what staying in that mismatch costs. In this episode you will learn: How to think differently about a job that you are struggling in Why you and your job are probably no longer a match The real and cumulative mental health costs of staying in a job that no longer fits Why a career that genuinely fits can have a profound impact on your mental health, your confidence and your whole life If you are experiencing serious mental health difficulties, please speak to your GP or contact a mental health professional. Mind (mental health support): www.mind.org.uk Samaritans (if you need to talk): 116 123 Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.

Episode 29: Navigating perimenopause or menopause while also trying to figure out what to do with your career is something that Career Change Coach Dana Stevens experiences regularly with her clients. And yet it is rarely talked about. In this episode Dana talks about the brain fog, the anxiety, the rage, the confidence erosion, the feeling of not quite recognising yourself anymore, and how all of that intersects with the already significant question of what to do next in your career. And she explains specifically why a structured process with the right support does not add to the overwhelm of this time, it significantly reduces it. In this episode you will learn: Why perimenopause and career uncertainty so often arrive together, and why that is not a coincidence The identity shift that perimenopause brings, and why it carries genuinely useful information about what you want next How the mindset tools in coaching specifically address the confidence erosion and thought patterns this stage of life can bring Why this time of life is not the end of your potential for meaningful change but, for many women, the beginning of the most honest chapter of their career yet If you are experiencing symptoms of perimenopause or menopause, please speak to your GP or a healthcare professional for medical support. At the start of the episode Dana also mentions her group coaching programme 'The Life-First Career Accelerator' , for more info and to join the waiting list just click here to visit her website. Book a free Coaching Consultation: https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Connect with Dana: Website: https://www.danastevens.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_stevens_coach/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danastevens1/ If this episode resonated, follow The Career Change Studio and share it with someone who’s feeling stuck in their career. And if you’re ready to design a working life that truly fits your needs and lifestyle, book a free consultation call at https://calendly.com/danastevens/initial-coaching-chat Special thanks to @Lou_Greenaway_Music for the piano composition and performance.