Supporting Achievers to Unlock Sustainable Career Success

Carolyn Parry BA (Hons), FRSA, FHEA, FIEEP, FCDI, RCDP is a multi-award-winning career and life coach, TEDx speaker, non-exec director, podcaster, author and the immediate past President, Chair of the Board, and Fellow of the Career Development Institute (CDI). Her background as a professional of over forty years’ standing includes a pivotal mid-life shift from a successful 17-year management career across property, international software, and defence and tech publishing into career development work. She founded Career Alchemy, her career and life coaching practice, in 2015.

"In this expertly crafted book, Carolyn Parry shows how she enabled seven achievers to identify and overcome thieves ... such as Perfectionism, Comparison, Approval-Seeking, Overwhelm, Depletion, Disconnection and Burnout ... Rich in research and references, it provides a guide to each thief, its influence in the workplace and effect on individuals depending on their age, gender, neurodivergence, socio-economic status and cultural and ethnicity perspectives. If you work in career development, careers education, executive coaching or HR, investing time in reading this book will definitely be well spent. You may also find that some of the thieves resonate with your own situation and can then utilise the practical strategies for your own self-care and career wellbeing. As someone who worked in the career development sector for forty years, many of which in senior professional roles, I have no hesitation in recommending this book. Its content will inspire and educate you, aid your own professional reflection and enable you to help your clients find their wings and fly off to a life in which they will thrive."Claire Johnson, RCDP and CDI, NICEC and ICCI Fellow

• PART ONE: The Achiever Context  i Introduction and how to use this book ii Why do achievers matter anyway?  PART TWO: The Seven Career Thieves Model and Toolkit  Chapter 1: The Thief of Perfectionism – the pursuit of impossible standards Chapter 2: The Thief of Comparison – the trap of measuring self-worth against others Chapter 3: The Thief of Approval-seeking – acting to please others Chapter 4: The Thief of Overwhelm – where demand consistently exceeds capacity Chapter 5: The Thief of Disconnection – when connection and purpose are lost Chapter 6: The Thief of Depletion – when the energy tanks are empty Chapter 7: The Thief of Self-Neglect & Burnout – prioritizing work over well-being cumulatively PART THREE: Interplay and implications  Chapter 8: How to Deal with Colluding Thieves Chapter 9: Implications for Career Development Work in Education and Industry – a call to action PART FOUR  Appendices, References, Further reading and Download Links