Claartje van Sijl, philosophical counselor, trainer, speaker

Coaching for academics

You are working as an academic researcher. You are an expert on the topic you love. You are smart, a fast thinker, but also creative and interested in a wide range of different areas. You know you’ve got talent. You have always relied on your rational mind, but intuitively you feel that reason alone cannot quite get you to the next level where you want to be:

  • Your next career step
  • Higher quality papers, PhD thesis
  • Better collaboration with colleagues
  • Meaningful contributions to your field

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scientist with heart and soul

You want to use your full potential for innovative research. But how to do that?

Stop your spiral thinking

Break through the vicious circle. Get a clear view on how to act.

In a 30 minute (complimentary) conversation via Skype or phone we determine what you can do to stop racking your brains and tap into your full potential.

Soft skills for better science

It’s like music. How can science explain music? You can measure frequencies, analyze music scores, etc. But you do not solve the mystery of music. The secret of music lies in your heart. We all recognize it and admit that it exists in our lives, but our scientific minds have difficulty accepting that. With intuition it is the same. Intuition lives in your heart and you are familiar with it, but you cannot rationally explain it. But you can learn to listen to it, strengthen it, and consciously use it to create beautiful harmonies.

What is more sensible than joining your heart’s wisdom to your mind’s intelligence to create better science?

I learned it the hard way. Brainpower saw me through my PhD, but I was strained. I have come a long way since then, finding flow and harmony between my reasoning and the rest of my being. Now I know: you can excel faster in research if you intentionally involve your intuition in your reasoning. My clients experience that they make better decisions faster and generate original, out-of-the-box ideas more easily.

As a researcher,
do you recognize this?

 Do you regularly feel stuck, stressed, lost?

 Do you struggle with high workloads & performance pressure?

 Do you worry about long lasting career uncertainty?

You want:

confidence in your expertise in a highly critical environment

balance in your responsibilities

to create your own path to success

As a research supporter,
do you recognize this?

 Do you fear delayed or aborted research projects?

 Do your researchers struggle with demotivation, frustration, and and feelings of meaninglessness?

 Do career prospects of your early career researchers worry you?

You want:

more successfully completed PhD and Postdoc projects

in which you are free to give the best of your (scientific) expertise

while enjoying a reputation of excellence

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Do you need:

        • instant clarity,
        • and focus

when your head is overflowing on a busy day?

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Do you like to:

        • See real life counseling results in case studies?
        • Understand the situation of early career researchers?
        • Know why philosophical counseling works for early career researchers?

Subscribe to the newsletter and receive the answers to these questions which you can read in the booklet.

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Experiences tell you more:

I got to know Claartje during a workshop which she gave at our institute. She triggered me with a visualization exercise. A bit later, I contacted her privately with my question: “I don’t know what I want to do after my PhD. Actually, I don’t know whether I am doing what I like in my PhD.” I did not feel happy in my work and this had consequences for my feelings of happiness in my private life. In our first personal meeting Claartje stirred my heart and we discovered the source my insecurity. Walk-and-talks with Claartje were always very pleasant in a beautiful environment. She asks direct questions to trigger you into thinking carefully, but she also leaves ample room for you to tell your story and determine the direction of the conversation. I always felt very much at ease with her. Her visualization exercises are stimulating. They provide clear anchors in difficult moments. I do not know yet what my future job will be, but I am confidently finishing my PhD. And I know how to go about my job search after that. Claartje has positively transformed my life. I thank and recommend her for that!

Claartje helped me through a big transitional time in my academic career. After our introduction session, she helped me realize the big picture, that I needed to think about my career more broadly than simply as a topic of study. At first this made me question my career choices even more, but as time went on I was able to see things in a more comprehensive way. I left the counseling with a much better understanding of my own interests, what I need to do to be happy with my work, and how to do it in a more effective manner.

I needed to order my thoughts about my research career, especially after I obtained my NWO Vidi grant. Claartje has a calm personality and communicates in an open and non-directive way. Her concrete tips were very helpful.