Business & Self-Leadership for Job Seekers: Coaching Session with Karin Basenach

On 16 May 2024, a group of motivated job seekers in Luxembourg took part in a powerful business and self-leadership coaching session led by Karin Basenach, as part of the #EmpowerToEmploy project. The initiative, run by the Luxembourg-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce (LUCC) with support from FSE+ and the Ministère du Travail Luxembourg, is dedicated to equipping job seekers and newcomers with relevant, practical skills for the modern job market.

This interactive coaching session, titled “Leadership Starts With You”, focused on a central idea: leadership begins from within. For job seekers navigating transitions, uncertainty, and new opportunities, developing personal leadership and emotional resilience is not just useful — it’s essential.

Karin Basenach, guided participants through a process designed to strengthen confidence, personal awareness, and clarity. She emphasized that true leadership is about taking responsibility for one’s own mindset, emotions, and actions, even before leading others or managing business processes.

Participants explored how self-leadership and resilience play a vital role in successful job search and career development. Through reflective exercises and group dialogue, they identified their “inner drivers” — the values, habits, and motivations that influence decision-making, communication, and professional behaviour.

The session was practical and inclusive, offering job seekers of all backgrounds tools to navigate change, set personal goals, and present themselves with confidence in interviews, new workplaces, or entrepreneurial ventures.

All participants received a comprehensive set of personal development tools, including:

• List of Resilience Actions for Leaders
• Exercise: What Are Your Strongest Drivers?
• Inner Drivers and Possible Enablers – Help for Orientation
• List of Emotion Words
• Guide to Reflect on and Strengthen Your Personal Resilience Strategies
• Recognizing Your Strengths
• List of Strengths

These resources are designed to support ongoing self-reflection, stress management, and goal setting, helping job seekers approach their career paths with clarity and confidence.

The coaching session created a space for sharing, empowerment, and realignment — helping participants shift their perspective from passive job searching to proactive self-leadership. One participant shared: “It helped me realise that I can lead myself with purpose — even while in transition.”

This event is part of LUCC’s broader mission to support professional inclusion and economic resilience. We extend our thanks to Karin Basenach for her expert facilitation and commitment to empowering individuals at all stages of their career journey.