"I lost my job in banking recently", says Grace from London. "As jobs in that industry are still difficult to come by, should I apply to do something else ? I've heard that teaching is a good second career?" You need to take control of your own career, and not be influenced by others, says coach Lizzie Bentley-Bowers.

Losing your job will have been a challenge, not only to your esteem, but to your sense of financial security and your professional identity. It's understandable that your response is to ask someone else to take control and say what they think you should do. The reality is that only you can know what is best for you and while it may not feel like it, this is an opportunity.

Let's unpick your question a little and pose some other questions that put you back at the centre of your decision-making.

The first thing that strikes me is that your reluctance to stay within your industry is formed around your belief about what is available rather than a firm desire to change direction. Putting the context as you see it aside for a moment, do you have a strong desire to move out of banking altogether? What research have you done to establish whether it's a truth that you aren't able to get a job in banking, or a fear? What are the alternatives within the banking industry that appeal to you and suit your skills?

My response to the question of whether to pursue a teaching career is that it's a great profession and could be an excellent choice for a range of reasons too broad to go into here. But I speak as a former teacher who remains passionate about education. It's important that you don't allow what fits for someone else to become something you have forced to fit you and my concern is that I do hear a doubt about this in the wording of your question. It's something you've ?heard' about rather than shown interest in.

If you want to seriously consider teaching as an alternative career you should first research it, ask yourself whether it's something you really want to do, as well as whether it's a career you believe you would be happy and successful in. Can you see yourself doing this in ten years' time? If not, then perhaps you've been considering this as a stop-gap before returning to banking, rather than as a new career, and this would be unfair to yourself and to teaching.

Your thinking currently sounds limited to banking and teaching and I wonder what else is out there? As I said, this is an opportunity, so make the most of it. What would be your fantasy job? What does your answer tell you about what you value in yourself and your workplace? What are the skills and qualities you offer? What kind of challenges would you like?

Consider carefully what you truly want from your career, the skills you have and those you would like to develop in order to make the most of the opportunities and possibilities that arise from this moment.

For more career and life-coaching advice, visit lizziebentleybowers.com.