FAQ

FAQ

My biggest problem is motivation, I just seem to be stuck.  How do I move forward?

Career changes can be tough to implement.  It’s not usually something we do often enough to get good at it. It’s a case of no practice, no perfection. Personal factors come into play as well – finances, support network, personal contacts and writing skills

Working with a professional can bring the focus and expertise you need to become more marketable.  Once you feel more confident about your search and more knowledgeable about how to get what you want, it’s not unusual for motivation to increase – often dramatically, especially as your results begin to improve.

I don’t know what I want to do next. I only know I don’t want to do this.  What does it take to change direction?

I’ve found that for clients in doubt, real-life dialogue with a coach can uncover and develop career thinking that may be just below surface.  If we add in some self-assessment tools I use, and access some professional assessment work, we can usually integrate our findings into some pretty healthy key insights.

Once we identify your ‘best fit’ criteria for finding fulfilling work and have more clarity on direction, the next challenge is to repackage your skills to meet the needs of your new market and back them up with a first-class marketing message.

Really all I need is a better resume, can you just do that?

Do it every day – for just about the last 15 years. I take a lot of pride in creating ‘target-smart’ resumes – ones that don’t just qualify you for your last job, but take you where you want to go into your next job.  I like to build a resume that reflects the real you, not just a ‘fancy phrase’ one.

You’ll also find some added bonuses as we work on this.  I’ll point out what you can emphasize in interviews, where your competitive edges may be found, and what might make you uniquely qualified.  It’s not unusual for me to find that a client has undersold themselves and ‘left money on the table’ by actually omitting key achievements from their resume.

Can you help me prepare for the big interview?

Absolutely, I’ve had a lot of success here – whether you haven’t interviewed in a long time, want to breakthrough your interview barriers, deal with tough questions or challenging situations like panel interviews or case study presentations, there’s a lot we can work on.

Beyond this, if you like, we can do specific preparation and problem solving for any interview you might have upcoming, to reinforce what we’ve achieved and improve your performance.

I’ve actually landed my new job; my problem may be keeping it. I need some on-the-job coaching.  How does that work?

I am certainly getting more calls for workplace coaching. It’s a smart move. Why? Because orientation is scant or non-existent. Expectations are high. New positions have uncharted territory. Office politics, new bosses, transfers, promotions, performance reviews, co-worker relationships, deadlines and organizational change, all add to the daily pressure.

Knowing you have access to the resources of a professional coach with a regular bi-monthly checkpoint can go a long way toward peace of mind, productivity and personal growth. Usually done over the phone, a 45-minute session can be scheduled over a lunch hour. It’s a convenient way to build more success insurance into your career.

Better to meet in-person, or by phone?

Good question.  I would say it’s often a good idea to launch with an in-person meeting.  Other times it makes sense to meet face-to-face such as a ‘go live’ interview session. Some clients find it best to combine in-person work with telephone meetings.  All work is by appointment.

I do have clients though, who for reasons of time, distance and simplicity find that working exclusively by telephone is the way to go.  You’d be surprised how effective we can be on the phone, even working on resumes.  I have worked with clients coast-to-coast in Canada through different time zones and in the US as well.