I spoke this week to someone with many questions about my services. Let me call her Susan. I began to notice anxiety in Susan’s questions, and I found a way to ask about that. It gradually became clear that Susan believed, as some do, that her success in career coaching would depend entirely on me.  So she was understandably nervous about turning herself over for such important work.

Susan believed that career coaching resembles a service like dentistry where you present yourself and the professional provider does something to you to improve you. You turn yourself over for help and you hope for the best. But career coaching is not like that.  Career coaching is much more like the service of physical therapy.

In physical therapy, you go to the professional provider with a need for help. Your service provider listens and then formulates a plan for you.  The implementation of that plan will involve some work together and some homework for you. You are a very active agent in physical therapy and you play a big part in the outcome.

In career coaching and physical therapy, the success of the service depends on a partnership between the professional provider and the client as a motivated and active participant.  The successful approach is a collaboration.

The dentist can predict the outcome of what is done “to you”. The physical therapist can predict a probable outcome that will depend both on you and on him or her. The career coach can also predict a probable outcome that will require your active participation in the creative partnership.

You can be encouraged that you will play an active role in your career coaching outcomes. You can be encouraged that when you and your coach work creatively together, you will find yourself learning as you go. You will experience forward movement in the collaboration of creating your new work life.

You may schedule a complimentary phone appointment to discuss your work situation and goals by email or call me at 404-897-1766. I will be glad to reply.  Following that talk, I will email my thoughts to you on how we could move forward. And if you choose, we will embark on the adventure of creating your life.

They know that a resume cannot have spelling or grammar mistakes. They know careless errors can be fatal for interviews. So what resume errors do these smart and capable people produce?

They often use too many words. You must write a resume as if you are paying for every word. Every word should cost you ten mental dollars. No exceptions.

Why does this matter? Imagine the person with a resume stack on her desk. That stack may be thick in today’s economy. She sits and sighs and thumbs quickly through the resumes. What is she looking for?  Readability and keywords.

Too many words will get you tossed. You don’t need words that are simply to impress. Say what you have accomplished concisely and in keywords that match the position.

Keywords in the job posting will describe the key features of the position. If the description is well-written (and it may not be), it will show the most important requirements ahead of the less important. It may have sections for the necessary qualifications and for those that are simply preferred.

A good job description will show you the keywords to feature in your resume. Your resume should match the job description closely. If the description is poorly written, then you must take more time deciding what matters. If you have no description, then you must learn what the job requires and choose keywords that matter.

Keywords are scanned for by computers and human readers to separate the resumes that show the right keywords from those that do not. I take for granted that you present only keywords which are actually part of your experience and training.

A strong resume requires careful preparation and careful writing. Someone with excellent language skills must review your completed resume. It is very easy to miss your own mistakes.

You may schedule a complimentary appointment to discuss your career questions by calling 404-897-1766 or simply contact me.  Based on our talk, I will prepare an individualized career services proposal and email that for your consideration. Be in contact. Let’s speak soon!

His transition was simply from one position in his field to a slightly different role. The help he needed was to believe it could happen after his industry and self-esteem tanked with the economy.

I am helping a client find work that will let him relocate from one side of the country to the other.  His transition will be to another region and to another role in his profession. He wants to be more hands-on and out-of-doors.  When we met, he was discouraged. He now has a phone interview set for next Wednesday.

“Whether this position works out or not,” he said with a smile, “getting this interview tells me I can succeed.” He is on his way.

Other clients work with me to change fields entirely.  A former client emailed her thanks for helping her find a new focus in a growing industry. She shared her satisfaction with her new professional training.

It is always a delight to hear from my clients about how they are growing their lives and their communities. I learn from my clients as they learn from me.

To schedule your complimentary appointment, call 404-897-1766 or simply email and I will be glad to reply.  Based on our talk, I will prepare an individualized career planning proposal to email for your consideration. Get in touch soon. I look forward to speaking!

Work stress is an opportunity to take a thoughtful look.

You may know whether your work is a good match for your skills, interests, values. If you are not sure,  there are ways to learn. You may do this alone or you may want some help.

Where your work seems a good match and your stress is still high, relationships may play a part. Are you having trouble with supervisor or peers? Are relationships at home interfering at work? Should you learn new ways of relating?

If your work is a match and your relationships seem strong and you are still highly stressed at work, then a new employer might be the key.

As a counselor trained in professional and personal growth, I work with my clients on creating a nourishing life. To schedule your complimentary appointment,  call 404-897-1766 or simply email and I am glad to reply.  After our talk, I will create an individualized coaching plan to email for your consideration. So don’t hesitate. Let’s speak soon!

How do you discover career goals that pull you like a magnet? Honesty is required. You must focus on what you truly want to do.  Sometimes this requires additional information. Sometimes you know, but other factors get in the way.

As a career coach, my job includes helping you find and say what work you want to do in the world.  I don’t mean what you should do or what you think it would be smart to do.  I mean what you deeply want to do.

Choosing a magnetic career goal is very smart because it draws you to it.  Of course there are various factors that come into your choice.  If you deeply want to become a surgeon or an Olympics athlete, this may or may not be feasible. We look thoughtfully at what pulls you and at what can be done.

We work to discover career goals that draw you like a magnet and are possible in your life. We are visionary and we are sensible.  We begin with your vision.

To schedule your complimentary appointment,  call 404-897-1766 or simply click on Contact for a prompt reply.  After learning about your situation, I will provide an individualized career coaching plan via email for your consideration. I look forward to speaking and hope to hear from you today!

They create a calling schedule. They speak with a memorized statement of friendly and concise introduction. They have practiced and rehearsed the performance.

Some will have researched the person to speak with.  Some take their chances. All will have checked out the organization. They have done their homework.  They find interviews.

They take notes. Even where no interviews emerge, they learn. They learn important information and gain important skills.

This approach is one effective method in job search. It is worth your consideration after you are clear on who you are and what you want and how you can contribute.

To schedule your complimentary consultation or ask a question, simply contact me.  Based on our talk, I will create a career coaching plan to be emailed for your consideration.  I hope to hear from you soon!

This means getting clear on who you want to be in the world of work and what you have to offer. Many of my clients explore this question with me. Once we have learned who they are and how they want to contribute, we are on our way.  Some walk in the door with this awareness, and we are on our way. We are ready for next steps.  We are ready for the resume.

The resume which gets you the interview must be thoughtfully done, attention-getting, and error-free.

With clarity on what you want and what you offer plus an appealing resume in hand, you are ready to choose employers and ready to choose your methods. One proven method is to approach the employer in person.  Typically these will be small employers who should always be part of your search.  If you select this creative approach, you will walk in the door with resume and smile and introduction.

Richard Bolles estimates that this method has close to a 50 percent hiring payoff.  So it is clearly well worth considering. To discuss career exploration or the job search, contact me to schedule your complimentary appointment. You will leave that talk with information to decide whether my services are a good match.  I look forward to speaking!

For example, we discuss how to read job market statistics in a way that is both encouraging and accurate.

Let’s say you have read that job seekers in your age group have a 30 percent chance of finding a position within a year. You may hear that news as discouraging. And certainly it would be preferable to hear that job seekers of your age have a 70 percent chance.

However, you have two perfectly accurate ways to think of the initial statement. You can think of yourself as in the 70 percent who won’t find the job in a year. Or you can remember that 30 out of every 100 are finding the job. That becomes 300 people of every thousand who are finding the jobs.

And why shouldn’t you be one of that thirty or three hundred people? This is an example of how my clients learn to read statistics in a way that works for them.

Yes, it takes a dedicated and creative search to be in the thirty percent. If you want to talk that over, just contact me to schedule your complimentary appointment. You will leave our meeting with information you need to decide whether my services would be useful to you. I hope to hear from you today!

Great news from life/work expert Richard Bolles, internationally acclaimed author of What Color Is Your Parachute? He identifies eighteen (yes, 18) choices for conducting a creative job search.

The cornerstone (holding first place) is what Bolles calls a self-inventory to clarify what strengths you want to offer and what interests you want to pursue and what areas of work can provide that life opportunity. He considers this inventory a necessary foundation for all other search methods. To be clear on what you deeply want and what strengths and skills you can offer is key.

In upcoming posts, I will share some of the ways that my clients and I design their creative job search. To schedule your complimentary appointment for discussion of job search and/or career exploration, just contact me. I look forward to speaking!

There is the Artistic theme which covers careers ranging from fine arts to applied arts all the way to careers working with the arts, such as literature teacher.

There is the Social theme with a focus not on partying but on providing a human service. My own  work falls within the career group called Social.

There is the Enterprising theme with a focus on business and sales and entrepreneurial careers. Both Enterprising and Social are people categories and involve working with people in different ways.

There is the Conventional theme which always strikes me as oddly named for a category of careers. These are occupations that involve a strong degree of structure and predictability in the work.

And there is the Realistic theme which also seems an odd name for careers.  The Realistic category includes occupations that tend to require physical skills and often an enjoyment of the outdoors.

This a tiny intro to the seven broad groupings of careers according to interest.  Much more can be said.

There are different versions of the Strong Interest Inventory.  I prefer one that produces eighteen pages of information for  review with my clients (who then keep those results for their further review).

The Strong is an internationally popular and highly regarded career assessment tool. My clients have found it interesting and helpful for many years.  That is why I continue using it.  To discuss how career services may be helpful to you, simply contact me to schedule your complimentary appointment.  I look forward to speaking!