Almost all the Time It's Great Being a Coach

To quote my friend, Terry Sharipo, Ph.D. "It's nice to be a dad.   Almost all the time!"  And, I find this to be true. The times it's not great to be a dad are when you're kids may be in danger, when they are out of our control, when they do things that could put them in harms way. The thought of losing a child is a parents worse fear. 


But, it is the greatest feeling seeing your kids succeed, grow and thrive. The same thing is true in my role as career coach. When my clients are thriving, growing and succeeding; I'm on top of the world. But, when they are struggling, failing and feeling depressed; it's a tough job.


Most of the time it's great being a coach... mostly because I know that beyond the struggles there will be growth, beyond the depression my clients will thrive and out of the failings come success! 

Job lose really SUCKS, (excuse my profaneness) but no one every says, thank goodness I got sacked! Even if you hate your job, no one feels good about being between jobs. But, being a coach and working with hundreds and hundreds of people has afforded me the perspective to know if a client keeps working at what I'm teaching, they'll land a job. I cannot predict when, but I know they'll land.


This is my wish for all you who are not where you want to be in your career. Regardless if you are not employed, under-employed or looking for the next step in your career growth at a company; my you stay positive and believe and work your tail off... and you'll get there!

Happy Father's Day

Tapping the Hidden Job Market

I always tell people the stat that only 20% of jobs are advertised and that leaves a hidden job market of 80%. Some people ask me how can that be true. Kevin Crews www.kevincrews.com explained this to a group of job seekers last Friday at Harper College.


Kevin said that if you look at the job requisition process it becomes very clear. In most companies the process follows a pattern similar to this:

1. A manager recognises a need in their department or area
2. The request to hire is written up and submitted to HR &/or Finance
3. The request is reviewed and passed on for executive approval
4. A job description is written and approved
5. The hiring manager reviews the needed skills and expected responsibilities with a recruiter
6. A job posting is created and presented as an internal opportunity and employee referrals
7. The job opening is then posted on-line and or in the paper or with an external recruiter.
8. Resumes are received by HR and screened
9. Phone screening and interviews

The Career Strategist

Steps one through six are where a large percentage of the “hidden” job market resides. These steps can take as little as a few days and as long as a few months before the formal interviewing process can happen. In some companies some of these steps are skipped and others where there are even more steps. It’s important to realize that during this process you have an opportunity to learn about the opportunity by networking with people who work there.

But why would people care to tell you about the position? That’s easy: companies pay referral bonuses to their employees, $500 to $5000 are typical, depending on the position and the company. So when you ask a contact if they’ll refer you; you’re asking, “Would you like to make $1500.00 extra by introducing me to the hiring manager?”

Now isn’t it a good thing that we stress the importance networking. Check out other entries in my Blog that cover how to of networking. Hint: use the search utility and search on the keyword networking.  Good Hunting and call me if I can help you with your job search or career progression.

A Play About You

This weekend I had the pleasure to be in the audience for the first ever Suburban Showcase. It was grand, altogether grand. One artist that performed there was a financial planner and poet, Lynn Torre. She presented several poems throughout the evening. Her last poem was "A Play About You" which presented the idea that we are the Writer, Director, Producer and star of our very own play. Our life!

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Lynn's book of poetry Dance of the Leaf: Poetic reflections on life, love & soul will be out later this fall.

Our lives are a play of our making. We can take the opportunity to make changes in our lives as a director would a scene in a play. This could be called re-inventing yourself, taking a new direction in life or simply changing careers.

If you're in job transition you are at a point to evaluate your career and find that this is an opportunity to change careers. So you're the author of your life and career. You might not be in transition but at a decision point in your life, again you might want to challenge yourself as a director might push an actor to do better in your role.

Some people need to hire a director for their play. They hire a consultant, a career coach to offer direction in their professional life. They remain the Producer of their play and have hired a pro to help their actor create the best possible performance of their life. Hiring a coach/director can really make a difference in the play you're producing and starring in.

Realize that regardless of the economy and what's going on in the government, you have some say in how your life is to turn out. You are the Play-write, the Producer, the Director, and most of all the lead actor in your play.