A Coach or a Therapist

Some people are afraid of going to a career consultant sometimes called a coach. I had a client once ask me what is the difference between a “transition coach” and a psychologist or therapist. I believe this is why some folks are afraid of using anyone in a counseling role, they are afraid to deal with past issues.

Here’s the biggest difference I know of between a career coach and a psychological therapist: the career consultant is focused on your behaviors and not your motivations. I was reminded of this recently when I was facilitating a transition support group. We were discussing the importance of networking and asking for help and advice in the job search. One of the group members said that they couldn’t ask a stranger for help or advice. Another group member asked why this was a difficulty. As the first member began to respond, I interrupted the conversation. I pointed out that in this venue “the why” was not the right question; that is, “why” is the realm of the psychotherapist. The right question is, what will it take for you to make the change in your behavior and ask for help and advice in your job search.

Now, I understand that many people have issues and traumas in their past and others were conditioned by the events of their life into who they are today. As a career consultant, I am focused on my clients current behavior and changes that will be more productive in their career growth. The past may influence the present--as Freud said, “The child is the father of the man”-- but people can change their behavior without in-depth psychoanalysis.

I see people every day that have big issues and problems and their career crisis or job loss has brought those issues to the foreground. In some of these cases, the folks I am talking to are suffering from depression, either acute or chronic and really need professional psychological help and I refer them to a therapist or psychologist or psychiatrist for immediate help. The person in crisis needs to deal with the emotional problem first before continuing their job search.

Yet, many others have “issues” that don’t require medical or psychological attention. They need to adopt some new behaviors, change some bad habits and move on. That is were the coach is best suited to point out and direct the needed change. I point out things my client doesn’t see, help my client develop more skills and cheer on my client to overcome an obstacle and succeed. 

If you are struggling with your job search and it’s going on longer than you believe it should, call a career consultant, contact me. I’d be happy to work with you and aid you on your way to gainful employment.

Passion - Proficiency - Profit

   Career coaches often assess their clients on the Three Ps. Passion, Proficiency and Profit. What do you love doing? What do you excel at? What will the market pay for? Often clients tell me that they’ve been doing something for over twenty years and they don’t have any passion for it. In fact they hate what they do! They do it because it paid the bills. Often they say they would have liked to change jobs, but they had a pair of golden handcuffs – meaning they needed to make a certain salary to pay all the bills. 

The 3Ps

   Changing careers or industries requires some serious investigation. Begin with what is your passion: associated with this is assessing where your talents lie. If you are artistic and have been working in an accounting job that doesn’t allow any artistic expression, what did you do? Maybe you took pottery classes to fulfill your talent. But now you’d like a job that allowed you to express yourself, however, you’ve not seen a lot of job postings citing pottery and clay molding skills; so what do you do? 


   Look at all your talents, strengths and passions, and list them. Then what are all the things you are good at? List your proficiencies. What are all the jobs you can do? List the jobs that will pay you a salary that will meet your fundamental need. If we were to set these lists into a Venn diagram, the intersection of the three would point to your target career.


   Changing careers may require a drop in pay or some additional education or training. But if you’ve recently been let go from your job, it’s a good time to assess all your opportunities. Many clients report that changing careers regardless of the salary was the best thing that ever happened to them. Why? Because the three Ps were aligned in their new career. They loved what they were doing and their salary was enough to meet their needs. Lastly these folks also report a decrease in stress and anxiety at the office and at home. 


   Once you know what you would enjoy doing and know that you’d be good at it... there is another world of jobs and opportunities open to you. 

The Value of Job Clubs

   I am sometimes challenged with job seekers that tell me that they are actively working their job search and when we review their calendar I quickly realize that job clubs are their principle means of job search. Sadly, this is a misuse of a beneficial resource.

   In May, I heard a key note speaker who turns out to be one of the first to utilize the concept of Job Clubs in the USA. Joy Maguire-Dooley is a social worker, author, career transition and networking guru. I also consider Joy to be a friend. The joke between us is that Joy knows everyone; if you need a contact somewhere, Joy has a name and phone number to share with you. There is a saying that goes something like, "With Joy in your life; you'll land a job." Anyway, if Joy didn't invent the concept a job club, she was one of the very first to employ its practice. Joy teaches that a job search requires a WOW factor... this is something that takes practice to develop!

Activity vs. Accomplishment
   It's my belief that many in job transition have received the wrong idea about job clubs and networking. I'll hear folks say that they were networking yesterday and when I dig a little deeper I learn that they went to a job club, A.K.A. networking session. What did they come back with... Hand bills and business cards from the seven others around their table. This is activity without accomplishment, no WOW here. Real networking should be moving the job seeker closer to the goal; in this case getting a job offer. If you come back with only seven hand bills you're not really moving toward an interview and a job offer. Job clubs are the first place to network, not the only place!

Job Clubs are the Practice Arena
   At the beginning of your job search attending one, two or even three job club meetings a week is a great opportunity to practice your networking skills and your job search tools, not to mention your WOW. A job club is a safe and hopefully mutually beneficial environment. Practice your elevator pitch, your success stories, how to listen effectively, how to ask for business cards, how to join a conversation and how to end a conversation and move on to the next person. After you've gotten these tools and skills down, going to more than two job club meetings a week is a misuse of your time. Use that time to meet with those contacts who are working. Use that time to meet with people you've just been introduced to. Use that time to build up new relationships and utilize the skills you've practiced. Use that time to put the WOW into your job search.

Teri Clancy, Joy Maguire-Dooley and Sally Morrison are the founders of CareerPartners3 and the authors of, A Taste for Work... Your Menu for Career Success.

"Why did you leave your last Job?"

   There are a lot of thoughts regarding this toughest of interview questions. There are books that will give you specific responses to use. However, there is really more here than meets the eye. In an interview there really are only two kinds of questions asked. First, the informational question... tell me about yourself, for example. Second, the elimination question... why did you leave your last job? What is important to remember is that the goal of an elimination type of question is to get you to shoot yourself in the foot. So don't!

   So when you're asked why you're looking to change jobs or why you left a previous job don't panic. Relax, it's no big deal even if you left under less than positive circumstances. The one point all the experts agree is not to trash your previous employer. Don't even say anything that could be mistaken for a negative. You're a professional and you don't make problems, you solve them. So, when you are asked the question you'll deliver you response in a relaxed, unimportant manner that is quick and to the point. The more you say the more opportunity you have to shoot yourself in the foot. Answer the question with a short and positive response and then you're ready for the next question. 

    This means that you have an answer already before the interview begins. You've practiced it over and over again. You have the response down pat! You know it backwards and forwards so that it comes across like a conversation with your best buddy asking about last night's game. You don't want it to sound practiced or rehearsed. You want to come across as genuine and honest.

That's how you deliver the response, but what do you say? All the experts agree... No Negative! I like Challenger's format of creating a conversation:

Interviewer: Why did you leave XYZ Company ?

Candidate: There were no more challenges.

Interviewer: What do you mean? (Tell me more...)

Candidate: I had accomplished all my goals and I decided to seek new challenges elsewhere. 

But what if you got let go and it wasn't your idea to leave?

Interviewer: Why did you leave FX Inc.?
Candidate: The company consolidated operations.
Interviewer: What do you mean?
Candidate: A business decision was made due to the economy to consolidate operations within the company. This affected 30% of all positions including mine.

   There is safety in numbers and this reason for leaving says nothing negative, or as Joe Friday use to say, "just the facts." Normally you'll want to have the reasons for leaving any job going back ten years. Remember regardless of the situation that resulted in your leaving, you got a lot out of your experience there and you have nothing but positive things to say about the experience, the people, your boss and the company as a whole.