Many senior executives we speak with may not have engaged in any form of coaching, so I’d like to take you through a typical client journey with us. You should know that everyone’s experience will be slightly different, but you may also like to refer to our case studies & testimonials to learn why senior executives choose to engage us as their trusted partner in their job search. We’d also love to hear from you about your views or experiences in any of the following areas.
Coaching variants
Career coaching as a concept has been around for quite some time now, but at the point of writing is still an unregulated industry. There are a number of institutions and bodies that are striving to bring some order to this, so you should be aware that career coaching firms, as well as individual career coaches will have a wide range of potential backgrounds and qualifications. Some services will be generic and focus more on pointing you to online resources, while others (ours included) focus on a more personalised approach to one coaching experience. We believe that’s vital to any coaching experience.
The Continuum of Concern
I have many conversations with senior level executives across a range of disciplines and sectors about their career plans, and one thing has become clear; human nature dictates that we often tend to leave things until we’re getting very concerned, or there seems to be no other option than to seek support. I call this the ‘continuum of concern’ (we all love alliteration after all!); recently left your last role? Redundancy payment which will see you through a good period of time? This is just one example of how time can slip by in a job search, eventually equating to an increased sense of concern as the realisation dawns that it will take longer than expected (due to a competitive jobs market) to land your next ideal role. This is also borne out by our independent research report.
Realization and Research
We all know that there is more information (around career planning, landing your next role, ‘7 reasons why you can, should or shouldn’t do x y or z..’ blah blah blah etc’) out there in todays connected world than we can ever absorb. The next phase in many peoples’ career journey will be to therefore get as much information as possible around CV/Resume, Job Interviews among other subjects. This is the ‘realization and research’ phase where a ‘lightbulb moment’ is common that time is ticking away, and either you’re not getting enough of the right kind of interviews, or not crossing the finishing line at interview.
Blind Spots
Would you agree that we all have ‘blind spots’, and by their very nature we don’t see them? I see this time and time again after our career strategy calls, where we lead with value in an exploratory discussion about your career goals. Now I’m not naïve enough to believe that everyone on the planet needs our services. What I mean is that I can sense that some people are simply gathering more data, more insights, more opinion, only to continue down that path of working things out themselves. That’s fine and I’m at peace with this, as we enjoy nothing more than passing on insights into the jobs market. However, what saddens me is that I then all too often see the same people with the same ‘looking for new role’ status many months later. Blind spots are often tough to shift.
Today’s jobs market
Engaging in todays jobs market requires learning some fresh skills. Importantly, learning to sell yourself in the right way, learning how networking has changed establishing goals, elevator pitches, target outcomes, and understanding the way in which search consultants, executive head hunters and recruiters work. As a boutique career coaching firm, we can help with all of this, and more, especially how to access the ever elusive hidden jobs market.
Digital? Social? What?!
Our collaboration with Jim Claussen of the Executive Social Academy is just one of the ways that we’re staying at the cutting edge of coaching concepts. This new input has culminated in the ‘Be Found’ Programme, which dovetails into our existing Gold and Platinum coaching programmes. Digital (what you publish in your area of expertise), and Social (what you’re saying on relevant social media platforms (hint: it’s not just about LinkedIn)) are just two of the ways that our clients can access the hidden jobs market. I’ll be more than happy to expand on how these strategies can be used in your own situation during a call, or just drop me a line.
CV/Resume
It’s interesting how more and more, in the light of the previous heading, how discussions around CV updating and tweaking seem to be reducing over time. It’s no surprise to us, as utilizing the bulk of your job search for smart networking vs focussing on advertised roles is what we speak to candidates about. However, the CV is still a staple and needs to be punchy and compelling, and this would obviously be another area where we can help, as well as being a popular subject area to cover in a complimentary call.
How do you interview?
In the context of the above heading, what I mean is while I’m sure you have conducted a fair few interviews it may have been a while since you have been on the ‘other side of the desk’ in an interview context. We can put you at a distinct advantage over the competition by imparting skills that will ensure you perform at your best at interview (not forgetting to be yourself of course!)
Your career partner
We can act as your partner during your job search over what can be a longer journey than you may initially expect. 92% of those that we work with are in a satisfactory new position around the 4 to 6-month period, so do allow for this in your deliberations.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about this article (feel free to comment below), or speak to you personally about your current career challenges and how we might be able to support you.
To set up a call, email me personally at [email protected] or call +44 (0) 203 384 4188.
