I was recently interviewed for Vocate Blog – hope you find the interview interesting!
Tell us about your interest in interview and career coaching. How did you get your start?
I was interested in coaching long before I became a qualified career coach, however, it took a chance encounter with an old friend to get me to start my company.
That guy was a highly qualified professional but he struggled to find a job eight months after losing his previous job. A mutual acquaintance had suggested he talk to me since I worked in recruitment and I could give him some advice.
We did one session and he started getting second interviews immediately. We did one more follow-up session – not only did he get the job but he’s also been getting every job since then. I thought – there must be other people who I could help. I did some research on a couple of Sundays (I was very busy in my day time job at the time), created the concept, initial copy, a friend helped me with Google Adwords. I had two clients in my first week and it’s grown since then.
What are the most important lessons you’ve learned in your professional life in approaching a job search?
There are a few:
- Finding something you enjoy doing can take time – but it is worth it. There are too many people who are miserable in their jobs on a daily basis. If you’re not sure where you’d like to take your career, take some action. Talk to people who do the jobs that interest you and get an idea of what it’d be like to do that particular job on a daily basis. Try to get some relevant work experience. Don’t expect the perfect job will just fall into your lap.
- Keep the pipeline of opportunities full. I’ve seen it so many times that a client only pursues one job opportunity, only for the role to disappear at the last stage of the process and then they are left with nothing. It could be due to internal changes, a hiring freeze, etc. But, the more opportunities in the pipeline, the less pressure you will feel. Companies juggle multiple candidates, so you should also be juggling multiple opportunities.
- Keep at it no matter how difficult it gets. You need to pick yourself up, adjust your approach and get back in the game – this is where you’re going to find your next opportunity.
You can read the rest of the interview on the blog:
