Why I Do What I Do

My coaching experience is one of the reasons I decided to start coaching, to offer others the same kind of help I got. I worked with a coach for 12 years while I was CEO of City Harvest and then of New York Restoration Project. It was one of the best decisions I ever made as I credit her support, insight, tools and guidance with much of my success.

It's so difficult to work alone - and working alone means being a business owner, a leader of a company or division - anywhere you aren't free to openly share your concerns, worries, difficult decisions, dreams and hopes. My coach was the person who I trusted, a sounding board and thought partner who could help me navigate through the challenges I faced every day (or at least every week!).

A job search is probably the most "alone" thing one can do in terms of work. Family, friends and neighbors all are rooting for you yet also can put immense pressure on you to do it their way or at least just find the next job FAST! Plus very few people know how a job search really works, nor do they have experience in what works most effectively to help you land a job and keep your spirits up while you're looking.

Networking definitely is helpful in terms of talking to people who might know your industry and possibly people you can talk to about possible openings. Yet doing a lot of networking with people who also are out of work can get depressing, and you can't really help each other out because you are in the same boat - no job, no decision-making power.

When I worked with a coach, I got access to her breadth of experience. She had her own professional experience to draw on, which was fantastic. More, she coached a lot of people and could draw examples from their experience that helped me.

Coaches who help lots of job seekers are able to see trends:

* the strategies and tactics most effective in resumes, cover letters, interview techniques, networking
* what employers look for
* the state of the job market
* new tools and emerging opportunities, e.g. social media
* how to handle various challenges, from how do I network to how do I negotiate an offer
* employment law
* ways to cope with frustration

That's what makes a coach so valuable - they have access to a broad range of information that they then bring to the table to help little ol' you. By yourself, you can do a lot. With a coach, you can do SO much more. You can avoid costly mistakes by learning from the experiences of others, and hopefully make your job search end more quickly and successfully.

Check out the coaches at Careerealism.com and do a test drive to see if coaching might be an option to help speed your job search.