Career Coaching

Find focus, determine how to gain access, land the job, and evaluate continuously.

Overview

Our coaching is based on the framework of an upcoming book we have written, Putting Interest to Work: Collaborative Negotiation Is How Meaningful Careers Are Made (formerly entitled End the Job Hunt), as well as Co-Active executive coaching techniques. We customize the process to each client to meet them where they are in their journey. Sessions involve discussion, exercises, next steps, and accountability. Sessions are usually one hour conducted in person, by phone, or by video chat, and we typically talk ​2-3 times​ per month.

We work at the intersection of career and negotiation. Because all parts of career development and job searching involve interactions with people (not firms or departments), applying negotiation theories and skills is essential (such as effective communication, collaboration, and focusing on needs, motivations, and aspirations). We use these tools to help clients figure out what they want to do, join or advance within companies or industries, and shift fields or responsibilities.

We support clients to break through any barriers that stand between them and achieving success. Our work together helps them decide what’s most important to them in making a move, and see how it will fit with their ultimate fulfillment (the impact they want to have on the world and lifestyle they want to live). Much of this work is done through informational meetings: connecting with others who have the information clients need to move forward.

We have written a book to summarize the career negotiation model we practice. It’s currently at the publisher! This 3-minute video gives an overview of the impact of our approach from our perspectives and those of our clients.

Individual Coaching

One-on-one coaching is a deep conversation about where the client is and what they want to achieve. The agenda for each session is personalized to the client, what they have and have not accomplished since the last session, and what’s important to them at the time of the meeting to accomplish going forward.

Because of the individual attention, clients typically experience the fastest results. Individual coaching can be combined with group coaching to experience both the depth of one-on-one work with the breadth of group exploration.

Group Coaching

Peer-to-peer, small group coaching is an intimate process that offers a broad conversation about agenda topics scheduled in advance. It offers the power of sharing experience, insights, and ideas with more than just the coach, while starting a new network in your career development. Although there is interaction between each client and the coach during a group experience, the time is limited by the number of other clients in the group.

(Note that group coaching does not combine in-person with virtual – groups gather either one way or the other.)

​​​​DO YOU NEED A CAREER COACH OR RECRUITER

by Tad Mayer - ​​​The answer to this question boils down to what you want to achieve with your job search and what kind of background you have. If you want to reach the next logical step in your focused career progression, a recruiter may be the way to...

HOW TO STAND OUT IN AN INTERVIEW

by Tad Mayer - ​​Imagine you are interviewing candidates for an open position. In your role, it’s important to you to improve your department and leave a legacy of having developed a new area of business for your company....

THE INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW: A VALUABLE INVESTMENT

by Tad Mayer - Let’s say you want to build a table. You’ll be able to get some general directions on the Internet, from a book, or in a magazine, but you specifically want a tiger maple round table with six legs at an odd height. It will be hard to find an article...