What My Clients Have Brought to Me
Even my closest friends and family do not always completely understand what it means when I say “I am a Career Coach” or “I am a Job Search Strategy Coach.” Many will say to me, you tell people that are in job search what they must do to move their job search forward, or to be successful. Or if the family member or friend is having a problem, they may say, “Tell me what to do! You are a coach!” I try to explain to them; it really does not work that way. Coaching is more about the coach having good questions to ask the client, to draw out of them their inner thoughts. It certainly involves intensive listening to what is being said. And, it even may be a discipline that leads to suggestions of approaches that may be tried, based on my experiences with other clients and on the job search coaching principles I learned through the methods of the Five O’Clock Club many years ago.
Ultimately technologies and methodologies aside, it is all about people connection. I have worked with hundreds of individuals over the years. Some may work with me for only a session or two, and then move on, since the discipline to explore what is right for them, does not call to them. They want instant answers to their search. For others, job search may come when they really cannot concentrate on themselves. Perhaps, they will need to care for an aging parent or spouse. Others may be burned out from the work they were doing, and need time to explore what it might be they want to do next. When I am assigned a client, (from my outplacement engagements), I never know what to expect until I have had both a chance to speak to the individual, and see their reaction about learning about themselves at the stage of life where I meet them.
Some clients may reach back from time to time. Perhaps they are in a situation where they may be exploring a new job opportunity, and want to exchange thoughts on how to go about it. Others may be doing well themselves, but perhaps they have a child or spouse who is frustrated with the search process and can use someone with which to partner. In today’s world with tools such as Linked In, and its messaging to an individual, what may be happening to those in one’s connected network, I learn of clients that I worked with, moving on to new opportunities, perhaps even in new geographic areas from when we worked with each other. Some may even move on to new career disciplines. Others even become coaches or consultants themselves.
One of the things my clients do is help educate me, sometimes on worlds I would not even think of, if not having been introduced to them. For example, one of my earliest clients was a young fellow who had physical disabilities because of being born with spina bifida. However, from the very beginning, I could see he was a great advocate for himself. We not only developed a client/coach relationship but a friend’s relationship that last to this day. He told me a story about when he was in college, that there was a fire in his dormitory. He had to be carried out of the building, which upset him. What upset him was not the fire, but the fact that the school had not designed the building well at all for those with physical disabilities. As opposed to just staying angry, he worked with the campus administration to educate them on the changes that needed to be made around campus to accommodate those with disabilities. That in turn has led him to continue to advocate for others, first doing work at social services organizations, and then ultimately in the offices of the State of New Jersey.
This past weekend, I got to hear a similar story at my niece’s college graduation. The student recognized from the class for his contributions to the school was a young man who also had a physical disability that had him wheelchair bound. In fact, his accident occurred five years previously when he dove into the waves at the beach in an area that was shallower than he realized. He wound up being permanently paralyzed. He was supposed to be a graduate of the class of 2025, but because of the accident, his school start was delayed a year. The accident may have impacted him physically, but not in terms of his personality. He connected well with his classmates and administration. He looked to get involved in on campus activities, in addition to his studies. Only he discovered a similar situation as my client did at his college many years before. Areas of inaccessibility throughout the campus. However, just like my client, he worked with the school administration to rectify the situation. Instead of limiting himself, he helped to open things up for himself and those like him.
So, yes, I do assist my clients with ideas on how to enhance their job search process. But, in turn they help expose me to worlds I may not have known before. And, again, where parts of the job search process appear to be getting more automated, there will always be a place for the people dynamic and relationship as part of the process.
