What's your best career coaching success story?

When I met with Andrea a few years ago, she was a college student looking for a summer internship. A Mechanical Engineering major, Andrea loved everything about cars and told me her dream was to work for an automobile company. She confided in me that her learning disorder made her classes difficult and that her grades weren’t super high. I could see immediately upon meeting her that she could be successful despite her challenges. “Your passion really shines through when you speak, and it tells a story that is way more compelling than your GPA,” I told her. “Employers aren’t just looking for skills,” I explained. “They want to hire someone who shows positivity, humility, passion, and who communicates well.” Together we developed an interviewing strategy in which she could convey her enthusiasm and positivity and let her passion shine through. I was thrilled for Andrea when she landed an internship with Tesla!

My client came to me with big doubts about his career choices, realizing he is good at the job he is doing, but not passionate. After changing three companies in 4 years he was ready to break the pattern and we identified two choices – change completely into an unknown field or being bold at work and ask for the changes that could make his career for meaningful and satisfying to him. He realized the potential and expertise he is bringing and cleared his fears around loss, rejection and judgment. His newly gained self-confidence and bravery brought him amazing results: First, he changed roles to a position much more aligned with his interests and strengths AND got a promotion, within the first 4 months of working together, furthermore, he made the decision to accept a position abroad which opens completely new opportunities and a new life to him. It is not always about changing everything and starting from scratch, but about shining your strengths and potential inside out.

One of the most rewarding career coaching successes I have experienced is with Callie (named changed) a burned out, anxiety ridden, introverted Social Worker. She reached such a level of anxiety during the pandemic, she finally resigned and took time off to heal. Her values wouldn't allow her to tolerate "getting by" and "giving average care" any longer. After working with Callie over the course of 3 - 6 months, she was able to gain self-confidence and realize she had skills, knowledge and abilities to draw upon from her social work career and find opportuities to work in a different way that offered greater empowerment, aligned with her values and fulfilled her dream to stay in the healthcare industry in a way that was not as toxic to her mental health AND she is making more money. When I asked her if it was time for us to close our time together, surprisingly she said, "no, I have learned so much about myself I want to continue to see what is next for me." I can't wait either.

Gary was a member of my first-ever group coaching cohort on how to get "unstuck" and advance one's career. Gary was in such a negative place he had a hard time finding the time and energy to look for a new job. Through my process, I helped him regain positivity, trust in his skills and strengths, and accountability to carve out time every week to make forward progress so that he landed a new role at another firm shortly after completing my program. With the tools I provided he gained clarity, confidence and momentum.

Nick hired me as his career coach shortly after being laid off from a consulting firm. His goals included determining which career path to pursue next and to improve his networking and interviewing skills. As well, he wanted to identify organizations that offer training and development to allow him to grow his skillset. Despite feeling lost when we first started our coaching engagement, Nick started interviewing after our second meeting. He was motivated throughout the job search process and open to networking. After a month of working together, Nick's networking efforts secured him an offer from one of his target companies that aligned with his goals and his values.

A late 40's gentleman came to me seeking a career change, he'd been in mortgage banking for years, left that and bought into 1 store in an entertainment franchise. He wasn't sure what to do next. We did reflective exercises, interests inventories and he did some real soul searching. He decided he liked the entertainment franchise business and wanted to pursue that. He bought 3 additional franchise locations and was successful. Just yesterday, he and 4 partners bought the whole franchise, success!

I worked with an individual who lamented that he had applied for 100+ jobs in the prior month and was discouraged and frankly exhausted. I told him to stop applying--he wasn't right for 100+ jobs (nobody is), and 100+ jobs weren't right for him. He took what he thought was a huge risk and stopped. I'm sure he was more terrified by not applying for dozens of jobs per week than he was by applying and getting no interviews. We revamped his resume and customized his job search strategy, and in short order he obtained 6 interviews from 12 applications--one of which became his dream role--because he focused his approach.

In May 2022, a client of mine joined my cohort for career development coaching. Even though she had more than ten years of administrative management expertise, she was struggling and feeling dissatisfied. My team developed a two-month career development plan after determining the client's needs and made sure she adhered to it strictly. Recently, she said, "I am happy at my new job that I feel the need to let you know how much your career coaching has benefited my career advancement." I was able to make a smooth transition into tech as a scrum master, and I soon received an offer for a fully remote position with twice the pay. I now have a wider view of the world as a result of my work as a career development coach, and I'm even more passionate about helping people reach their full potential in their careers.

Self-reflection is hard and if it was easy, everyone would do it. If you want to truly thrive at work, to find that “more” you've been looking for, you have to do the work to figure out what lights you up. My client K got quiet, looked inward and with clarity and confidence she discovered WHY she loves to do what she loves to do. What drives us is often times not clear at first so you must ask yourself, "Why do I love to do this" a few times to really get under your true passion and purpose. With this new, deeper understanding it was only a matter of time (three weeks to be exact) until K stepped into her strengths, changed her career trajectory and landed her unicorn job working for a high-profile government agency. Now she does what she loves to do and only what she loves to do all day long!

I received a panicked voicemail from a client - “Our company has been purchased and my position is being evaluated for elimination pending a review of what I bring to the organization. Can you help me? “ We developed a detailed list of their strengths and bulleted specific accomplishments focusing on ROI to the company. The client not only kept their position, they were given a 20% raise and the opportunity for an annual bonus based on performance.

After engaging me for an 8-week coaching program, my client, Nik, went from unfulfilled and disengaged in his 11-year career as a product marketing manager to feeling more alive with purpose after shifting into a creative design role. Nik came to me with a goal to figure out his next move: a new challenge doing something more creative in the same industry or something completely different. His reinvention plan took hold after we explored what mattered most in his work life now, mined his past experiences for activities, projects and interests that has him feeling purposeful and in flow. We set out to create an action plan that was super aligned with his new vision - which included gathering training and experiences that would help him validate the new path AND guide him to his dream role.

"There is no better feeling than working with a client who seeks me out for coaching and career advice over the course of their career. The relationship is not just situational, but I really get to take part in their growth and development. To see someone go from staff-level to an executive-level position knowing that my expertise and guidance helped them get there is confirmation that I am working in my purpose."

I was really unhappy in my previous career, and I didn't want to pursue it anymore. But I had no idea what to do next. I was scrolling job boards with this overwhelming feeling that I could do any of these jobs, but I'm not really interested in any of them. I just wanted to feel the passion again. To have a job that sparks joy every day (okay, most days) again. When I realized I had absolutely no idea what job would be a good fit for me, I decided to see a career coach. And this was such a great decision. Now I have a job where I feel useful and valuable. I highly recommend seeing a career coach if anyone struggles with changing career paths.

One of my best career coaching success stories involves a client who was struggling to advance in her career despite having a strong skillset and years of experience. She felt stuck in her current position and couldn't seem to break through to the next level. Through our coaching sessions, we worked on identifying her strengths, setting clear career goals, and developing a plan to achieve them. We also addressed any self-doubt or limiting beliefs that were holding her back and practiced effective networking and communication skills. Within six months, my client was able to secure a promotion to a higher-level position in her field and has continued to thrive in her new role. She credits the coaching process for helping her to clearly define her goals and take the necessary steps to achieve them. It was a great feeling to see her progress and growth through our coaching journey together.

When I first arrived at SEOAnt, I came in as an intern facilitated by a boot camp I attended in California. In my first month on the job, I signed up for the career coaching program offered by the company to get a better foothold on how things run in the company and learn how I can be of better service to my colleagues. I followed the program diligently, attending webinars, following online courses, and handling and submitting my assignments on time. These efforts didn't go unnoticed, and just a month later, I was the employee of the month. The next quarter I was promoted from Intern to CMO, and I've never looked back since.

Rising from being a job seeker to an employer, a transition after a career coach intervention is my best success story. A recent college graduate still looking for a job in their field of study despite applying to numerous positions without success. The graduate decides to seek out a career coach to help with the job search. Through the coaching sessions, the coach helps them to identify their strengths and weaknesses and to develop a clear career plan. As a result of the coaching sessions, the graduate can land a job in their desired field. This shows how career coaching can help individuals achieve their professional goals.

My career journey over the last decade has been filled with many triumphs and many setbacks. But all in all, I can comfortably say that I have made much more progress than I expected. I started working with a career coach early on when I joined a small firm as an HR officer. The boss at the time actually provided for this, and I thought it would be great to take advantage of it since it was free. After a few months of working with this career coach, I came to appreciate just how important outside counsel is when building up a career. In fact, I have always had career coaching since I started out at that small HR office. Right now, I have not only managed to rise to the highest level of HR management, but I am also a co-founder of a fast-paced online business too.