Discovery Career Coaching

"Knowledge is Power" - Is that true?

Not entirely. It's actually incomplete. Knowledge by itself is useless. The power comes from what you do with it.
We live in the information age. Thanks to technology we can find information on just about anything we want in a matter of seconds. People are searching for solutions to problems all the time.
Not knowing something is hardly ever the reason we get stuck and frustrated.
It's not from the lack of knowing - it's from the lack of doing.

Have you ever talked to someone with a problem and you offer a possible solution that could solve the problem, and they say, "I already know that!".
Sometimes we know what we should do to solve a problem or to get what we want, but we don't do it. Something is getting in the way and you're not taking action.
More times than not you know what you need to do, or you can find out. A coach isn't an expert on you and your life - you are. Coaching helps you connect with you, and what you want, and how to take action to create the life or career you want.
A coach will help you set, clarify and focus on your goals. They will hold you accountable for what you say you're going to do.
A coach will help you establish your own solutions and strategies.
A coach will encourage you, support you and challenge you. They'll help you recognize where you might be holding yourself back.

A coach will help you get clear on your goals and create an actionable plan for yourself, that will get you unstuck and moving toward reaching them.
That's the power of coaching.

Discovery Career Coaching added a button to help you learn more about them.

Job websites serve as the modern equivalent of classified ads by compiling and listing available job postings. Many of them are loaded with millions of listings and using a job website is one of the best and most efficient ways to search for and apply to job opportunities.

To find the best job websites to kick off your search, I looked at more than two dozen different job websites before selecting these top sites. I made these picks after considering the number of listings on each site, ease of use, costs, advanced features, industries and experience levels served, and reputation.

1. Indeed (Best overall)
2. CareerBuilder (2nd overall)
3. LinkedIn (Best for connecting with Recruiters)
4. Glassdoor (Best for Researching Companies)
5. Flexjobs (Best for Remote Jobs)

There are many other job sites online and everyone has their favorites but part of your job search strategy should include looking at multiple sources for opportunities. These sites are very good.
Let me know where you've had success finding jobs.

It's the start of July and the year is half over.
It's time to do a Mid-year Review with yourself.

What have I accomplished so far?

What still needs work?

What are my career goals?

Am I on track to achieve those goals?

What am I doing to create what I want?

Being clear on these 5 questions, as a starting point, will help you move closer to what you want. If this feels uncomfortable or you're not sure where to begin, consider engaging a Coach. We work with people who feel like they're not moving forward and want to change that.

Want more favorable and positive outcomes from your job search? Adopt these 7 tips.

1. Master your Brand. As a job seeker you must understand that you are a brand. Knowing who you are includes your knowledge, strengths, skills, values, capabilities, motivators and help you focus your time, energy and resources wisely to target the right opportunities.
2. Know your potential employer's motivators. Understanding what your potential employer wants is key to meeting their needs and securing a job faster.
3. Understand your unique selling proposition. Knowing what you bring to the table and understanding how to present your strengths succinctly can make all the difference in your job search.
4. Target the right opportunities. To increase your chances of landing a job, adopt a targeted approach to your search. Don't just apply randomly to every job, apply to the roles that are aligned with your values, interests, skills and strengths.
5. Leverage Strategic Alliances. Consider the people within your network that might be useful to help you identify opportunities and companies that are a good fit for you.
6. Focus on what you have. Rather than focus on what is missing or on what you can't do, focus on what you do have. Look at job opportunities through the whole job description and not just the job title.
7. Always be ready. The time to prepare is not when the opportunities come to you. Prepare ahead of time. Make sure your marketing tools - resume, cover letters and LinkedIn profile are up-to-date. Perfect your pitch and be interview ready.

Thought I'd share this testimonial to reinforce the value coaching can bring to help you unlock growth opportunities for yourself - if you're open to it.

"Todd and I connected right away , he is kind, empathic, and very experienced . I didn’t know what career coaching was or how much I needed it , until I was able to speak candidly with Todd. We talked about my career, my goals, and the set backs I’ve had. I was able to realize that after 15 years with the same team that I was far more in control of my career experiences than I let on. I accepted Todd’s advice and joined a network of professionals and started to feel comfortable getting myself out there . I even felt comfortable applying for a job, landed the job and I start in two weeks!"

Dream jobs, dream careers and dream businesses don’t just happen. When you’re done dreaming you’ve got to execute.

There are 2 simple reasons why you don’t have the one you want:
1. Either you don’t know what to do to achieve it. OR
2. You know what to do but you’re not actually doing it.

A coaching service is designed to help you solve both of these problems and achieve more of what you want.
But there are core advancement strategies that must be executed every day. Yes, every day. You don’t need me to tell you that your future rests on your ability to execute these strategies with daily discipline.

If you have to explain the reason for an extended gap in your resume, a global pandemic is a good one.
That said, potential employers will likely be understanding in this regard to a point. They will also be very interested in what you did with your time during the gap in your employment. You will become a more attractive candidate if you can show that you kept yourself busy by taking courses, adding or upgrading your skills, doing consulting/freelance work and/or volunteering.
Hiring managers will likely be more interested candidates who did more than simply wait, react and apply to online job postings.

Thinking of a Career Change? Don’t get yourself tied up in Mental Knots.

Thinking about it is great, and it’s important. Taking stock of your skills, your desires and what you would enjoy is key when you’re figuring out what you’d love to do. But when it comes to your career plan, thinking and action must go hand-in-hand.

It’s easy to get lost in your thoughts especially when it comes to deciding on what career path is right for you. A thinking-only approach to deciding on your career path can tie your thoughts up into knots because you’re just reworking the same old information into something new.

Whether you’re just beginning your career or you’re somewhere in the middle but looking for change, deciding on which path to take needs to be an active journey. The more new information you can gather the better. Put yourself in new environments, talk to different people in that field or try things out if you can but make sure your decisions come from the real world and not just inside your head.

Why coaching is so important

Use 2021 to your advantage.
If you are a career minded person ask yourself if you want to be in the same place in your career this time next year or the year after that. What about in 5 years or 10 years from now?
Think about what hard skills and experience you think you’ll need to help you get to where you want to be in your career in the future. If you don’t know then ask your boss, or Human Resources or a Mentor. Do some networking with people who are already doing what you want to do. Figure out what you need for your own professional development and take another step forward in the direction you want to go. Register for a class. Pick up a book or ask someone to teach you. Each step you take will move you closer to getting what you want.

Skills for Success
You should spend a portion of this year getting ready for next year.
And this decade for the next decade.
A big part of life is getting ready, getting prepared and developing skills to help yourself reach your dreams.

Why do I feel stuck?

Research shows that three common characteristics – pessimism, anxiety, and a limited sense of self-identity – can make feel people feel like they’re stuck in a rut.

Pessimism is the tendency to focus on the negative aspects of a situation and therefore expect negative outcomes – like believing your job search is doomed because unemployment rates are high and robots are taking over the job market (that last one was a joke). People who are more pessimistic are less motivated to take positive action.

Anxiety often makes career decisions more difficult. It can take many different forms, including perfectionism and fear. Anxiety is often sparked by the uncertainty of the future, or to the fear of getting it wrong – “what if my career plan leads to a job I don’t enjoy?”.

Finally, questions about self-identity can make it difficult for people to identify who they are and who they want to be in their career. Often, young people will struggle with this because they are influenced by the opinions of family and friends and feel lost when it comes to their own identity.

Understanding why you feel stuck is a good first step on the path to change.

Genius -Service Tech (Apple)
Director of First Impressions -Receptionist
Buzz Ambassador -Communications Associate
Director of Fun -Director of Marketing
Head of Growth -Head of Bus. Development
Captain Underappreciated -Office Mgr
Jolly Good Fellow -Customer Experience Assoc.
Conversation Architect -Digital Marketing Mgr

There are many clever job titles out there, and some of them are downright crazy like Snake Milker. What? They extract venom from poisonous snakes for laboratories.

Some companies like to have fun with their employees which is great. Who wouldn’t want a title like Full Stack Magician instead of Full Stack Developer?

If someone is looking to network on LinkedIn with Call Centre Manager’s they won’t find you if you list your title as Chief of Chatter. Also, remember that when a company is looking to hire for a role like an Accounting Manager, their ATS is searching for keywords that fit their needs. Make it easy for the software to pick up that you’re qualified or relevant for the job.

SchmoozMaster for a BDM, cracks me up.

Have you heard of any other good ones?

The end of the year is fast approaching and that is often a time when people start reflecting on the past, where they are right now vs. where they want to be. In January calls to Recruiters and Career Coaches usually increase as people resolve to create positive change in their lives.

If you’re now thinking about making a job change, career change or you want to go for that promotion, I invite you to make that call. A good coach can help you reach your goals faster and more successfully than going it alone.

The best time to begin using a Career Coach is before you need one. Most career issues don’t instantly appear unless you get blindsided by a layoff. Most of the time the issues are there, heating up and eventually they boil over. It’s not ideal to wait until you are in a full-on crisis and need immediate help.

The key to successfully working with a coach is to find a good fit and make a commitment which could include both time and money depending on what you feel you need help with.

Over the holidays maybe think about some of these questions:
Are you feeling stuck in your career? When did it happen?
How do you make sense of your career so far?
What do you want from your career?
What job do you want to do?
Are you applying for endless jobs and not getting an interview?
Are your interviews converting into job offers?

Visit https://www.discoverycareercoaching.com to learn about what a career coach can do for you. Then if you’re ready, we can get started. Just click the ‘Start Now’ button.

Tell us what you want to know about Career Coaching. Maybe you're wondering…



Will a Career Coach teach me and guide me, or will they do it all for me?

Will they write my resume for me?

Will they give me the answers to interview questions?

Will they do the networking for me and bring me confirmed career opportunities?



The thing is, that's not coaching. That's leaving your career in someone else's hands, which ultimately won't help you.



A Career Coach won't do it all for you, but…



They will guide you and support you.

They will help you find clarity about the ‘what’, the ‘why’, and the ‘how’ that's specific to the career path you want.

They will provide focus and accountability to keep your job search moving.



A good Career Coach will work with you 1-on-1 to maximize the actions you take to land the job you deserve and dream of.



If you want to see whether working with a Career Coach is right for you, send me a message. Let’s talk.

Discovery Career Coaching helps subscribers find their purpose. Everyone deserves to do rewarding work – but knowing where to start the search can feel impossible. In an approach that goes beyond the what to the why and the how, I provide one-on-one guidance, creating a plan to get subscribers “unstuck” and back on track.