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I can read about how to install hardwood floors. Yet many people choose to have them installed by a company. There are literally thousands of other examples.
Well yea going on the web and sending applications did whole lot of good for me. It is like sending an application into a black hole. I am still jobless after 3 years. Like I said, it is not for everyone, if you don't want to do it just don't. But I am desperate at this point to try everything. As I mentioned before, if I didn't know this guy personally, I would not have paid for it either. But I know him and I will give it a try. At this point, what am I going to lose?
I would assume you are looking for a specific type of job in a specific field to be unemployed three years?
If that's the case I think what you are doing is worth a shot. Otherwise I think you get a job pretty quickly if you are open minded
Ok, I am at the end of my rope and I feel like I need to do something different to get a job. It is obvious I won't be able to get a job on my own. I have been trying for the last 3 years and I can no longer deal with temp projects. My self esteem is down, I am constantly depressed and sick of not having enough money. So, while I was looking around in linkedin website, I came across a former boss of mine from way back. I worked for him years ago before I went to law school and loved him as a boss. Well, it turns out he is out of the corporate world now but has his own business as career change coach. I called him up and signed up with him. In exchange for a monthly fee he will help me in my job search. What do you all think about career coaches? Fee is not small, especially for an unemployed person but I figure I can starve for three months if I am going to get a job out of this. I think it is worth the try. Has anyone tried something like this? What should I be careful about? Normally, I can't trust anyone enough to pay for something like this but I know this individual and I know he was pretty up in the corp. chain. I am sure he has tons of contacts.
Up front here--- I do not know much about career coaches. I do not know anyone who has really used one. I met some at a leadership conference who ran some clinics, but that is about all I know.
From that limited experience and what I have read about before-- career coaches are usually used by people to help further develop in their current careers, gain insight into how they lead, etc. I never recalled hearing them used for basically helping to gain a new job.
I would though-- since it has been 3 years and it seems like in that time you have graduated law school and also worked temp jobs-- think maybe they can help see is there something you are doing that "turns" people off during an interview.
I am not saying this is the case, but I know until I overheard one of my mom's phone interviews I was SHOCKED at how she did interviews. It was beyond fascinating and I realized right then and there why in the world she never got a call back. We are talking about answering questions with either a Yes, No, or I don't know. *lol* A few friends of mine helped "interview" her and I helped coach her... she ended up getting a job that she has been at for 6 years now.
Career Coach is another name for scam artist. Lots of reports about that down here. Basically promise they have in's for many companies. Take your money and nothing.
Good luck with that
I will say the ones I came across during a leadership conference were coaches that usually worked with executives--- help refine leadership techniques, helped teach delegation, etc. It was almost (how I interpreted) therapy for people at a high level that need someone to speak to about issues, concerns, and advice.
Kind of like when I went into management, I realized my pool of people whom I could "talk" to about issues shrank dramatically to only my management peers. So when you get to an even higher level who do you commensurate with or seek advice...
But as I said in my last post, nothing about these career coaches ever sounded like they did anything with job searching or career changing.
I don't understand why he can't just help you with job contacts since you used to work together.
If I contacted or kept in contact with a former boss that I had a good relationship with I would hope they would offer to introduce me or put in me contact with people who might be able to help.
Without having to pay a fee and be basically told stuff that is common sense and if you don't know it(as some people have no common sense) you could easily find on the Internet.
Sean-- I agree you can find most stuff on the internet, BUT some people don't know how they come off to people.
Seriously. Some people can read a resume on line that is an example of a good one and can't see that their resume does nothing to market them.
My mom is one of those people. Completely awkward in social settings and she does not even know it!!
It is somewhat-- funny and sad at the same time.
Now my mom sometimes listens to me, but she picks and chooses what advice she will listen to-- because you know, I am her daughter. I would hope if she were paying money to someone for someone to say-- stop sitting there with your arms folded across your chest and your eyebrows scrunched together-- it gives off a very hostile vibe... maybe she would listen to them more?
At any rate, the OP is someone who has some legitimately good educational background (well she has two degrees-- no one knows from what type of school, etc). On top of that she may have even passed the Bar. So-- there is something that is not meshing well or how she presents herself. Or-- it could be that she got her law degree at 50 something and has only been an admin assistant the past however many years-- but is trying to step into a healthcare agency as legal counsel. None of us really knows-- what the career coach can do (especially since it is her former manager) is have an honest dialogue with her about her strengths and weaknesses and be candid about what may be holding her back.
Would I personally pay for a coach? No, but I am also not struggling post 3 years to try and find full time employment.
I think she is smart that she is putting a deadline on the services and I think she is smart for choosing someone she knows and respects versus googling it. I hope it works out. And if she doesn't find a job in three months, I hope she has a better action plan and "candidate makeover" that gets her more than 2 interviews in 3 years.
That is true, but you can also practice interviewing with people and get this same type of advice from people whom you have worked with. As well as friends and family.
Years ago I had to a do a presentation at several subdivisions for a company I worked for. I wanted to make sure it was up to par so I practiced on coworkers and also people who were not part of the company.
I invited a couple of neighbors in(who were professional people) and they gave me feedback. They gave an honest opinion of where it needed improvement.
The point is there are resources and people out there that can help you where it will not cost you money.
The OP does sound bright and I hope it works out. Hopefully this is not a financial strain on them.
Sean-- I agree you can find most stuff on the internet, BUT some people don't know how they come off to people.
Seriously. Some people can read a resume on line that is an example of a good one and can't see that their resume does nothing to market them.
My mom is one of those people. Completely awkward in social settings and she does not even know it!!
It is somewhat-- funny and sad at the same time.
Now my mom sometimes listens to me, but she picks and chooses what advice she will listen to-- because you know, I am her daughter. I would hope if she were paying money to someone for someone to say-- stop sitting there with your arms folded across your chest and your eyebrows scrunched together-- it gives off a very hostile vibe... maybe she would listen to them more?
At any rate, the OP is someone who has some legitimately good educational background (well she has two degrees-- no one knows from what type of school, etc). On top of that she may have even passed the Bar. So-- there is something that is not meshing well or how she presents herself. Or-- it could be that she got her law degree at 50 something and has only been an admin assistant the past however many years-- but is trying to step into a healthcare agency as legal counsel. None of us really knows-- what the career coach can do (especially since it is her former manager) is have an honest dialogue with her about her strengths and weaknesses and be candid about what may be holding her back.
Would I personally pay for a coach? No, but I am also not struggling post 3 years to try and find full time employment.
I think she is smart that she is putting a deadline on the services and I think she is smart for choosing someone she knows and respects versus googling it. I hope it works out. And if she doesn't find a job in three months, I hope she has a better action plan and "candidate makeover" that gets her more than 2 interviews in 3 years.
Thanks for your honest reply. I am actually as surprised as everyone else that I am still looking for a job after 3 years. In my 10 year experience pre-law I never had a problem lending a job, never looked for a job more than a month and never had a problem holding a job. When I analyze why I am having such a difficult time currently, I come up with several reasons. After law school and passing the bar, I went overseas working for the federal government - 4 year absence from legal market is really bad. Secondly, the legal market in NJ is completely saturated at this point. The school I went to was a good school and I was in top 20% of my class. So that's not the problem. Lastly, the employment market is truly bad. As I said, I never had such a hard time landing a job before. I am 39 and have tons of experience in business, finance, government and law. You may be right about not coming across well in interviews but I only had 2 in 3 years. One was a complete mismatch, so it was clear to both parties that it would not work out. I wrote and rewrote my resume several times. From headhunters to school career counselors to other attorneys have looked at my resume and everyone is impressed (evidently it only fails to impress the HR managers). So at this point I am clueless. I am not picky, I applied to every position that I think fits my skills and experiences. Unfortunately, I can't apply to many entry level jobs. Not only they won't pay my horrendous law school loans but also I am so overqualified for them they probably don't even look at my resume. Something is eliminating me from positions I apply at the first stage and I have to figure out what. At one point I even thought my foreign sounding name might be the culprit but I am not a paranoid person. That was never a problem before why should it be one now. So, this is where things are standing currently. I am glad I have been working the past 2 1/2 years, albeit in temporary projects under terrible conditions. But these projects are not a career. They are a paycheck but they extract a horrible price from you in the form of deadening your brain and lowering your self esteem to floor. For my mental health, I have to get a job and get it this year.
P.S. It is off topic but I feel the urge to warn people. Going to law school was the worst mistake of my life. Please, if you know anyone planning this, try to dissuade them. I am not unusual, the projects I work in filled with attorneys who are smarter, younger and went to better schools than I have. Don't ruin your life with lies law schools put out there to catch unsuspecting people. Just a little friendly advice.
Last edited by ladyvictoria; 02-07-2011 at 09:05 AM..
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