The first couple of months that I started my business, I was doing what a lot of people do when they start something new.  I was following lots of experts, reading their articles, using their free resources and trying to take their generalized advice and make it work for my specific circumstances.

I felt like I was putting together a puzzle but all the pieces didn’t really fit.  Which left me constantly questioning my work, tweaking it and all around just feeling lost and confused.

It wasn’t until I finally sucked it up and realized that I needed to INVEST in myself and my business that I felt confident and saw the growth I wanted.  I picked a coach that made sense for my business model and have never looked back.  I got the clarity I needed and was able to grow my business much faster than I had anticipated and have had more success like being featured in numerous articles, writing for my peers and even interviewed on Blog Talk Radio.

As someone who is super frugal and who wants to do it themselves, it was really hard to suck it up and make the investment. 
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I know I’m not alone in that, so I wanted to provide some great reasons why you should consider hiring a Coach (business, career or life).

​Reason 1: CLARIFY YOUR GOALS
There are a lot of voices out there telling us what we SHOULD want so it is really hard to cut through the noise to tap into our own motivations and figure out what we REALLY want.  A coach helps you get crystal clear on how you measure success and happiness and what that means for your future.

Reason 2: GET THERE FASTER
You know what you want, now you have to make it happen.  Having a coach to lean on, to cheer you on and to push you will help you get there faster.

Reason 3: PREPARE FOR THE WORST
Achieving a goal isn’t as easy as we'd like to believe.  It is a tough journey filled with lots of ups and downs.  A coach has seen it all, they have supported many on their journeys plus have usually been on a journey of their own.  That means that they know the lows you are about to face and can help prepare you for them.  On top of all that, they are there to support you during those tough times.

Reason 4: THE TOOLBOX
Coaches have a toolbox, full of strategies, perspectives, tips and tricks, making it easier to navigate your journey.

Reason 5: SUPPORT SYSTEM
A major key to success is having a strong support system, one that is there for you but one that is also there to keep you accountable.  Regular meetings with a coach keeps you on track.

Reason 6: SETS YOU UP FOR SUCCESS
We all have bad habits, ones that prevent you from making your dreams a reality.  A coach will help you figure out what those are and provide support and tips on replacing those habits with ones that support your path to success not destroy it.

Reason 7: SAVES YOU TIME
When you give up an hour a week to a coach you’ll actually gain time.  Allowing you more work/life balance or time to achieve those goals.  Coaches help you figure out time management and how to say “No” to yourself and others.

Reason 8: UNLOCK YOUR INNER WISDOM
When we clear away voices that aren’t ours, develop helpful habits and free up time, an amazing thing happens.  We unlock our own inner wisdom that will help guide us in our careers and lives.

Reason 9: BE THE BEST YOU
We hold ourselves back in so many ways.  A coach helps you live the life YOU want and help you face FEAR and to push you out of your comfort zone so that you can achieve those careers and lives that you are looking for.
 
I know that my clients have been helped in these ways as I have been through my own work with my coach.

Finding a coach that you connect with, trust and whose opinion you value is vital.  To see if I am that person for you, schedule a free Discover Your Career strategy call.

It’s September and for most people, the feeling of a new beginning.  But if you are one those people who hate their jobs, are sick of a long commute or struggling in a job search this time of year can suck.

You want a change and you want it now.
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It doesn’t always work like that.  But there is some work you can do today that is like pressing fast forward on achieving that change.  Which is why I’ve compiled ALL of my top tips, tricks and resources to try and make that happen for you.

Step 1: Know what you want.

You know you want a change.  But do you know what that change actually looks like?  If you are struggling to define a specific career, job or industry it can have you flailing around and going nowhere.

Instead, if you are laser focused and know exactly what it is you are looking for that allows you to customize everything to achieve that one thing.

Need help?  My favourite exercise is the Interests, Motivations and Skills and it focuses on what career fits in with your life, your skill set AND what will bring you joy.  I wrote a whole article about it and how this exercise helped me figure out that this was MY dream career.

Cheap Resource: Find Career Happiness Course, only $4.95

Step 2: Write a Stand Out Resume

This is your primary marketing document.  You are now a product and your resume is your pamphlet selling you to companies.  So make sure that it is telling a cohesive story, one that is relevant to the job and company you are applying for. 

And since Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are taking over the world, make sure it is optimized, such as having the right key words in the right format.

I've written a ton on resumes, like the Modern Day rules, how to optimize and writing a winning one.  

Free Resource: The Ultimate Resume Checklist

Step 3: Don’t Just Hit Apply

You see an amazing job.  You spend hours customizing and optimizing your resume.  You hit apply and then you wait. Sound familiar?

I liken applying on job boards to a black hole, you send resumes out only to hear nothing in return. 

If you want a job fast, you need to make sure that your resume isn’t getting lost with the rest of them (an average of 250!).  So do something about it.  Find the key decision maker or who may be the key decision maker and follow up that application with an email to them stating your interest and your differentiating factor.

Step 4: Outsource Your Job Search

Make sure you have has many people out there helping you out in your job search.  That includes engaging your current network.  A coffee with an old manager, or maybe a lunch with a colleague who works at company you want to work at.  These are your strongest advocates, making sure they know what you want and are looking for will help them determine appropriate opportunities for you to consider.

That also includes optimizing your LinkedIn to be found.  Found by recruiters.  Having an “all-star” LinkedIn profile that is full of great information and keywords, getting as close to the magic number of connections and logging in each and every day will increase your likelihood of showing up in a recruiter’s search.

Cheap Resource: Purposeful Networking Course - $14.95

Step 5: Get Help

Outplacement services (those provided by employers to employees they are laying off) are very similar to Career Coaching services.  I should know because I do both!

The great thing about outplacement is that they provide services to a large number of clients which yields great data.

And that data is very promising.

A person engaged in the process with a Career Coach lands a job 50-63% faster than the national average.  Crazy right?

So maybe the biggest factor in speeding up your search could be as simple as hiring a coach.

Investment Resource: Career Coaching Packages or Job Search Rescue Plan
Free Resource: Strategy Call with Me

Step 6: Create a Plan

A lot of job searches are chaotic.  They begin and end with job boards. 

The problem with that is the math.  Each job gets on average 250 applications and only 4-6 are selected for an interview.  Of that 4-6, not all come from the 250, so only about 10% of applications get an interview (some stats say as little as 2%, eek!). 

That means the majority of the time you send out a resume for a posted job, you will never hear anything. 

So you need to do more than just applying for jobs but with our natural inclination to centre our search around them you need to create a plan so that you can make sure you do more.

Create a plan that encompasses all the key aspects of a job search, including networking, volunteering, research and preparation and social media.
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Free Resource: Dream Career Planner
 
If you follow these 6 steps, I’m positive you’ll see incredible results.  By Christmas, you can be in that dream job.  Wouldn’t that be amazing?
 

I get angry at my profession sometimes.  There is so much emphasis placed on being outgoing, upbeat individuals that spend a lot of time shaking hands and kissing babies.  But that is a strategy made for extroverts. 

That means, the message I hear, as an introvert, is that “networking isn’t for me.” It doesn’t help that I hate networking.  The idea of talking to people I don’t know.  The courage to approach them.  Knowing how to strike up a conversation.  And then figuring out how to leave the conversation.  All while trying my hardest not to be awkward AND not get lost in my own head.

As an introvert, it can all seem like too much.  But I have found a way to make it work and while it isn’t something that will always come easily to me or something that I will always want to do, I do know that by pushing myself outside of this particular comfort zone is key to my career success and happiness.

But I don’t network like an extrovert, I create a networking strategy that is more suited for introverts, one that makes sense for us.
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That is why I created this guide, it is full of tips, trick and thoughts on networking.  It will help you create a strategy that suits you while also encouraging you to step a little outside of your comfort zone, not just for your career but also for your own personal growth.

SPOILER ALERT: Read to the end, I have a FREE worksheet to make networking just a bit easier for you!

Networking Is More than the Event

The first thing to know is that networking is not just networking events.  Whenever I ask clients about their networking, all I ever here is about networking events.  In fact, what I described above is pretty much my fear and hate of networking, especially at an event! 
The networking event is just one of many forms of networking that you can choose.  And while I’ll always recommend attending at least one, I recommend it more for pushing yourself rather than for meeting new people (in the case of introverts).
Networking is a mixed bag of tricks and it is entirely possible to create a strategy that doesn’t include events.  In fact, I view events almost equally to emails.  Those quick conversations you have are just the launching point of a networking relationship, just like an email is!

Network like an Introvert

Introverts prefer one-on-one conversations and have a close friend group.  So network like that.  Instead of filling your calendar with events (who am I kidding here, instead of steering clear of events!), fill it with one-on-one meetings.  Introverts are great at building relationships when we meet people in a quiet setting that allows us to focus on a particular person.  So use that as the foundation of your strategy.

Talk to People You Know

The cornerstone of any networking strategy is connecting with people you know, no matter if you are an extrovert or an introvert.  I recommend always starting with previous managers and people you would list as a reference.  These are your number one advocates as they have hired you, can speak to your performance and, more than likely, want to see you succeed. 
For introverts, they are also great practice grounds!  Use the people you know as a way to get used to talking about yourself and what you want while also asking questions.  Don’t forget to ask them about other people you should speak to, maybe they can introduce you or at least you can use their name as a way to feel less icky about emailing someone you don’t know.

Prepare Yourself

My mind is running a million miles a minute, and if I’m nervous it is easy to get carried away by my thoughts.  Which means that I’m probably not going to actually do any networking or if I do finally talk to someone, I’m not making the most of the conversation.
To combat that I do a lot of work ahead of the game.  I always have a ready list of questions that I can ask someone:

1. What do you do?
2. Where do you work?
3. What kind of education did you get to do that?
4. Do you like it?
5. Tell me more about your team?
6. What are you hoping for your future?

And on and on.  I usually have a good 10-20 questions at the ready and this allows me to not worry about what to talk about.  For a more formal informational interview (which can be life-changing!), I have very specific questions prepared.

Plus, I really don’t like talking about myself, so I also have questions that I can use in response to a question until I’m ready.

And when I am ready, I generally keep it short and sweet – less time to get all weird or rambling! 
Being prepared allows me to really focus on the person and the relationship building, it has been key.

Attract People to You

One of the great things about social media, is the ability to create, what I call, a passive networking strategy.  Attracting people to you.  There are a few ways to go about this, but some would be: optimizing your LinkedIn to attract recruiters, start engaging with people who work at companies you want to work at, and generating content that will be relevant and exciting to people within your industry.

Go Softly Forward

When you think of emailing someone you don’t know, do your palms start to sweat?  Is it because you are afraid that they will be annoyed?  As long as you are emailing a soft ask, they won’t be – trust me!  What do I mean about a soft ask?  Well one that isn’t, “do you have any job openings?” or in that vain.  A soft ask is one for information, wanting to learn a little bit more about what they do.  You are only asking for a few minutes of their time to find out information about their job. 
When you ask it this way, they are more likely to feel complimented, like “who me?  You want to know what I do?”  You are making their day, not ruining it!

Don’t Go it Alone

Find a networking buddy or coach, to cheer and encourage you during this scary time.  Be accountable to them, create some goals and check in to make sure you are accomplishing them or to provide support if you are having trouble.
See an event you want to go to, but are nervous?  Ask them to come along with you and encourage each other to meet your event goals.

If you are in Halton and need someone to go with you, try asking for a buddy on our Halton Career Networking Group over on Facebook.  Any HR professionals in Halton wanting to attend one of the monthly events – let me know and I’ll go with you!

I know that these strategies work, as they have worked well for me.  Networking began with one-on-one meetings set up by people I knew with people they knew (ok, my first informational interview was set up by my dad!).  I didn't go alone to my first networking event, I went with friends.  

I didn't settle.  I didn't settle when what was being told to me didn't sound right.  I didn't settle with the message that networking isn't for introverts.  I did something about it.

Now I want to help you with it.  That is why I'm excited to share this:

1. FREE Elevator Pitch Worksheet