What Is Career Coaching

John Wojcio Career Support Services

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT COACHING

1. What is career coaching?

It’s a process in which the coach supports and guides the client’s self-discovery and ability to make smart career and work-related decisions. The career coach’s unique contribution is to guide clients toward understanding themselves and moving into purposeful, sustainable action.

Successful client/coach interactions produce several desirable results in clients, including:

Ø Increased clarity of purpose and goals

Ø Increased awareness of self and others

Ø Increased career self-management skills

Ø Increased confidence in own abilities

2. How do I know if I’m ready for career coaching?

Only you know for sure. How would you answer the following questions?

· Are you happy (satisfied, successful, and/or fulfilled) in your professional life?

· If you’re not happy, how will you feel if things continue as they are?

· If you’re not happy, what are you doing about it?

“To be truly coachable, you need to master one of the more obnoxious traits of the human mind. We humans believe that the constant opining of the little voice in our heads is the truth. Whatever opinion our mind offers, we accept it as the one and only reality, even in regard to subjects about which we know nothing. Everyone knows that the music they like is really the best music, the people they think are cool are really the cool people, and that the world would run perfectly if all the leaders would just listen to them. Each of our minds is the omniscient god of a teeny, tiny universe.” — Nicolas Lore, The Pathfinder

If you keep doing everything you’ve done up to now, you may very well end up right where you are — all over again! Change the game. Change the results. Get a coach.

3. How have others benefited from career coaching?

Over the past 12 years, I’ve helped more than 1,000 of my clients:

Advance their careers

· Develop their career self-reliance skills and strategies for career advancement

· Develop strategies to expand professional networks and spheres of influence

· Refine their skills in "managing up"

· Develop a professional/organizational vision consistent with their personal values

· Manage work-related stress

· Develop strategies to overcome personal or career setbacks adversely affecting their commitment and motivation

· Improve their collaboration skills

· Improve their organizational/prioritizing skills

· Create effective career documentation, such as résumés/CVs, cover letters, and reference lists

· Refine their career transition skills, including those needed to successfully interview and network

Improve their interpersonal communication skills and emotional intelligence competencies

· Identify their own communication tendencies and strengths, and how to use them successfully

· Recognize and overcome gaps in self-awareness that impede relationship building and achieving desired professional outcomes

· Develop awareness of how their own behavioral style affects others

· Improve effectiveness in communicating with others having different behavioral styles

· Recognize and better manage personal limitations or gaps in self-awareness that can derail relationships and/or performance

Polish their core management/leadership skills

· Increase confidence and skills in leading others through organizational change

· Learn to better coach individuals and teams

· Enhance their ability to ask questions that inspire and motivate others

· Develop confidence and skills for managing conflict

· Prepare for assuming greater managerial responsibilities

4. How will I know if a particular career coach is right for me?

You won’t know for sure until you try one on for size. You’ll know if the coach:

· Brings out the best in you

· Is compassionate and constructive, yet cares enough about you to always tell the truth

· Shares his/her own experience and expertise and makes suggestions — so you become better able to make wiser decisions on your own

· Lives and breathes trust, trustworthiness, and integrity

· Listens, probes, acknowledges, praises, suggests, and encourages

· Challenges your actions, attitudes, and beliefs — in order to further develop your self-awareness

· Helps you interact more effectively with others — co-workers, supervisors, direct-reports, and others

· Is supportive in all ways — to further develop your sense of self-worth and capacity for self-development

· Helps you develop to the point where you no longer need his/her coaching

“If you were a master of whatever you seek coaching for, you wouldn’t need a coach in the first place. A good coach tells you things you don’t want to hear and asks you to do things you don’t want to do so that you can have the life you most want to have. So, your usual way of evaluating other people may not work since coaches worth their salt will constantly ask you for more than you want to give…Given the fact that we human beings are usually either resistant or compliant, this is going to take some commitment and practice!” — Nicolas Lore, The Pathfinder

5. How will I know I’m benefiting from the coaching?

· You will begin to take the right steps — measurable steps — toward your goals.

· You will set better goals than you would if you were working by yourself, without a coach.

· You will develop a greater capacity to produce better, more desirable outcomes — on your own.

· You will create and maintain momentum toward your desired results.

· You will develop new career skills, which you can then use to perpetuate additional successes in other areas of your life.

6. Can career coaching help me develop leadership skills, and/or those of others on my team?

A career coach can help with developing a host of emotional intelligence (EI) skills, including:

· Self-awareness and self-management

· Awareness of others and relationship management

· Self-confidence (not arrogance)

· Emotional self-control

· Trustworthiness

· Adaptability

· Empathy

· Influence

· Change management

· Staff development

· Teamwork

7. How does coaching work?

· Confidential, one-on-one consultation(s)

· In person or on the phone

· The client determines the agenda

· Generally 45-60 min. per session

“Ask a successful athlete, musician, actor, or business person why they achieved the level of success they did, in most cases they’ll confirm that it was hard work, perseverance in the face of adversity, and learning from the best coaches.” — Information Week

JOHN WOJCIO, CERTIFIED CAREER COACH

I work with people who are dissatisfied and discouraged in their professional lives…and are ready to do something about it. For some it’s about finding a better job or more fulfilling career; for others it’s about trying to make things better right where they are. My job as coach is to give them the support and structure they need to achieve their goals, and the confidence and competence they need to be satisfied and successful.

I specialize in the field of higher education, where I can take advantage of my 10+ years of professional experience to help my clients successfully hurdle their job- and career-related challenges. My style is personable, collaborative, low-key, yet purposeful — dedicated to achieving each client’s goals.

The role of career coach fits my natural talents, experience, interests, and values. This wisdom has not come to me quickly or easily. I’ve made five career changes, each time in pursuit of work that I would find more fulfilling. Over the past 30+ years, my career journey has taken me from teacher to technical writer/editor, educational consultant, supervisor and manager, and now career coach. Whether working in large corporations, small business, the field of education, or my own practice, I’ve consistently maintained a strong commitment to family, work/life balance, and my own value system — which includes a passion for helping others. Career coaching is the right stage for me professionally, the perfect place to apply my experience and skills to the benefit of others facing their own career challenges.

After earning BA and MA degrees from Binghamton University (Harpur College), I worked in both the public and private sectors, and in both small and large organizations, and returned to my alma mater in 2004 to work in University Communications and Marketing. Since 2004, I have assisted more than 1,000 clients with their professional development and career development, exploration, and transition.

I completed the Career Coach Institute’s Certified Career Coach training program in 2004, I’ve been active in the community as a United Way volunteer, and I’ve been a member of Toastmasters International (Morning Knights Club).

If you’re truly ready to learn and grow — toward your full potential — then, don’t battle alone. Take advantage of your own career coach, an experienced professional ready to share his expertise and experience — for your benefit and your benefit alone.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

“John’s coaching helped me see my potential and move in the right direction, faster.”

“John helped me create realistic goals and time lines for achieving them.”

“John was sensitive to what was important to me and let me set the agenda for each coaching session.”

“What I liked was that John was always available to me, especially when I wanted to talk to him between scheduled sessions.”

“John goes beyond providing basic information, tailoring his advice to personal circumstance with insightful precision. His counseling resulted in both a polished résumé and a salary increase. I highly recommend his service to anyone who wants to optimize their career potential.”

“John always knows what questions to ask to get to the root of my challenge. His excellent listening skills, astute insights and great sense of humor make our meetings productive and fun!”

“John’s encouraging and soothing communication style gave me confidence to explore my total skill set and broaden the scope of what I had previously thought was a narrow career path.”

“I recommend John's coaching to those seeking employment as well as those who appear to be at the pinnacle of their careers, as he offers insights and ideas that motivate job searches and enhance professional development. He is an amazing advisor who reaches people at the deepest of levels.”

“After a big move and pressing ‘reset’ on my career, John was an incredible help to me. Two years later, I often find myself recalling his words of wisdom. My career is still evolving, but I feel I'm heading in the right direction. In essence, he helped me find my true north.”

“John has helped me to write a better cover letter, tighten up my résumé, and approach job interviews with more confidence than I thought possible.”

“John’s coaching style takes into account the whole person in order to decrease fear and build courage and competence.”

“John’s open, empathetic style immediately earned my trust, and his advice proved successful. John is the career coach to have in your corner.”

¨ Tel. 607.777.4979