Career Coaching

Understanding the workplace

Together we can examine and uncover issues that you are facing in your journey through the world of work, whether in employment, a job search or a pathway to something you want to build yourself.

Everybody's situation is of course unique, but there are often interconnected patterns at play that we are not aware of.

All the time we are facing dynamics seemingly beyond our control; looming changes that can cause recessions, redundancies, conflicts, life emergencies and many other challenging situations. What matters is how you deal with these challenges when they occur, so you can recognise where you are and how you are, and take control of your own experience and outcomes.

Speaking with a career coach is often the best way to explore these issues and your options because it is a confidential and neutral space to examine your situation and give you alone the tools to push things forward correctly.

We could opt to speak with our work colleagues, friends or family however often these people are not neutral and they have their own vested interests and agendas in what you should do. At work even our most trusted contacts can become our competitors and soon enough this information may be held against your interests.

Reach out to me today and we can arrange an initial discussion.

HR Confidential

Have you ever asked yourself how you really find the world of work?

Does it satisfy you or do you find it a tedious and a chore?

It is an important question and not always one we can readily share our true feelings at work or in the family home because those are places where there are vested interests at play that could jeapordise your position and objectives.

Considering that we spend a great deal of our waking life working for our living, these are important aspects to consider.

It matters because whether you feel it or not, the spotlight is on you.

The institutions we work for are constantly assessing us and the sooner we can understand the ways in which this happens

It is easy to bury our head in the sand and pretend these things aren't happening, but that only kicks the can down the road and does not resolve our situation for the medium and long term.

During our sessions we can discuss in depth the ways you can map out navigating these challenges.

The Art of Interviewing

There are many subtleties to the art of interviewing that many people are not aware of or fail to prepare for.

While every interview is going to be slightly different, there are strong common themes which can help candidates succeed, or indeed cause them to fail.

There are many hiring and screening secrets that employers don't want you to know because it keeps the power in their favour.

Fortunately there are ways to get back in the game, get top dollar and land yourself in a stronger position.

Interviewers will pull all sorts of tricks and techniques on unsuspecting candidates.

This gives a power imbalance which can be disorienting, bewildering and frustrating because the relationship is inherently asymetrical, not to mention unfair and often unethical.

Sometimes these tactics are rather nasty, sometimes they are legitimate, they are open to interpretation.

Below are some questions to consider:

How do you respond to constant interruptions, unexpected person questions or abrubt endings?
Do you feel you get too nervous or even over-confident?
Do you feel frequently caught out by verbal traps?

Fortunately, there are some insider secrets that can help you fight back.

Interviewers often lay seemingly invisible tripwires that candidates can easily tumble over. Knowing how to look for these can help shift control back to you.

Sometimes we are lulled into a false sense of security

Sometimes hiring manager managers hold biases such as age, sex, education and experience which are not explicitly stated.

Knowing how to respond to 'trick questions'

Other aspects such as body postures and mannerisms can also unwittingly count for you or against you.

Fortunately there are simple tricks and tactics to overcome these obstacles and you can be prepared to better understand situations and how to deal with them.

Together we can analyse your experience of these many aspects and how you can be prepared for them in your upcoming interviews.

There are insider secrets which together we can explore.

Cracking the hiring code

Many people think of interviewing as an inclusive process but actually it functions more as an exclusionary process.

In fact, in the way the process often works, you are being eliminated.

It is one of the brutal truths of hiring dynamics because you will in principle not see the other applications or interviews to compare how you performed.

This asymmetry can play on our minds and cause stress and anxiety and even lead to isolation.

In a world of constant change there are often some secret principles at play

In life we can never truly know everybody's secret hidden agendas, secret discriminations, fears and motivations but through

Navigating these tripwires is important to help us advance our prospects.

Together we can confidentially examine the various aspects of work and how you respond to these dynamic aspects to ensure you are keeping your head in the game.

Contact me today and we can arrange to speak in confidence about your situation.

Interviewing

Are you aware that hidden patterns cost you jobs?

Navigating interviews is hard at the best of times and there are many underhand dynamics at play which could be working against your best efforts.

Hiring Managers are not on your side. They are on the company's side and many candidates get caught out with things that remain out of sight but are influential in the deciding factors.

Together we can explore various aspects such as those listed below:

The Internet is working against you
Recruiters must be managed
Interviewers don't hear what you say
Cover letters can cause immediate exclusion
Your body will betray you
Calling to follow up will cost you the job
The thank you note is too late
Your interview may not be real
Interviewers will trick you
Failure to negotiate will cost you more money
Phone calls are a trap
No one will tell you when you've made a mistake
Your public records are working against you
Admitting you've been fired can be the kiss of death
Your resume is headed for the rubbish bin
A computer is deciding your job prospects
Your inner voice is not as silent as you think
Asking certain questions makes you look like a risk
Screening the company will screen you out
Storytelling is your best defence
Professional references are often useless
You don't fit their secret criteria
There's a type that always gets the offer
No may not mean no

Settling in

Have you recently started a new position and are finding your feet?

You may have a new role but your new job is not yet secure.

The impressions you give are being surreptitiously observed. In effect, every day is your next interview.

Involving a career coach is a wise way to navigate this new terrain. Together we can explore aspects such as:

The spotlight is on but you may not be aware
There is a hidden employment contract
Age and sex discrimination is shutting you out
You must tactically take sides
Your dream job may be being mis-sold to you
You can tell when you're in or out

Fortunately, there are ways to easily fix a strategy to help you succeed and avoid any pitfalls and traps. Remember that in spite of these situations you still have the power to influence positive outcomes.

Together we can explore these many various aspects in the situation pertaining to you.

Are you being managed out?

“We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.”

― Anaïs Nin

Work may appear transparent on the surface but at other times it can appear like a mirage.

How did our workplaces become so unrewarding, unfriendly, indifferent, demeaning, uninspiring?

We deserve better and it takes communication to go about breaking the code of corporate silence.

Thinking about these various damaging aspects can be challenging, infuriating and sometimes painful, but it is worthwhile exploring these things to get a better understanding of how things are looking.

There are a hidden set of danger areas, including:

Are you aware of a company's hidden agenda?
Are you suffering from a false sense of security?
The law cannot protect your job
Are you being managed out?
Do you recognise the signs of being managed out?
Do you know if you making secret career killers?
Are your security and value at risk?

Companies can overwork, underpay you and set you up to be unsuccessful such as the myths of performance improvement and the secrecies of layoffs; often nobody will tell you when your job is in jeopardy.

Amid a barrage of confusing corporate messages, finding your company's hidden agendas is a task in itself, but it is worthwhile exercise so that we can reach a useful conclusion.

Did you know that talking to HR can cost you your job?

Understanding the Human Resources department can be one of the most important and overlooked aspects of

Sometimes people regard HR as a separate entity from the corporation, a friend, an employee advocate.

HR is actually none of those things.

HR's primary function is not to help employees, it is to protect the company from its employees.

Corporate confidentiality is something of a myth. In truth, there is no such thing as true confidentiality in HR.

Understanding how the key decision makers utilise HR is paramount

Complaining to HR may seem like a useful outlet however it is fraught with danger and tripwires, because their allegiance is to the corporation, not to protect you.

Resolving a conflict through HR is equally fraught.

Things you share at work will be used against you
Disclosing details can undermine your status and protection
Age discrimination is alive and well
There is no right to free speech in the workplace
Alienating your gatekeeper will lock you out

Handling Mistakes

Everyone makes mistakes, from your manager all the way up to the CEO. The truth is you can actually recover gracefully from a mistake or failure.

Learning to defuse situations is critical part of protecting your reputation

Becoming invisible to indispensable is a task worth undertaking if we wish to progress.

Helping fireproof yourself will inspire loyalty from your employer and protect you and your company's image.

The world of achievement belongs to the optimist who can untie the knots they come across, personal and professional.

Together we can explore these many various aspects in the situation pertaining to you.

What Got You Here Won't Get You There?

They say what got you here won't get you there. And it's broadly true.

To take things forward we need both inner drive and a new perspectives on the world around us and ahead of us.

Doing it alone is not enough, which is why it pays dividends for a career coach such as myself to discuss frankly the challenges you are facing and how to market yourself in today's market.

Connecting with others is an amazing way to make this conceptual leap in thinking; working with a career coach is the way you can understand these pathways better.