Posted under Career Management on July 27th, 2007
There was a time in my career when I was between jobs or in transition or unemployed — whatever word you prefer to call it. I had zero job, zilch money and was incredibly vulnerable to others’ advice, no matter how good (or bad) it was. In my case, it turned out to be really bad advice, but eventually, my wrong turns led to a brand new start in something I’ve remained passionate about for two-plus decades.
If you find yourself looking for a job, do yourself (and your pocketbook) a big favor and proceed with caution in finding someone to guide, help and support you through the process. If you need help in thinking through some questions to ask a pro before you engage their services, read Appendix A - A Guide to Choosing a Career Coach or Counselor in What Color Is Your Parachute 2007. In that section, there are 10+ pages of text that specifically address this topic.
To further protect yourself, review and think through these six C’s if you are seriously seeking a professional to help you with your career transition…
- Credentials: ask the pro — what are your credentials and how long have you been doing this? And where, exactly, do you do this? And how do you do things? What is your process? What can I expect from you?
- Competence: ask the pro — what is your level of success in working with someone like me?
- Clients: ask the pro — may I have the names / numbers of three of your references?
- Comfortableness: ask yourself — how do I feel when I speak with this professional person?
- Corroboration: ask yourself — have other persons in my network used this professional with satisfactory results?
- Cost: ask yourself — do I believe that I am making a wise business investment that will yield a positive ROI?
Wishing you safe travels!
posted by billie sucher
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