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By Jacquie Ottema 05 Feb, 2021
The main difference is a career coach works for the individual job hunter while recruiters work for companies. Career coaches help their individual clients to find jobs while recruiters help the companies find employees to fill open positions. When you look at your career as a return on the investment of education and training, hiring a career coach to help you land that first job out of school or make a smart mid career transition makes good financial sense. Career coaches are paid for by their clients and are experts in skills such as strategic career planning, resume and cover letter creation, job search, negotiation and interviewing. While you may only search for a new gig or switch careers a handful times in your life, these professionals are up to date with current hiring practices because they are constantly working to help job seekers and executives. Career coaches assist their clients in identifying personal goals, developing leadership skills and planning career moves; your career “sweet spot”. They also help you gain career confidence, clarity and change. They inspire, help you pitch yourself in a compelling manner, highlight and promote your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. They ride the roller coaster with you, celebrate your successes and move you through setbacks. They believe in you and have your back no matter what and hold you accountable to yourself. Career Coaches are the ones who pour not only their skills into their work, but also their hearts. Typically included in the total cost are resume revisions, LinkedIn training, job search strategy, career assessments and interview coaching. They look at the entire process; the big picture. Coaches break down the common, limiting career-seeking paradigms that will keep you in a dis- empowered frame of mind, and have you shattering the box of options. Rather than considering a job that you’re worthy of, coaches look at opportunities that are worthy of YOU and your passions. Coaches piece together what you’ve done, look at your resume and experience, discuss what you would like to do and identify your internal passions and desires. Recruiters on the other hand, are paid by the employer or company to find suitable candidates. Their job, therefore, is to help an organization fill a vacancy, not to help you find a job or gain career direction. They actively seek out candidates that many employers are looking for and create a database of prospects to call on when an opening arises. They support the companies that have hired them and receive a fee for filling the open role with a suitable candidate. Recruiters will typically want to present you to an employer for the same type of job you have held most recently, consistently and successfully at the top of your game, definitely not when you are lost or stuck or need guidance in your career. In a nutshell, I have broken down below when to consider a recruiter and when to consider a career coach: Hire a recruiter when you:  know exactly what type of position and job title you are looking for  already have a solid resume, cover letter and LinkedIn profile  are excellent at interviewing  have a well defined, desired skill set Hire a career coach when you:  are unhappy and want more out of your career  don’t know where you’re stuck in finding a job, but you know you’re stuck  require help with your resume, cover letter, interviewing skills and LinkedIn profile  know what type of career you want, but don’t know how to get it  don’t know what kind of career you want  know what you want but don’t have the experience  have a secure job but want to be promoted and/or make more money  require a full social media review to identify any posts of concern which could impact your future employment prospects  have gone through interviews and phone screens but don’t receive job offers  want to pursue your passion but don’t know how  need assistance with the entire job process  don’t know who the right people are to talk to in order to get the job  are willing make an investment in yourself and take your career seriously Depending on what you are looking to accomplish, one or both may come into play. As part of the programs I offer, I encourage my career coaching clients to also engage a recruiter to ensure a holistic strategy, but most career coaches typically do 95% more than most recruiters. If you feel you would like to work with a career coach, call me for a complimentary discovery call to discuss our programs. Get back you yourself again, start here… www.5pointperspectives.com
By Jacquie Ottema 08 May, 2020
Have some extra time on your hands? Here are several online options to upgrade your skills: Coursera Coursera offers courses, degrees, and certificates from well-known companies and universities around the world. You can learn at your own pace and choose from more than 3,900 courses, 13 professional certifications, and 20 degrees and MasterTrack certifications — and many of which are free to take. Udemy Udemy has a whopping 100,000 online courses available. Categories include business, design, photography, development, marketing, IT & software, and personal development, with many of the courses providing certification exams included in the class cost. Often, Udemy runs specials where several of their courses cost only $10.99US and once you purchase a course, you have access to it for life. Khan Academy Khan Academy is a nonprofit that provides free content for both learners and teachers. They also offer personalized learning focused on core classes, such as grammar, science, and history. Thinkful Thinkful is geared towards individuals who are looking for tech jobs. It's structured a bit differently than other online course platforms; instead of learning on your own, you receive day-to-day mentor guidance and career coaching throughout the program. Software engineering, data science, data analytics, UX/UI design, digital marketing, and product management are some of the courses offered through Thinkful. According to their website, they guarantee that you'll get a job in tech within six months of graduation — and if you don't, you get your tuition back. MIT OpenCourseWare MIT OpenCourseWare offers actual MIT courses previously taught in a web-based publication. Girls Who Build, Microeconomic Theory and Public Policy, and Shaping the Future of Work are examples of courses you can find on this site. CreativeLive CreativeLive is for the creative at heart — and the creative in business. More than 1,500 classes are offered and taught by some of the most well-known artists in the world, including Grammy winners, best-selling authors, famous entrepreneurs, and award-winning journalists. You can access all CreativeLive courses on-demand with a monthly or annual class pass. You can also purchase courses separately, with some courses available for free, as well. edX Looking for university-level classes? Choose from more than 2,500 online courses through edX. Teachers come from top institutions, including Berkely, Harvard, and MIT, to teach disciplines within the humanities, business and management, engineering, and computer science. Alison Alison offers certifications and diplomas for many of its more than 1,000 free courses. Popular courses on the site include Operations Management, Human Resources, Principles of Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, and General Data Protection Regulation, to name a few. Language Skills Learning a new language has several advantages. It gives you a competitive edge, helps you gain a multicultural perspective, and improves your memory and listening skills. There are numerous free and low-cost options available to fit your learning needs and budget. Duolingo Duolingo makes learning a new language fun with the rewards you can achieve. You can earn virtual coins, increase your fluency score, unlock new levels, and more. Bite-sized and personalized lessons make learning easier — and it's free to use. Open Culture Open Culture allows you to access free cultural and educational media from one location. The site has compiled free resources, from audiobooks to YouTube videos, for 48 different languages. Mango Live Mango Live adapts lessons to your learning style. Start with a free trial, and choose from dozens of languages to learn from anywhere. Livemocha You can learn any of the 18 different languages that Livemocha offers via their website or app. According to their site, they have more than 15 thousand new users per month from around the globe, so it's an increasingly popular platform for learning a new language. It's also free to use and offers the ability to practice with native speakers. Busuu Busuu offers lessons for 12 different languages along with the ability to get feedback from its network of native speakers for the language you're learning. Using machine learning technology, lessons can be enhanced with speech recognition and personalized study plans, and you can also download lessons to learn offline. Busuu offers a free trial period and language certifications, which you can list on your resume. Hard Skills The following three platforms offer certifications for in-demand, tangible hard skills you can add to your list of credentials. SuperHi SuperHi is for those professionals looking to up their game in the tech field with courses focused on everything from visual design to HTML, CSS, and Javascript coding. SuperHi offers short-term courses for $149, 4-week courses for $299, and 8-week courses for $499, with a 20 percent student discount on courses. With SuperHi, you get lifetime access to the course purchased and its community of students and teachers, as well as one-on-one sessions during the course. Skillshare Skillshare allows you to choose from different categories to learn hard skills. Need to up your writing game? They've got courses for that. Want to learn graphic design or character animation? They got you covered. While some classes are free, you can also sign up for a free two-month membership trial to access unlimited courses. Codecademy Codecademy offers training for some of the most in-demand coding skills; you can learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, CDM Line, and SQL, depending on your area of focus. If you're not sure where to begin, you can take their handy quiz to help you get started. Certifications Although many of the above platforms offer certifications, the three options listed below are certification-only programs designed around specific credentials. Microsoft IT Microsoft IT allows you to achieve industry-recognized Microsoft certifications. Choose from nine different career paths, including developer, administrator, data engineer, and functional consultant. You can take the certification courses for free and then pay to take the certification exam. Google Digital Garage Google Digital Garage provides certification in the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing. With 26 modules created by Google trainers, the course is free to take and accredited by Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe and The Open University. LinkedIn Learning LinkedIn Learning offers several certification preparation programs, as well as programs that qualify for continuing education credits. Prepare for certifications in Adobe, Amazon Web Services (AWS), video editing, business analytics, project or operations management, and more through LinkedIn Learning. Learning plans can be purchased on a monthly or annual basis, with a one-month free trial to start. Looking to make a change in your career? Want to explore the perfect career for YOU? Feeling stuck and unsure how to move forward? Call me for a complimentary clarity call
8 Questions to Help Review Your Career
By Jacquie Ottema 05 May, 2020
The best time for job search and career exploration is anytime, however if you plan on making a career change it is advantageous to do so while still employed, while there is less financial pressure and you can take your time to find the right opportunity. I made a career change within 45 days and I have worked with hundreds of clients who have also made the leap, quickly and without regrets.
By Jacquie Ottema 05 Apr, 2020
As a career coach, I am often asked why would someone hire a career coach? Well, in one word, the biggest issue is, they are stuck. When you’re not making the progress, and you need to find the dream career you truly want, one that is right for you, a career coach can help.
By Jacquie Ottema 05 Apr, 2020
They are the foundation of all the professional success you will experience in this and other careers you may pursue. The top 10 are: Technical aptitude – knowledge and usage of common operating systems, mechanical, information technology, trouble shooting, mathematical, or scientific tasks Communication – active listening, speaking when you have something meaningful and enlightening to share to keep things moving forward, observing body language of yourself and others, and empathizing with people, tone of voice, asking courageous questions Critical Thinking – think independently, logically and effectively Organizational ability – prioritize tasks, sort files, minimize distractions, staying focused on first things first and accomplish what you need to get done today, tomorrow, this week, next month, by year end Teamwork – building relationships and rapport, resolving conflict, being reliable, assisting each other whenever possible, collaboration, mutual respect, embracing diversity, brainstorming and building off of and valuing other people ideas, celebrating accomplishments Problem solving – developing/exploring creative solutions to complex problems, taking into account the short, and long-term repercussions of each solution and applying innovation and new ideas Win-win strategizing – helping people and departments achieve their goals in addition to your own Negotiating – assertively discerning what others want and need as well as taking your own needs and wants into consideration, clarifying misunderstandings, finding the ‘happy medium’, win-win for all stakeholders involved Empowering others – give power or authority, alignment between beliefs and the work a person does, what they value, to take action with ability to assess risk and learn from success as well as from perceived failures, encouragement and support to achieve greatness inline with personal and company values and vision Decision making – obtaining information critical from several sources and making the best decision possible under the circumstances and within specific parameters, separating emotion and logic For self assessment, rate yourself out of 10 for each skill (0 being low and 10 being high), determine 3 you would like to work on as a priority and devise a place to increase your competence in each of these 3 critical leadership skill areas.
career coach
By Jacquie Ottema 05 Apr, 2020
As a professional Career Exploration and Employment Transition Coach, it is important to provide unbiased guidance and direction regarding next steps, how to accomplish them, and guide in teaching the skills you need. If necessary, I will provide professional introductions to help you expand your network and connectivity to key executives and professionals.
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