Coaches Needed
Are you a coach? Would you like to help people implement a career development system that works?
PeopleMaps needs coaches who are trained in the application of its 3 Step System to Land Your Dream Job.
This Career Coach course is written for professional coaches, who want to help clients accelerate their career using this powerful system from PeopleMaps.
PeopleMaps has helped thousands of people accelerate their career over the last few years and has developed a unique, personality centric, approach.
There is a huge amount of psychology in the recruitment process and this is the bedrock for The 3 Step System To Land Your Dream Job.
Tried and Tested System
Through working closely with employers and recruitment agencies PeopleMaps developed a deep understanding of the recruitment process and the psychology involved. From this it developed an alternative to traditional job hunting, which quite frankly no longer works.
Traditional job hunting, where you batter off lots of CVs and applications to strangers, is a very ineffective way of job hunting. We call this CV based recruitment and from the feedback we have received from tens of thousands of users over the last few years, it’s pretty clear that CV based recruitment doesn’t work.
This is why you will find hardly a mention of CVs in any of the dozens of videos contained in the course. So if you are thinking this is another course showing you how to write a CV, then you will be disappointed. Consider this to be job hunting without a CV.
PeopleMaps set out to develop an alternative strategy to CV based recruitment, one that helps people discover what they should be doing with their working life. It then goes on to show them how to land interviews and get job offers.
Applied Psychology
PeopleMaps is the web’s leading provider of online personality profiling. Human behaviour is what we are passionate about. We studied the behaviour of job seekers and of employers.
Our 3 Step System taps into human behaviour; both the candidate’s and the employers.
We discovered that the recruitment process is deeply flawed. It is subject to prejudice of all sorts and certainly doesn’t see candidates hired on merit. If a candidate participates in the traditional recruitment process they are playing with dice loaded in the employers favour from the outset. The process isn’t fair and candidates can’t win. If it was a casino it would be closed down.
Coaches Needed
While PeopleMaps has provided online video training to thousands of job hunters it does not provide 1-2-1 coaching. Yet many of our users could also benefit from good 1-2-1 coaching.
This is why we have developed the Career Coach course for professional coaches. We are happy to show you our system, so that you can add it to your own skills and expertise to help people with their career development.
So many people need help with their careers. People need coaches.
Could You Coach?
And if you have ever considered a career in coaching then you should also look at this Career Coach course as it’s an ideal program to get you started.
How would you like to give your friends, family and clients a pay rise by being their personal career coach?
With the PeopleMaps Career Coaching Course you can help people find their ideal job.
PeopleMaps has now created this train the trainer program, so that you too can help people find their ideal job as their career coach.
The PeopleMaps Career Coach Course is open to everyone, whether you are an established life coach or someone who just wants to do it part-time to help your family and friends.
But before you throw yourself in at the deep end, why not sign up for the Free Mini Course and take it for a test drive. (Coming soon)
Who is This Career Coach Program For?
Established Coaches
If you are already coaching people then you will enjoy this new approach to job hunting and career development. Even the most experience coaches will find some gems within this course.
Absolute beginners
You may simply want to be in a position to advise your children on their career. Perhaps you have family or friends that are looking for a new job or attending interviews.
This course is perfect for you and will put you in a position where you can really make a difference.
Help Your Own Career
And if you feel you just want to learn a better way to accelerate your own career, then feel free to sign up for the course and become your own coach.
Tried and Tested
The techniques I will show you in the PeopleMaps Career Coach Course are the same ones I have been using successfully with clients for the last five years.
Clients like Kal, who had been out of work for three years. As you know trying to get back into work after such a long break is an uphill struggle. Kal had been trying on her own for six months and getting nowhere.
Within a couple of weeks of taking the course Kal landed some interviews and got a job offer.
Better still within a few months she was being asked to apply for various jobs and was effectively headhunted to a new job that paid her her highest salary every, doing something she was really excited about.
Why Train The Trainer?
There are so many people needing help with their career that we simply can’t deal with everyone directly. We hate to see people in jobs they hate working for crappy bosses. There is no reason that anyone, no matter at what level they are operating, should suffer a job they hate.
Look at your own immediate circle and you will be able to create a list of people who would dearly love to find a new job.
We felt that the best way to impact more lives in a positive way was to share what we have learned, so that you can take it and use it with the people you care about.
Can anyone apply this system?
This system works for people fresh out of college, looking for their first job and for senior executives. Whether you are looking for a promotion or a complete career change, this system works. When you are trained as a PeopleMaps Career Coach you will be able to help pretty much anyone you care to, no matter at what level they are working at.
I am really struggling with my PhD right now – in my spare time I have written a coaching course that I am really proud of – but this is really procrastination as it is nothing to do with my PhD. I am passionate about my topic but just cannot motivate myself for more than a few seconds – I just then give up and go back to surfing the net, watching TV, having a nap, anything except the dratted PhD. I am really worried as I am not progressing and not doing any work. The good news (and surprising) is that I am not depressed – normally I think the two go hand in hand. I am worried that this means I no longer WANT to do the thing, haven’t got the DESIRE – which I think is the prerequisite for the activity. Or am I wrong? Am I right to try to dissect my demotivation? Do you have any good tips for motivation – for emergency cases?
Hi Anna,
Not that’s it’s much comfort but I think every PHD student feels this way towards the end of their thesis.
I think the first thing to understand is the objective of the game. A PHD is designed so that people quit. It’s a test of mettle not knowledge. If you want a PHD, then they want you to suffer for it. They want you to talk yourself out of it.
Like all examinations, the whole thing is a nonsense. However you should look again at what you can do with your world if you have your PHD. Look again at your motivation for doing it in the first place. Leave aside your interest in the subject, what motivated you to want a PHD? Was it your ego? Was it because you think it will help your career? Was it because it was expected of you?
Now look at what your motivation to finish it could be?
Could it be you simply want to prove something to the world? Could it be because you want to command respect and be taken seriously? Could it be because you do not want to regret not finishing it? I need you to look at the very human and personal reasons for doing this. Look at the selfish reasons. I am not interested in what you will say publicly to anyone but what you feel privately. Often these are not very noble motivations. Often the reasons are petty and silly. But that’s OK. The important thing is to find the honest reason.
Like most people, I suspect you have entered into the PHD game without knowing the rules. Well now you know them.
Hi Martin,
When I first graduated I felt very lucky, landing a place on a graduate scheme, with what I thought was my ideal company. Initially I felt confident in the roles I was given and gained promotions quickly, I genuinely loved going to work and couldn’t wait for Mondays. After about five years I was given a management role with the promise of increasing responsibility and involvement in strategic decisions, unfortunately these things never materialised and I found myself in a very mundane yet overly busy job, each time I asked about more involvement I was fobbed off with a couple of unecessary courses. I stuck with it as the money and benefits were good, but my confidence just ebbed away, to the point that I convinced myself that I just wasn’t capable. I left the company believing that the problem could be solved with a fresh start, this was not the case. I now find myself 10 years after graduating (milestones are great for dwelling on ‘what-could-have-been’) dreading Mondays, feeling that I am just not capable of taking the next step-up. I find myself compensating by agreeing to take on additional tasks and working longer hours and feeling guilty about leaving work on time. I know that self-confidence is the key, and this is definitely an aspect I need help with I’m just not sure how to go about it. I have to do something as I don’t want to be the person that can only ever complain about how awful work is – I’d find it bloody annoying, so I don’t want to turn into that!
I guess I’m looking for advice on what i should remedy first – do I need a confidence boost before I look for new work, if so how best to acheive this or, will new work give me the boost i need?
Adrienne, Really appreciate what you have shared here. This is a very common scenario and it affects a lot of people.
It doesn’t sound like a competence issue. In fact you sound very capable. The amazing thing is that it is almost never a competence issue. You see when there is a competence issue, it can be solved with a bit of training.
This is why I often use the phrase “We hire on skill but fire on attitude”.
Let me show you the world from the employers perspective for a minute. If a line manager likes the employee and everyone is working well together then they will never be fired for a lack of a skill – they will be trained.
Looking at your scenario there are a couple of issues I see.
1) You have grown
It sounds like you had a few internal promotions within the same company. The trouble is that after a few ears you grow as a person. However the people who knew you as the intern will always see you as the intern. They do not easily let you grow. It’s not out of badness. It’s just human nature. So moving to a new environment is usually the only way forward.
2) You have a mismatch between the environment the employer is providing and your personality
So you did change companies after a few years but do not feel it is working out. There is a chance that this particular company isn’t right for you or it may be that the work environment isn’t right for you.
When we take a promotion it changes our job role. A classic disaster is promoting a good field sales person into a sales management role. This usually results in the loss of a good field sales person and the gain of an unhappy and not very competent sales manager.
The Wood from the trees
Maybe you are climbing the wrong tree. You need to get down and dirty with your personality and spend some time with your belly button. You need to figure out exactly what job is right for you and your personality. Otherwise you are implementing a “suck it and see” approach, which is very time consuming and you will be 160 before you find the answer.
When you know for sure you are in the right tree, confidence will not be a problem.
Put yourself in the right environment for you and it will come together.
I have been recently made redundant from a company I’ve worked hard for the past 7 years. I’m having some mixed emotions but am also relishing this opportunity to do volunteer work and travel, which have been my dreams for a long time. Before I embark on my quest around the world, I need to find some temporary work to tie me over summer but I’m not sure how to make my creative, admin and project management skills transferable to temporary opportunities. Also, I can’t help but worry a little about the future after I return as I work in an industry which is all about relationships and connections! (Also I will be 40 when I return and I note your answer above about ageism…) I suppose I need to try keep in touch with all my LinkedIn contacts even whilst I’m away? Thanks for your help.
The truth what is standing in my way is fear, lack of finances and just get into places where I can see the vision of what I want to come and then give up when it does not come to me. I have written and redrafted as I got my knowledge but the start up is a problem and courage to quit a job that is “killing” me physically and emotionally is giving me trouble. I thrive on seeing people rebuilding their lives and have coached several people through work but when it comes to me I dont do anything about it but just write and write and write.
I want to be a coach to improve the lives of people who are from BME Backgrounds in the specific area of moving on from abuse and rape. I have strengths but I cannot seem to source the opportunities.
Lois, Really appreciate what you have raised here.
We are all afraid of something. In most cases our fear is holding us back. We build these walls to protect ourselves but they also imprison us.
You have raised a very important point about helping others. It is very difficult figuring out our own problems. This reason alone is why we should all have a coach.
Helping others with their lives is a great way to help yourself. We can see things more clearly in others that we cannot see in ourselves. I strongly recommend that you try coaching someone else in their career before working on your own career development.
I think it’s got something to do with the psychology of “we teach what we need to learn”. If nothing else it gives us some objectivity.
And finally there is a skill element. If we look at this Career Coach course, it includes knowledge that most likely you do not have. You do not need to reinvent the wheel. This bullet proof method of career acceleration is very different from what everyone else is teaching. For one there isn’t a CV in sight. Have you ever encountered career advice that didn’t place the CV at the centre of it? CV based recruitment is deeply flawed and prejudiced. Most people need an alternative approach; one that doesn’t rely upon CVs, to get interviews and job offers.
Lois, the world needs coaches. In particular it needs career coaches as there are simply too many people in the wrong job and hating it. I can train you to coach people in their career. I hope we get the chance to work together.
What’s frustrating you? Not getting responses from employers after ‘you’ have spent ages completeing on line forms.
What’s holding you back? Nothing as far as I am concerned,but employers have said I am over qualified, what ever that means? Maybe I am just too old?
Is it about finding the right direction? I have changed direction, in my career {by retraining and getting better qualifications} so many times over the last few years, I feel like I am on a roundabout with six or seven exits!
Perhaps it’s interview nerves? Not according to recent interviews, I came across as decisive and confident, I took the time to find out about each Companies product or service and, when asked, explained where I thought my role would fit.
I am a motivated Trainer and Mentor with demonstrated achievements in the training, development, selection and assessment of diverse multicultural / multinational personnel / varied age groups and genders. In team building, training needs and analysis. I have achieved European recognition for Customer services. Extensive experience in the design, development and delivery of Specialist and Vocational training and assessment and the leadership, management and development of multinational teams in operations in sensitive, challenging, high risk, and life threatening environments. NONE of which seem to count in this current job market!
Les, Great comment. thanks. Let me address it step by step.
Employers get so many applications these days that they never respond to anyone. It’s no reflection on your ability. But it is pure ignorant.
If you are over 40 then you are facing ageism big time. This is one reason I have added a Master Class to the Career Coach course. CV based recruitment is ageist. If you are over 40 then you need to use an alternative strategy to CV based recruitment.
As regards being “over qualified” – employers tend to talk utter bollocks and you should ignore all feedback they provide. They are mostly amateurs playing God. The power goes to their head. Ignore them.
Figuring out your direction is Step 1. It has to be in harmony with your core personality. The answer lies in your personality, not your qualifications or experience.
You may be better than most at interviews but pretty much everyone sucks at it. However I feel you have dropped the ball before you even get to the interview.
I have the feeling that for you it’s about finding purpose, direction and passion. You are smart and capable of doing a whole bunch of things, which makes your life quite difficult – smart people suffer most.
Do you want to coach and mentor people? Is this the part of your work you enjoy?
I think some employers within the care sector are very anxious when they see my previous convictions. I have worked within the care sector with these convictions and had no problems.
It may be the way that I explain myself at interview, I am not sure as some employers don’t give me feed back even when I write to them.
Unfortunately you have to reveal previous convictions. When you reveal them however may give you a chance. How you explain them will matter. How you counter them will really matter. Everyone has a downside. We all need to promote the upside to compensate. Your upside may need to be stronger than most.
Hi Martin
Compared to other commenters here, I’m probably the least worthy; I have a secure, well paid job – but it’s soooo boring and de-motivating. But I’ve allowed myself to fall hostage to fortune as I’ve never really had a realistic career ambition or focused on what really interests me. Now it seems it may be too late, and I have too much to lose.
Tony, you are in the most dangerous place of all.
When you hate your job and your boss is an idiot, there is at least some motivation to do something about it.
You are the proverbial boiling frog. You know that if you place a frog in water and slowly heat it, the frog will remain there until it cooks and dies. Sounds to me like you are cooking.
If you find yourself saying “something around here smells good to eat” then it’s probably too late – you’re cooked.
Security is a myth. This is life. No one get’s out of it alive.
If you find work boring and demotivating then you are in hot water. The frog doesn’t realise it’s life is in danger. I’m hoping you are smarter than the frog. Hop to it.
Hi Martin, I have an excellent track record in making projects successful in the IT world. I have detailed experience of Research, Manufacturing, Distribution, Banking, Insurance. My level of success seems to be a hindrance to getting a job in the current employment arena especially in getting past HR. Other very competent people have had similar experiences.
Richard, the one thing that I hear from employers, even in the heat of a recession, is that they can’t find enough good candidates. More candidates doesn’t mean more good candidates.
Your success is not holding you back.
Your approach probably is however. Someone with your level of experience should not be relying on the old fashioned CV based recruitment approach. You need to be better than that.
I suspect you need to package yourself a lot better. I’m pretty sure you need to attend different interviews. You should only be speaking to HR after you have the job offer.
And you need to really understand the psychology of interviews and how to turn them all into job offers. If you follow the 3 step system then you should look to convert every interview into a job offer.
I have Master of Science degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Chemistry. I have interest in research into drug discovery and development a career that require PhD in my field of interest. The University of interest seems to be reluctant to give me admission. The reason given was that there is nobody among its professors that have interest in my research area.
It has also been very difficult to obtain scholarship or grants without some stringent conditions.
What should I do?
Hi Koleoso, I don’t think this is a problem I can help you with. It’s a bit like asking me how to get a specific girl to fall in love you – I can’t do that either.
What I can advise is to be focused on the goal but flexible in your approach.
I see your focus on your goal but I’m not seeing your flexibility. This often means the goal itself needs questioned or re-examined.
What do you really want?
Why?
Nerves in a pressure environment, my brain and my mouth seem to disconnect
Helena, You are not alone.
I think most people either say the wrong thing or forget to mention something important.
It’s too much to expect of anyone to think of everything when in the hot seat. This is why I figured out a way of getting you into interviews without them feeling like interviews. Imagine your job interview felt more like have a coffee with an old colleague?
The way I see it you have two choices
1) Somehow figure out how to become a great performer in a traditional job interview – good luck with that.
or
2) Change the game. Find a better strategy that doesn’t have you sitting on front of a panel of strangers gibbering rubbish.
At PeopleMaps we figured out a long time ago that only a very small percentage of people can ever learn to be outstanding performers, so we devised a strategy where you can just be you – no jazz hands required. That’s what we teach in the Career Coach program.
A have a first class degree in Computing Science, but am not the loud-mouthed pushy type and tend to keep quiet, get on with the job and end up getting ignored and left feeling undervalued. I need a change in career direction, but am unsure which direction to go in.
Ivan, the question is “Do you need a new job? or do yo need a new employer?”
I’m not hearing you hate the core job. I am hearing you hate how you are being ignored and undervalued.
Changing career is very tricky, which is why I am including a Master Class session on it in the Career Coach course. But I’m not sure you are ready to change careers. I get the feeling you just need to change employers. There will be some people out there that appreciate you.
I hear that you are not “lour-mouthed or pushy”, but one still has to exert influence in the world, otherwise you get ignored. In the Career Coach course I include a section called “How To Move an Elephant”, which will show you how to remain who you but still exert your influence in the world around you. This is personality centric, so you are not asked to behave in a way that clashes with your personality. Yet it will show you how to exert your influence and get more of what you want (respect, attention, appreciation).
I want a change of direction but dont know where to start
Have been in this role for 10 years and feel trapped in a time warp.
I don t know how to match my core values to any role.
I also have not been on an interview for years so am nervous about that too. Can
You online course help?
Wendy, thanks for sharing. I fear you speak for so many of my readers here.
The Career Coach course, although written for professional coaches to use with clients, will be able to help you as it shows you how to implement The 3 Stem System.
Step 1 deals with finding direction. This personality centric approach puts aside your CV and looks right the centre of what makes you tick. It is essential that your work environment is in harmony with your core personality. I suspect this is not something you have been experiencing for the last ten years.
Step 3 deals with interviews. Let me ask you, “how much training have you had on interview technique?”. Let me guess – none?
The good news is that for most people interview nerves is mostly a question of competence. If you have never been trained on interview technique then you should be nervous. You should be as nervous as a passenger who has just been asked to land a plane.
The good news however is that with training comes competence. And with competence comes confidence.
Once you have been trained on interview technique which is covered in Step 3, then you will not be bother by nerves.
Hi Martin, My question is a combination of the above. I’m 50+, have a good standard of education (BA Econ) and come from the car trade. I have been extremely successful in the recent past but wish to leave the car trade. I know I want to work in the 3rd sector but always seem to lack the relevant experience. I do volunteer in a local charity shop but while learning new skills, they are not those generally required on the person spec. What is the next stage on the road to changing roles?
Regards
Quentin
Quintin,
It sounds like you are doing some things right. Most importantly it sounds like you know what it is you want to do, though I would double check and go a bit deeper. In the Career Coach course I show coaches how to ensure you are going in the right direction. You can use the course to be your own coach however.
A career change is challenging because fundamentally employers do not believe in transferable skills. In fact you will rarely get past the first sifting of CVs. So my advice to anyone who is changing careers is you can’t use the traditional job hunting strategy. This is where you batter of CVs and applications to job adverts. You will never get past the first sifting if you are changing careers.
You need a different strategy, which is what I teach in the Career Coach course. I also include a master class on Career Change as this is something I written a lot about. Although the course is written for professional career coaches, you can still use it to great effect.You will just need to be your own client.
I am caught in a vicious circle – I have been out of work for a while so confidence is down so when I get an interview I perhaps underperform, don’t get the job and so continue to be out of work, thus appearing less appealing ( less recent experience and self confidence) making next interview more difficult etc – am now numbering over 50 interview failures since start of 2010. Feedback mostly too experience: not recent enough experience: not specific enough experience ( too fat/ too old/ too depressed not overtly mentioned!).
Now desperate – stressed out/ debt ridden – is it too much to simply want a decent challenging job with a regular salary?
To quote Clint Eastwood from the movie Dirty Harry, “Opinions are like assholes. Everybody’s got one”.
Ignore all feedback from interviews. They are generally clueless amateurs who have never been trained. I know because I work with them.
My first question is “Are you going to the right interviews?”
Daft I know, but most people are turning up at the wrong interviews for jobs they are not suited to. Often for jobs they don’t really care for.
My second suggestion is to get some training on interview technique. Everyone needs to learn this master skill and yet no one has be trained. Even people who think they are good at interviews, still suck. Stop messing about and get some training. In the Career Coach course I cover this in Step 3 of the System, where you will discover power interview strategies that guarantee to get you job offers. Buy the course and be your own client, or I can perhaps put you in touch with a PeopleMaps trained Career Coach.
I think my main frustration is just a total lack of opportunity, and responsiveness from potential employers that I approach. I just can’t get a foot back in the door, and am feeling rather demoralised, so I would like to identify other possibilities.
James, You have touched on a few important issues here.
Let me look at “lack of opportunity” in another way.
1) Are there people doing the job you are aiming for?
2) Is there a significant decline in the number of people who do this job? In other words is this a dying market?
I am going to take a leap of faith here and say that there are plenty of people doing the job and that, although it may have taken a bit of a dip, they are not as scarce as Betamax video sales people.
If I’m wrong then you are chasing the wrong job.
If you are chasing the right job, then you need only look at your strategy. Let me guess;
You look through the job adverts and send off your applications and CVs to the jobs advertised? You may even be registered with a recruitment agency.
As far as strategies go this is pretty ineffective.
As regards the lack of response from employers. I wouldn’t pay too much attention to this. They receive hundreds, possibly even thousands of applications and never respond to nay of them, except the ones invited to interview. It’s ignorant but that’s how it works.
Finally are you trying to change careers? Are you trying to get interviews for jobs that are not on your CV?
If so then you will never hear back from an employer or get an interview. You won’t make it past the first sifting, no matter how super smart and capable you are.
I am releasing a free video explaining this in detail shortly called “The No 1 Reason People Fail To Get Job Interviews”. Make sure you catch it as it’s pure gold.
Hi Martin
I find myself at something of a career crossroad, I have been self-emplyed since November 1984; up until October 2012 I was a partner for all those years in a design consultancy based in Leamington Spa. Our business had struggled (like many others) since the summer of 2008 and having reached the end of a lease term on Offices we decided to call it a day and dissolve the partnership. Our relationship had been under pressure due to the down turn and unfortunately this has subsequently been a little acrimonious, however, we are now only a couple of weeks away from signing everything off and can genuinely move on. Although at some personal cost, all suppliers were paid and ongoing work was completed.
Subsequently I have re-established myself as a sole trader under Stuart’s Graphics; without really taking stock of what it was or even where I would like to work in the future. I founded many solid relationships in my old role and managed to re-instate myself with one of my most important customers. All good you might think, however, my overall confidence has been knocked for six and I have very little belief that what I am doing now will sustain me and my kids in a long term way. Plus I am working from home, this is great in some respects but quite hard in others.
I decided I would also embark on a job search in an effort to provide myself with some sort of regular income, hopefully do some freelance work alongside to try and make up some lost ground in financial terms. However, this has proved difficult and somewhat demoralising – I am a little bit fed up with the …on this occasion your application will not be taken further…!
I am 51, I realise that in the design world that maybe a problem for some employers – depending on how they picture themselves and their own vibrant offering. Coupled with that – my lack of confidence has manifested itself in two very nervy interviews; one of which was for a job I personally feel I should have got – but I managed to display such a lack of confidence in my own work samples that I did not make the second interview. This was after providing a pre-interview design visual that was one of the best they received.
So I feel a bit up against it, I feel like I am not selling myself properly – I feel I have a lot to offer; I have good interpersonal skills, I am a good designer and I have quite a few customers who would endorse that…BUT, I feel my confidence will hold me back plus I have a professional dilemma in where to pitch myself, I should be aiming for the very top Art Director roles, and yet I feel my experience does not match the credentials for those roles so I have been aiming for senior designer jobs and sometimes, more junior roles. In other words a bit of a jack of all trades and master of none.
I could of course, persevere with my self-employment and build the work up to a higher level, but I am not really sure my heart is in it and I feel a bit out of the loop in professional terms – which makes me strangely anxious. My strong desire is to be able to work for a company in a reasonably responsible position – concentrate on what I do best and not have to constantly battle with the finances at the end of each month.
So, how to achieve this goal, not getting to the interview stage is frustrating, not selling myself when I get there and an increasing feeling that I just am not offering what prospective employers want in turn feeds a lack of confidence – a vicious circle. I am conscious to that this is affecting my personal life – friendships and relationships and I desperately need to re-discover myself.
Many thanks for at least offering an opportunity to express some of my concerns.
Best regards
Stuart
Stuart,
Really appreciate you sharing. You have given me a lot to work with and as is my way I will fearlessly throw in my opinion. It’s only an opinion.
I think you need a little space to let dust settle and to see things clearly. You need to take time to figure out exactly what it is you want.
My impression is that you are chasing in two directions with no commitment to either. – I’ve been there. Very sore on the crotch 🙂
Did you feel self employed or did you feel like you worked for a small business previously?
Most people have great trouble moving from self-employed to employed. I am a self confessed unemployable person.
But self employment isn’t for everyone. It’s not the solution to everyone’s problems. However I do believe everyone needs to think like they were self employed.
Now we also have to look at your specific industry. It’s fragmenting. It’s changing. I would say the trend is going to see lots of employed people becoming self employed contractors. Instead of having one boss they will have a handful of bosses. I worry that job hunting will go against this tide.
Take a bit of time and figure out what you need from your working life (beyond money). You have just undergone a huge change so not the best time to make decisions. A little coaching may help.
My biggest professional challenges are two folds;
1. Complex Inferiority
2. Procrastination
I will appreciate help on these.
Regards,
Alex, Ghana
Alex. To the point and you are not alone.
Traditional interviews and job hunting is designed to make us all feel a little inferior. After all, they have all the power.
This is why I teach an entirely different approach. You need to use an approach that levels up the playing field.
And it’s no wonder you procrastinate. If you associate a lot of pain with job hunting then it makes sense to procrastinate.
However if you use the 3 Step System that I teach in the Career Coach course, you will learn how to make job hunting pleasurable, not painful. I don’t know about you but I never procrastinate over eating apple pie. I only procrastinate over painful experiences.
I have been reading your emails, including the latest comments from the above job hunters, and can relate to the sense of frustration and disillusionment. Before I had my children, I never had any problem finding a job. I simply walked into an employment agency, either in Central London, or locally where I lived, registered my CV, was sent on various interviews and landed the job without any difficulties. In this recession, I have followed the same strategy with no response most of the time. One charity who I did get an interview with told me my years of self-employment/running my own business counted against me! I would like to reiterate one point Martin made about the importance of your personality type to compatible careers rather than looking for one purely on the basis of money or job security. I would recommend the Myers-Briggs personality test which you can do online which is very helpful in suggesting possible careers which are compatible with personality type.
Viv, let me start by saying that Traditional Job Hunting No Longer Works.
It never worked that well but in the last few years there have been some changes and it hardly works at all now.
Viv you are right to place personality at the centre of your career decisions, however I recommend you use the PeopleMaps personality system and not Myers Briggs. PeopleMaps pioneered online personality profiling. We pioneered personality centric career coaching and over 1.4 million people have completed our questionnaire.
The Career Coach course is an entirely new approach to career development and it is personality centric.
More people than ever need help with their careers. PeopleMaps is training people to do that. We are training them on personality centric career development methods.
I do not have a career at the moment and I really cannot decide which career path to follow. I need to work and I need to earn a decent salary. I want to work for an employer that cares about the employees and offers training and support during the early stages of the new job.
I lack confidence in my own abilities and I feel intimidated by the thought of going for interviews. Of course I try my best to put on a confident front and I do answer questions and ask relevant questions as well. If I get the job then I worry that I will not be able to achieve all that is expected of me.
I realise that much of how I think and feel is down to my personality however I have been made redundant four times in my career and I cannot help feeling negatively about future outcomes. I have taken to researching companies before I apply for posts, to see if they are sound financially.
I am now 57 and I feel that employers will regard me as too old for most of the vacancies for which I apply. I still have lots of energy and I am self motivated. Once I have a job I will settle in and become part of the team. It is just getting to that stage which is the challenge. Thanks for your advice and support Martin.
Andrew, if you are over 40 then ageism is real. Traditional job hunting is subject to ageism which is why I recommend you try a different strategy.
Step 1 demands clarity in career direction. You need to decide what it is you want to do and it must be in harmony with your core personality. It sounds like you still have to complete step 1. I recommend you do that before trying to get interviews.
If you do step 1 correctly then confidence will be less of an issue.
Andrew it sounds like you have been kicked about a bit, so its understandable how you feel. The key for you lies in completing Step 1 correctly. You need to find your thing and build your career around it.
In Step 2 and 3 you will discover how to get interviews with the right people and how to convert every interview into a job offer. But until you nail Step 1, it’s all a waste of time.
What is standing between where I am and where, with help, I could be in my career is simply the Perceptions of Employers – They claim they want Dynamic individuals who can take their company places, but when confronted with one they run a mile thinking this character is Dangerous because he’s not Conventional – So they end up employing people who are ‘Widget Factory Managers’ to run their Widget Factories Averagely,
and so it Continues, Best, Deano the Cynic: http://www.linkedin.com/in/deanomuso
Dean, So you have spotted that most employers talk bollocks 🙂
And that most job adverts are lies.
The traditional recruitment process will always see them hire the bland and the safe.
This is why you need a different strategy. You need to apply an alternative to the traditional recruitment process. The 3 Step System is one such alternative. And I believe it’s the only way that you will land the job you actually want. A job that will appreciate you for who you are and not because you will conform.
There are essentially two strategies to choose from if you want to accelerate your career.
1) Comply
or
2) Create
Both work. But only one will let you be yourself.
Most large organisations reward compliance. The more compliant you are the more you are rewarded.
The alternative rewards creativity. It encourages new ideas and rewards the people who dare to think them and implement them.
You have to be very sure as to which strategy you decide to use. Don’t try being creative in a company that rewards compliance.
Don’t try and comply in a company that rewards creativity.
Hi Martin,
I have spent the last six months caring for a terminally sick parent. She died in February.
Caring responsibilities since I was a teenager have meant that I have never discovered what I was born to do and although I have done some really interesting things and held senior roles in organisations that seek to transform lives – the one life left untouched was mine. I will be 59 in a few weeks time and my confidence is so badly bruised that I fear I may now never discover what I was meant to do. I need to do something different and find a place where I am valued. Where on earth do I start?
Kate, that’s a pretty life changing experience.
In answer to your question “Where on Earth to I start?”, well at the beginning of course 🙂 You start with Step 1 of the 3 Step System.
Step 1 is dedicated to helping you figure out what the hell you should be doing with your life. It places your personality at the very centre of these decisions.
Step 1 is the most exciting place on Earth for indeed it is full of potential. I know you may not see that now but once you start to open a few doors, you will see more and more of it.
Our minds become very closed. We focus entirely on the management of our days. When suddenly faced with open our minds to possibility again it’s a bit like a muscle we haven’t used for a while, so it hurts. It takes a while to get your head around it. Moving from management to creativity is a bit of a wrench.
But it’s too early to be fearful. Ideas are nothing to be scared of. Later when you decide to implement one of them, then you may allow for a bit of fear to creep in but for now, it’s not going to help you.
You do not need confidence during step 1. You should suspend all judgement of yourself and your ideas during step 1, so confidence is irrelevant. Just go through the process and play.
The Career Coach course deals with this. It will take you through the 3 step System. Although designed for professional coaches, you can of course coach yourself.
I encourage you to use what you learn and coach someone else. You will learn a lot when you try and coach someone else. Pick a friend or family member and take them through the 3 Step System as their coach. I’m pretty sure you and they will benefit from the experience.
Hi Martin
I would like to help my husband who is a fantastic person with lots to give but is not satisfied in his work. He feels a sense of obligation to stay in a secure job (as much as you can be secure!) for our childrens sake. He has worked in sales for many years and is a helpful, people person but feels that he would like to use his creative/ problem solving style in a sector like engineering. Any words of encouragement and some first steps I think would really help him to take a leap of faith!
Thanks very much
Lindsey
Lindsey, I’m so glad you left this comment.
My wife is my coach. I owe her everything. All my best ideas come through her. She gets me like no one else in the world and I suspect this is true of you and your husband.
When I designed the Career Coach course it was so that people like you could follow a system and help the people they care about. My wife helps me realise more and more of my potential. I think other people would like to do that for the people they care about too.
In the course I explain in detail the nuts and bolts of career development and all the psychology involved. It’s a simple step by step approach, so no knowledge is assumed.
I wanted to empower people who cared to be able to do something about it. No one wants to see the people they care about in a job they hate, where they are unappreciated and undervalued. The Career Coach course will empower you. You can use what you learn there to change the lives of the people you care about.
Hi Martin,
thank you for the opportunity to speak with you.
The problem I am having is that i do not know the Title of the position I would like to work in.
I know you say in step 1 decide what it is you were born to do, but how to put it into words?
I am highly intuitive, analytical & efficient.
I have the ability to go into a business & see almost straight away areas where great improvement could be made towards time management/production.
If there is an area that is not functioning as well as it could I will see it.
In previous positions i have held when I speak to management about this issue they totally disregard it as though they do not care that the company could be running much more efficiently & productively therefore increasing revenues & decreasing lost revenues.
I enjoy working in an environment which runs very efficiently & am more than happy to point out any areas which do not run so, to the appropriate people in the business.
Could you help me by explaining what exactly it is that I am looking for as in, what Title I should be looking for in any job position?
Another problem I am finding is that many companies are not willing to assist in any type of training.
I have many abilities but not necessarily gained by examinations. Therefore without the appropriate certificates no employer is willing to consider me for any position that I know I can fulfil easily as most jobs advertised state that they require the candidate to have specific qualifications.
Interested to know your response to my dilemma.
Thank you
Reba,
Good question.
Here’s what you need to know about job titles.
They are lies created by recruitment agencies and employers to sell jobs.
Do not use job titles as the basis of your career decisions as you are building your plan on a platform of lies.
It sounds like you have an idea of what it is you would like to do. This is good news, as this is the most difficult step. If we presume this then you need to know how to express it in a way that has employers wanting to talk to you. We cover this in Step 2 of the System.
Step 2 is all about getting interviews with the right people in the right context. Most people are turning up at the wrong job interviews.
Finally remember that companies do not believe in training or in transferable skills. They all want you to turn up and start delivering excellence. Don’t try and persuade them otherwise as it’s like teaching a pig to sing. It only annoys the pig.
Use a different strategy instead. This is what you will learn in the Career Coach course. It’s designed to let you coach others in their career development but you can of course use it on yourself.
I am grateful to you, Martin, for all the useful information on your site, which I have been following for a long time, but the problem remains; how can anyone find a good job in north east England when such things no longer exist? Zero hour jobs are worse than nothing. As you have often said, the best jobs are not advertised, true, and they go to people with inside connections, which leaves we, the long term unemployed, outside in the rain with not a hope.
Grahame, You speak for a lot of people. One of the reasons I am now training coaches to deliver my approach to career coaching, is because it is so desperately needed.
The traditional approach to job hunting doesn’t work. Battering off CVs to strangers doesn’t work. A new strategy is required if you are to break through.
The 3 Step System I teach, exploits the psychology at play in recruitment. If you understand the psychology throughout the recruitment process, yours and the employers, then you can land job offers.
The 3 Step System looks like this;
Step 1 – Know what job is right for you
Do you know exactly what it is you want to do and why? Is it in harmony with your personality. Is the work environment right for you. Forget about what you can do and focus on what you want to do.
You have to pursue jobs you are passionate about. Don’t chase jobs for the money as there is no motivation or fuel there to work with.
Grahame, do you know what it is you want to do with your life? Is it crystal clear.
Step 2 – Getting interviews
The minute you and an employer think about your meeting as a job interview, you have probably blown it. It’s a bit like asking a girl for sex before you have even bought her a drink. Understandably their guard goes up.
Stop trying to get job interviews and start getting to know some people. You don’t need to know them very well. A social media relationship may be enough to start with.
In the Career Coach course I show you dozens of ways to get interviews and not one of them involves a CV. These techniques not only work for you but the employers like them too.
Step 3 – Interview technique. Converting interviews to job offers.
I have seen rooms full of candidates for big salary jobs and not one of them knew how to deliver a good interview. Interview technique is non existent and shockingly bad.
Learn the master skill – interview technique – and job offers start to materialise.
Grahame, I know things are tough out there. I don’t want to bullshit with some ra ra motivational speech. But as long as there is a company in the NE of England with a problem, then there are job opportunities. And from what I see, companies in the NE of England have a lot of problems.
Grahame we are all hired to solve problems. Pick a problem you can solve and go help someone solve it. Stop thinking about it as job hunting. Start thinking about it as problem solving. What problem do you solve? Who has it? Help them.
I can relate very deeply to alot of the comments and questions here. I think Martin’s insights are bang on the money. It has taken me along time to realise many of these points myself. I got laid off at the start of the recession five years ago, and here I am still trying to get back into worrk. I am prepared to consider alternatives, and at least have abilities in different areas, but have found gaining interviews very hard now that I am in my forties. I have always been an art & design creative type, and am interested in your program, as it may help me reach a different perspective.
James, thanks for the kind words. As a creative you are going to have to think about this a bit differently. There is a chance that the role you had 5 years ago no longer exists.
Yet there are more opportunities for creatives today than ever. They just look different and are found in different places.
It is also unlikely you will find a single employer. You will need several employers as very few companies need an in-house creative yet they all outsource this kind of work all the time.
PeopleMaps is a small business, yet I spend more on creatives than I did when I worked for a huge organisation. I say again the market and demand for creatives has grown exponentially.
So if I was to glibly give you a top tip, knowing very little about your specific situation, it would be to start thinking about several employers, not one. And of course make sure you follow the 3 Step System.
Are there any techniques for overcoming recruiter resistance to gaps caused by ill health which has now been resolved fully?
Hi Penny, Yes, you will need some tricks up your sleave to deal with this.
In the case study I have included in the free training videos, we talk about Kal. She had a three year gap to explain.
She managed to land her dream job twice despite this three year gap.
Hi Martin
I’ve 15 years in senior management in the public sector but would like to change sectors but not take a drop in salary, what’s the best way of doing this?
best regards
Jane
Jane, Career change is tricky. Traditional job hunting techniques simply do not work as they are designed completely to find “more of the same”.
I have included a special Masterclass session in the Career Coach course on career change for this very reason.
You have the additional challenge of moving from public sector to private sector, so there are some additional hurdles to overcome, however the 3 Step System strategy will work.
Hi Martin,
I have had a career change. I was a Nursery Nurse and through ill health and subsequent disability, I am looking for admin work. I have been open to any kind of admin work and do get interviews from my CV. On feedback I do well at interview. Pleasant, interested, knowledgeable, well qualified, positive and upbeat, friendly etc. Why then, do I never get the job. I’m always told ‘not qualified’ enough, ‘no experience’, someone was more, better…etc.
Lynn, I am going to do a short video on Interview technique. I think this will really help you. I’ll email you about it shortly.
Everyone needs to learn better interview technique. Even if you think you are good at interviews, believe me there is a lot more to learn. I say this as someone who sits at the other side of the desk.
On a separate point, you mention you are trying to make a career change. Generally traditional job hunting techniques do not work when you are trying to change careers.
In the new Career Coach course, that will soon be released, I include a whole Masterclass session on Career Change. I have written about this extensively over the last few years. You need a whole different strategy to change careers. The traditional approach will not work.
I will enter you in the free prize draw for this so you could win a free place on the course.
Hi Martin,
I think that I should be a ‘portfolio person’ partly because I have restrictions on when I can work (term-time, between certain hours…) and partly because I have many skills I’d love to use but can’t think of a single arena for them (ability to write/speak well, logical, quasi-legalistic, knowledge of property, ability to coach/train from boardroom down, creative and artistic and more).
What would you suggest?
Jo, You are at least pointing in the right direction.
First thing I will confirm is that CV based job hunting is a terrible way of landing any job.
One of the things a portfolio can help achieve is to provide “proof”. Employers are very risk averse. Proof reduces some of the risk.
However there is a lot more that can be done to eliminate risk for an employer and that is something that must be achieved if you are to land a job offer.
In Step 2 of the System – How to get interviews – I will show you a whole bunch of strategies that you can use to remove the risk an employer may feel.
I want to grow in my career .Please advise
John, the one thing that distinguishes people who are in their ideal job and everyone else is that they look at their career as a continuous process.
Pretty much everyone else lunges from crisis to crises.
I need a job quick. I land a job. Phew. Forget about job hunting.
Do you have a long terms strategy that looks beyond the immediate job role?
Do you know what you want and what’s good for you?
Is it personality centric?
This all comes under Step 1 of the 3 Step System, which I am now teaching to other coaches.
I wish to change my career.
I graduated with a degree in Physics and i have been working with a financial institution for the past 8 years with very few progression and career path.
I have been considering pulling out to get certified in SAP but i still have my fears as i have a family to support.
What is your take on this
Huge Thanks
Hi, Snap. My first degree was in physics and there was never a more square peg trying to squeeze into a round hole.
However your qualifications have no baring on the big decision you now face – “What job is right for me?”
The fact you have a degree in physics is merely a reflection on a decision you made as a child at school. Teenagers are not known for making great decisions, so at the very least it has to be questioned.
I’m not sure i have yet met someone whose passion was SAP. You are obviously smart and can train to do anything, so it sounds like you suffer what most of my smartest clients suffer from – just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
Smart people suffer most as they face the most choice. You need to give much deeper consideration to the question “What job is right for me?”
You have to follow your passion. You have to find a work environment that is compatible with your core personality.
Don’t make the mistake of chasing money or security. Neither will become your reality if you are not working in harmony with your core personality.
Hi Martin
Thanks for your email. Currently in recruitment at the minute but really looking for a change. Not entirely sure which way to change into or what transferable skills I can take with me to a new role. Any ideas?
Thanks
James
James, it’s reassuring that even people in the recruitment industry find career development difficult. I really appreciate you sharing.
As a rule employers don’t believe in transferable skills. They do not take chances. Yet most candidates are trying to persuade them of transferable skills and to take a chance on them. It is one approach but I think there are better ways.
Most of us stumble into our careers but now that you have done it for a while you will have a feel for which aspects you enjoyed and why you did not. To get a more detailed answer to the question “What job is right for me?” you need to start with only your personality. Leave aside your work experience and qualifications initially and look at what your personality needs.
You need to figure out Step 1 – “What job is right for me?” before taking steps 2 and 3.
There are ways to make a career change but the traditional approach to job hunting i.e CV based recruitment doesn’t work. If you decide that you are going to change careers then you need to take a radically different approach. That’s what I am now teaching coaches in the PeopleMaps Career Coach Course.
Hi Sir
i am sanjay from India i am struggling from many time i am graduate and some computer knowledge but i am not able to find a good job. in the time of interviews i don’t consecrate on the interviews so please give me some solution to make my life professionally happy..
Sanjay, everyone has a lot to learn when it comes to interviews. The good news is that you can learn interview technique and even a little skill in this area, will give you a competitive edge.
Generally I prefer to show you how to land interviews where you are the only contender. It’s not easy competing against 399 other candidates. It’s a lot easier to get job offers when you are the only candidate. This is covered in Step 2 of the 3 Step System.
Hi, I have a well qualified friend who is struggling to find work in an admin role in a charity organisation. She has had a career coach help complete her cv. She has lots of work experience in this area, but non recently. She is applying for advertised vacancies but hearing nothing. She is very disheartened. What do you suggest? I’m struggling because we are different in our approach.
Thanks
Angela
Angela, thanks for your excellent question.
My radical approach would be to throw her CV in the bin. The best jobs are landed without using a CV and my feeling is that charities will very much hire on personality, not skills. CV based recruitment is ineffective at best but in this scenario I would say it is almost pointless.
Employers all prefer to hire people they have a relationship with but I believe this is particularly the case with charities. Your friend needs to build a relationship with the decision makers in the charities well in advance of asking them for a job. Charities will rarely ever hire a stranger.
In the Career Coach Course we cover this in Step 2, where you will discover how to help people land all the interviews they want, particularly for the 40% of jobs that are never advertised.
I want to get promotion to the next level but never seem to get the job. I can get the interview but not the job
Thanks
Maureen
Hi Maureen, Thanks for sharing. Almost everyone struggles with job interviews. I sit o the other side of the desk and see rooms full of candidates deliver one terrible performance after another.
To compound the problem, the employers are clueless too. And lets be charitable and say that they are part-time amateurs, when it comes to interviewing candidates. I run a course for employers called “How To Hire and Interview” and I wish more of them would take it.
Anyway back to your immediate problem. The reason I tell you all this is to let you know, that with a little training, you could place yourself miles ahead of the other candidates. You don’t need to be that good to be better than all the rest of them.
In the Career Coach Course I am now training people how to coach job seekers in interview technique. This will give you an unfair advantage in your next job interview.
Hi Martin,
I’m in an extremely competitive field and after more than 3 years of unsuccessful job searching, it may realistically be time to give up. Obviously time spent searching progressively decreases one’s attractiveness to employers, publishers, and career coaches.
My question is how do you proceed in such a situation? Most people say: “Isn’t there anything else you want to do?” The honest answer is no. I can’t even pretend well enough to get a job in another field and, for a long and well thought through list of reasons, self-employment is unthinkable for me. My options are limited and decreasing so any words of encouragement would be most welcome.
Blay, Thanks for sharing. Something I meant to mention is that although this month is about helping you help others with their career, you can of course help yourself in the process.
Blay I would also suggest that when you hit a wall like this, it can be helpful to go and work on someone else’s career problem as it will give you a breakthrough on your own situation. It’s got something to do with the concept that we teach what we need to learn. As a philosopher you will understand this.
I wouldn’t focus on the competitiveness of your market. This is distracting at best and usually irrelevant. You are only looking for one sale, so competition is an irrelevant aspect here.
Interesting that you see self-employment as unthinkable. Increasingly in our world we are all self-employed. Treating yourself as self-employed changes your approach and it resonates better with potential employers. Thinking of yourself as self-employed makes your job hunting much more effective. It doesn’t matter what the contractual element is, it’s the thinking process that counts.
If there are people doing what you want to do and there are no deal breaker barriers (a specific qualification for instance), then you can have the job you want. I work with employers all the time and the fascinating thing is that even in this recession there biggest complaint is still that they can’t find good candidates. Even though they get a lot more applications, they are not finding a lot more great candidates.
My feeling Blay is that there is nothing wrong with “the product” – that’s you. And if there are people doing the job, then the only thing left to consider is your approach. Having worked with many smart, capable people over the last few years, I can honestly say that in every single instance, the candidates simply didn’t know how to go about job hunting.
Traditional job search doesn’t work.
This is why I developed The 3 Step System a few years back. Rooted in psychology, it will show you exactly what you need to do. I am now teaching others how to implement it and coach people with it.
The very good news is that you have an answer to Step 1 – figure out what the hell it is you were born to do.
Step 1 is the most difficult step, so if you have an answer to this then it gets a lot easier.
Step 2 is about how to land interviews. Put your CV back in the drawer as you will not be needing it. I have devised a huge range of techniques that you can apply to land you job interviews. The traditional approach doesn’t work. You need a new strategy. The 3 Step System has the strategy.
Step 3 is about converting interviews into job offers. To be blunt, everyone sucks at interviews. – yes everyone. This is the master skill and thee is a huge amount of psychology at play in an interview. In Step 3 I reveal bullet proof techniques that guarantee to get you job offers and put you head and shoulders above the other candidates.
Blay it would be a shame to give up as you have nailed Step 1.
Have a think about someone you know who is also job hunting. Grab a place on the Career Coach course and use what you learn to help your friend. From that you will learn all you need to know to help yourself. Besides it’s really good Karma 🙂
Is it possible for a 50+ person with experience to get a job? If yes,then how?
Chandan, Great question. I wrote an ebook a while back called “Conquering Ageism” dealing with this issue as so many of my readers are over 40.
The key thing to note is that traditional recruitment is by its very nature ageist. If you are over 40 and job hunting in the traditional way, then you are placing yourself at a serious disadvantage.
Remember the recruitment process is not fair. It does not hire on merit. It is a process of elimination and age is really easy to eliminate on.
So if you are over 40 and you want a career then you need to use an alternative approach to traditional job hunting. you need an approach where your experience works for you, not against you. I have an entire section in the Career Coach course that deals with ageism in recruitment and how to overcome it. I may share some of it next week so keep watching.
Sure.I’ll look forward to it.