Can I buy a gift certificate for career coaching or a workshop registration?

Yes! Just email me to let me know the name of the person to whom you’d like to give this gift, and what you’d like to give, how much you’d like to spend, etc.

Do you offer discounted rates for individual coaching or workshops?

I don’t offer discounted prices for individual coaching, but if you are on a budget and want to take one of my workshops, just lmk and I’ll register you for $28 for any individual workshop. Please see Services & Pricing.

Are you a life coach?

No, I am a career coach. Naturally, often when someone needs career coaching, their life circumstances and their personal ecosystem are very important to take into consideration. Therefore, I do always learn about a client’s personal life. However, I am not a therapist or mental health counselor. I often make referrals to mental health professionals when my instincts tell me a client would benefit from such guidance.

Are you an executive coach?

Although I am not trained as an executive coach, I have worked with dozens of clients in an executive coaching role and really enjoy this work. In most cases these clients have worked with me during a career transition and ask whether we can continue meeting once they have landed into their new job.

What makes you different from other career coaches?

I think there are six primary differences between me and other career coaches:

1. I have been career coaching since 1997, and through three recessions, so I have a tremendous base of experience with thousands of clients over the course of more than two decades.
2. I administer my own career assessment, rather than using syndicated career assessments. I developed the assessment about 10 years after I started working with clients and it’s proven to be exceptionally helpful in pointing people in the right direction.
3. I don’t require clients to commit to a certain number of hours or a package of services.
4. Perhaps because I have an MBA and read widely about economic and employment trends, I seem to have a particularly good grasp of the options people have when they are trying to map themselves to the economic landscape.
5. Before I became a career coach, I had a marketing career. Marketing turns out to be a very helpful skill set for career coaches, who help you market yourself!
6. I’m intensely practical and realistic. If I don’t think something is feasible for you, I’ll tell you. No magical thinking here.

Having said all this, it’s important to note that I know other career coaches in whom I have 100% confidence. At times when my practice is full, I refer people to those terrific coaches and they have excellent outcomes with those coaches.

Do you guarantee confidentiality?

Yes, I guarantee confidentiality in my individual career coaching. During workshops, if you choose to share anything with the group, that is not confidential of course.

How is the job market different in this post-pandemic time?

In any imminent or actual recession, job-seekers have to be at the top of their game, in every way. Skip one little step in the process (not sending a thank-you after an interview, for example) and you may not get the offer. The biggest difference I see — even in a strong job market — is that job-seekers have to spend more time on strategy – researching what’s growing and what’s shrinking, for example – so that they match themselves most effectively with areas that need more candidates. I also see changes in networking, because of the switch from in-person to virtual events. Job-seekers still need to expand their professional network, to expand the scope of their search and obtain introductions, but it’s harder to do that on Zoom and in breakout rooms! Not impossible, but definitely harder.

Do you work with people outside Puget Sound?

Yes. More than half of my clients are from outside the Pacific Northwest, where I live. Email, phone, and Zoom work really well for those engagements.

Do you offer a free exploratory conversation, to see whether we would be a good fit?

In my early years as a career coach, I did offer a 15-minute exploratory phone call at no charge to prospective clients. Now that my practice has been full for many years, I no longer have the margin to offer such calls. If you’d like to schedule, say, a 15-minute call with me to gauge fit, I’m happy to schedule that call and will invoice you for one-quarter of my hourly rate of $250, or $62.50.

Where do you meet with individual clients?

At the moment I’m meeting with clients via Zoom or phone only.

Are there any fields or career paths you don’t feel comfortable coaching in?

No, over the years I’ve been lucky to have the opportunity to work with everyone from a stand-up comedian to an equine portraitist to a CEO, and I enjoy working with all career paths.

Is there a particular type of client you work best with?

Not really. I love all my clients! They are all ages, in all different fields/industries, and their obstacles are all different. There’s nothing I love more than meeting with a new client and learning about their path and their needs. People who contact me are highly motivated to improve their careers, and their determination and persistence – with just a bit of guidance and support from me – carries them into their next chapter.

Do you administer career assessments?

Yes! I ask clients and workshop participants to complete my career assessment before working with me. If you’d like to take my career assessment, please just contact me and request it and I’ll send it to you, at no charge or obligation. It takes 30-60 minutes to complete and will give you a highly specific idea of your favorite skills, the content and subject matter you like to learn about, and your values. Knowing these things is the first step in career transition and of course must be followed by strategic thinking to “map” you to the economic landscape.