As a career coach, I help you conceive, plan and build the career and life you want to have.
As your career coach, I will help you determine the best work for you in the context of your life. We take a look at your values and the life you want to have, and determine whether you want to pursue a job, a career, or your calling, and then we get after it.
I help you see what’s possible. Clients typically seek career coaching when they are in one of two situations:
- You know exactly what you want to do and are having a tough time getting there.
- You don’t know where you want to be (yet), but you know you can no longer stay where you are!
I help you conceive, plan, and build the career and life you want to have.
Your Career In the Context of Your Life
Importantly, I help you recognize that your career is one of ten key areas of your life. A big one, but just one. Finance is another, and since career often leads to financial security or not, let’s say they account for two-tenths, or 20% of your life. I make sure that we find the work you want to do, the way you want to do it, realizing that there are many other components of your life that we need to make room for.
There’s a reason I am a career and life coach. Just focusing on your career without respecting the other needs of your life will leave you...unbalanced. Maybe you feel unbalanced already and that’s why you’re on this page? I use a tool called the Whole Life Model to consider and evaluate ten areas of your life, and we evaluate your career in the context of your life. If you’d like to learn more about the Whole Life Model, scroll down and sign up for my newsletter. I’ll send you a chapter 2 of my book, Personal (R)evolution, including the Whole Life Model assessment.
Coaching Intro Session
How Do You Coach, Allison?
There are lots of career coaches out there. Perhaps you found me through a Google search and are vetting the options. Perhaps a former client enthusiastically recommended me and you’re doing your homework. Perhaps you started out looking for a career counselor and are now thinking a coach is the thing.
I have almost twenty years of experience with personal coaching, life coaching and career coaching. I have helped thousands of people leave their jobs and find work that works better.
I can help you find meaningful work, that keep you well within your financial goals (which I help clients set, meet and often exceed), I also take into consideration your values, workplace values, the type of contribution you want to make, and other attributes that are important to you. Click the links to learn more about me (Allison Task) or my coaching process.
Will You Redo My Resume and LinkedIn Page?
Nope, that's not my specialty. However, I can connect you with terrific folks who specialize in this craft.
I’m a strategic partner, not an implementer, so while I'm happy to review every last cover letter you want to send; and I'm happy to help you write them, I'm not the person to outsource this to.
I teach you how to fish; I don't fish for you. And in this case, I help you know yourself better, return to your center, then amplify your needs. I can be you for you, but I can help you access your best self.
Resume writing and linked in optimizing are their own crafts. There are people who offer those services, and I will recommend the folks my clients use with great success.
Your Career and Your Network
90% of my clients find their next job through their network. As a result, I’m a fan of networking, as in the old-fashioned meet-for-coffee and connect-with-people networking. Social media, sure, but nothing beats meeting in the flesh, having a hug, buying lunch for a beloved colleague you haven’t seen in a while.
Two of the nine chapters in my book are about networking -- I focus on it because it works. And I do believe I’m able to get blood from a stone on this one; I have clients who HATE networking, and yet I’ve helped them navigate to that old buddy from 7th grade, that leads to coffee or a Zoom, and yes, a job referral.
It’s amazing how easy it is to ask for support from the people that know you and love you when you reframe the ask. We’ll talk more about reframing and networking when we meet.
I don’t like to annoy people, I don’t like spam and I don’t like aggressive inauthentic sales methods. I do like to help you self-advocate, and ask for help from the people who want to help you. That’s easy, graceful, fun -- and those connections are what makes life magical. Let me help you strengthen them.
Coaching Intro Session
What’s The Difference Between A Career Coach, A Career Counselor and a Recruiter?
Good question. They are very different roles and often they are blurred together.
Let’s start with a recruiter. A recruiter works for a recruiting firm, or for a larger company. They are hired by and paid for by your prospective employer. The recruiter’s goal is to help the company find a candidate that fits their needs. They may be looking for a CEO, an administrative assistant or an IT specialist.
A recruiter do not work for you. You don’t pay their bills. They work for the company, and their goal is to find an employee that is a good fit for the company that has hired them. I have had many clients who think that recruiters are coaches, and wonder why the recruiter doesn’t want to listen as they tell their employment story. The recruiter isn’t a therapist or a life coach; they’re trying to find a match for the employer, then broker that match. They can be a great partner on your search, but ultimately, they do not work for you.
A career counselor will often give you skills-based assessments to figure out what you are good at so that they can point you in the direction of a career. They work with you to help you identify what your assets are, and what assets you can build, so that you can find employment. This work is practical, and ultimately fruitful.
I will often work with my clients to find recruiters that can help them in their search, as well as experts that can help them build their resumes and LinkedIn profiles. For more on what I do, specifically, as a career coach, read on.
As a Career Coach, I Help My Clients Make a Meaningful Contribution To The World
I help my clients determine the kind of work that would be satisfying... professionally satisfying, personally satisfying, financially satisfying. We go beyond skill-matching into “meaningful contribution” matching; what kind of work turns you on, stirs your soul and helps you earn a living? And if you don’t have the skills you need to do the work you want to do, how can you gain those skills?
In the middle of an intro session, clients will often say, “You know, what I REALLY want to do is...” or “If it was up to me I’d…”, or , “You want to know the dream? The dream is…”
Those are the moments I drive toward in the session. When you share this -- with me and more importantly with yourself -- we’ve hit gold. Now we know the thing you REALLY want and we can go for it. This is the ultimate tell, the ultimate authentic moment.
Sometimes you surprise yourself with what you say. I listen for this moment -- and no matter how quickly it’s said or how quickly it’s covered up with “but that’s not realistic”, or “but that’s not gonna happen” or whatever level of “but, but, but” comes spilling out afterwards -- I’ve found my gold. And you’ve reclaimed your professional North Star.
My goal is to put a small dent in the matrix of humanity -- level up the game of the people who seek me out, and as a result, improve the lives of everyone they touch. I help those who seek my services find a way to connect with their work in a gratifying, powerful way.
We are not the 99% of people who go to work, count the hours ‘til quitting time and live for vacations and weekends. Perhaps you’re there now, but my goal is to help you transition to the other side, people who find great meaning and satisfaction from the work they do.
Coaching Intro Session
I Help You Recalibrate Your Compass and Find Your North Star
I work best with high achievers; people who are used to succeeding. Perhaps you sat first seat in the clarinet section in your high school orchestra, or lead scorer on your soccer team. You’ve pursued achievement, tasted success, and you know what it’s like to be in the flow. (And I have yet to find a client who hasn’t achieved something at some time. We were all that 7-year-old who could dance in the living room for hours, climb the tree for hours, draw or read for hours...we all have it. I’ll help you dig for and reclaim it.)
But something is off right now -- you’ve felt “on” before so you know what “off” feels like. And you don’t like it. You may be wondering if this is the new you -- perhaps you’ve felt off for a year, five years, ten years, and have accepted this as the new you.
Oh heck no! That isn’t how this story ends.
I got you. We’re going to pull from your files, your long history of, well, being you. We’re going to recalibrate your internal compass (sleeping, eating, exercise will be part of it) and help you get back to your best self again. Once we reset your system, your compass will start working again, with the new data of who you are today. You’ll set goals, pursue, achieve. You will use your newly recalibrated compass, to move toward your destination.
Six Types of Career Coaching Clients: Are You One?
My career coaching clients tend to fall into six types (and yes, often these buckets merge):
- #adulting. Recent college grad, maybe with a couple of years of work experience wondering -- is this it? Is this what the rest of my life is going to be? Because if so, I need to make a change. This calls for a career and life coach.
- Big. Life. Change. You just got married. Or had a child. Or you became a stepparent. Something big happened in your life and you’re calling into question your career choices -- the career that’s worked until this point is no longer working. You are looking for a career and transition coach. And in some cases a stepmom coach.
- Didn’t See That Coming. You were fired at 40, 50 or 60. Life was going well and you didn’t see this coming. And since you are at the peak of my career (Editor in Chief, CEO, Finance Executive), you are not sure where to go from here. You need someone with career and transition coach expertise. A strong, committed personal coach.
- Ready to Retire (I think). Retirement is 1 to 5 years away and you want to make my plan. You and your partner may not be on the same page, and in fact you’re not sure what page you’re on. You have plenty of money or you’ll need to earn a bit more, you’re in good health, you have some goals but you’re not sure what life after work looks like. Help! Transition coach, Life coach.
- I’m Fifty And...This Isn’t What I Wanted. If ‘50 is the new 40’, at 50 you’ve still got one-third of your career left. You don’t like the one you have, but you’re not sure where to go. And with kids, college...gosh, there are a lot of financial pressures. How do you make a pivot at this point in life? Or maybe it’s more like a 180? I’ve got your back. You’re in good company; let’s do this. Career Coach, Transition Coach, Life Coach.
- Small Business Mission and Vision Alignment. I work with Executive Teams of small businesses to create alignment so that the business can move forward more efficiently. Let’s get clear, together, on who she is now and who we want her to become. Career and Personal Coach.
Here’s What My Career Coach Clients Have To Say About Working With Me:
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If you'd like to set up an introductory session, please complete the form and tell me your best times.
Times available (ET): Daytime: Monday-Friday: 7AM, 8:15AM, 9:30AM, 10:45AM, noon and 1:15PM. Evening: Monday-Wednesday: 6:30PM and 7:40PM.
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