Q:Why did you call me to coach you?
A:"Because I knew I wanted another job. I was unhappy with my current job. I wasn’t getting anywhere on my own, and I was getting desperate."
Q:How did you know you were desperate?
A:"My son was going into high school. If I didn’t act now, I would have to wait another four years."
Q:How did you hear about me?
A:"I saw you two years ago speaking at a professional association. Even then, I was not really happy with my job, but I wasn’t ready to do something aggressive."
"You were radically different from my traditional headhunter colleagues. You were organized and had an approach that was different and proactive, rather than letting someone’s resume sit in one’s filing drawer. You told the meeting audience that the candidate needed to take charge."
Q:When you called me, did you know what you needed to learn from me?
A:"No, but hoped that your approach would create activity with a successful outcome."
Q:What ASSUMPTION did you make about your son that was incorrect?
A:"My one big anxiety was the impact of the move on my son. I assumed that I would have a problem."
• But actually: "It turned out not to be a problem. You were right."
Q:When we started to work together, you were reluctant to move and you focused more on your personal situation rather than professional growth. What prompted you to change your focus?
A:"I started interviewing for jobs that offered professional growth. I decided that I could do it. I had been concerned as to whether I had the skill set to do the higher level positions."
"You said, 'You have to put time into this. I don’t care about the dinner dishes and the papers due next week, or the dog that needs to be walked. If you are going to get a new job, you need to focus on the tasks required to get that job. By next week, you must . . ..' Then we’d have a list. I knew that I’d better get my list done by the time we talked."
"You gave me a mandate to take the time to do what needed to be done. You kept telling me that you have to focus on yourself."
"I was highly stressed. My hair was falling out. I wasn’t sleeping. I lost weight. I was a wreck."
"You said, 'Think of what you can do to reduce your stress to focus on the job issues: personal, current job, and family. What can do you do to create an extra hour?' You kept reminding me that if I didn’t get the better job, all these other things would not get better."
"You built my self-confidence. You showed me how to reduce my stress in several different ways. Then you said, 'You aren’t getting the job that you want on your own because you aren’t Managing the Process,' which you insisted that I do."
"You were task-driven, rather than feelings-driven. Managing the Process was task specific and concrete: step by step. My friends supported your approach."
Q:Throughout the time we were working together, I emphasized the need to forget about the competing candidates and focus on showing that you were the Right Fit for the position for which you were interviewing. How did this mindset help you?
A:"My anxiety was reduced. I was less worried about the competition. I did no research to find out who they were."
"I always focused on showing them why or how I was the Right Fit. Your words reminded me to emphasize the positive."
Q:To prepare for interviews, we talked about what was important to say to the employer to show why you are "the Right Fit." I refer to this as "Packaged to Pitch."™ Were you ever asked about your management experience?
A:"I had managed 8 or 10 people many years ago. I convinced them that I could do it. I told them that I had managed a wide array of people. I gave them an appreciation of how I manage in different circumstances. I told them that the faculty wants to be independent, and that I needed to empower them rather than micro-manage them."
Q:How did Managing the Process help you close your offer?
A:"I didn't give up. I continued to Manage the Process to get the offer which had not come. You told me to ignore the rumors that they were re-opening the search and Manage the Process until the deal was done."
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