A client was unhappy in her position and unclear about her career trajectory. I asked questions to get a better understanding of her passions, including what she loves to do and what she loved to do as a child. Almost always, there is a connection between things we loved in our childhood or teens years and what makes us happy today. That’s where we start. 

Next, we had her take an assessment to identify strengths and passions; the more we focus on these, the happier we are. In this case, the identified strengths were creativity, collaboration, leadership, problem solving, and empathy. The client also took an assessment so I could analyze data on her behavioral styles. We updated her resume and Linkedin profile, strategically highlighted her strengths and accomplishments, and used helpful verbiage from the assessments. 

Next, we analyzed her current career and the realizations she had made on her passions. We identified themes, and we eventually found a direction that felt right: Chief Program Officer of a meaningful nonprofit. We searched for open positions and spoke about how to best utilize her personal and professional networks, and a month later, she was selected to participate in her first Zoom interview.

We prepared hard for the interview, practiced questions, upgraded the content, style, and depth of her responses, and selected proper clothing and lighting. She aced the interview, went on to interview for several more positions, and she was prepared for each one. When it came time to accept a position, we prepared for the negotiations that would take place. She landed the job of her dreams 7 months later with a $45,000 raise, funds for continued professional development, and a flexible work schedule.