An Interview with David
Frequently Asked Questions

 

Please take a moment to read these frequently asked questions before hiring David.

How long have you been a career coach, and how did you become an expert in this field? To answer this question, I think it’s best if I tell you about the time in my life that changed the way I look at careers and how I learned the sure way of activ8ing careers! This experience led me to coach people like you to get very clear about what you really want and how to navigate and activ8 a career, not just another job. My journey began in 1987 when I found myself lying on my family room floor in a fetal position crying and wondering why I felt like I didn’t really matter much to my friends or past co-workers.  I couldn’t find a job and soon I found myself in a counselor’s office where I was that without a change in my behavior as well as a change in how I was job hunting, I was primed and headed into a deep depression. I realized that what I had been doing wasn’t going to fix the absence of a career nor answer the question, “What can I do to make a difference or leave my mark?”    

The solution?  I hired an expert to help me manage the career process.  I thought that all I needed was a good resume, help with how to make a great interview impression, and having a few good friends vouch for me in a pinch or send job leads. The new skills I learned opened up doors in human resources that I couldn’t have believed or obtained on my own. My 15 years of experience in human resources and career development carried me right into career coaching. I had learned a set of skills that can’t be learned in a college class. I learned the secrets of the trade and blended them with what I learned years ago from working with other career experts. I found myself coaching individuals on the side, after work hours, and did this for many years. Then, in 2002, I set up my own full-time private practice that doubled in one year, as word spread about the “activ:8 careers” system, a proven career coaching results-based method.

As I coach others I am reminded of my father who spent most of his career hating his job and died of cancer in his retirement year.  You see he was living for retirement and never lived to enjoy the day. I have had the privilege of coaching clients through the “activ:8 careers” system  a series of eight important career building processes that everyone needs to apply in order to activ8 their careers, without wasting time wishing that someday they would be able to love their lives after they retire.

Who are your clients?
I work with people just like you -- people who are experts in their fields and really good at what they do. However, at the same time, they haven’t yet mastered putting a system in place or a process that activ8’s a career rather than just searching for a job. Here is a sample list of a few professions I’ve helped bridge or reposition in the job market.

What happens if you haven’t yet worked with people in my field?
Here is what I’ve learned to be true.  Most recruiters do not have a degree in the field that they are hiring. However, they are schooled to assess whether or not a person would be the right fit for a position. The “activ:8 careers” system does not discriminate on who benefits or to whom it delivers results! Of course as I am working with different professionals, I might choose a few different steps of action to take but the universal laws of activ8ing careers remains the same and works for all professions.

How are you different from other Career Coaches?
Although we may cover the basics of how to master putting together a resume, interviewing and networking connections, you get me as an activ:8 careers system expert!  A proven method that:

In addition, I only work with individuals in mid-level to executive positions. I don’t offer my services to corporations for coaching their employees. I’ve spent many years coaching employees for the benefit of the companies they work for and not necessarily for the benefit of the employees themselves. I don’t consult with individuals who are right out of high school or college with no real work experience. So I’m not a jack-of-all-trades career coach. I work for individuals like you to keep your best interests in mind!  What this means to you is that I am very focused on developing high-level tools that make an impact in the lives of my clients and their careers.

What personal characteristics works best in this program and what is expected of me?
The “activ:8 careers” system was created for high-achievers who want to put words into action. This system was designed to put clients in the driver’s seat while seeing results within in a few months or even a few weeks!  Being a high-achiever myself, I’m known for working best with other high-achieving clients eager to get going and who want to know the exact steps that will lead them to a real career fit.

Consider our work together similar to enrolling in several college courses. You are expected to maintain full communication with me. If anything disrupts regular communication, I will make reasonable efforts to contact you. However, the responsibility to keep me informed by initiating meetings and conversations is ultimately yours.

NO more excuses.  This unique and different process will challenge the way you are currently thinking.  But with my support, you will achieve this incredible and exciting career goal with money in your pocket, saves you from being underpaid and underemployed,  shortens your search, and simplifies the career transition.   

Are there any professionals you would not work with or would not work well with in this program?
I don’t work with professionals whose only goal is a quick job-fix. Instead, I hand-pick those who I feel are ready to kick their careers into high gear. I try to refer those who I know are not a match for me to other coaches and will suggest other programs or organizations that might meet their needs.

I don’t(without exception) work with complainers, skeptics, or those who make excuses for not completing assignments. Those professionals that challenge every aspect of the program also are not a good fit. In all of my years working as a career coach, I’ve only had to let go of (yes, fire) two clients, and I vow never to do that ever again. If these are your behaviors, I would respectfully ask that you not call and inquire about my coaching assistance and hope that you understand why. I would not want to waste your time and money.  Is that fair?   To work well with me and the “activ:8 careers” system, you must be motivated to act and be a high-achiever.

What I’ve learned is that there are three basic elements that a client needs in order to effectively succeed with the “activ:8 careers” system.

 
1. Time ‑ Have you thought about how you’ll find the time to devote to this program?  Adding a new process and action steps to your schedule means that you have to replace something else that is slotted in your time. Do you have six or more hours per week (minimum) that you can devote to work the process?

2. Energy - You will most likely have to do some things differently than you’ve done in the past, which will require you to go outside your habit zone or comfort zone. You also will need a good support system (significant other, family member, organization, etc.) as you walk through this time of career transition.

3. Resources - Most people usually don’t have resources budgeted for career coaching assistance. Would you agree? And yet all the resources you budget come from resources from your career.

Because there’s usually nothing budgeted for career coaching, typically there are four areas that can be considered financial resources:

a) Take it from the future -- You should feel confident that the training you will receive in negotiating alone (which is a small part of the complete process) will pay for my service and then some.

b) Use investments that are currently not yielding a high rate of return – Investments yielding a 1%, 5%, or even 10% interest rate don’t really compare with the rate of return you receive by avoiding a misdirected career search that, frankly, robs you of higher incomes and years of lost income wasted figuring it out.   

c) Help from Uncle Sam -- Did you know that using a career coach can be a tax deduction? Uncle Sam returns 28% or so of the fee at tax time. This is explained in detail in the booklet “From Roadkill To Roadmap,” which can be purchased from my Web site.
                       
d) Finding resources by shifting dollars from one budget to another -- Often we find money by asking ourselves, “Is there something I’m willing to give up for a short time to reach a goal that will affect my career path for years and years to come?”

 For those of you struggling with the idea of finding the time, energy and/or financial resources, it’s OK. Remember, I’ve been there, so I completely understand. So, do yourself a favor.  If you haven’t already signed up to get my activiews career newsletter, please do so. To sign up, click here. The newsletter will give you valuable steps and tools you can apply right now in managing your career transition.

What exactly is the “activ:8 careers system” and what does it include?
The “activ:8 careers” system starts by discovering the most important part of the entire process. 

1. Development of your Key Success Patterns
Where do you get energy throughout the workday and why?  You will learn about how to separate the duties that give you energy from those that you might do very well but drain the life right out of you. Together, we will draft and refine the answer to the question, “Why should I hire you?” without sounding like a robot and using resume jargon that doesn’t set you apart from other candidates! This is the first step that we will master, so we can focus on what’s most important!

During this process we will examine each Key Success Pattern and develop clear and concise examples to make sure that you can support our statements when sitting in an interview. I often hear individuals say that they interview well, however, they still do not have a job! This unique tool will position you as a valuable contributor and not a beggar. No one wants to hire someone that says, “I just want to get my foot in the door.”  What you learn in Marketing 101 is answering the question, “What’s in this for me?” Can you imagine pitching a business proposal in which you’re competing against other companies for the same business and you say, “We just want to get our foot in the door?” The business that can set itself apart from the competition wins.  And that can be YOU!
 
2. Examine and learn about your behavior style  
We’ll look at several pieces of material that will help us understand our behaviors and what affects us in the work environment. We will begin this process by first understanding ourselves and then finding out how we can influence and change the outcome we desire. It will also help us as we begin to measure company cultures and evaluate if a prospective employer is the right cultural fit. You can be in the right target market but employed by the wrong company because of a wrong match in culture.

3. Develop written documents
We’ll develop several important documents that will help us as we enter into the marketing phase of the program. We will use what we have learned about you in the first step and position it on your resume and other documents to describe your true value and why you bring about success.

We will also develop a special report that often outperforms your resume and other supporting documents, as needed, to move us toward your target market.  This special report, when put together, will also be a tool that positions you as a valuable contributor.

4. Develop and establish an obtainable career path
I can’t stress how important it is to have a target career field. If you don’t have a clear target, we will work together to complete exercises that will help narrow your career search. We will look at your past decision-making patterns and examine what we found about you that outlines how you work and the value you bring.  What is it in your life that, when done, and every time you do it, you succeed?  We will choose two target career fields to start with as we set in motion a process that yields valuable information and leads us to the hiring decision-maker!

5. Develop your own unique “couple minute” profile (Your own Voice)
This is different than what is commonly known as the elevator speech. This couple minute profile is what we use during an informational interview. Once again we will use your Key Success Patterns we learned in the beginning of the process to develop this unique way of positioning yourself as the aspirin to their headache. I will spend several hours just homing in on this tool, and making sure you do not fall into old resume-talking patterns. This is where you let go of our “old school methodology” when it comes to networking!  I’ve also developed a CD for you so that you can hear other clients who have mastered this process.
6. Develop a real marketing strategy  
It’s sad when I talk with individuals seeking careers and ask them what it is that they are trying to accomplish, and they reply with: “Well, I’m just so good at a lot of things, I could go into marketing because I have had some experience with promotions, or I could do a little writing because I used to work for a small local paper. I’ve also been interested in landscaping and thought about owning my own business.”  You tell me…. Does this sound like someone who has a focus? Do they know what they are about? Doesn’t it feel like they are looking to someone else to help them figure out what they want to be when they grow up?  We can avoid this kind of confusion by developing a marketing strategy. We will talk about the exploration phase and how to execute it without sounding like a beggar, examine the validation phase that let’s us know if the career “shoe” fits and execute the positioning stage that activ8’s our career without having to answer an ad or chase the job openings!      

7. Learn how to ace the job interview -
We will learn the technique of how to answer the five basic interview questions based on the Key Success Patterns developed earlier. I will give you the CD “From Hi To Hired” and set up a few mock interviews, one-on-one. You also will receive my Activ:8  Job Offer Playing Cards, “From Hi To Hired” Learning how to simplify and ace the interview  You can use them with other job seekers or use them as flash cards for you to master.

8. Learn the skills of negotiating -
This is where we are hooked at the hip! This step alone often pays for my service!
You will learn the 26 things you need to evaluate in a job offer.  I will coach you through every step of the way and also give you my “From Desperation To Deal” CD, which focuses on learning negotiation techniques to get all you deserve.  

Bonus Membership and Materials -
The following membership and materials are a bonus to help you through your career transition.

Membership in my Success Teams
As you enter the marketing phase of my program you will be invited to attend at no extra charge “Success Teams,” which meet every other weekend for 90 minutes This is often where you hear career success stories you thought were impossible!  Everyone is helping each other get to the finish line through personal sharing and encouragement. I often hear my clients say to me that this is where all that they have learned comes to life and takes on its own dynamic outcome. One client said to me recently, “I can’t explain it but things are just taking off on their own. I’m now finding that leaders within my target market are calling me before I can get to them. So my intentions and my new skill sets are creating opportunities.”    

Bonus CDs include -

The “activ:8 careers” Tool Kit Series “From Getting By To Getting Ahead”
This must-have “Tool Kit” will save you from:

The “Tool Kit” is packed full with the following:

                        From Roadkill To Roadmap – 55 min Audio CD
                        Includes: From Roadkill To Roadmap – paperback book
                        (8 steps to put your career in drive…without taking costly detours)

                        From Hi To Hired – 60 min Audio CD
                        Includes: activ8 Job Offer Playing Cards
                        (Learn how to simplify and ace the interview)

                        From Desperation To Deal – 40 min Audio CD
                        Includes: Job Offer Evaluation Form
                        (Learn over 55 points to evaluate before accepting an offer)

 

Autographed copy of my book “From Cornered To Corner Office”
             Overcoming the most unexpected obstacles that stand between you and your career dreams

Wouldn’t it be great if life were more predictable? I’ve drafted the ideal order and process I take clients through the “activ:8 careers” system. However, there are times when clients learn step five before step four because of unforeseen opportunities that crop up during the process. This often happens when I work with clients who need a job while working on their ultimate goal of transitioning into a career. Even though I may help clients obtain a job, both of us know and understand that we are not finished until the career goal is met.

I’ve made the “activ:8 careers” system as simple as possible by drafting the entire process in a book for you to read. I’ve also include a professional binder filled with step-by-step processes and worksheets loaded with examples that you can make your own.

Does this program really work?
Absolutely!  Every time I hold “Success Teams,” I hear about and see successes from my clients. You can view a list of clients on my Web site. Their lives have been forever changed because of this process. The most important feature is that you are not doing it alone, but partnering with me, the career expert. Have you read the client testimonials on my Web site? Do you know what they all have in common and what brought them success? They did the work of following my process!  It’s as simple as that. Follow and apply the process and you will activ8 your career.   

Can I contact some of your former clients to see what it’s like to work with you?
I would encourage you to go to my Web site and read the client testimonials. See which ones you feel drawn to, either because their results speak to you, they were where you are or because their profession is similar to your career focus. Send me an e-mail of who you are interested in talking to, and I’ll send you their e-mail address or phone number. Ask them what they got out of working with me and my program.
 
How quickly can I expect results?
Obviously, this depends on how long you’ve been in the career hunt, how fast you are working through the process and how often you and I meet to take the next steps. If you want to be on the fast track with this process, then just let me know and I’ll be in the seat right next to you!  I’ve had clients who have successfully completed this process in less than two months. So it’s up to you and your desired outcome!

Will I recover the investment I put into this coaching program?
A resounding YES!  I’m sure that any of the clients you talk to will tell you that it was worth every penny!  Some may even tell you that I should charge more. If you are without work right now, I’m sure that you are concerned about your finances andyour bills are still coming in every month as usual. So how much money are you spending every month just to pay bills? If I can get you to your target just two months faster than you would have by yourself, what would I have saved you in those two months?  Now, what if I coach you through negotiating the job offer and increase your salary by ___%?  What if I told you that this monthly savings or increase in salary is well within your reach and is well over what it would cost you to work with me? Is it affordable?  Absolutely!  

How do I get started?
Congratulations on making your career success a priority!  I’m happy to work with you to achieve your career goals.

Choose from the options below.

Option 1
Sign up for a “Career Action Planning (CAP) session.”

This will help you focus your career search beyond writing a resume or sharpening interview skills while developing action steps to reach your career potential. The one-on-one session gets to the root of any career problem, identifies what’s working for you and what needs attention and establishes next steps. In addition, the session also includes at no charge:

Option 2
Order the “activ:8 careers” Tool Kit Series “From Getting By To Getting Ahead”
This must-have “Tool Kit” will save you from:

The “Tool Kit” is packed full with the following:

            From Roadkill To Roadmap – 55 min Audio CD
            Includes: From Roadkill To Roadmap – paperback book
            (8 steps to put your career in drive…without taking costly detours)

            From Hi To Hired – 60 min Audio CD
            Includes: activ8 Job Offer Playing Cards
            (Learn how to simplify and ace the interview)

            From Desperation To Deal – 40 min Audio CD
            Includes: Job Offer Evaluation Form
            (Learn over 55 points to evaluate before accepting an offer)

Bonus Gift :  You will receive a free copy of my book ($23.00 value)
                    “From Cornered To Corner Office”
       Overcoming the most unexpected obstacles that stand
                     between you and your career dreams

Option 3
Sign up for the “activ:8 careers” system

It contains absolutely all the bells and whistles, everything I know and also includes options 1 and 2 above. With this program I pull out all the stops. I work with you one-on-one and without worrying about the number of days we meet or how much time we spend together. Having a fixed fee eliminates any concern on your part about the time within the term agreement. We don’t work on an hourly basis even if your payment is spread out over a period of time. I contract with you, the client, for 10 months of my time. That’s long enough that we can accomplish a career move with several months to spare. Give me a call and I’ll set up a start time for you and a time to go over the contract in detail.

If your career search has not been yielding results or your focus is unclear and affecting your ability to know what your skills and experience are worth in the job market, don’t put off scheduling a CAP session,  ordering the “activ8 careers” Tool Kit Series or signing up for the “activ:8 careers” system. Getting your career search on the right track sooner, rather than later, can put thousands of dollars in your pocket by shortening your job search and arming you with negotiating skills that can significantly boost your job offer. 

I look forward to the opportunity to work with you soon!

 

 

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