1. What is job coaching? Isn't all the information already out there and available for free?
2. Are you a licensed counselor then?
3. I found a fancier, more professional looking "career marketing" firm. I'm going with them...
4. Why are your prices are so low--do you have low self esteem?
5. Aren't you just like other recruiters who are "switching hats" due to a bad economy?
6. How do I select a job coach?
7. Who needs social media--isn't it just a fad?
8. Are you a social media expert then?
9. Where is your office?
10. What does "Satisfaction Guaranteed" mean?
11. How do I reach/retain America's Job Coach?
12. Who IS America's Job Coach?
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1. What is job coaching? Isn't all the information already out there available for free?
As indicated under "Who Needs Job Coaching?," you can spend months digging through Amazon.com's 600,000+ career-related titles or more time than that reading through the HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of matches www.Google, www.Bing , and www.yahoo.com , bring up when you search for "career advice."
People in career transition ARE able to figure all this out on their own. even if they have not been job hunting for many years. My clients use my services when they want fast, expert, strategic vocational marketing and/or guidance.
You can likely reach other goals in your life when you are able to preserve and/or grow your income. I may be able to help you do that faster. I listen to my clients to clarify their strengths, their marketability and fit. Then we work to find the most strategic niches for that "fit," optimize the most strategic approach and seal the deal. It is that simple!
2. Are you a career counselor then? Do you have a license?
No. I am not a psychologist, counselor, lawyer, CPA or financial advisor. I earned my CPC (Certified Personnel Consultant) designation in the late 1980s. I am not a counselor nor do I do counseling in any form. I am not engaged in rending legal, accounting or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
Much like a sports coach, I simply assess the skills and strengths and weaknesses of my "athletes" (clients) and determine where they best fit. Then we work on the position fundamentals for that position. I point them the direction which is the most probable for success.
3. I found a more professional looking "career marketing" firm. I'm going with them for career coaching because they can introduce me to CEOs in my industry and they have very nice, professional offices, well-dressed personnel, and a much classier web site than yours.
Most of what they share with you is in my book!! Why do they need $4,000++ to "introduce you to a CEO" (who doesn't typically take that kind of call anyway)? Don't those CEOs have something better to do than take calls from the unemployed clients of a "career marketing" firm?
Career marketing firms are NOT search firms which operate on retainer or contingency fees as they work to fill specific, real, open positions.
Don't confuse a career marketing firm with an outplacement firm that was paid for by the employer who laid you off. Outplacement firms are almost always paid for by the employer who is providing you with a "soft landing." Those outplacement firms are very respectable and rarely if ever are paid for by an individual.
My web site is "folksy" on purpose: Approachable. Earthy. Unique. Effective. --A lot like me!
4. Your prices are so low--do you have low self esteem?
Well, I was often the last one picked for the softball team in pickup games on the elementary school playground...but that's another story...
More seriously, I used to charge more for my coaching services but over the years I have learned that most people are smart. Usually they just need a helpful nudge in the right direction during their emotional career transition. They often are too close to the forrest to see the trees, and I can help them take a step back to see the big picture.
I want to be surgical with you in this process--Let's get in, get it done, and get out! If you just need to tweak your existing resume, let's just do that. If you just need to build a social media (networking) profile, let's get it done and be done! I'll let the other more expensive folks draw the process out. Operating virtually also keeps my costs and prices down.
5. Aren't you just like a bunch of other recruiters who are just "switching hats" and doing job coaching due to a bad hiring/recruiting market?
It was called "Promote Thyself" and attendance was light. People thought my seminar was a religious event rather than a workshop on how to peddle one's self for fun and profit. Live and learn!
Throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s I led dozens of career-enhancement seminars, wrote hundreds (thousands?) of resumes, and asked scores of hiring officials to hire people I was representing. In 2001, I had a perm placement recruiting practice and employers were asking me what to do with their "surplus" talent which they were laying off. That, and feedback from my seminar attendees, made it the right time to write my first career strategy book, "Laid Off & Loving It!"
Since then the resume and job hunting world began to change as the Social Media revolution emerged. After obtaining about a thousand social networking "friends" and "connections," it was time to combine my resume writing expertise/talent marketing background, my placement background with my Social Media knowledge.
I bore you with this background in order to answer the question, 'Does Paul's body of work make him a "Johnny-Come-Lately" to the job coaching and/or resume writing field?' I'll let you make your own decision about my 18 years of job coaching experience and 25 years in the employment sector.
Many firms and people have become social media, outplacement, job coaches, and resume writing "experts" in the past six to twelve months!
6. How do I select a job coach?
Easy...Do you trust him or her? There are hundreds of 'experts" out there on the web and the barrier to entry in this field is very low. It is OK to be positively influenced by credentials, prestigious association memberships, certifications, degrees, and "related experience."
Credentials and certifications DO show dedication to an industry and that is good! But initials behind a name shouldn't be the sole determiner of who you select. Media appearances are often a credibility builder too, but again don't let that woo you too much. Often good looks or slickness are the qualifiers for media time. Hey, even I had my own "Career Repair On The Air" call in talk radio show in the early 2000s!!
The bottom line then is, "do I trust this person and/or his her ability to get me what (and ONLY what) I need?
Positive referrals and positive word of mouth are usually reliable.
7. Who needs social media/social networking--isn't it just a fad?
www.Facebook.com started in 2002 and now has over 300 Million registered users (Sept. 2009). www.Twitter.com is an instant messaging tool for the masses which has gathered about 20 million users in a VERY sort period of time. www.Linkedin.com has built over 45 million users in just a few years. That network is signing up a million new members every 17 days or something crazy like that. Linkedin is thought of as "the place" for professional/business networking now.www.Youtube.com was purchased by www.Goggle.com because of its millions and millions of visitors.
Presidential candidateBarak Obama announced his pick for Vice President over twitter.com! There are over 200 MILLION blogs out there! Social Media appears to be here to stay.
Today, MOST people still new get jobs OUTSIDE of social media tools (via the hidden market). But the day will come when perhaps one half the people getting hired will have done so due to social media tools.
No! For years and years I have hung around information technology professionals. I speak their lingo and write their resumes better than they can. I am NOT a technology pro though but I AM a bit of a "power user" when it comes to social media/social networking. I have attended many workshops, seminars, user groups, and webinars on the topic and scan MANY blogs and discussions in that space.
I am not an SEO expert (search engine optimization). Those are the people who make you go "above the fold" on www.google.com's results pages --without the use of Google Adwords. There are thousands of people who know a lot more about those things than I do.
There are people who are much better tweeters and bloggers and group builders etc. than me. Plus, there are GREAT social media tools out there which I haven't even heard of or tried! Social Media Links.
Side note: I have noticed literally hundreds of people who have become Socail Media and Personal Branding "experts" just all of a sudden. What were they doing before they suddenly became an expert?
I DO however feel I AM an expert career strategist. That means I know the hiring and talent promotion playing fields very well. Combine that expertise with my social media power user aspirations and you have a lethal combination--lethal for your job seeking competitors, that is!
9. Where is your office?
To keep my prices low and to maximize my time, I work virtually and am based in eastern Nebraska. For local (eastern Nebraska/Western Iowa) client meetings I arrange convenient, confidential meeting spots, typically at coffee shops like Scooters.
10. What does "Satisfaction Guaranteed" mean?
Just like it sounds. If you are not satisfied with what I do for you, my work is free! See Services & Prices .
11. Who IS America's Job Coach?
Paul David Madsen has been involved in all facets of the talent procurement and promotion sector since 1984. He has worked in key roles for two multi-billion dollar information-technology consulting corporations, the corporate office of a mid-market insurance corporation, and several local and regional executive search, staffing, contracting, and placement companies in various niches. Paul has:
Made over 25,000 headhunting, recruiting, sourcing, screening, and interviewing contacts with active and passive job seekers in numerous states and countries.
Conducted thousands of sales calls and candidate pitch presentations to hiring managers and human resources professionals at corporations of all sizes;
Worked on the 'other side of the desk' as as an in-house Human Resources recruiter for a handful of firms.
Placed hundreds of professionals into new corporate and health care positions across the USA.
Read, evaluated, and/or written tens of thousands of candidate resumes over 2.5 decades.
Been "branded" as America’s Job Coach since 2001 and hosted "Career Repair On the Air®" –a call-in talk radio show in 2002. Also have made numerous job coaching-related appearances on local, regional, and national radio and television.
Taught small group career transition seminars (since 1992) to over 1,000 attendees including early retirees, victims of lay-offs and outsourcing, new college grads, and professionals who have been fired, burned-out, or were just plain restless with their work.
Founded two search firms in two different niche markets, started the micropublisher Growmedia.com, and has held profit-and-loss responsibility (with record profitability) for a national, publicly-held staffing company.
Authored Laid Off & Loving It (2001 edition), Laid Off & Loving It For 2010, a "future classic" novel, and several career transition-related seminars.
Earned his Certified Personnel Consultant (CPC) designation from the National Association of Personnel Services.
Graduated from a Nebraska liberal arts college with an Education degree.
12. How do I reach/retain America's Job Coach?
If you want to retain me or have questions about my services please drop me a note to the address below. I don't open attachments so please paste your resume or other documents you want me to see. Initial contacts with people are always done via email. I don't check my direct messages on Twitter (@AmericaJobCoach). My Linkedin account (America's Job Coach) sends messages to my main email address.
If I have time to do you some good, I'll email a brief "proposal" to you which usually follows my standard rate card (Services/Prices). Prices are subject to change based on your needs and my availability. BEFORE you decide to engage my help, you'll know exactly what I propose for you and exactly what the cost for that will be--completely transparent with no upsale!
I look forward to potentially working with you (via this email address):
