Job coaches and counselors help clients reach goals

Job coaches and career counselors are an increasingly popular way to find and keep jobs. Coaches and counselors help their clients develop the crucial skill of networking, among others, to achieve success.

The reason career services are so popular is most people don’t know how to find a job, said John Gregg, president of the U.S. Board of the Association of Career Professionals International. The association provides coaches and counselors with training and binds members to a set of ethics.

Mr. Gregg said networking is the best way to find a job.

A survey of job seekers by the association found the majority believed the best place to find employment is in newspaper classified ads.

But newspaper ads accounted for 13 percent of all hires, while networking was the most successful, accounting for more than 70 percent of all hires, according to the survey. Recruiters were responsible for about 10 percent.

Many people don’t understand what networking is, said Mr. Gregg, who works in the office of business development at Fort Detrick. He said a typical job seeker believes attending a chamber of commerce event to hand out resumes qualifies.

“Hi, I’m a widget maker and I’m looking for a job; do you have any openings?” Mr. Gregg said. “That’s not networking, that’s door-to-door sales.”

He said networking is about making relationships. One technique is to introduce new contacts to each other; another is to ask contacts for a referral to an industry expert.

“If you want to play golf, and you never played before, you don’t go to the sporting goods store, buy a set and then try and play 18 holes,” Mr. Gregg said. “You read a book or hire a coach, but how do you distinguish from good and bad ones? You ask an expert.”

Coaches encourage success

Mr. Gregg said coaching means different things to different people.

Some job coaches work with people who have disabilities to complete a job, he said. Examples include Way Station and Maryland State Department of Education Division of Rehabilitation Services or DORS.

Way Station works to improve behavioral health and employment services through advocacy, research and education, while DORS helps clients find independence through employment.

Other coaches focus on employee retention, climbing the corporate ladder and balancing personal and work life. A derailment coach helps people who are having trouble adjusting to a promotion.

“Imagine the best operator in an assembly line is promoted to supervisor, but he is failing at that position,” Mr. Gregg said. “But the company doesn’t want to lose the value this employee has, so they hire someone to coach that person.”

Executive coaches help senior managers find the best possible career path.

Five years ago, Paul Frey helped found PLF, LLC, an executive and business coaching and consulting firm in Frederick.
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“I learn in almost every case businesses have the same issues,” he said.

Those issues include poor communication, outdated or absent business plans and challenges with hiring and retaining good workers.

Mr. Frey said small businesses need coaching because they often do not have the resources to address those problems. He often serves as a sounding board for his clients’ ideas.

“Many entrepreneurs have no one to talk with outside of business partners,” he said.

Partners and family members could be emotionally involved with a problem and it’s helpful to have an outside voice who can speak the truth, he said.

“You can’t always get that from people close to you because there is often a level of judgment that’s there,” Mr. Frey said. “Maybe they don’t want to hurt your feelings or there could be this feeling of a hidden agenda.”

Mr. Frey said he is a resource for unbiased advice and options, but his clients ultimately have to make the decisions and carry them out.

“As a consultant, I help them by giving them their best options and if it doesn’t work, you regroup and try another approach,” he said. “That’s where not being judgmental comes into play.”

Career center supports jobs

Job coaches aren’t the only ones working to ensure Frederick County has a well-trained, successful workforce.

Frederick County Workforce Services helps people find jobs and provides a free network of support and services that encourages success. The agency gets money from federal, state and county governments.

FCWS houses field offices for several federal, state and local agencies, such as Frederick Community College, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Frederick Department of Economic Services.

“What we’re trying to do is create a one-stop destination so people don’t have to run out to Carroll Creek to visit DORS or go out to FCC to get information about their programs,” said Ron Valenti, an employment consultant with FCWS.

The center sponsors the Passport youth program every summer to teach 16- to 21-year-olds how to write resumes and interview for a job, and the interpersonal skills needed in a workplace. Participating clients often meet mentors while serving as interns.

Other clients use the computer lab to look for jobs; services such as free postage, free faxes and a message service encourage follow through.

“Everything is self serve, so once they get oriented, they sign in and make this their office,” Mr. Valenti said.

Classes for adults include English as a second language, how to make business cards and computer literacy.

A group of five students met in a classroom last week while Beth Davis-Reinhold coached them on Microsoft Excel.

Eva Bivins has worked as a floral designer since she graduated high school more than 25 years ago.

“I never had to learn how to use a computer because all the shops I worked at did sales manually,” she said.

Now she pushes herself to learn how to use a computer to realize a dream — her own flower shop.

“If you don’t have a job or learn the skills you need to become self-employed by the time you leave this program, you don’t want to work,” she said.

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