Meet Kristen Jacoway, Career Design Coach. The seeds of Kristen’s calling were planted in her youth, beginning with the strong work ethic instilled in her by her parents. When she was in middle school, her father, now retired Charter NASA rocket scientist Gene Austin, brought home a Macintosh computer, and Kristen embarked on a journey of discovery. Kristen’s dad continually upgraded to stay abreast of cutting-edge technology over the years, and each wave of innovation provided a fresh opportunity for Kristen to develop a level of knowledge and skill uncommon among her contemporaries.

In the early 1990s, when Kristen landed her first career position as a vocational counselor with the State of Alabama, she purchased her own laptop to streamline the massive volume of paper flow. As the one of the first counselors in the state to apply technology in this manner, and she cut her paperwork by 50% and used the time she saved to provide faster and more efficient service to her clients.

Kristen developed a keen awareness of the importance of career change management when her husband’s job was off-shored by his employer, bringing an abrupt end to his 20-year manufacturing career. That experience was the driving force that inspired Kristen to find a way to assist others in managing their careers.

Career Design Coach
In Career Design Coach, Kristen brings it all together. Her empathy and passion are the fuel, while her technical expertise and knowledge of social media form the roadmap her clients use to manage their careers, networks, and online identities on the road to success.

She is Assistant Editor for Younique (a global newsletter reaching 45,000 subscribers), and her work as a contributing writer is featured in Cover Letters for Dummies 3rd Edition, by Joyce Lain Kennedy (Wiley Publishing, January 2009), as well as Personal Branding Blog and Jibber Jobber One Thing blog. She has been recently quoted in a press release and interviewed for an article for a major executive job board. Career Rocketeer named her as one of the 150+ Experts on Twitter that All Job Seekers Must Follow. A publishing company has recently placed her under contract to write a book on social media and traditional avenues in the job search. The title of the book is “I’m in a Job Search–Now What???” and was published in January 2010.

Kristen earned her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Vocational Counseling from Auburn University. Her professional credentials include:

• Certified Personal Brand Strategist
• Certified Career Coach
• Certified Rehabilitation Counselor
• Certified Professional Résumé Writer
• Certified Employment Interview Professional
• Certified Online Identity Specialist

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