After working as a recruiter for many years, I realized that candidates were receiving interviews and getting offers because of my commitment to connect with hiring managers and HR decision-makers. Frequently, I interviewed strong candidates, presented resumes to clients, and got rejected. I regularly refused to give up and reached out again and again to request an interview for the candidates, even offering never to call managers again if they didn’t recognize the person as a strong applicant. 95% of the time, these candidates confirmed interviews and eventually received offers.
Then, my life and career changed. I got married, moved to the suburbs and flourished in the entertainment marketing and sponsorship industry. I thoroughly enjoyed personal and financial success for a while and ultimately the marriage started to deteriorate. That affected my state of mind and the business began to suffer. I chose to make a change and get back into recruiting. I couldn’t even get an interview much less a job offer.
They say that it’s important to “hit bottom” in order to recover from disappointments and emotional anxiety. Well, I didn’t just hit bottom, I crashed on the bottom. I was depressed and in a turbulent state of mind. I felt there were no viable ways out.
Starting Over
Finally, a recruiting agency in Manhattan hired me and I “started over”. I had to prove myself, again. One day I was working on a job requirement for a career coach with a great F 500 company and I found a qualified candidate who was working at JPMorgan. I called and shared the exciting position and the impressive company with her. She indicated that she was very happy in her position and had no interest in leaving. I asked to meet her in person and we met inside beautiful Bryant Park in midtown NYC.
We connected on many levels and ultimately agreed to stay in touch in case anything changed. It didn’t end there.
About three months later she called and asked if I could give a presentation to a few hundred people at JPMorgan. She was responsible for coaching people after they were notified that their positions were eliminated. She planned a workshop primarily focused on how to work with recruiters and thought I would be a credible resource to instill confidence.
Even though there was no compensation, I felt it was something I needed to do. The workshop attracted a dynamic group of talented people in the Wall Street office with many others dialing in from across the country. After I delivered the PowerPoint presentation, I answered many questions, thanked everyone and said goodbye to her. She asked me, point blank if I ever considered becoming a career and leadership coach.
I answered no. I explained that I was a recruiter and I never even thought about that in any way. She said I would make a great one and asked me to think about it. I literally had no interest – I was rebuilding my personal life and professional career.
A New Career
After a few weeks went by, I thought I had nothing to lose by exploring the opportunity. So, I called her and she immediately said, that’s great! She spoke to her manager, a very senior-level leader at the bank. Before I knew it, I had an in-person interview with him.
His Park Avenue office was huge with a great view of the city. This gentleman asked me three questions within 10 minutes and offered me a consulting position on the spot as a leadership and career coach. He showed me my office and I started to coach newly laid-off employees.
I found myself coaching people who were in different stages of emotional distress trying to give them a roadmap to get back into the workforce. They regularly expressed fears about their families and financial challenges. Not long before, I was in the same exact position myself! It was an eye-opening experience for me on many levels.
Over the last 10 years, I have provided executive coaching, team leadership, and performance management coaching for senior leaders and people managers to improve leadership qualities, influencing skills, time management, and delegation skills. Managers are not necessarily leaders.
I realized that improving leadership skills is emotional. As a result, my coaching style is based on emotional intelligence and servant leadership. This is the reason why I am a leadership and career coach.