What Can Career Coaching Offer Me?

Depending on your goals and where you are in the process, you might work with any of the three critical factors of successful career management:

  • ASSESSMENT: With state-of-the-art assessments, identify and create the language for demonstrating your value to the preferred organization
  • MARKETING: Showcase your knowledge, skills and abilities in a way that captures the interest of employers and recruiters
  • STRATEGY: Using your insights from specific career/leadership assessments, create a plan that is workable, effective and smart. will get you where you want to go – and get coaching support as you work that plan

Rita’s Specialty: Coaching for the 55+ Professional

Click here to see topics frequently discussed by Rita with her clients.

Midlife career changes can be especially daunting. Fears of age discrimination often lead to discouragement and long-term unemployment.  Rita has chosen to work with the midlife career changer and has developed a process that eliminates employer concerns about hiring an “older worker”. Rita’s workshops for the 55+ professional in transition are sought after, often resulting in waiting lists.

It’s not the date on your birth certificate that deters employers/hiring managers. It’s the Five Myths about the more experienced worker that do that. Those unconscious biases can be eliminated by modifying the search process: the resume, marketing plan, bio, networking, social media presence and interviewing process must be designed to break down those preconceived notions about hiring a more experienced, mid-life candidate. And this can be done with integrity. Our work together will be customized to focus on your specific needs. We will create a plan that allows you to:

  • Identify the market trends working in your favor
  • Establish effective methods for competing
  • Create professional marketing materials: resume/bio/marketing plan
  • Develop a customized social media strategy: LinkedIn/Twitter
  • Prioritize you activities based on results – return on investment of time and energy

Building a strong resume, using recruiters and job sites effectively, networking on the NET, preparing for behavioral interviews, salary negotiation and marketing strategies are a few of the areas typically covered in career coaching sessions.

On-the-Job Career Coaching

People seek career coaching for two reasons: (1) they have experienced an unwanted job loss or (2) they are experiencing difficulties in their current jobs. For the latter, Rita has been successful in coaching clients in organizations who wish to create a better work environment by improving a work relationship with a coworker, supervisor or direct reports. With communication and leadership assessments, clients identify behavior modifications that result in greater cooperation and collaboration.

The “HOW” of Professional Coaching

Because clients are in locations throughout the world, coaching is provided by phone, email and screen sharing. A schedule of coaching calls, all addressing your agenda, provides an efficient and highly effective process.

In an informal phone conversation, the 30-minute Discovery Session, you have an opportunity to describe your career goals and what you would hope to gain from a professional coaching relationship. From the information you provide, Rita proposes a coaching process (with options) that addresses your objectives and includes costs. The proposal is sent to you by email. You then have an opportunity to review the proposal and (1) may accept it as proposed or (2) make suggestions for revisions or (3) may opt to delay or dismiss the coaching option.   Your choice will be respected and honored. So, if you’re hesitant…take the leap… and spend 20 minutes checking it out.

Dr. Rita Carey, director of RCM Associates, is a Career Development Coach with extensive experience in Career Management. She has become known for her work with professionals in their 50s, 60s, and 70s who must not only show that they have the competencies needed for the job but must also demonstrate that they are contemporary, still in the game, and adaptable.

Rita is a certified professional coach (The Coaches Institute, San Rafael, CA) and has been described as warm, wise, and creative. She has been described as warm, wise, generous and creative.

You are Invited to Schedule a free 30-minute Discovery Session!

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Coaching Conversations

There are challenges when competing for meaningful work in our 50s, 60s, and beyond.  But those challenges are manageable!  You can reduce the influence of age if you are aware of employer concerns and engage in a contemporary job search.  Below are some of the topics for Coaching Conversations that concern my clients.

TOPICS:

Getting Past Age Bias

If you are concerned about your age being a negative -if you are not getting responses to your resume submittals, if recruiters have not shown interest, if you are experiencing what appears to be a dismissal of your qualifications,  it may be due to “unconscious” age bias.  Younger recruiters or HR personnel may make judgments that eliminate qualified, more experienced candidates in the selection process.  BUT…there are ways to get past those concerns.  If that is your experience, a coaching conversation with Rita will focus on how to demonstrate that you still have “skin in the game,” are forward-looking, and up-to-speed with the latest innovations in your field.

Resumes: Keywords, Jobs, and the Best of You at 55+

Creating an age-neutral, contemporary resume can be challenging when you are over 50.  Still, it is possible to create a contemporary resume that highlights accomplishments, eliminates age barriers, and complies with the Automatic Tracking System software employers use to identify the best candidates.  Rita will provide samples of well-written resumes that emphasize qualifications, not age, and work with you to create your accomplishments-focused resume that will get past the ATS (Automatic Tracking System) and into decision-makers’ hands.

Interviewing on Zoom or in the Room at 55+

When selected for an interview, you know you’ve done something right!  Now, your challenges are: (1) to provide evidence of your ability to do the job effectively, (2) to dispel concerns about age and relevance, (3) to be seen as a good fit.  You will be prepared to address those challenges in coaching conversations and with the materials provided.

Your LinkedIn Profile at 55+

LinkedIn has become the “go-to” site for hiring managers and recruiters.  That’s where they can search for and review profiles and connect with those whose experience matches their requirements.  You, the more experienced candidate, have an advantage – you can showcase your expertise in a way that the less experienced cannot.  It’s simply a matter of knowing how.

Working Remotely at 55+

The pandemic required changes in how work was done and resulted in the realization that work did not have to be done in the workplace.  Tasks can be done effectively, and projects can be managed efficiently when working off-site.  But what does it take to succeed when working from home?  How can essential work relationships be developed?  And how might your personality influence your success?