Career Coaching

In 1978 – the dark ages – a roller coaster opened at Great America in Gurnee Illinois called “The Tidal Wave”.  It was a big deal.It was one giant loop, 137 feet high that went 55 mph in 5 seconds. Every radio ad and commercial touted the “wild ride” and I used to stand in […]

“Admiration must be kept up by the novelty that at first produced it; . . .  there must always be the impression that more remains.”  Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784)   I’ll bet every client you have ever served is different from any other. I will also bet that, in one important sense, every client you […]

Since the beginning of January 2026, PARWCC and 20 of its Certified Professional Career Coaches (CPCC) have been participating in a pilot career-coaching program with The Labor Club (TLC).  I would like to thank the CPCC volunteers who selflessly and generously gave of their time and resources to work with their clients, offering passion, empathy, […]

“All know the way, few actually walk it.” – Bodhidharma If the 5th century Buddhist monk I just quoted was alive today, I suspect he’d understand more about how to use LinkedIn than many of our clients, and if truth be told, many of us. When it comes to that gold standard for professional networking, […]

I recently sent a questionnaire to an executive client requesting her top five hard and top five soft skills. Interestingly, she named only soft skills.  As I built her résumé, I reviewed all of the materials she sent to work from, including a performance evaluation, previous résumé, essays, and more. I culled and identified several […]

LinkedIn is one of the most powerful tools you can use to have our clients move their careers forward. It’s also a considerable paradox. On the surface, it seems straightforward. It is anything but. Consider the “About” section. How natural for uninformed users (that’s most of them and nearly all of our clients) to think […]

The term Pink Slip originated in the early 20th century, when employers in America used pink-colored paper to print termination notices for their employees (in other countries, different colors are used). This expression has become widely recognized as a symbol of job loss and workplace insecurity. It can be used literally and figuratively, with people […]

Self-care is like refilling the pitcher from which you pour. If you do not care for yourself, you may begin to dry up, crack, and crumble. As career coaches, we demonstrate compassion for our clients daily. We listen to their stories of job loss, stress over finding new roles, daunting job searches (and “ghosting”), and […]

December can feel strange in the career coaching world. Half your LinkedIn feed is off sipping mulled wine and talking about their “word for the year,” while the other half is launching into orbit like their entire business depends on closing Q4 with a bang. And then there’s you — somewhere in the middle. You’re […]

The U.S. job market is still standing, but it’s getting harder to read. September’s labor data came out in fragments due to the federal government shutdown, leaving economists and career professionals piecing together clues from private reports, alternative indicators, and early-October trends. Here’s what we know (and what we don’t) about where hiring is heading, […]

Work Harder On Yourself Than You Do Anything Else It was my secret weapon for 35 years when I worked with job seekers at all levels.  And over the years, as I’ve watched the evolution of the resume writing and career coaching professions, I find that this strategic weapon still gets very little attention, if […]

Career development is different from job search. As a career coach, I coach my clients to develop a lifelong career management plan to become job-search-proofed. Career management is a lifelong process of acquiring skills, understanding career development and management, and making decisions that help clients achieve their dream job, skill set(s), and lifestyle. Clients bring […]