Chicago career coach

Feeling Lost? Change Careers & Unlock Your Potential

Feeling Lost? Change Careers & Unlock Your Potential

Do you feel stuck in a boring, depressing job that no longer excites you? Don't worry. If you're yearning for a brighter, more fulfilling career path, we're here to guide you toward a successful transition. With the support of our Life Working® experts, you'll embark on an empowering journey to rediscover professional fulfillment. Your happiness and a promising new career adventure await!

Transform Your Future with a Career Coach

Transform Your Future with a Career Coach

Dreaming about your next career move can be exciting and energizing, and having a career coach by your side can make it even more rewarding. Think of it as having your own personal career team in your pocket, helping you strategize wisely each step of the way.

Here are some fantastic ways we can guide you on your path.

Career Reinvention with Purpose and Passion

Career Reinvention with Purpose and Passion

Changing or transforming your career can be an exciting and fulfilling endeavor. Whether you're looking to make a transition due to personal growth, shifting industries, or simply exploring new opportunities, here's a 10-step plan to help you successfully embark on your career reinvention journey.

Negotiating a Job: Focus on This, Not That

Negotiating a Job: Focus on This, Not That

In general, job offer negotiations are rarely easy but can be critical in advancing your career and ensuring you're paid fairly for your skills and experience. How you handle yourself will depend on where you are in your career and what aspects of the role are most important to you. 

Why both? The resume and career portfolio have different purposes and unique benefits.

What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

With the average job-seeker experiencing multiple career changes in their lifetime, having a clear understanding of the skills and qualifications needed for a specific role is crucial. This post highlights the importance of professional help in achieving career clarity, including career exploration coaching and career assessments. By gaining a better understanding of one's values, interests, and skills, individuals can better articulate their unique values and stand out in a competitive job market.

Elevator Pitch Secrets

Elevator Pitch Secrets

Some industries require a different approach than the general elevator pitch. For example, if you’re in a service industry — therapist, coach, consultant, etc. — one of the easiest ways to answer the question “What do you do?” is to take the spotlight off you and put it onto your clients. This focuses the conversation on what you do for your clients and what they get from working with you. 

Elevator Pitch - Get Noticed

Elevator Pitch - Get Noticed

Whether you’re interviewing or networking, someone inevitably says, “Tell me about yourself.” “So, what do you do?” asks the person you met at a networking get-together. In another likely scenario, you find yourself in an elevator with someone you’ve wanted to meet. What do you say?

Applicant Tracking Systems – Friend or Foe?

Applicant Tracking Systems – Friend or Foe?

Understanding the application tracking system (ATS) world can raise more questions than answers. Here are the questions Life Working® Resume experts hear most often.

Job Interviews: Best & Worst Times

Job Interviews: Best & Worst Times

When is the best time to schedule your interview? The easy answer is whenever it works for the interviewer! After all, that’s the goal — to get the interview and the job offer.

But what if you are offered a choice of dates and times for the interview?  Is it better to be the first person interviewed? Or to be one of the final candidates considered? Should you schedule your interview for the morning? Or the afternoon?  And, if you’re offered the option of a virtual interview or meeting in person, which should you choose?

Here are the pros and cons of being towards the front of the pack, one of the last, or somewhere in the middle.

Your Resume: Refresh or Start Fresh?

Your Resume: Refresh or Start Fresh?

If you have a resume, at some point, you’re faced with a dilemma: Should I update my existing resume, or is it time to start over?

When you have a great resume — especially one created by a professional resume writer — it can be difficult to imagine starting over again. But even the best formats become outdated as technology changes. And if you are dreaming about making a career pivot, what worked in one profession may not be appropriate in another. But how do you know when you should refresh — or start fresh?

Can You Explain Why You Left Your Last Job?

Can You Explain Why You Left Your Last Job?

Hiring new employees is expensive. There’s the time and effort in attracting candidates, screening them, and conducting interviews. It takes time to set the person up in the human resources and benefits system, and it costs money to onboard and train the new hire. These expenses can add up to hundreds — or even thousands — of dollars. As a result, hiring managers want to ensure that the candidate will be a good fit. Questions asked during the interview will help determine if a prospective employee is a good match for the company and role.

One question you’re likely to be asked in an interview is why you left your last job (or why you want to leave your current position).

Change Jobs or Careers: What to Consider

Change Jobs or Careers: What to Consider

The basic question remains—do you want to change the company you work for or change your career path entirely? Ask yourself if changing to a new company would fix the issue or issues you identified. Or are they issues embedded within the industry itself and would only be fixed if you changed industries entirely?

Also, think about how you feel about the actual work you’re doing. Do you still have a passion for your work, but maybe not in this work environment? If that’s the case, changing jobs could improve your situation. You might not need to change careers.

Is It Time to Change Jobs or Careers?

Is It Time to Change Jobs or Careers?

There’s a saying in the career industry that you’ll know it’s time to make a job or career change when you ask yourself if it’s time to make a change.

While there is truth to that, there’s more to making your decision. This guide will help you identify why you may want to make a job or career change and give you practical strategies and tips to help you with your decision.