I feel incredibly lucky this week, suspiciously looking over my shoulder waiting for the other shoe to drop. I’ve made significant progress on both my job searches: as a business strategy leader, and as an organizational coach.<\/p>\n
For the former, I had a great interview yesterday with a rapidly growing local software company.\u00a0 I know a few people who work there, and it comes highly recommended. I’m well qualified for the particular job, and am about 80% happy with how I answered questions during the interview. There’s a lot more process to go, and I have no idea what the odds are, but it’s great progress. Perhaps what feels good is that this is the first serious interview I’ve had outside HP since I lost my job, which gives me some confidence that maybe I really do have skills that are valuable to the Real World out there.<\/p>\n
On the coaching front, I’ve talked to a number of companies which are in the business of supplying coaching services to companies. Several are actively interested in me, in a capacity of contracting my coaching services through them in order to serve the end customers. That seems to be a very popular business model for these companies, because it gives them flexibility to serve a wide variety of clients, connecting them with a wide variety of on-demand coaches.<\/p>\n
From my point of view as an independent coach, of course, the amount of business I’d get depends a great deal on what would be brought in by a company like this – especially until I’ve established my own identity as an independent coach. But it seems like a great way to get started in the business.<\/p>\n
What’s so interesting about this is that it’s all coming from networking: through the local Fort Collins networking group<\/a>, through all of my coach friends inside HP, and with my other coach friends outside HP. Sure, I monitor a lot of job postings constantly, but the real rich and exciting opportunities are coming from discussions with real people. I could apply for a job as a manager at Home Depot in Denver, but that’s not using my unique skills and passions.<\/p>\n (Speaking of passions, if you want to find out more about what’s happening in Sacred Music in my world, check out my other blog<\/a>. There’s too much interesting stuff happening there to copy it here.)<\/p>\n Another reason why it seems like momentum is building on the job front is that I’ve been developing this “Career Plan B<\/a>” for about ten years now. So when the axe fell and I needed to start exercising that plan, I had it already forming in my mind. I had talked to people about it, and invested for several years into networking with people which might help me later.<\/p>\n Which they definitely are.<\/p>\n Worried about your job?\u00a0 Don’t have a career plan B?\u00a0 Get cranking.\u00a0 Now.\u00a0 It will payoff in many ways, both before and after your next job change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"