- Home
- Events
- Features
- Membership
- Careers
- Students
- Foundation
- Matrix Awards
- Press Room
- Sponsors
Belinda Plutz believes that people, not companies, hire people. That's why as a full-time coach and mentor since 1989, she has counseled her clients to widen their nets to welcome new contacts and nurture existing ones who will help them land the best jobs around.
As a principal of her firm, Career Mentors, Inc., Belinda also teaches career and on-the-job strategies as well as practical, proven and highly tailored goal-setting, job-hunting, interviewing and negotiating techniques to enhance confidence and satisfaction for professionals in all communications fields.
Q Times are tough in our business and in others. Advertising is down, the cost of paper is up, thousands have been laid off and magazines have even folded. How do your clients get new jobs now?
A It takes strategic planning, perseverance and a whole lot of patience (one rule of thumb is to count on as much as one month of looking for every $10,000 of salary you've been earning).
As a job seeker, you need to have all your "tools" in shape: a flawless resume, printed personal business cards, Internet access and a personal email address for correspondence at home, not at work.
Surprisingly, some seemingly smart, employed people I've worked with have thought it was okay to put their corporate email addresses on their resumes and to conduct telephone interviews with prospective employers from their company-paid cell phones. If working, do not execute a job search from your employer's office and equipment.
Know also that the interviewing process slows down in shaky times. Clients report that it now takes three or more "touches" to reach someone these days, even people they know and like. Employees often are so busy getting work done that filling the vacant position sometimes moves way down their priority list, and, at times, jobs get "frozen."
Don't give up or lose your cool. Instead, ask your prospective employer when to contact him or her again and generally how often.
Finally, be empathetic about their situation and express it, because doing so can be useful at demonstrating your ability to see things from another's perspective -- a critical teamwork and negotiation skill.
Alexandra Duran, MSW, CSW, JD, has been cited or published by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Radio & Records, New York Law Journal, SmartMoney, New York Lawyer and Japan Public Television. In addition to being a coach, facilitator and the founder of Career Transitioning, Alexandra is a therapist and attorney. Below, find out how she works.
Q. When a client is keen to make a change, how do you help?
A. “NYWICI member Mistina Bates (former NYWICI vice president of Communications) had reached a plateau in her corporate job. Her responsibilities had piled up so much, she had scant time, she thought, to do any one thing well. Naturally, she was frustrated.
“I worked with Mistina to improve her outlook. Eventually, she decided to launch a copywriting business — a long-time dream. During this phase, I coached Mistina as she gained the confidence to build a business from scratch. Her challenges included lack of a professional network and the obvious drawback of leaving a six-figure salary. While saving her money and planting the seeds for her escape through an intensive networking campaign, Mistina kept her job. Now, four years later, she is running her own business, Market It Write, and her company’s revenue nearly matches her prior salary — with the upside that she may never have to work in a corporate job again.”
Jen Zobel Bieber
After working in television news reporting and documentaries, Jen Zobel Bieber switched to career coaching, which she finds infinitely more satisfying. About clients referred through NYWICI, she admits to having a visceral connection with them: “They don’t have to explain why they’re working 14 hours with no lunch break. I get it, I’ve been there.” Jen holds a degree in psychology from Columbia University and a coaching certification from New York University. Her work has been featured in The New York Times and the Financial Times and on the Today show. Among her clients, Jen particularly loves the NYWICI women: “They’re the most interesting and passionate people.” We agree!
Q. You have said that people have two main fears — of the unknown and of failure. How do you help your risk-averse clients take the leap?
A. By encouraging them to move forward on actions, just before they admit to being ready: For everyone, actual readiness is usually there before emotional readiness. In taking risks, they’re opening themselves up to, perhaps, making a mistake, but also to embracing the opportunity. Naturally, my clients do make mistakes, but I show them the upside. They learn so much that it minimizes the impact of any missteps. They finish saying: “I made a mistake, but I’m still in the game.” And that, as the announcer on the popular commercial says, is priceless.
Ann Fry
It’s funny how life is. We’re bopping along – completing our educations, getting our first jobs, building our careers – and then something happens. Maybe you can’t find the job of your dreams, or maybe you have a yearning for something you can’t make happen. Maybe there’s some other concern or disappointment.
You blink your eyes and things change. But there, in the midst of change, lies the kernel of opportunity.
Change allows you to sit down, revamp, consider your possibilities and set off in a new direction. It’s cool, wonderful - and scary. In the moment something is different, you can create newness.
You probably second-guess yourself. You ask, “What should I do? Will I make the right choices? What should I do FIRST? Who do I want to be?” And the inevitable: “What if?”
Change offers you a clean slate. You can paint anything you’d like on it. In fact, every day is a clean slate—if we treat it that way. If I were coaching you, I would start by asking you a few questions:
What one thing not currently in your life would make a huge difference? (Go for the “big” thing here: What would make your heart sing? How would you like to spend your one wild and crazy life?)
In reality, many of us are programmed to study and take on certain careers. We’re programmed by our families, by society, by the job market - our hearts and desires don’t always have a voice.
Someone once said to me, “Every time you deny yourself, a little piece of your spirit dies.”
Don’t let that happen. Ask yourself the above questions. Work with a coach or mentor. Take advantage of all that NYWICI has to offer you. Connect, ask others for what you need, be optimistic, dare to dream and, most importantly, trust yourself.
Ann Fry, MSW, professional speaker and coach, helps people achieve happy lives on their terms. Visit her websites at www.annfry,com ., and www.humoru.com.
355 Lexington Ave., 15th Fl, New York, NY 10017-6603
T 212-297-2133 F 212-370-9047
New York Women in Communications empowers women in all communications disciplines to reach their full potential by promoting their professional growth and inspiring them to achieve and share their successes in the rapidly changing world of communications.
print this page
Join NYWICI on these social networks: