Has anyone used a job coach?

[christinarossetti19]

Not a 'what do you want to do with your life?' type one, more a 'help you get a job that's okay' type one.

I was getting interviews but despite taking the same approach to forensically going through the person spec and JD and making sure that all points are addressed in my application, that's no longer happening.

I can't get a foothold in the sector where I've worked for 25 years, so am applying for anything where my skills and experience match.

Oh OP, I feel for you. I went through this earlier in the year. It was such a strange experience as I had always walked into jobs very easily in the past, and suddenly the old formula no longer seemed to work. Not sure if it was due to age, covid or something else, but I was struggling to get interviews even for stuff that I was massively overqualified for. Let alone anything aspirational!

And then, somehow, it just happened. Applied for my absolute dream job, got an interview, got the job. No idea why this one and not all of the others. I had genuinely started to wonder if I had somehow become unemployable, but apparently I was their first choice from a strong field of very appointable candidates.

I didn't use a job coach or anything, just kept on applying for a range of jobs that seemed to fit with my skills and experience. The only advice I can offer is to keep on trying and not give up too soon. It took me 6 months to find something, but it was worth the wait as the job that I was eventually offered was way better than so many of the others that I didn't get!

Thanks AlexaShutUp that's encouraging.

It's been nearly a year since my first rejection, but I did have some freelance work over the winter, so had a few months break from applying.

I'm beginning to wonder eg I wrote the supporting statement as text, should I have done it as bullet points?

That's the sort of thing that would be useful to talk through with someone, as it was securing me interviews but no longer.

Hi OP. I'm watching this thread with interest. I've been unemployed for a few months now having been made redundant from a company where I'd worked for over ten years. All this job hunting has been a massive shock to the system. I've applied for so many now and find it tough that many don't even get back to me to say it's a no. There's one particular job I'd have loved but have no idea if they're still reviewing applications or if I haven't been successful.

I'm thinking now of what else I can do to help myself. I've been looking at courses and job coaches. I've looked looked into volunteering but covid restrictions are blocking things there too. I'm also worried about wasting people's time. If I got a job volunteering and then found a paid job somewhere else, there's every chance I'd have to leave the volunteering as I'm a single mum and wouldn't have the childcare for both types of work.

Sorry I can't be of more help to you. I just wanted you to know you're not alone. It's very competitive out there. I'm intrigued to know if a job coach would help me break down some barriers or point me in a direction I hadn't thought of.

nationalcareers.service.gov.uk You can get free support from a careers adviser here

I have been a job coach for many people - it really does help people to have an external viewpoint. I’ve never had a person not get a job during the coaching process. Mostly people come for help when they’re stuck, like you describe, and it’s a matter of unlocking things to find the blocker and then moving forward towards the goal.

Although I am qualified as a coach I do it through work as a corporate contribution not as a profession.

I work at a jobcenter (not UK) and essentially coach jobseekers. It really helps to get someone to give you some feedback. Im a bit reluctant to advise because there are different 'rules' but heres the most generic:

• tailor your CV. Everyone says this, no says how. If your main responsibilities are in bullet points change the order to match the new job's description. If you have experience of eg writing and they want someone to create content then use their word.
• is everything on your CV relevant?
• does your cover letter match your CV in terms of appearance?
• is everything saved as a pdf?
• re supporting text. Do what you think makes most sense.
• are you on linkedin? Is there a link on your cv to your profile? Is your profile filled out?

Bella43 that was my thinking.

I looked up 'job coaches' and got completely overwhelmed.

It felt as bad as trying to find jobs to apply for.

I really do feel that I need someone to help me navigate through job hunting though, as I'm clearly doing something, or lots of things, wrong.