Whether you’re the CEO or a mid-level employee, the hiring manager or a job candidate, every work relationship will require asking questions of other people. To be an effective communicator, it’s important to ask quality questions that obtain the desired information and achieve the intended outcome. As Anthony Robbins says, “Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions and as a result get better answers.” 

Recently, I received a call from a mother whose college grad daughter was struggling with interviews. She told me her daughter had had 20 phone interviews over the last three months, but never made it to the next round. 

For some of my clients, the job is not the problem; it’s their chosen career. They feel stuck and seek guidance in determining whether they should change. Here’s an example where my coaching process led to an unexpected outcome.

I’m currently coaching an executive to refine her leadership skills and a position opened up in her company that's the perfect role for her. It would advance her career, and she’s very excited about the opportunity. 

As an executive coach, I frequently work with clients to help them transition smoothly into a leadership role. They must quickly deliver on many new responsibilities, but may face various challenges in properly managing their new team.

I’ve been working with a college senior named Sarah since Christmas. Sarah wanted to get a jump on her job search and allow time to specifically target her preferred companies.

Over the years I have worked with many people to help them prepare to find a new job after they’ve unexpectedly lost theirs. This is a time to go easy on yourself since it is considered by many to be one of life’s most stressful experiences. When someone comes to me for help, here are three things I share with everyone.

If your job search isn’t going as well as you’d expected, it’s time to do things differently. But how do you know what needs to be done differently? And what do you do instead?

As 2017 comes to an end and we look forward to the New Year, it’s an ideal time to pause and reflect on all you’ve accomplished in the past year. And it's the perfect time to choose goals for 2018 that will help you take charge of your career.

The thought of asking for the job during your interview may make you cringe or feel very uncomfortable. That’s okay. That's totally normal!

The job search process comes with a lot of uncertainty, like not knowing how to go about finding a job, not knowing what the hiring manager is looking for in the ideal candidate or how long it's really going to take to get a job. This uncertainty brings with it a lot of emotional ups and down. There are times of excitement and successful action, as well as setbacks and disappointment.

Okay, imagine you're interviewing for your dream job, and it's going well. It's clear the hiring manager loves you. You got this!

It’s that “ice breaker” question that seems easy enough to answer yet causes many unprepared candidates to ramble on about their life’s story. And be assured, the hiring manager isn’t interested in hearing your life’s story.