Helping 'Em Charge the Field
What's the best new career skill you should master? Calling your coach

I'm having trouble with my presentation skills at work," says a 35-year-old woman on one end of a phone conversation.

"Well, what's the problem?" a voice replies on the other end.

"I'm not sure, but I'm just not comfortable with myself."

"Do you think you are charging enough for your expertise?"

"Well...maybe not."

"I think that might be your problem," the voice tells her. "Your skills are worth more than you are charging, and that's making you uncomfortable."

The woman is a client of the voice on the other end--her career coach, Linda Conklin, the alumni career services coordinator for the GAA.

Conklin deals with situations like the one above on a weekly basis, with a pool of clients who call her for advice and guidance in not only their careers, but also their lives.

"It's one of the most effective ways of helping people achieve life goals," Conklin says. "And career is part of life--you really can't separate the two."

But career coaching, a relatively new trend, is not like a trip to the shrink; it more closely resembles looking at yourself in the mirror, reflecting on where you are in life.

"I don't do therapy, which tends to look at 'why,'" Conklin says. "Coaching looks at 'Where I am now?' and 'Where do I want to go?' and 'How I am going to get there?'"

In the year since Conklin began the service, the number of her clients has doubled; most are employed and want to change jobs. Some are happy with their careers but want to improve their leadership and management skills, or they are having a specific problem with which they need help.

Conklin works with her clients through four weekly 30-minute phone sessions, priced at $100 for GAA members and $200 for non-members. Some choose to keep in touch for as long as a year or more.

"One of the first things I use is 'clean sweep,'" Conklin says, referring to a program where people are asked to answer questions about what they feel impedes their daily success. "I clean up the mess they're in and make the present all right."

Then she asks clients what they'd like to discuss during each particular call, what accomplishments, problems, challenges and opportunities are on their plate.

Clients call once a week to stay on track, Conklin says, and allow her to monitor their progress and see that they fulfill their commitments. Between phone calls, "field work" is assigned to the clients to make them do tasks they establish for themselves. Such tasks could involve networking contacts, signing up for a class or making an appointment.

"Most people know what they need to do--they just don't know they know, so I guide them," Conklin said. "'Ask' is a big part of coaching. I ask thought-provoking questions...ones that might help them get clarity."

Career coaching is not easy. Conklin sometimes deals with highly personal and difficult life issues, but she says she has to remove herself and help her clients see the world outside of their settled views.

"Listening is the biggest thing I do," Conklin said. "I draw distinctions--if they lose their job, they're not starting from scratch, and I help them see that. I'm re-framing their reality and helping to shift their mindset a lot of times."

Career coaching is a technique that has been around for about five years. But Conklin says she's been doing this sort of thing all her life, only now in a formal capacity since she was certified through "Coach U," an international coach-training organization.

"It's sort of taking the principle from sports coaching and applying it to business," she said. "It's been around in different forms, but this is actually taking it into the professional realm."

The technique is growing, with various ways to become certified, Conklin says. Her own client base has increased primarily through referrals, but also through mailings, career advice columns, workshops and the career coaching Web site at alumni.unc.edu/career/coaching.htm.

"People get into the wrong job because they didn't know what they're interested in," Conklin said. "They get stuck in a job and don't think there's anything else they can do. I want to help them see there are options and choices and help them create a life they want."

--Worth Civils