A colleague recommended Traverse to me. She told me that her career coach had rewritten her résumé…read moreand cover letters, prepped her for interviews and helped her to quickly transition from a very unhealthy office atmosphere into her new position. Since I am in a similar situation, I contacted the coach ASAP and, long story short, I spent $75 for her to tell me something that I already knew.. that I'm "creative".
In our initial (free) conversation, I expressed that I've done as much as I can do developing my own career and that I needed assistance translating the tasks and duties I've performed at my dead-end job into something marketable to put on my résumé. I also mentioned how much I HATE networking (so many bad experiences. We swap business cards and it starts off as "business" but ends up with an awkward and unwanted "proposition". Ick!) and that I was still reeling from a job interview that went exceptionally poorly. The coach, Ellen, mentioned that she had a background in HR, so I thought she'd be perfect to assist me in all of these areas. I was wrong.
In our first (and last) paid session, I reminded her that résumé rewrites were important to me. She told me that "résumés are not really important", and spent the next hour trying to talk about anything but that. I felt that she was not in tune with, and did not consider, my needs as the client (even though I clearly expressed them in the form of a 10-page "All About Me" document that she asked me to write for our paid session). I came in with the expectation that she would consider my concerns, hear my reservations and difficulties and respond with both compassion and reassurance, as well as a plan. I was expecting to hear something like,
" Ok.... I see that your résumé is important to you, but I want you to know that that is not the only tool you have working for you, so I'll tell you what. Since you're the client and you are paying for these services, we will address your résumé issues first. After that, we'll start working on finding networking avenues that are more comfortable for you and in the following session, we'll start working on your elevator pitch... I know it's not your favorite thing to do, but we're going to work on it together and I'm going to help you come up with something great!"
Had I heard anything close to that, I would have signed up right away. Instead she spent much of the session telling me that I was "putting up walls" if I expressed uncertainty about some of her methods or disagreed with observations she made. Much of what she did recommend to me I have already done, and instead of saying, "Ok, let's talk about how we can capitalize on your efforts and take them to the next level", I felt like I was being criticized for taking my time and choosing to make careful decisions; as if I hadn't been working fast enough for her or something. Even though she insisted she wasn't doing so, I felt like I was being judged the whole time: like the efforts I've been making on my own weren't good enough (which was the whole reason I reached out to her in the first place!).
One thing an effective coach does is reassure players and help them to recognize their potential. Instead of reassured and empowered, I left that session feeling frustrated and annoyed. From the questions and comments she provided, it was evident that she did not have a clear understanding of what I needed. At one point, I had to stop her and ask "Did you understand what I meant when I said ...."
I was dismayed that she did not ask enough questions to clarify, but instead tried to march forward with her own plans without a clear understanding of what I needed.
It's one thing not to listen to me; it's another thing entirely to pay to be ignored.
It goes without saying, I do not recommend these services to anyone.
