Career coaching services assist job seekers in different ways. A career coach provides job search clarity. They can also create career marketing documents like resumes and cover letters.
Some career coaches can even help you perfect your online presence, practice video interviews, and build your personal brand.
As a new remote job seeker, you will likely need all of these career coaching services. After all, a work from home job search is a lot different than a traditional one. You won’t be able to meet someone in person, hand in your resume, or fill out an application.
Instead, you have to know where to find remote jobs, how to position yourself as a great remote worker (even if you’ve never worked remotely before), and leverage virtual networking like a pro.
Fortunately, as a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC) specializing in remote work, I know just how career coaching services can help you find (and land) a telecommute position quickly. Be sure to take advantage of these services if you’re ready to kick your cubicle to the curb.
1. Q & A Session
Sometimes it’s helpful to pick someone’s brain. That’s exactly what a Q&A session with a career coach offers. You can book a time with a coach and ask all your burning questions.
For aspiring remote workers, this is especially helpful. You probably have a ton of questions like:
- Do I have the necessary skills to work remotely?
- What remote-friendly positions am I qualified for?
- Which companies hire remote workers?
- How can I avoid scams, MLM, and other business opportunities?
- What type of remote job is really right for me?
Of course, that’s just a small sampling of questions you might have. Whatever you’re wondering, you can ask these questions during a general Q&A session with a career coach.
After one of these sessions, either via phone or Skype, you walk away with:
- Job search clarity
- An action plan to move forward
- A better understanding of your career ideals
- Clear career goals
- And more…
Often, if you’re interested in working remotely, you spend a lot of time, energy and effort googling “work from home” “work at home jobs” and similar inquiries. Unfortunately, the information posted online isn’t always helpful or even accurate. Sometimes, you can even come across a scam.
Avoid the misinformation and save your sanity by discussing the world of remote work with a career coach. At the end of your session you’ll understand if working remotely is right for you and how to proceed with your job search, saving you tons of time (and aggravation).
2. Resume Writing Services
There’s a lot of debate as to whether or not your resume matters anymore. I’ve worked with many career coaching clients and can confidently say, “yes your resume matters,” just not like it used to.
You see, in the past your resume was the main document that got you an interview and ultimately the job. Traditionally, you would send your resume directly to hiring managers or even pass them out in person.
Of course, for a remote job search this simply doesn’t work. Instead, your resume only becomes a small piece of your overall job search strategy.
Even still, your resume is important. Often, it is your first chance of landing on a hiring manager’s radar. And, since you will be submitting your resume online, you have to first get your resume past robots.
The Rise of Resume-Reading Robots
Today, most companies rely on Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to manage the hiring process. On average, a corporate job opening will receive 250 resumes! ATS makes it easier for employers to sort through the hundreds of applicants. Typically, ATS scans resumes for keywords related to the job opening. When a resume has the right keywords, it is passed on to a recruiter or hiring manager. If it doesn’t have those keywords, it’s discarded — never to be seen again.
It goes without saying, you want your resume to land in the ‘yes’ pile and not the digital discard pile. A career coach can create a resume that is friendly to both ATS and humans.
Resume career coaching services can also include rewrites that highlight remote skills employers look for in candidates. This can make you look like the ideal remote worker even if you’ve never worked a telecommute day in your life.
If you’ve applied to home-based positions but haven’t heard back, your resume may be to blame. Use career coaching services to spruce up your resume and get a remote job faster.
3. LinkedIn Profile Optimization
An estimated 70% of all jobs are never even advertised. Instead, companies rely on word-of-mouth referrals and internal promotions to fill open roles. In other words, if you’re not currently employed at a company with remote jobs, you need to network to increase your odds of being referred for a remote position.
LinkedIn is the perfect platform to find people working in remote jobs and connect with them. These current remote workers are valuable sources of insider information, like current open roles and company culture.
But, in order to be an effective networker on LinkedIn, you need a great LinkedIn profile. And that takes a bit of thought. Not only do you want your LinkedIn profile to read professional to potential connections, you want it to be optimized so you can be found in searches too.
Like your resume, your LinkedIn is regularly being scanned for keyword matches by recruiters, companies, potential connections, and hiring managers. When you optimize your profile for the remote job you want, you’re more likely to show up in search results when employers set out to find someone to hire.
One of the most valuable career coaching services you can sign up for is LinkedIn Profile optimization. A career coach with experience working with remote teams can put together a profile that is both optimized for searches and creative enough to catch the eye of connections and recruiters alike. Plus, there are a few tips and tricks you can use to signal to employers you’re available for job offers — including remote-only job offers.
You could drive yourself crazy trying to craft the perfect headline or write a summary that shines. Or, you could use career coaching services to get the job done for you that gets results fast.
Other Career Coaching Services To Consider
While the career coaching services listed above are what I consider to be the Top 3 to help you land a remote job faster — they’re not the only ones.
Other services that work great for aspiring telecommuters include:
- Personal Branding
- Resume Website
- Company Targeting
- Informational Interviews
Remember, a remote job search is quite unique. Much of what you know about finding traditional office work doesn’t lend itself well to remote-friendly searches. Instead of setting out to find telecommute positions on your own, enlist the services of a Certified Professional Career Coach that specializes in remote work to help you (successfully) transition to telecommuting.
Be sure to check out my career coaching services as well as learn about my credentials by visiting my Career Coaching Page.
Of course, if you have any questions or want to discuss how I might be able to help you, please feel free to email me at:
ashlee(at)workfromhomehappiness(dot)com
Put “career coaching services” in your subject line.
Happily,
Ashlee
P.S. This post might contain affiliate links. Check out my disclosure statement to learn more.
It’s great to learn that a resume career coaching service can help highlight skills that employers are looking for. My wife is wanting to work somewhere else soon and she was wondering how she can increase her chances of getting the job she wants. I’ll be sure to tell her that she should hire a resume career coach to help get the job she wants.