Yesterday's Ending is Today's Beginning
I loved the people I worked with, still do. I was told that the door is always open for me to come back and maybe someday I will, if that door remains open. But for now, at my husband's urging and encouragement, I have decided to go with what I know .
Around 6 years ago I began giving advice to teenagers needing jobs tips to successfully land those jobs. I was in the perfect position to do so as I volunteered with a local high school marching band program and in my church's youth group. They seemed to want to hear what I had to say and as time passed I saw success after success with those kids. I was very passionate about the success of young people and I was so excited to see them progress from no interviews to several interviews and from no job to picking the job they wanted from more than one offer.
Band parents and church members began asking me to help their children and I began coaching kids who would not have normally approached me. Kids began to bring other kids to me that they knew were struggling to find employment and word of mouth spread. Then a strange thing happened. Adults began to approach me to help them, too. I initially felt a little weird about that, especially when it was folks who were in professional career positions. I guess it was because it meant broadening my horizons a bit and getting into more complex and challenging resume preparation as well as coaching people who had a lot more experience with job hunting and employment than the average teenager. I wasn't sure they would trust my instincts and I am certainly not in possession of a degree that says I have been certified to job coach. To my surprise those coaching sessions went as well as the teen/first time job seeker sessions did. And so it began.
Fast forward to the second half of 2014. I felt like things were coming to a close at the radio station, and I was really not sure what to do with myself. I also work as a substitute teacher and during the summer of 2014, the school district placed limitations on the number of hours subs could work each week. This meant that subbing would only play a part time role in my life, which I am ok with as I do not believe I am cut out to be a full time sub. Trust me when I say that high school students can be a very tough crowd. What to do?
My husband and I met at our favorite coffee haunt, Chez Amavida, and hashed ideas. We both felt that there is something out there for me but were not sure what it was. Suddenly my husband looked at me and said, "Baby , just go with what you know! You are already helping all of these people and you offer a valuable service. Let's explore the job coaching thing." I was a little dumbfounded but the more we talked about it, the more I realized he had put forth a great idea and it was well worth exploring.
I started with Teen Workforce Prep Services and my brain trust [read: circle of trusted friends and smart people I admire] felt it was too narrowing in scope and advised me to drop the teen part. so I did. Next was make a Facebook page and see if there was any interest. I also updated my LinkedIn profile to reflect the new business and crossed my fingers. I contacted the kids that I had worked with as far back as I could remember and asked for letters of recommendation, which many wrote with excitement and gusto. Many kids I coached I did not know as they were referrals from other kids so I am missing quite a few letters but I just figure if it is meant to be it will work out without those letters.
So here I am, on the eve of a launch campaign to get the word out, blogging about what led me here. I don't know if I will ever be able to make a living at it but I am sure going to put myself out there and see what happens.
If you or someone you know is in need of my services, from resume to interview to beyond, contact me at my Facebook page and we can sit down and see what it will take to get you where you want to be.
Blessings, y'all!
Robin
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