Job Search Accountability Coach

Since moving to Texas a little over a year ago I have learned about a special partnership between Josh Hamilton and his “Accountability Coach.”  Josh’s Accountability Coach is his father-in-law, and he actually travels with Josh and the Rangers in order to help Josh with his commitment to sobriety.  The more and more I got to thinking about this type of relationship, the more I realized the same premise can and should be used for job seekers; especially unemployed or underemployed job seekers.

I get it, being unemployed isn’t the same thing as having an addiction, but being unemployed or underemployed is extremely tough to cope with, much like addiction.  I have interviewed a lot of people in my career that have struggled to find work, and the struggle sets off a vicious cycle of self doubt, depression, and more challenge to finding work, and addiction is a similar cycle.

I suggest that all job seekers, especially those that are unemployed or underemployed , find a Job Search Accountability Coach to help see them through the struggle.  A Job Search Accountability Coach is someone you can trust to help push you to achieve your goals without pushing you to the end of your rope.  A Job Search Accountability Coach is someone who can hug you when you need it, and kick you in the pants when you deserve it.  A Job Search Accountability Coach is a friend, mentor, goal setter, cheerleader, boss, fan, critic, confidant, and partner.  A Job Search Accountability Coach is not someone you have to pay, is not an expert, is not a guru, and probably shouldn’t be your significant other!!

Here is how a Job Search Accountability Coach Can help:

1. Goal Setting – This is the most important aspect of the relationship.  If you are like me, I set goals for myself all the time, but if I don’t share them with anyone they are easy to forget about.  However, if I tell someone I want to lose 10 pounds, want to be the best recruiter in my company, or want to write a book, I have invited someone to share my goals and check in on me to see how I am doing.  Working with a Job Search Accountability Coach will help you set goals for your job search, goals like; # of jobs applied to, # of contacts made, # of follow up emails, # of interviews, # of social activities to support the search, etc.
2. Measure of Success – A Job Search Accountability Coach will help you measure, reflect, and celebrate your success.  The end goal is a job, I get it, but there are a lot of wins along the way that will add up to the end goal.  Ask any good sales person or recruiter, it is a numbers game.  Celebrate the achievement of your success measures because you they will add up to get you where you want to be. If you are only measuring on getting a job you are setting yourself up for a lot of failure along the way, and that makes the job search hard to survive.
3. Metrics for Focus – Similar to goals and measures of success, metrics for focus will help push you in various directions that are necessary for a well rounded, successful job search.  If you only focus on applying to jobs online, you are missing the boat on many other opportunities to get where you are trying to go.  Metrics for focus means you and your coach can talk about the metrics you are achieving, and the ones that provide opportunities for growth and learning in the job search.  It is easy to sit behind the computer and apply to jobs.  You coach should push you to focus on the other measures of success as well.
4. Structure for Documentation - This is simple, document and share what you have done.  If you have goals and measures, build a scorecard to document what you are doing.  Keep it simple but be diligent in your documentation.  Not only will this help you to visualize the success in your search, it will help you stay organized and on track with your process.
5. Encouragement and Motivation - Your Job Search Accountability Coach better be a damn good cheerleader.  Searching for a job right now sucks.  It is hard work.  It is depressing.  It will beat you down.  You will hear no way more than you will ever hear yes.  Your coach needs to be able to keep you on track with your goals while be compassionate.  Your coach HAS to embrace your goals and measures and cheer for you for every achievement you make.
6.  Accountability - DUH.  Your coach has to hold you accountable for the goals you have set.  You are responsible for giving your coach the power to hold you accountable because you are asking them to share with you the trials and tribulations of your job search.  As someone who has talked to many folks struggling with the job search, it is hard to hear the stories without being effected.  You are asking someone to share the ups and downs with you, so let them.

There is a reason Josh Hamilton travels with his Accountability Coach.  To all you job seekers out there, I suggest you travel through your job search with a Coach as well.

Good luck to you.

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” – Mark Twain