How Cara Career Coaching Helps You Get A Job

We have a team of experts ready to help you learn the skills and navigate your job search so you can launch a meaningful career. 

Here’s how our career coaches and advancement team help you navigate the job search process

An essential part of Cara’s process is helping our participants find employment that’s more than just a job—known as gainful employment. One way we do this is by providing free career coaching services to participants. 

What is a career coach?

Career coaches are professionals who specialize in career planning, resume building, negotiation, and interviewing. When you’re looking for a job or switching careers, these kinds of coaches can be key to guiding you through the process and making sure you’re successful. 

Career Coaching at Cara

At Cara, participants first work with our Placement team to get career-planning advice, resume-building experience, and job interview coaching. Following employment, Cara participants meet about once a month with an Individual Development Specialist on our Coaching team to discuss their job, goals, and any barriers getting in their way. Participants also partner with our coaches to reach their personal goals, formulate solutions to problems along the way, and seek opportunities to grow.

What really sets Cara career coaches apart is they are specifically trained to work with individuals facing socio-economic challenges that have made it difficult to find work or stayed employed in the past. And, since career guidance is such an essential part of our program and mission, these services are free for all of our participants. 

The greatest benefits of working with our career coaching team happen on a participant’s most difficult day. Having someone to vent to, remind you of your big-picture goals, and share in your progress helps keep participants on the path to success and prevents them from making decisions they may later regret. 

Whether or not you work with a career coach, there are three key steps you can take to help yourself set and stick to goals. One, find an accountability partner to keep you on track. Two, put your goals in writing and always have them in view. Three, celebrate the small accomplishments along the way. Doing these three things will be vital to your journey of self-transformation and keep you motivated while you build your career.

Words of Wisdom from our Career Coaches

Pinpointing the right career path for you is no easy task, and once you find a job, there’s still so much to navigate. Especially for individuals facing the barriers and additional challenges that come with poverty, having a career coach to guide you through the first year of work is invaluable. Here’s some of the advice our coaches share with newly employed participants to help them be successful on the job:

• • Understand your company’s policies and procedures. Your employee handbook is your best friend. Make sure to read it carefully within the first few days of starting. 
  • Take notes and ask questions when you’re new. This shows your manager that you’re ready to master your new role and learn about the company.
  • Don’t take professional criticism personally. There will almost always be feedback on the way you do your job—especially when you first start. Usually, this criticism is not a personal attack and will ultimately help you do your job better.
  • Don’t take time off a new job for at least three months. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, avoid using vacation time in the first three months of starting a job. These initial months are vital to learning the job and establishing yourself as a professional.

If you need help finding a job and think you could benefit from Cara’s program and career coaching services, get started with us today.