Boomer career reinvention - an interview with John Tarnoff

By Neil Patrick


Back in 2012 I stumbled across a wonderful TEDx talk by John Tarnoff, which simultaneously amused and informed me about the critical difficulties facing baby boomers today in the second half of their careers. I liked it so much that I asked John if I could share it here and he happily consented.

Because it’s such a good watch, here it is again:





Since then, John and I have kept in touch and pursued our individual yet broadly parallel paths in trying to help people tackle this issue. We picked up again recently and I was intrigued to find out what John had been doing. He’s certainly not been idle!

So I chucked a few questions at John and he provided me with his answers which we’re happy to share here.

NP: What have you discovered are the biggest problems boomers are having with jobs and careers?

​JT: Many people are shocked at how challenging it is to get a job after they've been "downsized" or forced into an early retirement "buy-out." During the Recession that we are still recovering from in many ways, it took boomers on average twice as long as younger generations to find jobs.

Companies go to a lot of trouble sometimes to wash their hands and alleviate their guilt by including out-placement counselling through large HR firms that specialize in helping workers transition to new jobs, but many boomers I've talked to find these counselling sessions and classes depressing and overwhelming​.

For people who have worked in one job or in one company for ten years or longer, it is extremely disorienting to be let go from what has become a second home, and a virtual family. Recovering from the initial shock can take time. One woman I interviewed pretty much stayed inside and slept for two months after she was let go.

The longer-term question, even for people who are able to weather the transition, is: what to do as a second-act career? Few of us can afford to completely retire. Many of us are going to need to keep a full-time income going for as long as we are able. Fewer jobs are available for older workers, a phenomenon that has something to do with ageism, but I think also simply reflects an outdated cultural norm, which is this assumption that people stop working at 65. If you ask younger recruiters and HR people, they just accept this as part of the way things work, and don't really stop to think about what a multi-generational work place would look like.

The reality of 21st century careers. 

NP: How are you helping people deal with this?

JT: My mission is to help boomers take a more entrepreneurial attitude about work, and to think more expansively about the kinds of businesses they could launch, and services they could provide, in what is now known as the "gig" economy. I believe that after so many years in the work force, we do indeed have the experience, wisdom and understanding to be successful. There is a new job or calling that is inside us, and we just need to do the introspective work, and the external networking and interaction, to figure out how to manifest it. This is not about "follow your bliss." If that were a viable strategy, every contestant on a TV talent competition would be a superstar. Rather, this is about "follow your usefulness." Particularly now, after so many years, we know where we can provide value. We know what we're good at, and what we like doing. That's how we should be proceeding.



NP: What are the most alarming stats you have come across about this subject?

​JT: I never think of stats as "alarming" per se. Stats are valuable information​ ​that present us with opportunities to act constructively, or to complain and point fingers. Yes, currently the retirement picture here in the U.S. is not pretty, with 25% of those 55+ having no retirement savings, and no company pensions. Another 25% have some kind of company pension, but still no savings. For the 50% that have at least some savings, and some form of company pension, the average savings account has around USD 100,000 in it. For most people, this means that they are going to have to continue working after "retirement" in order to make ends meet, as their Social Security government pension will not be sufficient.

I'm actually optimistic about the future for this generation, because I think it is going to make better business sense to retain us in the workforce, than to keep us out. There are some small indications that this is happening. Some companies and government agencies are instituting "phased retirement" plans to keep people in their jobs at reduced hours while they build a bridge to a second-act career.

In the U.S. by 2022, 4​0% of the U.S. population will be over 55.​​ This means that to avoid economic collapse, as well as the default of the Social Security government pension fund, the retirement age will need to rise (it's currently 66). To avoid being a burden on the economy, boomers will need to continue to work, and businesses will ultimately recognize that there is a lot we can still do. Every day, I see another myth about aging getting debunked, whether it's about brain function or physical condition. The truth is that we are all living longer, and largely more capable lives. 40% of people who are 65 years old today will live past age 90.

So I like to play around with positive stats that paint a more positive picture, and then do my best to see that this picture becomes a reality.​



NP: What news can we report about your development of the Boomer Reinvention program?

​JT: As you know, this all started because I was asked to give a TEDx talk on the subject of transformation. Realizing that the retirement story we were raised to believe has turned out to be a myth, I started to look into what means we could use to transform ourselves in order to keep working.

I'm finishing up a book that lays out the program called: "Boomer Reinvention: How to Create Your Dream Career Over 50" which goes into my five reinvention steps. The program is based on my crazy career as an entertainment business executive in Hollywood, and also draws from my Master's degree in Spiritual Psychology.



NP: Do you have any success stories we can recount?

​JT: Well, I'll share part of a story of a gentleman who I profile in my book. This is a guy who worked for decades as a sales executive for a handful of companies, and had risen to very senior positions. But he became very disillusioned with the way these companies were being managed, and found the lack of integrity and short-sightedness disturbing. He knew that he was going to have to figure out a different career solution for himself and his family, but he didn't know where to turn. To make a long story short, this guy had always been a savvy investor, and had learned the investment business by trial and error through trading on his own account. He never thought of this as a business until a friend suggested he look into registering as an investment advisor (a much easier process in certain U.S. states than becoming a broker/dealer). The timing worked out because he was fired from his job soon after, and in the few years​​ has built a lucrative - and very personal - business managing the investments of a small group of clients.​

John Tarnoff

What John's and my own work has confirmed I think is that despite working more or less independently on this issue in different ways and on different sides of the planet, we have both found more or less the same thing; boomers have immensely valuable skills, but they are struggling to figure out how to manage their careers in an age where job loss isn’t a risk, it’s a certainty. And once they fall off their ladders, they can find it very difficult to get back on.

John’s a master of reinvention and in his own words he’s had to be, because he’s had no fewer than 18 jobs in his 35 year career! There’s nothing like experience to teach us how to solve a problem!

If you recognise or are struggling with any of the issues touched on here, then John is a great guy to have in your network. John will be launching his book before the end of 2016. You can register your interest on his website. Please also feel free to connect with John on Twitter or LinkedIn.

My thanks go to John for this update and for sharing his findings and thoughts. Boomers can get back in the game, they just need to know how to do it – and the first step is knowing the right people who can help.

What do the best career coaches actually do?

By Neil Patrick

Do you need a career coach? How do you find the best career coach for your requirements?  

Career coaching is a new and high growth industry. There are over 300 coaches following me on Twitter alone. It’s arisen because as job search becomes ever more competitive and challenging, people are discovering the hard way that being really good at what you do is no longer enough to ensure that you have a successful career.

The best career coaches provide the insight and key skills that people need to reach their career ambitions. Whether that’s finding and getting hired into a new job, moving forward in an existing career, or making a complete change of direction mid-career.

But with so many coaches out there, how do you know what to look for to find the best coach for you?

Do you even need a career coach?

So I turned to my good friend Marcia LaReau, founder and President of Forward Motion US to try and find some answers to these questions. Marcia is exceptionally well qualified to deal with this subject. Since founding Forward Motion, Marcia has helped hundreds of people succeed in overcoming their career obstacles.

NP: Marcia, why do you think career coaching is needed at all?

ML: Thank you Neil. First I’d like to say that the definition of career coaching has changed dramatically with the economic situation. As we become a global, technology-driven economy, the very core attributes that are needed for businesses to succeed is changing. That in turn has changed career coaching.

Prior to the Great Recession we believed that we could define what we liked and enjoyed and pursue that as a career. At that time career coaches helped their clients identify what they liked and enjoyed and then helped them find a place where they could do those things, get paid a living wage and hopefully, grow their career. It was a long-term outlook.

Today this isn’t enough. It’s still important for a person to understand what they enjoy; however, businesses have been under a mandate to cut costs, increase profit margins and get everything out of their employees that they can. I don’t’ mean to infer that businesses are all being run by inhumane ogres. Many businesses are simply trying to survive. I also don’t mean to infer that there isn’t a fair amount of inordinate greed that causes companies to drive their employees past what is reasonable.

Let me get back to career coaching—the point here is that companies do not have the capacity to focus on the career growth of their employees (unless it is part of their succession plan and directly benefits the company). So today, everyone who wants to work is in charge of their career development and the direction they will pursue.

The scope of doing this is huge! People have to be aware of their core attributes from a business perspective. They have to position themselves both online and in the business community as a viable, credible resource in their areas of expertise. Then they have to understand the changes in their industry and how they can remain viable in a changing market. It’s a lot!

Today’s career coach is also a job coach and understands the hiring processes and the employment market. A career/job coach guides their clients to maneuver through the distractions to identify the employment goal and scope out an effective path to get there. In the process their client should (in my opinion) learn how to manage their career so they are proactive with regard to their future security.

Without a career coach, many people have become resigned to the idea that if they get a job that gives them a living wage, then they should be grateful and settle…even if they don’t like what they are doing for eight to 10 hours a day (or more), five to six days a week.

NP: Should someone use career coaching when they have a job, or is it really just for when they are facing unemployment?

ML: Businesses, industries are changing at record speed today. In my opinion, everyone should have a career coach and check in with him or her at least once a quarter and more often if there are signs that a business is losing its place in the market. Further, it is expected that everyone will change jobs every three to four years. It could be within a company, but not necessarily.

I believe every person who wants to work for more than five years should engage with a career coach as someone who is watching their industry and market and identifying potential disruptions that could cause an unwanted financial situation. In addition, the career coach should be looking for opportunities to grow potential earnings and help the client maintain their credibility in the industry and move their career in the direction that suits their long-term goals.

All the people that I talk to want to end their career strong. Today that is easier said than done!

NP: Does everyone need it, or are some job sectors more suited to it than others?

ML: Disruptive innovations such as Big Data and social media are changing the landscape of every job sector. So in my opinion, everyone should have a regular “career checkup” with a qualified career coach.

NP: If someone loses his or her job and money is consequently really tight, how can anyone justify spending money on coaching?

ML: How can they NOT justify it? One of the primary goals at Forward Motion is to reduce the time to employment. A good career coach should reduce the number of weeks of unemployment significantly.

Let’s say that a standard (non-executive) job search costs between $2K and $3,500. If a person makes, let’s say $52,000 a year. So the job search costs less than one month of salary. AND if the average job search is approximately six to eight months, and the job coach reduces that by four months, then the client is now $12,000 ahead because they spent $3K on a career coach.

Also, with a career coach, the chances a person will get a better job at a better salary, increases significantly.

NP: Tell me about the typical problems people come to you with?

ML: Their situations run the gamut of the imagination. Some people just have no idea how to go about the job search. They are bewildered and overwhelmed. Others have tried everything they can think of and used every available cost-free option they could find—nothing worked and the finally called me.

Some people are in industries that are failing or have already died and need to assess their transferrable skills and/or re-credential themselves and figure out how to get a new career path without having to start from scratch at as an entry-level employee.

And then there are the early-career millenials who see record-high unemployment numbers in their college friends. They don’t just want a job, but they want to do something that brings value and doesn’t just fill the pockets of corporate business owners and investors.

Finally, about 30% of my business includes executives, who many times have reached out to their network and come up empty. Executives, more than any other group, come to me earlier in their job search. They know they need help and that they aren’t an expert and they want someone who can advise them.

NP: And how does coaching help people overcome these problems?

ML: A good career coach knows the market and the current hiring practices. They can put together a customized program that will reduce the time to employment through a carefully designed, flexible search strategy.

A truly dynamic jobsearch strategy is anything but a shotgun approach where people apply for a ton of opportunities and hope something happens.

I believe that an effective program sets a foundation for the search by identifying the most viable employment opportunities where the jobseeker is found credible, and where they qualify for the jobs. Then they must create an airtight identity both online and through their application materials. That includes a stunningly polished and customizable cover letter and résumé. With the foundation in place, we apply for 5 jobs and find out how what happens. We then rework the materials and apply for five more jobs. Within two or three iterations, the client is getting calls for jobs that are a good fit.

NP: What can you tell me about your success rates?

ML: First, I don’t abandon clients. If they are diligent and conduct themselves in a professional manner, then we will work until they are hired. It’s harder in some industries than in others.

Nonetheless:

- 98% of Forward Motion clients get hired
- 76% of mid-career clients get hired in 68 days
- 96% of early-career clients get hired in 45 days

NP: If someone is considering career coaching, how should they go about finding the best coach for them?

ML: First, there should be a good fit from a relationship perspective. In other words, there should be open communication. A good career/job coach sometimes has to say things that are personal and private. The relationship should develop so that when comments are made, that are difficult to hear from the jobseekers perspective, the jobseeker knows it is being said with his or her best interest in mind. So the relationship must be candid and comfortable.

Second, the career coach should be someone who diligently wants to get place his or her client in a new job. This is tricky since the jobseeker brings in income for the career coach. There are some career coaches who want to sustain the relationship to earn more income. I am sorry to report this. I handle this by putting a cap on the cost of the jobsearch. So the jobseeker knows that expenses won’t get out of hand.

NP: What does it cost? And are there any things you’d caution people about?

ML: I try to provide my clients with choices around the costs. An early-career search may go as high as $2,500. A mid-career (non-executive) search may double that number although I haven’t had anyone do that. Executives are a different ballgame and it depends on how much he or she wants to do and how much I would do. So an executive search might be as little as $2500 and include no more than a stellar résumé, or it could be as high as $20K and include the total management of a jobsearch.

NP: Thanks Marcia.

ML: Thanks Neil.

I'd like to thank Marcia for the time she has taken to share these valuable insights. You can find out more about Forward Motion US and their resources and services here. Do please post any comments or questions below and we'll do our best to answer them.

Why you will fail to have a great career

By Neil Patrick

Naturally, I talk almost exclusively about jobs and careers on this blog.

But what is the difference between a job and a career? A lot actually…

Most people think of a career as nothing more than a succession of jobs. But a job and a career are not the same thing. A job, any job, is basically a simple transaction between you and an employer. They give you money and you give them your time and work in exchange.

You take a job because, because… why? Usually it’s just because you are offered it. And you need the money. Not much more generally, if you are really honest about it. I can’t remember the last time I had a conversation that went something like, ‘Yep they offered me the job…and I turned it down. It wasn’t really fitting right with my life goals’.

Most of us have been taught from a very early age, that if you work hard, you’ll succeed and be happy. And if you work really hard, you’ll be really successful. It’s not true. At least it’s not true if all you have is a job rather than a career. And despite the fact that this reality is staring us in the face every day, we still keep on believing it.

Just about every time I ask one of my hard working professional friends how things are going at work, I get a similar answer. But whatever their answer, they will almost always begin with, ‘Yeah things are really busy...’.

'Really busy'. Hmmm. Since when did being really busy equate with the fulfilment of anyone’s calling?

A career on the other hand isn’t a job. It may involve a job or jobs, but it is something you choose because it is what you need to reach your greatest level of self-expression and self-realisation. A real career engages you every single day of your life. It is your very reason for living. It is …your passion.

Yes I know, as soon as I mention the ‘P’ word, some or even many readers will have a Pavlovian response and think… 'Oh here we go, here's another guy, telling me all I need to do is find my passion and my career will flourish’.

'He’s going to tell me all about brilliant people with amazing talents who got lucky'.

Well I’m not going to say that, because it’s not true. And it’s not the point.

What I am going to say is that you have a choice. You can choose the default path and have a life of mediocrity and hard work in a series of jobs. And these days, those jobs will get harder and harder to find and in this economy you’ll have longer and longer periods without one.

Or you can be brave, believe in yourself and the essential truth that no-one ever had a brilliant career by simply having a job. And have the faith that if you accept this truth, find your purpose and pursue your goals because they are your passion, you WILL have a brilliant career.

So the choice is up to you. Every one of us has at least one unique and amazing talent. But most people compete in areas where they have no talent at all.

And it’s clear that I’m not the only one who believes this. Just watch this really entertaining performance at TEDx by Larry Smith from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, who knows a thing or two about careers.

Why employers think job seekers are overconfident in their abilities

By J.T. O'Donnell 

'Get a mentor, you need it,' say hiring managers

The third annual Job Preparedness Indicator (JPI) spotlights differences in each group's view of the skills employees need to thrive in the workforce.

Some 72 percent of job seekers are confident they know how to present their skills and experience to an interviewer and more than half of job seekers (56 percent) are confident they know what employers are looking for in candidates today. Yet, only 15 percent of hiring managers say nearly all or most job seekers have the skills and traits their companies are looking for in candidates.

Employers to Job Seekers: "Get a Mentor, You Need It"

These gaps, along with the sense of self-confidence reported by job seekers may explain why many candidates have not taken steps to gain employment that hiring managers consider essential: 74 percent of hiring managers say job seekers should have a mentor, counselor or job coach to talk to about whether their skills and experience match those required for the jobs they are interested in yet, only 40 percent of job seekers report having a similar professional resource.

In fact, the proportion of job seekers who would rely on their own experience to decide what information to include on applications, resumes and cover letters rather than seek advice from others including career counsellors or instructors has grown from 58 percent in 2012 to 67 percent in 2013.

"Job seekers are doing themselves a huge disservice by ignoring the wealth of guidance and insight a mentor could provide," said Madeleine Slutsky, chairman of the Career Advisory Board and vice president of career services at DeVry University. "Cultivating relationships with individuals who have experience with the current employment landscape can be a tremendous help in the job search process."

Job Seekers Talking Trash = Denial There's a Problem

I have definitely seen evidence to support this study's findings around overconfident job seekers. Just take a look at some of the comments frustrated job seekers leave on articles dismissing the career advice being shared and you'll see that many think they know what they are doing. Yet, are they getting results? The answer is most likely "no" if they are reading the article in the first place.

The sad part is, while I don't mind sharing with people what is holding them back from getting the job (i.e. here are 10 things recruiters won't tell you, but I will), employers don't see it as their job to give you feedback like that. So, if you aren't figuring it out on your own, you could struggle to find work for a really long time.

Smart, Successful Professionals Know When to Seek Help

Getting help doesn't mean something is wrong with you. In fact, when you choose to get a coach or mentor, it shows you are investing in improving yourself. Pro athletes and C-suite executives all have coaches as a way to be at the top of their game. Why shouldn't you?

Given the study shows most job seekers think they know what they are doing when it comes to job search, these tips might fall on deaf ears. But, if you've been out of work for more than three months, you might want to have a heart-to-heart with yourself and consider the following:

1) You are a business-of-one that must actively sell your services. Don't get mad at the customer (a.k.a. employer) because they don't see your value. It's your job to build up your marketing skills and find a way to prove you are the right candidate for the job.

2) Applying online to every job you think you could do is a colossal waste of time. It’s also the lazy way to approach job search. 8 out of 10 times, your application is being tossed by the applicant tracking system. It's time to step up the efforts and learn to conduct a proactive job search.

3) Learn new, different techniques for writing cover letters. It's time to ditch the formal, outdated cover letter and learn how to write one that gets the attention of hiring managers. Otherwise, you are just wasting time because a boring, common cover letter doesn't get read.

4) Study up on social media and how to use it to connect with employers. Not only does it show you are tech-savvy, it is also where the recruiters are searching for top talent. If you aren't leveraging Linkedin and Twitter in your job search, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to tap into the hidden job market.

5) Make sure your resume doesn't read like an over-the-top infomercial. You've only got six seconds to capture the attention of a recruiter. Make the most of the top-fold of your resume. Stick to the facts and avoid subjective text that makes your resume feel over-stated.

6) Accept that you must network to get work. There is no way around it. You will have to do some form of networking if you want to land a job. These days, it's not who you know, it's who knows you. If you aren't having meaningful conversations with people in your industry, you won't be able to establish your credibility and get people to refer you to jobs. 80%+ of all jobs gotten today are done so via referral. If you are petrified of networking, you really need to get help. This isn't something that will fix itself. Mentors and coaches can be a huge support in this area.

Now, if you are reading these tips and saying, "I've done all that!" Then, you've got even more reason to consider getting professional help. Here's why...

There is a wise saying, "When the student is ready, the teacher appears."

It might be time to recognize you need to become a student and find your teacher. Don't let your pride get in the way of your success. The sooner you get help, the faster you can find new ways to connect with employers and land a job. The best part about coaches and mentors is they'll teach you skills you can use for a lifetime. And, since every job is temporary, getting up-to-speed on the best job search techniques will come in handy in the future.

This post originally appeared here:

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2013/10/29/new-study-job-seekers-overconfident-in-their-abilities

One man’s quest to make the best career consulting open to all

By Neil Patrick

Since I started this blog, I have just kept on meeting more and more really amazing people in the area of careers and jobs. HR heroes, star recruiters, resume writers, Linkedin experts, social media stars, bloggers, coaches…the list goes on and on. But then every so often, I meet someone extraordinary who doesn't neatly fit into just one of these categories.

I have made it part of my mission to find and connect with the most important and influential people in these fields. It’s a simple and obvious objective really. By finding all these people, I can provide readers of this blog with the best contacts possible. Despite being in different specialisms, these people all share one thing…a passion for helping people with their careers.

If you’re a bit of a cynic, that’s OK - I’m the same, but I’ll tell you right now that this post is a free plug! But I am only doing it because I think this is something that deserves spreading the word about and it’s a fascinating story…

Meet Fernando Ratkoczy

I first encountered Fernando Ratkoczy a few months ago on Twitter. He had a much bigger following than I do - over 35,000 - so I figured, he was someone I’d like to have in my Linkedin network.

Fernando Ratkoczy

When I checked him out on Linkedin I was astonished to find he had no less than 102 recommendations from people he’d helped. The average is just 2 from what I can discover.

And the glowing endorsements about him convinced me that he was much more than just a normal career coach. I knew I had to talk to this guy.

We exchanged a couple of emails and agreed we’d speak on the phone as he was temporarily in Europe instead of his normal home in California.

He’s helped over 10,000 people already

We managed to schedule a phone chat which ended up being four hours long!

As we started talking about his career, I quickly became fascinated. He had spent 20 years of his life as a career coach working with professionals who were facing redundancy. And it turned out that he’d helped over 10,000 people land great new jobs. That’s an astonishing number.

Being the slightly sceptical person I am, I did the maths. That’s 500 people a year, or about a dozen a week. Fernando explained to me that that was his normal caseload when he was a corporate career coach. He provided job finding consultancy and coaching to people who were typically being laid off by large organisations. His job was to ensure his clients found and landed new jobs as fast as possible.

I wanted to know firstly, why he thought successful professionals needed any help at all with their job search? He was quite unequivocal:

‘Today, being good at your job is no longer enough to get you hired for your next job. Getting hired is a specialized skill all on its own. And most people know far less about it than they think they do. Only a fool would attempt to represent themselves in court. You hire a professional. Finding and getting the right job is no different.’

Fernando went on to tell me that to minimise the negative PR, his clients’ former employers would pay up to $10,000 per person to ensure they were helped as quickly as possible after redundancy into a new job. Since many people were not adequately equipped to easily do this themselves, their ex-employers were willing to pay for this assistance as part of their redundancy package.

Which is how he became an expert at finding people great jobs. Or rather helping them to do it for themselves. And his success at helping people achieve this was why so many people had shown their appreciation of his help and guidance on Linkedin.

Why is it so expensive?

I asked him next why this coaching was so expensive?

‘The one to one coaching process is very time consuming. It takes many hours of meetings and discussions. And the firms that provide it typically carry big overheads. Most people don’t know what the steps to success are. They wrongly assume that you search for job vacancies that fit your experience, send off your application and resume, and hope you get an interview. It just doesn’t work like that anymore and if you use that method, you’ll most likely be in for a very long period of unemployment’.

Over many years, Fernando developed his coaching into a slick machine. He wasn’t in the business of just sitting there and giving tips. That was far too uncertain. What was needed was a proven process, which if followed would ensure success for everyone. At every level from the most junior to VPs and Executives. Over 20 years, his process just got better and better, until it was about as robust as it could possibly be.

How Hollywood comes into the story

As the chat progressed, he told me an amazing story about his own career. Before spending 20 years as a career coach, as a young man, Fernando had sought to develop his career in Hollywood. He had spent years in the film industry learning the art of film production. He’d actually acted in films and directed several too, before deciding to become a career consultant with one of the biggest global career consulting firms.

But that wasn’t the most interesting part of his story. He decided a few years ago to leave the world of corporate career consulting and combine his two areas of expertise; helping people find and land great jobs and film production.

He set out with a simple but hugely ambitious goal. He would produce the most comprehensive set of coaching films ever made, dedicated to revealing to people all the best practices and secrets of job search success he’d learned in 20 years of career consulting.

But these wouldn’t be just interviews and tips. Instead he set out to create a comprehensive programme which would film every step of the process he had refined over 20 years from start to finish, using the full production resource that would be applied to a movie production. Every scene would be properly scripted. Every shot would be professionally directed, lit and acted. The material would be edited, organised and packaged so that anyone could easily follow the step by step process.

This cost him over $1m dollars!

I’m still amazed at the ambitiousness of this project. Even after all the editing and organising, the full film programme runs for 7 hours! And I wasn’t in the least surprised when Fernando told me that it had cost him over $1m and 3 years to complete.

I wanted to know how the final result had been received. ‘The programme was finally finished last year and I’ve been delighted at the reception it’s been given by large organisations and the career coaching community. It’s great to get the endorsement of other recruitment and HR professionals. They tell me that the programme provides a really attractive alternative to the slow and expensive process of face to face coaching. And I’m relieved that they are buying it too… I need to recover my investment!’

I wanted to see the outcome of all this work and investment for myself and so Fernando gave me a free pass to view all the materials. I spent several hours going through the resources he has set up at the Successful Job Search Center - SJSC.

The materials there are impressive in their quantity and quality. Not just the film material, which is superbly well structured and presented; there are 400 resume templates for every role imaginable. Over 20 cover letter templates. A user forum. Progress tests. And a database of every employer in every state in the USA. It’s a very complete resource package.

Fernando has also provided me with this short series of excerpts so you can view some extracts for yourself.




I think he has succeeded in his goal beyond any expectation. The resources and process he has created distill all the best practices into a simple process that anyone can follow to achieve success.

I’d like to thank Fernando for the time he’s given me to talk about his life and work and I wish him every success with the Successful Job Search Center.

If you’d like to know more about the SJSC programme, just follow this link:

http://www.findrightjobfast.com/special-offer/

If you’d like to connect with Fernando or view his Linkedin profile, here’s the link:

www.linkedin.com/in/fernandoratkoczy/