Career Coaching

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John Wojcio
Career Support Services
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT COACHING
1. What is career coaching?
It’s a process in which the coach supports and guides the client’s self-discovery and ability to make smart
career and work-related decisions. The career coach’s unique contribution is to guide clients toward
understanding themselves and moving into purposeful, sustainable action.
Successful client/coach interactions produce several desirable results in clients, including:
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Increased clarity of purpose and goals
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Increased awareness of self and others
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Increased career self-management skills
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Increased confidence in own abilities
2. How do I know if I’m ready for career coaching?
Only you know for sure. How would you answer the following questions?
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Are you happy (satisfied, successful, and/or fulfilled) in your professional life?
If you’re not happy, how will you feel if things continue as they are?
If you’re not happy, what are you doing about it?
“To be truly coachable, you need to master one of the more obnoxious traits of the human mind.
We humans believe that the constant opining of the little voice in our heads is the truth.
Whatever opinion our mind offers, we accept it as the one and only reality, even in regard
to subjects about which we know nothing. Everyone knows that the music they like is
really the best music, the people they think are cool are really the cool people, and that the
world would run perfectly if all the leaders would just listen to them. Each of our minds is
the omniscient god of a teeny, tiny universe.” — Nicolas Lore, The Pathfinder
If you keep doing everything you’ve done up to now, you may very well end up right where you are — all
over again! Change the game. Change the results. Get a coach.
3. How have others benefited from career coaching?
Over the past 12 years, I’ve helped more than 1,000 of my clients:
Advance their careers
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Develop their career self-reliance skills and strategies for career advancement
Develop strategies to expand professional networks and spheres of influence
Refine their skills in "managing up"
Develop a professional/organizational vision consistent with their personal values
Manage work-related stress
jwojcio@binghamton.edu  Tel. 607.777.4979
John Wojcio
Career Support Services
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Develop strategies to overcome personal or career setbacks adversely affecting their commitment
and motivation
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Improve their collaboration skills
Improve their organizational/prioritizing skills
Create effective career documentation, such as résumés/CVs, cover letters, and reference lists
Refine their career transition skills, including those needed to successfully interview and network
Improve their interpersonal communication skills and emotional intelligence competencies
 Identify their own communication tendencies and strengths, and how to use them successfully
 Recognize and overcome gaps in self-awareness that impede relationship building and achieving
desired professional outcomes
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Develop awareness of how their own behavioral style affects others
Improve effectiveness in communicating with others having different behavioral styles
Recognize and better manage personal limitations or gaps in self-awareness that can derail
relationships and/or performance
Polish their core management/leadership skills
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Increase confidence and skills in leading others through organizational change
Learn to better coach individuals and teams
Enhance their ability to ask questions that inspire and motivate others
Develop confidence and skills for managing conflict
Prepare for assuming greater managerial responsibilities
4. How will I know if a particular career coach is right for me?
You won’t know for sure until you try one on for size. You’ll know if the coach:
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Brings out the best in you
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Lives and breathes trust, trustworthiness, and integrity
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Helps you develop to the point where you no longer need his/her coaching
Is compassionate and constructive, yet cares enough about you to always tell the truth
Shares his/her own experience and expertise and makes suggestions — so you become better able
to make wiser decisions on your own
Listens, probes, acknowledges, praises, suggests, and encourages
Challenges your actions, attitudes, and beliefs — in order to further develop your self-awareness
Helps you interact more effectively with others — co-workers, supervisors, direct-reports, and others
Is supportive in all ways — to further develop your sense of self-worth and capacity for selfdevelopment
“If you were a master of whatever you seek coaching for, you wouldn’t need a coach in the first
place. A good coach tells you things you don’t want to hear and asks you to do things you
don’t want to do so that you can have the life you most want to have. So, your usual way
of evaluating other people may not work since coaches worth their salt will constantly ask
you for more than you want to give…Given the fact that we human beings are usually
jwojcio@binghamton.edu  Tel. 607.777.4979
John Wojcio
Career Support Services
either resistant or compliant, this is going to take some commitment and practice!” —
Nicolas Lore, The Pathfinder
5. How will I know I’m benefiting from the coaching?
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You will begin to take the right steps — measurable steps — toward your goals.
You will set better goals than you would if you were working by yourself, without a coach.
You will develop a greater capacity to produce better, more desirable outcomes — on your own.
You will create and maintain momentum toward your desired results.
You will develop new career skills, which you can then use to perpetuate additional successes in
other areas of your life.
6. Can career coaching help me develop leadership skills, and/or those of others on my team?
A career coach can help with developing a host of emotional intelligence (EI) skills, including:
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Self-awareness and self-management
Awareness of others and relationship management
Self-confidence (not arrogance)
Emotional self-control
Trustworthiness
Adaptability
Empathy
Influence
Change management
Staff development
Teamwork
7. How does coaching work?
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Confidential, one-on-one consultation(s)
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In person or on the phone
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The client determines the agenda
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Generally 45-60 min. per session
“Ask a successful athlete, musician, actor, or business person why they achieved the level of
success they did, in most cases they’ll confirm that it was hard work, perseverance in the
face of adversity, and learning from the best coaches.” — Information Week
JOHN WOJCIO, CERTIFIED CAREER COACH
I work with people who are dissatisfied and discouraged in their professional lives…and are ready to do
something about it. For some it’s about finding a better job or more fulfilling career; for others it’s about
trying to make things better right where they are. My job as coach is to give them the support and
jwojcio@binghamton.edu  Tel. 607.777.4979
John Wojcio
Career Support Services
structure they need to achieve their goals, and the confidence and competence they need to be satisfied
and successful.
I specialize in the field of higher education, where I can take advantage of my 10+ years of professional
experience to help my clients successfully hurdle their job- and career-related challenges. My style is
personable, collaborative, low-key, yet purposeful — dedicated to achieving each client’s goals.
The role of career coach fits my natural talents, experience, interests, and values. This wisdom has not
come to me quickly or easily. I’ve made five career changes, each time in pursuit of work that I would find
more fulfilling. Over the past 30+ years, my career journey has taken me from teacher to technical
writer/editor, educational consultant, supervisor and manager, and now career coach. Whether working in
large corporations, small business, the field of education, or my own practice, I’ve consistently maintained
a strong commitment to family, work/life balance, and my own value system — which includes a passion
for helping others. Career coaching is the right stage for me professionally, the perfect place to apply my
experience and skills to the benefit of others facing their own career challenges.
After earning BA and MA degrees from Binghamton University (Harpur College), I worked in both the
public and private sectors, and in both small and large organizations, and returned to my alma mater in
2004 to work in University Communications and Marketing. Since 2004, I have assisted more than 1,000
clients with their professional development and career development, exploration, and transition.
I completed the Career Coach Institute’s Certified Career Coach training program in 2004, I’ve been
active in the community as a United Way volunteer, and I’ve been a member of Toastmasters
International (Morning Knights Club).
If you’re truly ready to learn and grow — toward your full potential — then, don’t battle alone. Take
advantage of your own career coach, an experienced professional ready to share his expertise and
experience — for your benefit and your benefit alone.
WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY
“John’s coaching helped me see my potential and move in the right direction, faster.”
“John helped me create realistic goals and time lines for achieving them.”
“John was sensitive to what was important to me and let me set the agenda for each coaching session.”
“What I liked was that John was always available to me, especially when I wanted to talk to him between
scheduled sessions.”
jwojcio@binghamton.edu  Tel. 607.777.4979
John Wojcio
Career Support Services
“John goes beyond providing basic information, tailoring his advice to personal circumstance with
insightful precision. His counseling resulted in both a polished résumé and a salary increase. I highly
recommend his service to anyone who wants to optimize their career potential.”
“John always knows what questions to ask to get to the root of my challenge. His excellent listening skills,
astute insights and great sense of humor make our meetings productive and fun!”
“John’s encouraging and soothing communication style gave me confidence to explore my total skill set
and broaden the scope of what I had previously thought was a narrow career path.”
“I recommend John's coaching to those seeking employment as well as those who appear to be at the
pinnacle of their careers, as he offers insights and ideas that motivate job searches and enhance
professional development. He is an amazing advisor who reaches people at the deepest of levels.”
“After a big move and pressing ‘reset’ on my career, John was an incredible help to me. Two years later, I
often find myself recalling his words of wisdom. My career is still evolving, but I feel I'm heading in the
right direction. In essence, he helped me find my true north.”
“John has helped me to write a better cover letter, tighten up my résumé, and approach job interviews
with more confidence than I thought possible.”
“John’s coaching style takes into account the whole person in order to decrease fear and build courage
and competence.”
“John’s open, empathetic style immediately earned my trust, and his advice proved successful. John is
the career coach to have in your corner.”
jwojcio@binghamton.edu  Tel. 607.777.4979
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