Our Program

CareerPathfinder offers a nine-point coaching program for selecting a career that enables our clients to develop their own Personal Career Vision. In other words, we coach clients to the point where they are able to visualize just what they would like to do career-wise in the future.

At CareerPathfinder we never tell our coaching clients what career we feel they ought to pursue, as it is our understanding that this approach generally does not work. Rather, to be truly effective, the answer to the question, “What career is right for me?” needs to come from within the clients themselves.
 

Our nine-part program includes all of the following:

1. The Highlands Ability Battery, a comprehensive 19-part aptitude test. Following the test, each client receives a 30-page report that discusses the findings in detail along with a personal in-depth analysis and consultation with your coach that further examines and explains the test results.

2. Personal Inventory and Past Achievements. Here we examine not just what you have accomplished thus far in your life but how and why you were able to achieve those results, as well as what those accomplishments might mean and indicate for your future.

3. Your Interests. These are activities you find yourself drawn to. We give an assessment test to help clarify possible career interests. It is critical that a person’s career interests be compatible with their aptitudes and we examine this in detail.

4. Your Skills and Acquired Knowledge. Some people wish to use skills and knowledge they already have in a future career. Many others have not yet had the opportunity to gain the skills and knowledge they want and need in order to pursue a career that will enable them to happily utilize their natural abilities and talents. We examine with each client where they currently stand with regard to their skills and knowledge.

5. Personal Style. This consists of approaches to doing things with which you are most comfortable based on key personality traits. Individual job environments and atmospheres differ greatly and it is important to choose a career that is in harmony with your personal style. We therefore assess key career-related aspects of your personality, analyze, and discuss them with you.

6. Your Values. These are the ideals, principles and/or beliefs that are most meaningful to you. As such they have a significant bearing on determining what activities you consider worthy of your time and energy. For many people their values are closely linked to the ethical and moral standards they want to live up to. Choosing a career that promotes these values or at least is in accord with them is critical for a person’s happiness and sense of well-being. We provide a test for values based on arranging one’s priorities. During this part of the program you will have an opportunity to better understand your values and how important they are to you.

7. Family History and Influences. We are all significantly affected by our parents or those who raised us. Their life experiences, whether directly job-related or not, have had a major bearing on how they helped to mold us into the people that we presently are. That, in turn, can significantly affect your outlook on careers and the world of work in general, as well as specific work-related needs you may personally have. In this part we will help you to better understand the influences of your family on you and how they affect your outlook on life and careers in particular.

8. Your Personal Priorities and Goals. These are the physical needs and wants we all have and can be described as tangible values (as opposed to beliefs we hold). These aspects of your life can very much affect your choice of a career. They include such matters as where you want to live, the lifestyle you want to have, and how much money you will need to achieve it. Many people have family obligations they also want and need to consider.

To choose a career without considering all of the above factors may well result (unless you are very lucky) in a half-baked and ultimately dissatisfying choice.

The purpose of the first eight steps is to enable you to get to know, understand, and appreciate yourself as never before. Once you are armed with this knowledge, you will find it much easier to “find the career that’s right for me” than you ever imagined!

9. Creating Your Personal Career Vision. While going through the first eight steps you will have had many opportunities to think about and consider career possibilities that may be right for you. The process often enables clients to consider potential careers of which they previously were not even aware. Gradually, as you get to know and understand yourself more and more, your list of possibilities will keep narrowing. Finally, we will coach you to draw upon your own creative insight so as to enable you to literally envision just what it is that you would most like to be doing in the future.
 

Additional Coaching

After you have decided on the career path that’s right for you, we can provide additional coaching in two key areas, if it is needed:

1. Surveying the Market. This enables you to make the vital connection between you and your dreams on the one hand, and the reality of the marketplace on the other. Aristotle described the marketplace as “the needs of the world.” Bernard Gittelson’s book How to Make Your Own Luck says the more we fill the needs of others, the greater our likelihood for success. Hence surveying the marketplace means considering to what extent people want and/or need what you are planning to offer. We can coach you as to how to go about conducting an effective,realistic survey and how best to consider your findings. If the need should arise, we will then help you to modify your Personal Career Vision.

2. Strategic Planning. Your having established a Personal Career Vision indicates you now know where you want to go. Strategic Planning means considering and deciding on the steps that will be necessary to enable you to get to where you want to be. Generally this entails establishing both short- and long-range goals combined with a time frame in which to achieve them. These goals are frequently educational in nature, or they can entail getting necessary prerequisite work experience. For someone planning to start a business of their own, this would include creating a business plan.
 

Availing Yourself of Our Services

At CareerPathfinder we work with clients both in our Bergen County, NJ office and long-distance via telephone and e-mail. You can reach us at 201-880-1764.