Career Not Where You Want It to Be? Time to Call in a Career Therapist.

Sometimes it’s our friends and even family we turn to when we feel stuck in our careers, or just unhappy with our jobs. I’ve found there is great value in getting advice from those who know us best, but they often don’t know how to steer us forward.

That’s where a “career therapist” comes in. Dr. Larry Cornett has a Ph.D. in psychology and helps take the pain away when people feel in a career rut, want to get promoted, get a job and avoid mistakes in the future.

Mary. Hi Larry, here’s a snapshot taken from your website:

• Landed at IBM and Apple where I was a designer, then eBay, and then most recently, a VP of Consumer Products for Yahoo. I got promoted 6 times in 6 years from an individual contributor to a VP while I was working at those last two companies.
• Created my own exit plan, started a business with clients waiting for me, and raised $1.3M in investment for my own startup.
• Regained my freedom, happiness, fitness, health, and family relationships along the way.

Mary. That’s impressive and now you live in a beautiful mountain town not far from Lake Tahoe.

Larry. Seven years ago, I thought, ‘Do I go back to being a leader at a tech company or start my own company? And when did I feel the most energized and happiest?’ It was coaching people, helping people grow their careers. So, I started by posting to social media, offering some career coaching and a free call. And my business just took off. My wife told me, ‘You’ve been doing this already for 10 years — in coffees and lunches (pro bono), why not get paid for it?’

Mary. You and I cross over as I get people back on track by using my years of experience in executive communications by revamping resumes and LinkedIn profiles. We both agree resumes must be very telegraphic and looked at it through a quantifiable lens to state what you achieved and how you did it. No full sentences.

Larry. Right. A lot of people like to write it in a narrative style but it’s like reading a book. No one reads a resume that way. People scan it and hit the headlines: what were your titles and dates. If you have a lot of text and paragraph structure, it’s hard for people to scan and get the salient points. Frontload stuff top and left. And explain how you did it. It’s like a sales pitch. ‘Would you like to make $50 million? This is how.’

Mary. You said your business is good when the job market is good as people think of quitting their jobs. When the market is tough, like now, also good as people are looking for a job. What kind of market is it now?

Larry. Not good. But we’re at the tail end, I think, of two years of layoffs and reductions. The pendulum is swinging back as companies are feeling like they’re falling behind and people are burning out.

Mary. What kinds of things do people struggle with when they come to you?

Larry: I find a lot of times, they fall into three main categories.

1. People who have had a certain degree of success (first 5–10 years were good). They’re smart, ambitious, eager and didn’t struggle to find a job. Then find they hit a ceiling. Some people break through — into management and leadership. And others stall. They hear they don’t have enough executive presence, not used to leading a team. I help with moving their career path forward.

2. They want a new job. They see the writing on the wall at their company, not clicking with their manager and need to get out. I help them figure out how to package themselves, prepare for interviews, and find a new company with a good manager.

3. Recently, I’m seeing more people at the tail end of their careers (20–25 years in). ‘It’s been a good run and tired of it. But I still need to do something. I’m not that rich.’ A lot of times, they want to move into another adjacency career and downshift — something not as demanding and more time for other things than work. I help them make that transition to something else — get on boards, consulting, etc.

Mary. How do you help people who come to you?

Larry. For example, ageism is real. Someone tells me someone much younger is making three times what they’re making but doesn’t know what they’re doing. Some people just don’t hire anyone over age 40 and don’t know if this person can be creative enough. My Advice?

I tell them there is definitely a case of “up or out”. It’s hard to stay at the same level in your career for the rest of your career. Some people are comfortable with this. They don’t want to go into management, but at some point, you’re the one with gray hair and everyone else is fresh out of college.

You have to think about what you do to move up and add your value where your age becomes an asset. Use your experience and wisdom. Moving into more senior positions like a senior architect or principal engineer buys you more time.

Age can be an asset when you leave to be a consultant or advisor. ‘I’m glad you have gray hair — you’ve been there.’ And a lot of it is energy. Your personality, creativity, your optimism. When there’s someone in the room who’s always negative, saying, ‘That’s not going to work and I’ll tell you why’, and picks examples from their history; no one wants that. People who are optimistic, friendly and fun just last longer. You quickly forget age when they’re bubbly and creative, and scribbling on the whiteboard. Steve Wozniak is like that.

Mary. Can you give an example of when someone had a breakthrough?

Larry. A recurring trend of this is the breakthrough in self-confidence levels. Somebody has a bad experience (and we all do) and some shake it off faster. And some take it to heart (I’m an imposter, lost my mojo) and it ripples through everything. They no longer do well in interviews, and they reach lower. I get them to believe in themselves again. In interviews, you need to know how to sell yourself and really know and own your material.

We look at their work history. And I ask them to write the story of you. ‘Document everything you’ve achieved in your life and realize how really good you are. You achieved what you did because you are smart.’ Sometimes, we’re just not in the right environment, bad boss, or “absentee boss”, or don’t click w/ people.

When you see that spark, they reach higher, interview for that job — and get the courage and they’re back in the game.

Mary. What’s the best way to find you Larry?

Larry. By email at cornett@brilliantforge.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter and using SEO.

Mary. How to reach me if you need help with the writing? By email at maryellengorges@gmail.com or on LinkedIn, Thanks Larry! Enjoyed talking with you.

#careers #jobs #career advice Larry Cornett, Ph.D.