Alisha

Career Field: Education

Years of Experience: 20

My Career Challenge: I wanted to win a job internally that would take my career to the next level, give me a 10% bump in pay, and put me on track to move into a senior leadership position in a school district.

How Coaching Helped: Ellen’s interview prep coaching was just what I needed to understand how to formulate and showcase examples of my performance and results. As we practiced, Ellen had me slow down to describe each example in more detail, from what the challenge was to how I resolved it and created the result. Ellen also coached me on creating a brief but compelling answer to “tell me about yourself.” Now I know what to say when meeting new people as I network with executives and increase my visibility within the organization. I also really appreciated how Ellen pushed me to consider what I really wanted and reminded me that I know my career path better than anyone. This conversation helped me ultimately make the decision (described next).

Outcome: I won the job!!! But hold on, I made a really bold move: I ended up turning it down. Upon learning that I had accepted this new role within the organization, my boss and department leader requested that my current position be reclassified to meet a 10% increase in my salary. By staying in my department I could be part of the succession planning piece and potentially win a top spot in my department. This would allow me to continue doing the work I love and bring me one step closer to my ultimate career goal. So I decided to stay—but interviewing for the other position was all part of my journey to greater career happiness.

“Working with Ellen has helped me be more confident, articulate my experiences clearly, and to ask for what I want.”  - Alisha