How to Help Your Clients Clarify Their Career Target
– By Lori A. Jazvac –
Identifying a clear career target can be challenging for clients, especially when they have just undergone a restructuring or have been away from the workforce for some time. If they have had a conflict with their career focus or path, pinpointing a clear career target may require in-depth coaching to help them understand their career goals. September is Update Your Résumé Month – an essential month for résumé strategists and diverse job seekers to maintain a “living résumé” and a peak hiring time for recruiters and employers.
As a career professional, here are 10 questions that you can ask clients to help them clarify and pinpoint a clear career target:
What is your unique value proposition (UVP)?
Ask your client what sets them apart—particular strengths, skills, experiences, achievements—and relate that to carving out a career focus. Using a value proposition model will help your client understand their unique offerings and how they can translate those experiences and skills into an actual role. The UVP can also be formed to create a great “elevator pitch” or marketing proposition for the client.
The UVP consists of three elements:
- The employer’s buying motivators
- Your client’s supporting qualifications
- Your client’s added value
By addressing each component, your client clearly shows the targeted employer how the client’s skillset will meet their needs.
What problem do you want to solve in the world? How do you want to make a difference?
JP Michel, author and creator of the Challenge Mindset and Challenge Cards ––which have been used by over 70,000 students globally – focuses on solving problems when identifying a career focus or goal using the Challenge Mindset rather than asking a client, “What do they want to do?” or “What do they want to be when they grow up?”
This question will stimulate your client’s creative thinking and help them identify how they can make a more significant difference and contribute to solving a fundamental problem.
Whether your client is a new graduate or student, mid-level professional or executive, a Challenge Mindset-related question remains critical in helping them determine a clear career focus and navigate their purpose.
For example, some job seekers may want to solve the problem of fraud incidents, while others are concerned about the environment, and some want to raise awareness through teaching. Everyone has a distinct vision, mission, and critical problem they aim to solve, where they have identified a gap and can present a solution by leveraging their unique expertise, skills, and talents.
Help your client set measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) career goals. This exercise can help them inform their career target.
What specific job titles are you targeting, and how realistic is the career goal?
Ask your client what types of job titles they are targeting. This will help them narrow down the specifics. Extract keywords that relate to their skills, experience, and ideal job. Brainstorm with them.
Next, does your client have the skills, education, strengths, interests, values, and experience to qualify them for the role?
If your client lacks the critical skills, education, experience or expertise for this role, this target may not be realistic or aligned with their value.
Ensure your client fits the role well and meets at least 75% of the job requirements. If the industry is declining and there are layoffs across the board in a particular sector, then it may be time to reconsider the career target and do further research.
Fundamental demographic changes, economic shifts, and technological advancements are evolving into 2025. It is essential to weigh your client’s goal against these various labour market trends and developments.
What would you do if you had all the money you needed and did not need to work?
Even if your client has all the resources they need, work fuels a greater meaning and purpose individually and collectively, making a difference in society. This question will enable your client to really “think creatively” and determine their true focus, passion, and values, which determine career satisfaction. It will also clue you into their interest and motivation in pursuing a specific career goal—short-term and/or long-term—and the rationale for their choice.
Sometimes, career assessments and tools can prove invaluable when a client feels stuck. They will help them understand more clearly their offerings, working styles, best work environment, or aligned roles for consideration.
In your performance reviews, in what areas did you receive the highest score or the most positive feedback?
Asking about performance reviews will enable you and your client to understand the areas in which they possess core strengths and how their potential and performance align with their career target. This question will also determine their levels of success in that career path. If weaknesses are pinpointed in the critical skills they need to do the job, they must address this gap and improve certain skill sets.
Performance reviews are excellent for presenting accomplishments and even quotes to boost credibility. However, some performance reviews are confidential, and specific numbers may not be shared with the public due to the employer’s requirement for complete confidentiality.
So, ensure compliance by not indicating specific numbers but by changing how the accomplishments are presented (qualitatively or descriptively, or using general numbers or ranges rather than specifics).
If your “ideal” position were to become available, how would you describe it?
I would like to expand on this question by narrowing it down into what the “must haves,” “nice-to-haves,” and “not haves” of the client’s next position are. It’s incredible how the career focus is identified or carved out more efficiently, and a better career/role fit is established for the client. For example, workplace flexibility is on the rise and could be a “must-have” for some, while others see it as a “nice-to-have” criterion depending upon their choices, goals, lifestyle, and values.
Other times, Ikigai coaching can help clients find their “reason for being” by uncovering their purpose, interests, and values using a distinct process.
What TYPE of job are you looking for – and with what type of employer? What TYPE of work environment?
This question related to the type of job and employer the client seeks will help your client categorize or further narrow their choices into specifics.
Are they seeking a creative or technical role? Executive role?
Work environment and/or culture are important aspects for many job seekers. Today’s workplace culture is constantly evolving and multi-generational and diverse. Does their work environment need to be hybrid, in-person, or remote?
Is the desired culture creative, growth-driven, or corporate and structured?
All these factors will determine the position type they seek and the criteria they require to function optimally and be satisfied in their careers. However, flexibility and adaptability are empowering traits in today’s workplace.
If you could customize your career and create your job, what skills would you use, and how would you apply them? How are your interests integrated into this description?
Not all jobs are found online or through referrals. Some clients prefer to work more independently and are natural entrepreneurs.
For example, some jobs can be created when someone wants to form their own marketing business or operate as a freelance résumé writing contractor. It depends on their core interests and values. A hobby or interest can sometimes lead to a rewarding first-time or second career!
The next part of this question is what transferable skills can apply to distinct roles or industries, especially if they make a career change. This exercise will broaden their options and help them articulate their unique value.
How can you make that shift if you want to transition to a new industry or job function?
Ask your client to consider the first step in transitioning to a new industry or job function.
- What are the essential things that would need to be addressed first?
- What elements, people, or processes would support this transition?
- Could you please identify one to three job postings for the position you are interested in?
Identifying a few job postings of interest will help you and your client understand the roles they seek, enabling you to customize their job search documents accordingly. Guide your client to research industries, companies, and specific roles that align with their self-assessment results, including job descriptions, company cultures, and industry trends.
A great résumé-building exercise is highlighting the keywords – relevant skills, experience, and strengths – so that they are showcased in the résumé. For example, change leadership, emotional intelligence, analytical problem-solving, creativity, strategic planning, and digital skills are high-demand skills employers require in 2024 and beyond.
Once you have supported your client in capturing their career target, you must build a targeted résumé and highlight relevant skills, experiences, and accomplishments that align with their selected career path. Encourage them to network in their desired fields and conduct informational interviews. Informational interviews will help your clients gain insights, refine their career focus, and open new career opportunities. As a career professional, you need to periodically collaborate with clients to review their résumé and career focus, provide constructive feedback, and encourage revisions based on changing goals or labour market shifts.
Level up as a Career Development Practitioner. Help your clients identify their career target and craft the best résumé—enroll in the Certified Résumé Strategist or Certified Employment Strategist course or take your skills to the next level with a Master Certified Résumé Strategist credential. Get certified.