Frequently ASKED QUESTIONS
CANDIDATE SERVICES
Q: Have you worked with someone with my background?
A: We have worked with: executives with 30+ years of experience; individuals changing careers from private or public sector to the nonprofit sector; people who are seeking promotions, moving to new mission areas, switching job functions, or reconsidering their career options; recent college graduates just entering the workforce; university faculty and deans, doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants, professional musicians, PhDs, financial services professionals, stagehands, chefs, certified fundraising executives, diplomats, inventors, foresters, social workers, program managers, executive directors, computer scientists, federal, state and local government employees, and just about every other professional; parents and caregivers returning to the workforce, freelancers looking for full-time work, individuals launching consultancies, individuals with various disabilities, retirees looking for second careers, and individuals with gaps in employment; recent immigrants and international students, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals, and individuals from every ethnic and cultural background.
Q: Do you provide job placement?
A: No. We work with you to ensure that your professional promotional materials and personalized search strategy enable you to direct your own job search. While we don’t provide job placement services, you will find that working with us will give you a significant advantage in your job search.
Q: Does working with you give me an advantage is the searches run by NPAG?
A: No, the career coaching services and the search services of NPAG are entirely separate business lines.
Q: What about confidentiality?
A: We know that people embarking on a job search may be facing many delicate issues: how to search without a current employer finding out, how to deal with a difficult supervisor or challenging organizational fit, how to handle a difficult departure from a previous position, and so on. You should feel confident that the information you share will be kept private, with the obvious exceptions of illegal activity or unless you give us permission to share the information more broadly.
Q: What is your payment policy?
A: We ask that all coaching be purchased by 24 hours in advance of the appointment. If an appointment is not paid for prior to the appointment time, it will be considered tentative and subject to cancellation or rescheduling.
Q: What is your cancellation policy?
A: Once an appointment is set, we ask clients to provide 24 hours notice of cancellation (excepting in cases of personal emergency), or the fees will not be refunded.
Q: Are services offered in person, or by phone or Skype?
A: Services are offered by phone or Skype.
Q: How quickly can I expect an appointment?
A: Most appointments can be scheduled within a week of the purchase and usually faster, but it depends on scheduling availability.
Q: When are appointments available?
A: Typically, appointments are available in the evenings after 5pm EST during the week, or on the weekend.
Q: What happens during an appointment?
A: All appointments are customized to the client’s needs. Often, a first session will include a strategy discussion to determine which factors are motivating your career change (typically a desire to improve one’s lifestyle, work in a certain mission area, or change job functions); and a talk-through of the resume or CV. Usually we make edits using tracked changes through the resume, and are able to send you a “next round” version of the resume after the 90 minutes are over, with numerous improvements; and we will send a version with tracked changes and one without. We also typically send a long list of possible job functions, target organizations, websites, books and resources, and sometimes even introductions to some of the thousands of people in our network. Some clients prefer to spend a session practicing for an upcoming interview, working on salary negotiation strategy, or receiving a coaching session on LinkedIn, among other things.
Q: I need career coaching, but can’t afford your services. What should I do?
A: We come out of the mission-driven sector and respect that not everyone can afford personalized services. As much as we would like to help everyone in need, unfortunately this is not possible. We encourage you to consider using career services offered to alumni of colleges you may have attended, community services offered through nonprofit organizations in your area, employment assistance offered to people via your state unemployment agency or Workforce 1 Career Center, or workshops often provided through community organizations or libraries.