How to Get Better At Anything, Including Getting A Job

Introduction

Hello! It’s Kristine here with the Express to Impress podcast. Today, we’ll be exploring how to get better at anything, including landing a job. That’s right, we’ll explore how to improve our habits, skills, and ultimately, our lives. I’m really excited about today’s topic because it’s something that fascinates and drives me in my own life. 

Express to Impress Podcast Update

But before we get started, I’m pleased to share that the podcast is building momentum! Since launching just four months ago, listeners worldwide have downloaded the podcast more than 600 times! So far, 30% of listeners are in Asia and the Middle East, and 30% are in North America. Europe makes up 24% of the listeners, and 9% are in South America. Other listeners are in Africa and Oceania. These discoveries confirm there’s interest in the podcast, which is always good to know. I want to take a moment to thank Swiss School for giving this podcast a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and leaving a review. Shortly after launching, I discovered the review. “Practical and Beneficial! Kristine’s insights and suggestions are both practical and beneficial when preparing for the interview process. I especially found the English idioms section interesting and useful.” Reading that comment really made my day.

Want to Get Great at Something? Hire a Coach.

Now, let’s dive into today’s topic. In a popular Ted Talk by Surgeon Atul Gawande, he talks about two primary views on how professionals can get better at what they do. The first is the traditional pedagogical view. You complete training to gain information, develop skills, and learn to think. Then you go out on your own to implement everything and manage your own improvement. This approach is quite widespread. Then, there’s the sports view on growth. The idea is that you’re never done training and that everyone needs a coach, even the greatest athletes in the world.

He points out some significant problems with the traditional view. First, you don’t always recognize the issues that are standing in your way. If you do know there’s an issue, you often don’t know how to fix it. So it’s not surprising that people following this approach often stop improving. In the Ted Talk, he explains he followed this method, and eventually, he stopped improving. Then, he tried the second method. Specifically, he made the unusual choice of hiring a coach to help him reduce his complication rate in surgeries. Doctors don’t usually have coaches, so I can imagine the experience was strange at first for everyone in the operating room. But the experience convinced him that “Great coaches are your external eyes and ears, providing a more accurate picture of your reality.” I highly recommend you check out the full Ted Talk when you get a chance.

My Experience With Athletic Coaches

I’m a communication and interview coach, so obviously, I see the value of professional coaches. A quick side note, I am a Certified Employment Interview Professional and I’m certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language. 

So, I’m comfortable with coaching others because I’ve had coaches. When I was younger, I had track, cross country, basketball, swimming, and volleyball coaches. Most recently, I’ve been working with a volleyball coach. Sure, I’m in my 30s and will never be an Olympic-level player, but I can improve my volleyball skills by golley! The coach has been incredibly helpful. While I showed up wanting to improve my spikes, he made me more aware of many weak points. I need to shuffle, not run in the sand; wait longer before running up to spike a ball; extend my arm to its full length before swinging; jump off both feet; and improve my cardiovascular endurance. Whew! 

While I’m thankful to know what I need to do differently and what I should focus on, the long list can feel daunting. Sometimes I feel frustrated with the learning curve. There have been times when I’ve tried to implement a suggestion, and I performed worse, smacking the ball right into the net. I have to be willing to try and fail over and over and trust it will work eventually. I have video recorded many of the training sessions. That means there’s footage of me losing my temper as I fail repeatedly. But, the videos are also evidence that I am improving in all sorts of ways. Ultimately, it’s incredibly gratifying, and it wouldn’t be possible without my coach. 

My Experience With a Professional Coach

In the workplace, I also worked for a boss who gave me and everyone else on our team, what she called “coaching moments.” While she was always careful to delicately introduce the coaching moment, I was eager to soak it up! I wanted to get better, and I didn’t want to make a fool of myself. Plus, it built trust between us. Without fearing negative repercussions for making a mistake, I was confident to speak up and contribute. I was so grateful to have someone with more wisdom than me acting as my eyes and ears and guiding me to communicate better and build stronger relationships in the office. 

My athletic and professional coaches have shaped my athletic abilities, emotional intelligence, mindset, and work ethic. Now that I get to coach others, I try my best to implement the lessons I’ve learned from all of my great coaches. I aim to express encouragement, never frustration as someone is learning a new skill, telling people what they are good at, the areas that can be improved, and showing praise when I see improvement. 

Who Seeks Out Coaches?

Some people come to me proactively. Perhaps someone will begin applying for jobs in six months, but they want professional input on their resume, cover letter, LinkedIn Profile, and interview responses in advance. Or they want to apply for a job in English in a year, and they want to improve their conversational and Business English speaking skills. Some people wish to tell stories, give instructions, or talk about their accomplishments more succinctly.

In these cases, we meet over a recorded video call without a sense of urgency. While I share tips and strategies for better communication, I also give extremely personalized feedback. For example, after a client answers a mock interview question, I’ll share the strengths and weaknesses of their answer and then deliver the answer myself with all the improvements I have in mind. My clients are consistently shocked and grateful to hear their own words repackaged in an orderly way and have access to a recording. As a native English speaker and someone who gets to the point when communicating, it’s easy for me, and I’m glad to share my gift.

Most People Wait Too Long to Get a Coach

Unfortunately, the majority of people want to work with me, seek out my help after a period of failure. These are typically people who have not worked with a professional coach in the past and didn’t know it was an option. Perhaps they have been struggling to get people to listen to their ideas at work and want help being more persuasive. Maybe they have been applying for jobs for six months or longer. Exasperated, they ask me to listen to them speak or review the documents they have written and tell them their mistakes and how to get better. Then, we come up with a meeting plan so they can improve in those areas and succeed in their career.

In the story section of today’s episode, I’ll share about a coaching experience with one of my clients. 

Story

I had a client, who I’ll refer to as Emily to maintain her privacy. She was working as an integration engineer for a Taiwanese-based company. Like many professionals, her work experience was complicated. Despite challenges associated with working in a male-dominated environment, for part of her career, she had a great boss who listened to her and supported her. Then, she had a new boss. Though she regularly worked long hours, the boss worked even longer hours and was critical, telling her she wasn’t a committed employee. 

Feeling she was stuck at her job and losing confidence, she applied to many American-based companies with offices in Taiwan, where she thought she would find a better work-life balance and a more inclusive culture. She applied for years and doubted her ability to get a job at an American company after so much rejection. 

Nonetheless, Emily wanted to get some help this time to give it her best shot. We initially met in April 2019 for a 30-minute consultation. Her English skills were rusty, and she needed to learn how to answer interview questions with more clarity and confidence. She committed to meeting with me for 10-45 minute interview preparation training sessions before an interview with a company she really wanted to work for. I helped her to rework many of her answers and to deliver them with more confidence. She learned to articulate what she wanted in a workplace without putting down her current employer. Emily learned to pronounce challenging words and tell stories using the STAR method. 

Then, she interviewed and got a job offer! Emily began her new job in July and has been pleased with all the positive changes in her life: fewer work hours, a boss who encourages and coaches employees, and friendly co-workers. After a few months, she returned for Business English communication coaching with me. While her co-workers were patient and didn’t complain about her English, she still struggled to express her ideas clearly. I have no doubt she will continue to improve her communication skills and advance her career.

Emily is one of many outstanding professionals I have had the pleasure of working with. She has all the attributes of a great employee, with plenty of successes to share in her application materials and interviews. But to get a job, she had to get better at interviewing and communicating in English. The Express to Impress slogan is “Open Doors and Borders.” I’ve seen that when people get better at communicating in English, they simultaneously open doors to employment locally and internally.

Tips

I’ve made my case for enlisting a coach to help you get better at something, especially if you want to get a job. The tips section of today’s episode will help you identify what type of coach is right for your needs. Are any of the following challenges holding you back?

• You want to get a job, but you’re not getting invited to interviews. Your application materials, online presence, or job search strategy could be the culprit. A resume coach, writer, or editor who also helps with LinkedIn profiles and cover letters can help you. Additionally, a career coach or job search strategy coach can help you explore more ways to learn about job openings, get interviews, and handle any career changes.
• You’re struggling to pass interviews. Not to worry! An interview coach can help you.
• It’s hard to articulate your ideas in meetings or give powerful presentations. Again, help is at hand. A communication coach can help.
• You haven’t been able to get the raise or promotion you want. In these cases, a leadership or executive coach can help you.
• People have a hard time understanding you when you speak English. This is a common challenge, and an accent or pronunciation coach can help you. 
• Your emails cause confusion.  If English is not your first language, an English teacher, tutor, or communication coach can help you improve your English writing skills.

My Online Course Will Show You How to Land A Job

Today, we explored how coaching can help you get better at anything. While individualized attention and feedback will certainly help you get better and achieve your goals, sadly, it’s not accessible to everyone. It takes time, money, and a lot of effort. If you are willing to put in the effort, but you don’t have the time and money for a coach, online courses may be an ideal alternative for you. I show how to get a job in my online course, “How to Land Your Next Job.” While taking the course, you can identify the mistakes you are making that are holding you back and how to fix them. Effective communication is a theme throughout the course, and I provide specific phrases and scripts you can use while networking, engaging in small talk, and participating in interviews.

The course lasts five-hours and there are 19 downloads, such as resume and cover letter templates, an Interview Preparation Checklist, and dozens of common interview questions and tips to answer them.

If you are looking for a new job or want to improve your communication skills in the workplace, I would love to be a part of your journey–whether you listen to my podcast for free tips, purchase one of my online courses, or sign up for one-on-one coaching. I invite you to visit my website at www.express-to-impress.com to learn more, watch free lessons, see what coaching entails, and sign up. I’m offering a sale on my courses for just two weeks! You heard me right! You can get 30% off any of my courses until August 31 with the coupon code Sale30. Please share this promotion with any of your friends who have been laid as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. They will be back to work in no time!

In the next part of the episode, I’ll cover some new idioms and phrases for people looking to build their English vocabulary.

Idioms and Phrases

By Golley

Sure, I’m in my 30s and will never be an Olympic-level player, but I can improve my volleyball skills by golley!

This is an informal exclamation that we use to express surprise or delight.

Make a Fool (Out) of (Someone or Oneself)

I wanted to get better, and I didn’t want to make a fool of myself. 

This means to do something that makes someone or oneself seem ridiculous or even stupid.

Give It (One’s) Best Shot

Nonetheless, Emily wanted to get some help this time to give it her best shot. 

This means to put forth one’s best effort in an attempt to do or accomplish something.

Put Down

She learned to articulate what she wanted in a workplace without putting down her current employer.

Putting down someone means to criticize them. 

 

Alright, before we wrap up, I need to tell you something. I want to solve your communication problems. You heard me right! I invite you to submit a short audio clip telling me about a communication challenge you’re facing in interviews or at work. Then, I’ll help you figure it out! I’ll share my tips with you and all of the other Express to Impress podcast listeners in a future episode. To get my help in solving your communication problems, just email me with a link to your audio at hello@express-to-impress.com.

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Express to Impress podcast. If you found it helpful, please share it with a friend. I hope to see you next time. Bye!

 

Music By Lucas Knutter