Kathryn Meisner

Career & Salary Negotiation Coach

The Job Search Checklist

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One of the biggest questions I get asked by people is: What are the best steps to job search and figure out what’s next in my career?

I get it. I like plans, outlines, and to-do lists and from working with 100+ clients, I know I’m not the only one.

I’ve noticed that when people are going through career confusion and stress, simply *knowing* the outline of steps can provide motivation and hope.

To help with this, I’ve created The Job Search Checklist. Enter your email below and it will be sent to you instantly.

Whether you want to explore a new career or you know exactly which job and company you want to work at, almost all of the 52 steps I outline apply to both.

Yup, that means that it *is* entirely possible to explore new careers AND job search at the same time.

What’s even more wonderful about these steps is that once you build the skills to implement them, you can use them over and over and over again.

This is pretty great considering that most of us will most likely have many more job and career changes in our future (I’ve had at least at least 4 career changes and I’m only in my early 30s).

Want help?

Figure out what’s next in your career, take action, and get it. Without relying on resumes or gross networking.

Get my support with the Pandemic Edition of Guidance Counselling for Adults (1 week intensive)

Want to learn more? Click here.

 

Hello 2019, goodbye 2018

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It’s that point of the holidays when it’s between Christmas and New Year’s and the days just seem to bleed into each other and I have lost all track of time. It’s also the time of year when I start looking back over the year and start looking at what’s ahead in 2019.

Hello 2019…

Here’s my snapshot of what I have coming up in 2019 so far:

  • Monday January 7th – Thursday, January 17th: For the first time in a year, Guidance Counselling for Adults will be open for registration again in April 2019. An early bird, sliding scale rate will be available for the first few days. GCA is my 5 week group program (with lots of options for support from me). There will be three different ways you can take the program and new additions including coworking sessions!

Want to be notified when it opens (and receive an early bird bonus)? Sign up below. You’ll also get my job search checklist to help you see what you’re doing right and what you might be missing.

  • 12:30pm EST on Monday, January 7th and Tuesday, January 8th: I’m going to be doing TWO Facebook Lives about job searching and switching careers. Want to get notified 15 mins before I go live? Click here and you’ll automatically be signed up to get an email. I haven’t confirmed the topics for these lives yet – have a specific question or topic? Hit reply or DM me and I’ll get back to you.
  • 6:30pm EST, Thursday, January 10th: I’ll be speaking about salary negotiation strategies for women at the Toronto Public Library (free). Click here for more details and to register. I am pretty stoked that the event is featured on TPL’s front page (is this only cool to me?).

Me on Toronto Public Library's front page

  • Career Strategy Hour: I’m launching a NEW one-on-one service. This session is for when you have a job or career opportunity come up and you want to brainstorm and strategize about it (like if a contact has referred you to a job posting and you want to strategize how to leverage the connection in your application or if you have two job offers and aren’t sure which one is right for you etc).
  • I’m doing some internal career development workshops for organizations to help people navigate and cultivate career opportunities within their workplace. If this sounds like something you’d like at your organization, just let me know.
  • I’ve had a lot of fun with the in-person workshops I’ve done this year and I’m thinking I’d like to do more – maybe an in-person Guidance Counselling for Adults or resume workshop? What do you think?

Goodbye 2018…

SO MUCH HAPPENED IN 2018. So much.

  • I’ve now worked with over 300 clients in 10 countries. Wow wow wow. That’s the beauty of doing all of my coaching sessions over the phone and running Guidance Counselling for Adults online.
  • I ran GCA once which was so much fun – some of my fave moments were conversations on the coaching calls and in the Facebook group about how to balance practicality with passion and how to deal with perfectionism and imposter syndrome.
  • My TEDx on resilience reached 54k views.
  • I ran a promotion for Ask for More, my salary negotiation course for women and an anonymous ally reached out to me and funded 5 spots <3
  • I co-taught a course and coached international trained professionals at Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto.
  • I’m not always available to review resumes (ppl usually have a tight timeline) so I created Pain-Free Resumes & Cover Letters.
  • I coached dozens of people through my one-on-one services, Career Clarity, Nail Your Interview, and Get Paid.
  • I had a baby!

I had planned to take 4 months off but then ended up taking 8 month of “modified” maternity leave due to health issues. This was a great reminder that we have to remain flexible in our plans.

It also helped me realize that my health – which directly impacts my family’s health – is my priority. Taking extra time off meant I had less work (and money) in the short-term but that healing time has set the foundation for me to work sustainably in the long-term. If I had gone back to work at 4 months and powered through, I would have crashed and burned.

I share this not to say “oh poor me” but more to say it’s ok prioritize your needs. It may not always be possible (bills are unrelenting) but if you can do it, it’s worth it.

I’ve seen this topic come up a lot in my clients. It is possible to take time off or take a “more junior” role for your health or sanity. More people do this than you think. It’s not the end of your career – it’s temporary. You just have to figure out a way to reframe your experience and job search in a way that isn’t resume-focused (because resumes highlight timelines). And in case you were wondering, yes, Guidance Counselling for Adults can help with this.

Want to reflect on YOUR career in 2018? I’ve designed “Your Career Year In Review” to help you do exactly that.

Your career year in review

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Every year around this time you’ll see the usual new year’s resolutions and year in review posts – I even did one myself. This year, I’ve designed a “year in review” for your career.

You can go to your favourite coffee shop and take your time to reflect on the questions below.

Or, if you’re a perfectionist or procrastinator like me, set a 15 minute timer and then answer the questions as fast as you can in point form. Doing SOME is better than NONE (“some” is actually my word for 2019).

And if you’re so inclined, I’d love to see your responses. You can email me at hello@kathrynmeisner.com or DM me your responses on Instagram.

Enjoy!

Your career year in review

  1. What do love about your job?
  2. What new skills did you learn?
  3. What helped you learn these skills (this can be specific strategies, people, programs etc)
  4. What skills do you want or need to learn in 2019?
  5. What will help you learn these skills?
  6. What new strategic relationships did you build and why are they strategic for your career? (I talk about the importance of strategic relationships in my “What’s Next Checklist for Your Career“).
  7. What helped you build those relationships?
  8. What did you learn about what’s important to you in a role and employer?
  9. What positive feedback did you get in 2019?
  10. What do you wish your boss or manager new about you?
  11. If you could summarize 2018 for your career in ONE word, what would it be?
  12. If you could choose ONE word to guide your career in 2019, what would it be?
  13. What do you want more of in your career in 2019?
  14. What do you want less of?
  15. What kind of support and resources do you need to get more of what you want in 2019?

There you go! You’ve done a rapid-fire review of your 2018 while planning a bit of your 2019!

In case you need extra support with switching careers or finding a new job in 2019, check out Guidance Counselling for Adults which will be open for registration from Monday, January 7th – Thursday, January 17th.

GCA is my 5 week program to help you find and land the job that’s right for you without relying on resumes.

FLASH SALE: Celebrating 3 years!

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It feels wild to write this…

It’s been 3 YEARS since I left my job and went full-time as a career and salary negotiation coach!

Wow, time flies.

I hit the 3 year mark in the fall but having a baby sometimes means that these kind of things go unnoticed for a while…

To belatedly celebrate, I’m having a 4 day flash sale on all my self-paced online courses until Tuesday, December 18th at 4pm EST – up to 50% off!

All courses include videos and homework to help you actually make progress instead of just gathering more information.

No promo codes necessary – just click the link and you’ll see the reduced prices are already there. All prices in CAD.

Pain-Free Resumes & Cover Letters – $97 now $67

Because resume-writing doesn’t have to be excruciating. Stand out with a results-based resume and cover letter.

Nail Your Interview – sliding scale $129-$179 now $90-$190

Nail your interview, get the job.

Ask for More: A salary negotiation course for women* – sliding scale $197-$297 now $137-$237

Learn when to negotiate a raise or job offer. What to ask for. And how to confidently ask (knowing exactly what to say without feeling greedy or whiny).

Get all 3 courses! sliding scale $423-$623 now $200-$300 (that’s 50% off)

If you’re hoping to go through the hiring process or ask for a raise, now’s the time to grab these courses.

This flash sale ends Tuesday, December 18th at 4pm EST.

And if you want support directly from me, keep your eyes peeled for Guidance Counselling for Adults which will open for registration in early January.

Questions? Email Kathryn at hello@kathrynmeisner.com.

Free speaking event Nov 7th: Salary negotiation for women

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Salary negotiation is hard!

As a Career & Salary Negotiation Coach, I’ve helped clients negotiate increases of over $55k. And for many reasons, negotiation can be especially difficult for women.

Join me at this *free*, in-person one-hour speaking event and you’ll learn the anatomy of a typical salary negotiation and counter offer process. I’ll also cover the top tips and the biggest mistakes to avoid.

*Women includes anyone who self-identifies as a woman.

Presented as part of Toronto Public Library’s Personal Finance programs. Supported by VISA.

When?

Wednesday, November 7th, 2018
6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Length: 60 mins

Where?

The Don Mills library branch.

Want to register?

To register for this free program call 416-395-5710 or show up at 6:30pm on November 7th.
Seats are limited and are first come, first served.