Frequently Asked Questions About Career Coaching

How many career counseling sessions will I need?

It typically takes two career coaching sessions for clients to identify alternate job and career options that appeal to them. Some clients will opt for a 3rd coaching session to get advice on how to best package themselves on their resume, cover letter and LinkedIn profile.

What do I get from career counseling with you?

Each client receives a list of very specific alternate job and career ideas that I believe could be a possible match for them and specific research strategies to investigate those ideas so they can choose the best career direction for them.

Would I work with directly with NYC career counselor Jeff Neil?

Yes. I have been providing career counseling in Manhattan for more than 17 years and I provide all career clarity client coaching services myself.

When can I start?

You can start immediately. Once you decide to start career counseling, you'll get instant access to my proprietary Career Clarity Get Started Assessment and details on how to schedule your very first session.

What if I have no idea about the type of job or career I want?

That's perfectly fine! As a career counselor who has worked with more than 7,000 clients, I have successfully worked with countless people who truly had no idea at all about what is the best job or career path for them.

Can you help people who are unemployed?

Absolutely. About 25% of my career counseling clients were unemployed when they hired me to help them.

Does it matter if I live I don't live or work in NYC?

No. While I offer career counseling in Manhattan and NYC, about 30% of my clients live all over the United States, including San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Denver, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and many more. About 5% of my clients live in Europe.

Will your career counseling work for me? What should I do if I’m not sure if it would help me?

My career clarity counseling program will work for any college graduate (with any level of work experience) or college students who live in an urban area and are willing to put in the work to complete an assessment and then research the job and career ideas I recommend. Please check out what these people say.

If you're still not sure, please schedule a free, no-pressure consultation to discuss your situation and I’ll honestly tell you if I feel I can help you or not. Here’s the link: www.CoachingConsultation.com

I’m skeptical that you can help me identify new job and career ideas in 2 career counseling sessions.

I understand. Many people have told me that before they worked with me.

I have developed and refined a concrete, 3-step process that has helped thousands of people to identify appealing job and career options in two coaching sessions. Part of the reason the process is quick is that clients and I do a lot of prep work before each session… so we can be sure our sessions are effective.

Additionally, I have an encyclopedic knowledge of the jobs and careers - as well as a proprietary technology platform - that enables me to identify alternate job and career options quickly.

Truth to be told, career coaching doesn’t need to take very long and I think many career counselors in NYC have significantly longer processes because they don’t have a concrete system to identify good job and career options for clients… and the coach earns more money by selling more coaching sessions.

I’ve completed other career assessments (or previously worked with other career counselors in NYC that didn’t help. How is your career counseling different?

I believe the popular career assessments (e.g. Johnson O’Connor, Myers Briggs, DISC, and Strengths Finder) are typically ineffective because they place far too much emphasis on traits and personality. While those influence career choices, I believe the right job and career focus on skills we are good at and enjoy, avoids the skills we want to stay away from, considers our interests, and aligns with our personal interests.

Over the past decade, I have developed and polished a concrete system that helps each client to quickly identify all of these key ingredients… and then matches them to the specific job and career options that fit them far better than the career suggestions offered by the most well-known assessments.

Is there a commitment, contract, or a required number of sessions?

I do not use a contract, and there is no commitment of any kind. Contracts & commitments benefit career counselors - not clients. I let clients buy one career coaching session at a time because clients have different needs and they move at different paces… and I know if I’m doing a good job and a client needs more coaching, they’ll come back.

Can I contact you between coaching sessions?

Some career coaches offer an all-inclusive career counseling packages that requires a minimum number of sessions (typically 6 to 12) and offers email support between sessions. These career counseling packages typically cost $1,500 to $2,500. Counselors that offer these packages know that many customers will drop out of the process before they use all of their sessions… but the career counselors still gets paid their large fees.

I think that’s wrong.

To offer an affordable and fair solution, I sell my career expertise by time. My clients only pay for the time they use. If a client wants some quick advice between career counseling sessions, I offer Quick Question Coaching sessions by phone that cost just $37.

How long does your career clarity process take?

Most career counseling clients complete their work with me in 2 to 4 weeks.

How much time is there between career counseling sessions?

I let my clients decide when they want to have a session.

Some clients want to quickly discover alternate job and career options, and they will schedule their two career counseling sessions in one week. Other clients will spread their two sessions over a couple of months. Most clients choose to have their second career clarity session 1 to 3 weeks after their first session.

If we work together, you decide the pace of our work.

What if I am not good at technology?

You do not have to be a tech wiz to complete my online Get Started Assessment. Simply click on the secure link in your Get Started email and you can complete the assessment click by click. If you have any troubles, reach out to me for support and I'll help get you through it!

Can I talk with you to see if your career counseling services are a good match for me?

I invite you to schedule a free consultation with me.

We'll talk for 15 minutes by phone about your career situation and the step-by-step system I've used to help more than 7,000 college-educated professionals living in larger urban areas to discover the best job and career options for them. The consultations are by telephone, so they are easy and convenient.

There are two easy ways to arrange a free consultation session. One way is to take action on your career right now and...

Schedule a Complimentary Phone Consultation... by Clicking on the Blue Circle on My Appointment Calendar Here...

What is your price / fee for career counseling sessions?

The fee for each clarity coaching session is $190 (Clarity coaching requires two sessions). The fee for optional sessions are: resume coaching: $180; job search coaching: $180; and interview coaching: $160.

Is there a sale tax on your services?

There are no sales taxes on Career Counseling Services.

Can clients record their career counseling sessions?

Yes. We cover a lot of content in each coaching session and I strongly recommend that clients record their sessions. As a career counselor who has worked with many people, I've found the recording to be a resource that you’ll use and benefit from for many years.

Do you recommend certain types of jobs to people who are already in a certain type of field?

No. One of the problems with career books and articles is that they lump people into a group under the false belief that people in similar careers have similar skills, interests, traits, etc.

For example, a career book for accountants who want to make a career change might recommend 20 specific options for accountants.

That just doesn’t work because every person has their own set of best and weak skills, personal interests, motivations and personality traits.

In my coaching work, I get to know each client as a completely unique individual, and I recommend job and career ideas that are unique matches for them.

Have you worked with people in my type of job?

As a career counselor in NYC, I’ve had the pleasure of working with more than 7,000 professionals from nearly every type of position, across nearly every industry (Sample industries served). That said, I don’t know the gas or oil industries at all. I'm also not familiar with mechanical civil or chemical engineering roles. If you’re doing very unusual work and are considering hiring me to support your success, please set up a complimentary coaching consultation (www.CoachingConsultation.com) and I’ll listen to your situation and honestly tell you if I can help you or not.

Can you help people who have been out of the workforce for a while?

Yes, I’ve worked successfully with clients who were out of the workforce for periods ranging from 1 year to more than 14 years.

Can you help people my age?

I’ve worked successfully with more than 7,000 clients, ranging in age from 17 to 73.

Can you help me if I don’t have a college degree?

There are a couple of answers to this:

If you don’t have a college degree, but you have been working in a professional/corporate role for 3 years or so, I can probably help you. Please schedule a complimentary consultation to discuss your situation for my honest assessment.
If you have earned no or few college credits and have no professional experience, unfortunately, I probably can’t help you because my knowledge and experience are primarily focused on jobs and careers that typically require college degrees.

Can you help people who feel traumatized by their current work situation / boss?

A number of my career counseling clients are in work (or life) situations that cause them to doubt their skills and abilities… and have caused them to lose self-confidence and hope. I’m not a therapist, but I have found my work with clients helps them to recognize / discover their valuable skills and experience and regain enough confidence so they can move their careers forward.

My situation is unique and I’m not sure career counselors will be able to help me.

The variety of my career counseling clients and their situations keeps my job very interesting. I love supporting people’s success. I invite you to call me for a free consultation to discuss your unique situation and my honest assessment if I can help you move your career forward.

Do you ever tell people that you can’t help them?

Yes. I treat my people the same way I’d want to be treated by the people I hire to support my success. Before working with a career counseling client, I require a complimentary phone consultation to learn about a person's situation to make sure I feel I can help them.

If I don’t feel I can help, I tell people honestly why I’m not the right coach for them. It’s not good for the client or me when career counseling isn't likely to be effective, and I’m very honest with people when I don’t think I have the specific experience or knowledge to help them.

Can I make a career transition without taking a pay cut?

When I work with clients, I always try to identify job and career options that leverage their skills, knowledge, and experience so they can start at the highest salary possible. Some clients earn more (sometimes far more) when they make their career transition. Others transition to a salary similar to their current incomes. Some, especially high-income earners, do take an initial pay cut so they can transition to a new job and career that is more satisfying in other important ways.

Will you provide a list of companies that will interview or hire me?

As a career clarity counselor, I help clients identify specific types of job / job titles that are a good fit for their skills, interests, personality, etc. I don't recommend specific companies that could hire people. (To the best of my knowledge, that's not something any career counselor in Manhattan does.)

I’m trying to decide if I should stay in my current field or make a transition… can you help?

While most of my career counseling clients know they want to change careers, some of my clients want to evaluate their current situation and discover what their options are… so they can then make the most informed career decision about whether to make a career change.

What days/times do you offer career counseling sessions?

I typically offer sessions from 10 am to 10 pm (Eastern) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If that doesn't work for you, just let me know and we'll find a day and time that does.

What should I do if I’m not sure if career coaching would be helpful to me? What if I have more questions?

Don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions you have!

Please click here to set up a complimentary career coaching consultation to discuss your situation and get my honest answer.

To Your Success,

Jeff