Thank you for your patience as we transfer to a new website design and format. In the meantime, you can read my latest post on LinkedIn "Finding Your Why: The Secret to Workplace Fulfillment"

Here's the link to the post that will open in a new window:
Post | Feed | LinkedIn

Or, you can copy and paste the URL below into your web browser:
https://www.Linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7325515392221700099/
​
​

Are you feeling overwhelmed by life's challenges, especially during the holiday season? You're not alone. The good news is that resilience isn't just something you're born with it's a skill you can develop. 

Our new mini-course When the Going Gets Tough: Strength & Resilience in Challenging Times helps you build resilience through proven neuroscience techniques grounded in the life application of Scripture and the principles of positive psychology.

In six interactive modules, you'll transform stress into strength and adversity into advantage. Do you want to face challenges with ease? 🌟 Click here to purchase the mini-course for only $9.95 and get instant access to the training materials.

🌞I’m Sharla Taylor, a Christian career coach and author who loves helping people find career clarity and direction, build resilience, and turn obstacles into opportunities.

Are you tired of radio silence after you submit your applications online?

It's disheartening when your efforts seem to vanish into the void. In today's competitive market, traditional job search methods often fall short.

I'm hosting a live training called ...
“Fast-Track Your Job Search and Find Work You Love to Do”
It’s happening live, Thursday, September 19, 2024, at 6:30 pm EST.

We’ll cover how to get noticed in a competitive job market, find an ideal job opportunity, and achieve greater career satisfaction.

By attending live, you’ll learn …

• Why self-assessments and strategic job targeting are essential to finding the right-fit job
• How to conduct company research quickly and efficiently using AI tools
• The value of optimizing and activating your network to land your next job faster

​⇒ To reserve your seat for the webinar, return to the home page and add your name and email address to the pop-up form to get reminders of when the event is going to start.⇐

I am looking forward to sharing these strategies with you!

Sincerely,
Sharla Taylor
Career Coach, Resume Writer & Job Search Strategist

Interviewing with confidence is both a science and an art. Here are seven principles from an actor’s perspective to consider before your upcoming interview.
​

• Psychology: Mindset matters. Both the interviewer and the candidate want to find the right fit. Interviewers want candidates to succeed. Convert nervous energy into enthusiasm. An interview is a business conversation, not an interrogation. Listen to learn. Be curious about the company and the role and aim to make a genuine connection with the interviewer(s).
  
  
• Preparation: Research the company, its culture, values, corporate executives, recent news, and initiatives. Study the job description and understand how your background aligns with the job responsibilities. Research each interviewer’s professional background and communication style. Adress people by name. Prepare talking points with a brief example for the most commonly asked interview questions. Keep your answers brief.
  
  
• Practice: Rehearse with a friend or hire a coach who can give you candid feedback on your messaging, body language, etc. The more you practice, the more confident you’ll sound. As you become more comfortable with interviewing, you’ll be able to discern what interviewers really want to know when they ask certain types of questions. When asked a question you don’t know how to answer, it’s okay to pause for a moment so that you can give a thoughtful response or walk them through your thought process of how you would find the answer. Don’t ramble off topic. Know when to stop talking.
  
  
• Presence: Dress appropriately. First impressions count. Up to 93% of communication is nonverbal. Your body language matters. Stay calm, smile, and make eye contact. Being personable in your approach and professional in your demeanor will lend credibility to your career story.
  
  
• Pitch, Pace & Polish: At its core, interviewing is high-stakes public speaking. Consider joining Toastmasters or investing in working with an interview coach. Reduce filler words (uh, um, like, so, you know, really, totally, and others). Yoodli.ai is a nice tool for tracking speech patterns. Control your breathing, enunciate your words clearly, and be mindful of the pitch, pace, and power of your voice. If you are naturally soft spoken, learn how to project your voice. Acting lessons can be a fun way to practice this. If you are naturally loud-spoken, practice dialing down your volume in one-to-one conversations. By rehearsing with a coach and working to break bad habits, you’ll gain polished speaking skills that can positively influence hiring decisions.
  
  
• Presentation: You may be asked to give a brief presentation at some point in the interview process. Keep slide decks clean, concise, and visually appealing. Have a few slides with only a photo or graphic that supports your story and other slides with a limited amount of text. Aim for no more than six lines of text per slide with around six words per line. This 6x6 formula forces precision over clutter. Remember, to enunciate your words and adjust the cadence and volume of your speech if you are speaking to a larger group. If you are speaking in person, be mindful of blocking (where you’ll stand, when you’ll move, which direction you will walk, where you will look when making certain points) but don’t overchoreograph or overthink your movements.
  
  
• Progression: Interviewing is like an audition. Your goal is to keep progressing through each interview round and receive a job offer. Be polite. Ask about next steps and decision timelines. Close strong and express interest in the opportunity. Send a thank-you note, even if you are withdrawing your candidacy or were not offered the job.

By leaning into these key principles of interviewing with confidence, you’ll become the most compelling candidate to hire. Cheers to your interview success!

I am excited to announce that the pilot of my new career coaching program Finding Meaningful Work & Career Happiness is now open for enrollment.

Finding Meaningful Work & Career Happiness is an online career coaching program with articles, resources, interactive activities, worksheets, live and pre-recorded training sessions, group discussions, and three 30-minute individual career coaching sessions to discuss your career goals.


You'll get straightforward, research-based instruction with hands-on activities to help you:

• Find career clarity, purpose, and direction.
• Identify and convey your core strengths and values.
• Determine the right-fit roles for you.
• Conduct company research using AI tools.
• Understand employer's needs.
• Discover job opportunities where none are advertised.
• Develop and implement a proactive job search.
• Networking optimization and activation.
• Track and measure your job search success.

The content of the self-paced program is based on my work with 1:1 clients who have landed new jobs in 9-27 days and have received multiple job offers by following the career marketing and job search strategies that I share in Finding Meaningful Work & Career Happiness.

There are a limited number of seats remaining in the pilot program (offered at $175). Participants in the pilot will enjoy substantial savings compared to the tiered pricing of $497 to $2,997 for the release of the program to the public. The pricing for the April 2024 release will vary according to the options you choose such as the number of individual coaching sessions and the number of career assessments you want. Your purchase includes single-user access to the coaching program for six months from the date of purchase.

Register today for Finding Meaningful Work & Career Happiness!

Hey there, curious careerists! Have you ever wondered what those fancy-sounding assessments actually measure? Today, we’re going to take a light-hearted journey through the world of career assessments. So, buckle up and get ready for a quick tour of frequently used assessments.

• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): It’s a classic! The MBTI measures your personality type based on four dichotomies: extraversion/introversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, and judging/perceiving. It’s like a personality compass that helps you understand yourself better and find your true north career that aligns with your unique personality.
  
  
• DiSC Assessment: Nope, it’s not about your favorite vinyl records! DiSC stands for Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. This assessment measures your behavioral style and how you interact with others. Are you a charismatic influencer or a detail-oriented perfectionist? DiSC has the answers!
  
  
• CliftonStrengths: Move over, superheroes! CliftonStrengths measures your natural talents and strengths. The basic assessment identifies your Top 5 strengths out of 34 possibilities to help individuals understand and leverage their unique abilities. The detailed assessment reports on all 34 themes. Discover your hidden superpowers and unleash them in your career!
  
  
• Strong Interest Survey (SSI): Are you passionate about underwater basket weaving or extreme ironing? The Strong Interest Survey helps you explore your interests in regard to different work activities, work environments, and areas of interests to identify potential career paths. It’s like a treasure map leading you to the right occupation.
  
  
• Holland Occupational Themes (RIASEC): Don’t tiptoe through the tulips or take a cruise on the canal just yet! This assessment categorizes you into six personalitity types based on your interests and preferences. Are you Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, or Conventional? Find out and sail towards your new career.
  
  
• Wonderlic Contemporary Cognitive Ability Test: Time to put on your thinking cap! The Wonderlic assessment measures cognitive abilities and problem-solving aptitude. It’s often used to evaluate prospective employees, assess their mental agility, and predict on-the-job success. Can you outsmart the clock and prove your brainpower?
  
  
• Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i): Move over IQ, it’s time for EQ! This assessment evaluates emotional and social functioning, including self-awareness, self-expression, interpersonal relationships, decision-making, and stress management. It’s like a guide to understanding and harnessing your emotions for success in the workplace and beyond.
  
  
• Emotional Intelligence Appraisal (EIA): Don’t worry, there’s an app for that! This assessment, is similar to the EQ-i in that it measures your emotional intelligence, including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management, but in a digital format. It’s like having a personal emotional coach in your pocket!
  
  
• Work Values Inventory (WVI): “Heigh ho, heigh ho, it’s off to work we go!” The WVI is a widely used assessment that measures an individual’s core values and how they align with different career choices. It measures values such as achievement, independence, recognition, support, and working conditions.
  
  
• Personal Values Assessment (PVA): Can you dig it? The PVA helps you unearth the personal values that guide your life choices. The Personal Values Assessment helps people understand their priorities, motivations, and the importance they place on values such as honesty, integrity, compassion, creativity, and personal growth.
  
  
• Career Direct Assessment: It’s like a GPS to help you find career clarity and direction. The assessment measures all four aspects of what drives you: personality, interests, skills, and values to guide you towards a meaningful career. If you are looking for a comprehensive and statistically valid career assessment, this is my favorite. Book a 20-minute discovery call to find out more.

So, there you have it – a whirlwind tour of several popular career assessments. There are many others. Look for assessments that are backed by scientific research and decades of testing. It’s advantageous to have a career counselor help you interpret the data. Remember, assessments are helpful tools for self-reflection and self-awareness, but they’re not crystal balls. Embrace the insights gained from the assessments and trust your heart to find your true path.
 
Happy career exploration, assessment aficionados!