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Have you ever worked with a career coach? Consistently updating our interview/ feature stories is one way we enjoy sharing stories from other workers in diverse fields. We believe in storytelling because everyone’s life and career journey are unique. We all have that perspective that even though feels similar to an experience someone else might have encountered in the past remains unique to us.
Some people don’t understand how coaching might be beneficial or the whole idea, this interview will help shed some light on this. Tristan Layfield works full-time and has a business he runs as well — talk about passion and career!
Tristan currently runs his own career coaching and resume writing business as well as work full-time for IBM. He recently transitioned from a Project Management role to one in Quality Assurance.
“In this role, I review contracts before they are released to our clients. Typically, I start my days around 7:30/8:00 AM checking my email and prioritizing the contracts that I need to review then I dive into those. Throughout the day, I check in with my mentors and/or team whenever I may have questions, or I’m unsure of something.
Typically on lunch, I try to grab a quick bite so I can work on something for my business whether that be a resume, preparing for a coaching call, or maybe prepping some social media posts. Then it’s back to it with IBM until around 4:30pm. After I sign off from there, my evenings are filled with client consultations, coaching calls, and deadlines.”
You might be wondering why Tristan decided to become a Career Coach and if there is a story. He shared:
“For about 4 years, I was a Regional Supervisor for a Biotech company. I was either always hiring for my team or helping other supervisors, managers, and directors hire for their teams. So I’ve been on the other side of the table reviewing tons of resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles as well as conducting quite a few interviews.
Two things happened during this time. First, I noticed that the younger people of color, specifically black people, who were applying for these roles were great when you spoke to them but they weren’t always selling themselves well in their documents or during their interviews. Later, I understood that this was a common issue because most of us aren’t taught how to get a job in school or even by our parents.
Second, I started to get requests from family and friends to help them with their resumes or help them get a job, which I ended up doing. After a while, I realized that many of the people I was working with were landing roles in the fields they desired to be in. After that moment, I realized that I had an opportunity to fill a void, so I started Layfield Resume Consulting.”
As for a tip for workers who want a career change and who are seeking career growth, this is his opinion as a career coach:
“For those who are seeking a career change, I would suggest you start by asking yourself if you gained all of the skills, connections, and visibility you were seeking when you first took this role. Then get really clear on exactly why you are leaving, exactly where you want to go, what skills and credentials you need to obtain to get there, and what exactly you hope to gain from this career change.
Many people head into career changes not taking full advantage of where they are currently and they’re willing to throw their hat in the ring for just about anything they deem different from their current role. But the name of the game is tailoring and providing the most relevant information in the shortest amount of time. You can’t do that if you cast a wide net and don’t take advantage of your current opportunities.”
Read: How To Search For A Job While You Are Currently Employed
Everyone seems to have a definition of what career success might mean. However, from a career coach’s perspective he shares:
“My definition of career success is doing something that not only fulfills you, sustains you monetarily, and advances you as a person but allows you to reach back and pull up others as you climb.”
Most memorable day or worst day?
“My most memorable day of work is when I received the call extending the offer to become a Regional Supervisor for Thermo Fisher Scientific. I had been shooting for that role for a while, so it was very gratifying to receive that offer.
My worst day of work was during a time when my manager offered my assistance on implementing 5 projects while maintaining my current job duties. Though I previously informed her that I felt the workload was too heavy and explicitly communicated this to her throughout, I found myself in one of the most stressful points of my career.
One day, a few weeks before each of the projects were set to go-live, I came home and had a full on panic attack. The very next day, I started looking for a new internal role and landed one within 2 weeks.”
What can a person benefit from a career coach?
“I don’t like to speak for other coaches, but people can benefit from career coaching with me in quite a few ways depending on their situation. I provide my clients with an objective and unbiased opinion on their career journey.
Utilizing tools and resources, my clients gain clarity so they can get to the next level in their career. We identify the value they bring to their roles, work on owning that, and determine how to leverage it in their career.”
What I love about coaching are those moments where you notice that your client is feeling empowered. Those moments where they demonstrate that they are confident in their abilities and ready to become their own best advocate in their careers, that’s how I know I’ve done my job.”
What motivates you to keep doing what you do?/ Favorite quote?
“What motivates me to keep doing what I’m doing is the wealth gap. If I can help more people of color become more confident in their skills and abilities to not only land the roles they want and are good at but get paid the money they deserve then, in a way, I feel that I’m doing my small part in helping close that gap.”
Huge thanks to Tristan for answering these questions and sharing his ideas and thoughts. We are so pleased to have featured a career coach. This segment won’t be complete without featuring amazing people following their passions and doing amazing things! To learn more about him or his career coaching/ resume writing services, visit www.layfieldresume.com.
In our previous interview, we featured a Mechanical Engineer who is also an immigrant and he shared a lot of useful tips and advice on job search strategies as an immigrant especially if you reside in Canada! Make sure you check it out and share with your folks.
Are you currently undergoing a job search or career change? Did you enjoy this interview? Feel free to share in the comment section. Don’t forget to visit our resources page for tools that will be useful, and feel free to contact us for any questions you might have.
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