I think I set a new personal record in the time from starting coaching to the first job interview of my client. 18 hours.

Karla* reached out to me after reading my newsletter for a long time. She had recently moved to Spain (just like me), but her career options where limited. That was because she chose a relatively small city to live in.

There were few companies with fitting job offers in her town. One of them had a position that fitted her skills perfectly. But: She had already applied there. They never responded.

She swallowed hard when that happened. Because her job hunt took way longer than she had expected – and she was running out of cash.

Karla knew she needed a job fast – or her dream of a new life in Spain would come to an abrupt end. She needed help – and I was the obvious choice.

But I charge 597, – EUR for individual coaching. That’s one or even two weeks salary when you live in the Spanish countryside. (The coaching is tax deductible, though.)

People get really scared, when life in their dream location turns out much harder than expected. And when they are faced with dwindling funds and big expenses – they freeze. They are unable to make a decision, just like a deer that’s starring into the bright lights of an approaching truck.

Karla is not easily scared.

She decided: “Go big or go home!” (Quite literally in this case.)

In our coaching session I made sure to discover all the resources and allies that she had available. Obviously, she mentioned the company in her town that never responded.

She knew about my views on how to connect with employers in a foreign country – after all she’s been reading my newsletter as long as you have. She even read my book on the topic. But she always felt awkward about contacting people directly. So, she just applied like everyone else: Through the official channels.

That needed to change and I took my time answering all her questions and help her work through her fears.

To demonstrate how my approach works in practice, we identified the HR professional in that company in her town – and we sent her a message.

The coaching proceeded. We finished and agreed to have the 30 minutes follow up session after she had implemented my approach and got the first “real world” responses.

A few hours later I got a message:

“She responded! I have an interview with the company tomorrow!”

Well, guess my day is not over yet. I am committed to my clients. So, we had a call and I guided her through the interview process – and how she could ensure that she would become the top candidate.
Well, what can I say? The interview went great. Today she has her follow up interview with the hiring manager. If all goes well, she can start first of June. (I will keep you updated.)

She went from “no response” and the fear of having to leave Spain – defeated and robbed of her dream – to being in the final stages of a job interview. In the very town that she always dreamed about living in!
I share this with you, because – well: This was a very good week!

What are you struggling with in your career right now? What would be one thing that would really move you forward if you could resolve this conflict or reach this goal?
*All facts are true, but I changed the name of my client.

Book an individual coaching session here.

I wish you success.
Chris

PS: I was on Bavarian Radio “Bayern 2” on May 1, talking about the struggles of international professionals in Germany. You can also hear me in the podcast of BR (from minute 39:40).