Personalized Career Services For Motivated Individuals
At Charles River Careers we focus on you. We offer a range of services that will help you no matter where you are in your professional journey. Whether it’s connecting with your interests, mapping out a plan, tune-ups or tactical coaching, we’re here to help.
We offer the following personalized services:
VISIONING
Connect With Your Purpose
We strive to help you clarify your purpose, mission and calling. Using a variety of tools and methods we’ll work with you to clarify your interests, working styles, personality profile and larger life goals. Through our visioning process you will be better prepared to answer the following questions:
What are the potential elements of my purpose, calling or mission?
What is my personality portrait and how does it relate to my hobbies, preferences and interests?
What is my work style and what types of work environments would be a good fit?
How important are my values when evaluating potential organizations and directions?
How can my educational, work and volunteer experiences to date best inform my path forward?
ROADMAPS
Explore Options and Clarify Goals
We’ll help you map out a plan that gets you from where you are today to where you want to be by:
Exploring and then prioritizing career paths that align with your purpose, interests, and working style
Evaluating skills, experience and credentials necessary for future roles
Building strategies that will connect you with your desired areas of focus
Exploring lateral or cross-functional opportunities that enhance leadership potential
Identifying educational, accelerator or training programs that could support the transition
Providing short term goals and support as you navigate your current transition
TUNE-UPS
Step Back, Take Stock & Explore Options
Thinking about making a job change, feeling stuck or considering a change? We’re a sounding board for taking stock, exploring options and solidifying your plan going forward. We’ll help you answer questions such as:
I’m not really satisfied with my work and career progression, should I consider something more fulfilling? How do I know I’m on the right path?
I like what I do but have concerns about my organization’s culture and/or boss; is there anything I can do?
Some of my peers are moving to start-up’s or making lateral moves. Is this something I should be considering?
Some of my colleagues seem to be getting offers from recruiters. Should I be doing more to market myself even though I’m currently employed?
SEARCH SUPPORT
Planning, Tools and Input that Give You an Edge
Looking for new opportunities? Want to make the most of your search? We support people in all aspects of the search process by providing help with strategy, tools, effective networking, and ongoing coaching and negotiations.
Our search support services include:
Search preparation including frameworks, operating assumptions and clarifying goals
How to manage your search process including sales funnel approaches
Search tools and techniques for finding relevant leads
Outreach strategy including time management, resume and cover letter support and networking tactics
Phone, Skype and in-person interviewing techniques and tips
Negotiation support
Ongoing coaching including tactics, check-ins and motivational support
PERSONAL BRANDING
Polish Your Professional Persona
Putting your best foot forward? First impressions count, but so do Linked-in profiles, portfolios, your social media accounts and more. We help you define and nurture your professional persona, from the basics through advanced branding.
Our marketing and branding support includes:
Discovering your personal brand and professional persona
Providing Linkedin, resume, website and portfolio assessments
Reviewing and planning your social media strategy
Integrating volunteer, board and supplemental opportunities
Recommending opportunities for brand building
COACHING
Suggestions, Tips and Encouragement on Your Journey
Everyone benefits from encouragement, input and suggestions from time to time. No matter where you are in your career journey, we’re here to help you assess, reflect, encourage and just look at things from a fresh perspective.
Our coaching work includes:
Regular check-ins on your search process to guide efforts, suggest tactics and remove roadblocks
Suggestions on tools, tactics and networking approaches to unlock opportunities
Supporting, guiding and the occasional nudge to make sure you are making steady progress on your roadmap
Ongoing leadership coaching, new-in-role coaching (first 100 days), and managing change
Expert Coaching for Companies On the Move
Whether you’re currently in a leadership role, seeking to expand your potential or supporting someone on the move, we’re here to help. We help high potential leaders assess their styles, learn how to mentor, manage reports, improve time management skills, inspire teams, define visions and work through organizational challenges.
Leadership style assessments
Visioning, organizational engagement and culture building
Goals setting, team building and report management
Ongoing leadership coaching, new-in-role coaching (first 100 days), and managing change
No matter where you are in your company’s journey, it’s often helpful to get an outside perspective. Whether you’re supporting a leader, critical team, or thinking about shifting your culture, Charles River Careers is ready to help. Our assessments allow for an independent perspective and provide detailed suggestions on how to move you from where you are today to where you we want to be.
Project team alignment and dynamics
Founder / Board member interactions
Group, department and company culture
Working with a high performing team? Under pressure to hit stretch goals? We work with teams to strengthen interactions, improve norms and migrate the transition from newly formed to high performance. Teams are the core unit of innovation, progress and goal achievement in most organizations – we’re here to help them succeed.
Team culture, norms and roles and responsibility mapping
Team goals, membership, stakeholder and roles & responsibility analysis
Assessment of team dynamics
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What follows is our list of frequently asked questions. Have a question not listed here? Feel free to call or drop us a note on our contact page. Our goal is to reply to all inquiries in 24 hrs.
Coaching sessions are typically 60 to 90 minutes.
The length of coaching engagement varies by plan. The ‘Jib’ plan 3 sessions, and typically runs three to four weeks, but can be accelerated as needed. The ‘MainSail’ plans is 10 sessions. The timing of these plans vary. During the first session we develop the personalized engagement plan, and then prefer to meet sequentially for 3 weeks to make progress. After that the spacing of meetings is adjusted to meet the needs of the client and his/her process. In all cases, we offer our offer services for no more than 6 months from the date of purchase. This time bounds engagements and is sufficient time to implement the engagement plan and complete any additional purchased services.
Yes, you can sign up for a one hour consult, or purchase hours in increments you prefer. You can purchase 1:1 consulting time => here.
Please note, in our experience, it typically takes 5 or more coaching sessions to connect core interests and purpose to a sound vocational plan and getting unstuck. As such, it is usually preferable to purchase one of our plans.
We serve most of the communities in the Charles River Watershed including, but not limited to: Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Watertown, Newton, Waltham, Weston, Wellesley, Needham, Dover, Sherborn, Medfield, Natick, Norfolk, Franklin and Dedham.
This said, we also support clients regionally and nationally using video-coaching using a variety of platforms (i.e. Skype, Facetime, Facebook Video Chats and Zoom).
If you’re in Massachusetts or Rhode Island and don’t see your town listed, no worries, we’re happy to help.
If your outside the region or even international, we’re happy to support you through video.
Given our service geography, we meet with clients at a variety of locations in the Boston area. This includes co-location spaces, our main office, or should it be more convenient, by Skype or video conference.
For corporate clients we typically meet at their office, campus location or site.
If possible, we appreciate the opportunity to meet people 1:1 for the first few meetings. This said, we we appreciate that schedules and travel-times can make video conferencing preferable and often more convenient.
We use Skype, Facetime, Facebook Video Chats and Zoom conferencing for video coaching sessions. We’re open to using different platforms/tools that you may be more familiar with.
Once you have signed up for a plan you will recieve a welcome email with instructions on how to use our scheduling system. If you haven’t spoken to us already, we’ll invite you to a free information call to discuss engagement scope and any other logistical questions you may have.
No. Our services support individuals with career development, job search preparation, search execution, leadership training and team assessments & performance. We are not search firm nor do we work with any.
For a specific consult:
We ask our clients to notify us 48 hours in advance of any appointment. Cancellations after this time will be counted as ‘completed’.
Cancelling your plan before your first consult:
Prior to completing your first consult, you may cancel your entire plan and receive a full refund. Please see our policy about cancelling specific consults above.
Cancelling your plan after your first consult:
If you cancel you plans for personal or other reasons, including securing the job of your dreams, you will forfeit the fee. Please note that you can use our services for 6 months from the start of the engagement and in the event you find your dream job, we’re happy to apply any unused sessions towards professional coaching.
If for any reason you are dissatisfied with our services, consistent with our 100% Satisfaction Guarantee we will offer you a 100% refund. As an engagement represents a commitment on both sides, if you are not satisfied with our services, we ask that you inform us early in the engagement.
Cancelling optional services that have not been initiated:
You can cancel additional services (i.e. resume makeovers, portfolio development, interview training, etc.), and receive a full refund as long as they have not been initiated.
We designed a flexible approach to allow our clients to use our services during a 6 month period at a pace that best serves their needs. In some cases you might find you have enough guidance for the moment and want to set sessions aside for downstream or follow on support. As our services are bundled using a plan-based approach, any unused sessions will expire at the end of the 6 month period.
Plans are purchased using the checkout process and may be initiated using our pricing page. We accept credit cards, checks and most common payment methods. Payment methods are selectable from the checkout page.
Of course! You can sign up for a free 30 minute coaching session => here
