In September of 2014 I was a soon to be college graduate on the hunt for a job like many of my peers; with an impending December deadline fast approaching. After two years of community college, four years in the Air Force, a year of inside sales, and another two years at the university, I still had no clue what I wanted to do for a career. Then I remembered a family friend that I had reconnected with a few years ago on LinkedIn. Rhonda Geddis. I vaguely remembered her profile referencing her being a career coach. I decided to reach out to her, not in hopes of her finding me a job, but maybe giving me some direction so that I could find my own career.
I remember her asking me what I was good at and what interests me. During our very first conversation, she gave me homework. I had to sit down and actually think of what I had to offer. After that, she made me write my own dream job description (which is a a lot harder than it sounds). Rhonda made me do it again. “Try harder, dig deeper” were her exact words. When I had finally perfected my job description, I felt more confident of what I could offer a company. Two days later, a recruiter called me for an interview for a job I had applied for months ago! An application I had completely forgotten about. Ironically, the job description and qualifications were almost identical to the one I had just created.
Given the fact that everything seemed to be lining up perfectly, I truly believed this was my dream job. I wanted to rock the interview so of course I had Rhonda prep me once again. I wasn’t aware of how unprepared I was until she started throwing interview questions at me such as, “what sets you apart from your competition and why should we hire you?” Which, by the way, is difficult when you’re put on the spot and expected to answer quickly without stumbling over your words.
When it came time for my interview, I felt so confident and such a peace. I also knew that the interviewer couldn’t throw any curveballs at me because Rhonda had already fielded them my way. I wasn’t nervous at all, in fact, I was calm, self assured and most of all, well prepared. I was informed in the middle of my interview that I would most definitely have a second interview. I did a few more interviews with other companies but my heart wasn’t 100% in it. I don’t know if it was because I knew that the first company was the place for me, or the fact that I didn’t have Rhonda prep me for the subsequent interviews. Either way, none of them panned out.
A month and a half later, I get a call from a recruiter informing me that they want to offer me the job. Of course I tell my coach (Rhonda) the good news, and she walks me through the negotiation process. On December 15, 2014, I started my job with J.P. Morgan Chase as a Business Analysis and Reporting Specialist. The same job that was nearly identical to the job description I created, the company for which I first interviewed, and the career that Rhonda Geddis helped me discover.
