Career Strategy Lab Coaches Unfiltered: What you don’t see on sales pages or social media

Erin: [00:00:00] Many people who are joining career strategy Lab , need a job. They don’t just want a new job. Like we’re living under capitalism. We have bills to pay. And so when you can meet your needs and do something you love with people who are great in an environment that has the flexibility like you want.

That’s a win.

Intro: Hey, there I am Sarah Doty, host of the Career Strategy Podcast. Many professionals are seeking more impact, flexibility, growth, and let’s face it, getting paid what they’re worth. But how do you unlock this in your career? It starts with strategy. I’m taking you behind the scenes of what’s working for my career coaching clients.

You’ll hear strategies and actionable yet sometimes against the grain advice for how you can be the CE. Know of your career and stop dreading Mondays ready to level up your career. Let’s get after it.

Erin: Hello and welcome to a special episode of the Career Strategy Podcast. I’m Erin, and I’m joined by [00:01:00] Steph and Becca. And we are the coaches inside of Career Strategy Lab with Sarah Duty, and today is a coach’s Tell-all. So we decided to not sneak behind Sarah’s back, but surprised she’s not here. And talk about her and talk about CSL and kind of give you a little bit of our insight so you can take that and ponder it as you make a decision of.

Whether CSL is right for you or DIYing is right for you depending on where you are in your career journey and what your goals are. So to kick us off, Steph, Becca, if you wanna introduce yourselves and would love to hear about like, when you met Sarah, what was your first impression? And how is that different from like, what you know about her now, if at all.

Becca: Yeah. Hi, I’m Becca. I’m one of the coaches inside of the program and I first met Sarah, so yeah, I thought this person is brilliant and intense and maybe a little intimidating, and she’s so darn organized. And, [00:02:00] now, I mean, she’s still organized, right? Super organized, which is just wonderful. And I also see that care that Sarah has behind the intensity, which is like really empowering. Not just for me, but I think for, for other folks, whether you’re on the client side or you’re on her team, it’s, it’s so empowering to be in that energy.

Steph Knox: My name is Steph. I’ve worked with Sarah. I had to look it up because I could not remember, but it’s been three and a half years going on four years. And when I first met Sarah, I was completely floored by the business that she had built inside of CSL. I was curious about what the program offered and really what that container and space was like on the inside. And being given the opportunity to work with her, I saw all of the same things that Becca mentioned, like the brilliance, the organization, but even more behind that is the thoughtfulness behind the different things that she does. And she has about 10,000 ideas a day, I think.

Erin: Mm-hmm.

Steph Knox: to work through filtering, like what is a good use of time, what is impactful for the client experience [00:03:00] inside of CSL? She’s always iterating, improvising and making improvements to the program which is really inspiring and keeps our jobs interesting too.

Erin: When I met Sarah, it was the context of I was hosting a call around a software, like a sales software, and so she came as one of the users and had. some questions and I was like, okay, this person is very blunt and how do I navigate this? And luckily I’m someone where like, that doesn’t really make me super uncomfortable.

I’m just like, mindful and then can kind of like improvise my way through. But I definitely had the like, oh, okay, it’s one of these people. And I liked her right off the bat. And so, after the call I actually reached out to her and I was like, you have great questions. I think I could help. than like what we’re doing right now. And she was very like open to that bridge and we had a conversation after that and followed by another and another. And on each of those we kind of like. I don’t know, reveal different parts. I got to know her better. I got to understand like her brain more and like what she was doing and [00:04:00] I was like, oh, this is fun. Like this is my version of fun as someone who understands like how to build and cares about what they’re building. So kind of like seeing that puzzle maker in her was really interesting and that like bluntness and directness I still see now like in her marketing. I think that’s something people really enjoy about her.

And in her coaching, she is very like straight to the point. There is no like. in cotton candy coding. It’s like, , here’s what you asked. Here’s my answer, right? Or here’s my question and I don’t need to like, make you feel anyway as I’m asking it. And I’ve really come to, I think, respect that. So we met and it was really fun to meet someone who had such, like a ply brain. And I think over time, like it actually kind of like showed me some of my growth edges just around like communication and how we hear things and how we take them in and all of that.

So it’s been an interesting little journey and I still find her to be like one of the smartest. Ply people in terms of business and career and getting like where you wanna go, which is very fun for me to be around. All right, so I have a couple [00:05:00] questions jotted down here. So I think we just go through them and we’ll see what comes up as we go.

All right. What is something that you think Sarah gets right that most coaches or programs miss? And if there’s something that Sarah says all the time that’s burned into your brain, hopefully in a good way, feel free to share that too.

Becca: That is an easy one for me. The, the burn into my brain is done is better than perfect. And for myself who errs on the side of perfectionism, that is such a helpful and freeing reminder. This is, you know, it, it could be everything, but also in the context of the program. I think it’s helpful for a lot of folks to hear that when they’re working on their career assets, because there’s a loop that could happen where you’re. Going back to that career asset and you’re tweaking something and you’re editing a tiny little bullet on your resume or you know, you’re readjusting your LinkedIn headline two days after you made an initial change. So reminding myself and others have done is better than [00:06:00] perfect. It’s like, okay, I can close the loop and move on, and we’re good.

Steph Knox: I think for me, something that Sarah gets right inside of CSL and how she offers the program is that it’s actually not. Necessarily cohort based, so you’re able to sign up and kind of move through the program at your own pace. And I think we get a lot of questions on the front end about concerns of this because naturally if you’ve gone to school in the US you’re used to like public school, K through 12, and you’re kind of traveling through this cohort model.

And if you go to college. Post grad, it’s very similar. So coming into a space like this where you have a lot of freedom and flexibility, I think can be intimidating at times, but I think it allows people to engage and disengage with the program in any way that fits their life. So we know that life and seasons are always ebbing and flowing, and when people need to take a step back, they can just simply step back.

They can still engage in ways that work for them, and then when they’re ready to show back up full speed ahead, they can show back up too, really without any disruption to their experience or the rest of the container’s experience.

Erin: Totally. Do you have a, Sarah? You come back to [00:07:00] Steph?

Steph Knox: Aism. Oh my gosh. I’m pausing ’cause

Erin: Yeah. Not to put you on the spot. I have one. I can talk about it.

Steph Knox: Okay, you take yours.

Erin: Okay. So I would say, so I’ve been in the coaching industry for like a decade now. I’ve been inside a lot of different programs. I’ve seen a lot of different things, and from the moment that Sarah showed me inside CSL, I was like, okay. Thank you.

Most people, what they miss is like actual curriculum that’s both proven up to date and that continues to work. It’s kind of like timeless. And of course there are tweaks and little pieces that aren’t timeless, but those get updated. Overall in the coaching industry, a lot of times it’s like, okay, think better thoughts.

Is it working? And that doesn’t necessarily get you a result. And I think what’s done really well inside of CSL is the combination of here’s a curriculum, you’re gonna go step by step. We’re gonna show you exactly what to do. You’re going to do it. And like we’re gonna give you feedback on it. And when you get stuck, come to a mindset call or post on the community.

It is both. And a lot of times I think. When folks [00:08:00] come into CSL, they’re thinking about getting hired, right? Finding that new job, standing out in a sea of candidates and being called in for an interview and nailing it. And while that is all the process that we’re thinking about too, I think there’s another piece of it that we’re also aware of, which is like the human transformation of going from.

Not confident going into that interview to, oh yeah, I got this. I actually can speak very well about my projects and I can articulate my value in a way that like you are going to hear. And that to me, like does not happen everywhere. Truly does not. And the saram to me, that kind of like sticks out and I say this full disclosure in the room I’m sitting in right now, there is a Peloton in the corner that is collecting dust.

Okay. But Sarah has this saying when she talks about the program is like. Just like the Peloton, you have to get on the bike, right? You can buy the bike, but that’s not enough for it to get results. You have to be the one to get on it. I cannot in Peloton, like, come to your house and take your body and put it on there physically for you.

Like you have to be in charge of your path here. And I think that’s, so I. [00:09:00] It’s just a helpful visual and reminder for when you are in CSL or when you’re DIYing anything for your job search like it is up to you. There’s a lot of things we can’t control in this space. I can’t control any of the hiring managers.

I can’t control what jobs are being posted. I can’t control layoffs, but I can control what I’m doing for my process. The work that I’m putting into my resume, how I’m posting thoughtfully on LinkedIn, how I’m like working my network. All of those things are in control and so the Peloton thing always comes up for me.

Even though I choose not to use mine, some of us prefer a walk and like the same way. Some people might not, CSL might not be for them. And like I think that’s okay. You have to find what will work for you and what you will show up for and take responsibility when it is your thing that, like your bike that is getting dusty in the corner.

You know what I mean? Like that’s okay. Let’s just be honest about it.

Cool. Cool. All right, so let’s move on to kind of like behind the scenes of CSL. So wondering, and you can jump off anywhere here, but how would you describe CSL to someone who’s maybe skeptical of career coaching?

And if you wanna tell a little bit about our [00:10:00] actual clients that thrive in CSL, would love to kind of see like what you each observe and like the patterns that you see there.

Steph Knox: So I think that CSL is. Truly a program that it can be anything that you wanna make of it. You can get out as little or as much as you put into it. And I also want folks to know that there’s a whole community of like current CSL clients, alumni, and then the coaching staff behind everything that’s happening in CSL.

So it’s not just the support from Sarah and the coaching staff, but you also have support of years of different alumni that have gone through the program or people that are currently moving through that program as well. I think that having that strong foundation of alumni and then current clients that are all moving through, we have clients that are career launchers, career switchers, career climbers who are currently laid off.

Maybe they know that a layoff might be coming, maybe they’re happy in their job, but they just wanna be prepared for an opportunity that may come ahead. It’s a [00:11:00] really dynamic space with. A total diverse population of people that are just all working to better themselves, better their career materials, and also work on their mindset and gain confidence as they navigate like the working world.

Erin: Do you have anything you wanna add?

Becca: Sure. I think the behind the scenes part that is just a really big win. too is, is the integrity that is put into this container. I know I was saying earlier about how Sarah is so organized and every aspect is very deliberate and intentional. So behind the scenes we’re really a lot of and attention into everything from the size of the container to setting the stage when we. Host our coaching calls. It’s all very important to us. We want to be mindful that everyone feels safe and feel supported and that there’s enough space be heard [00:12:00] and seen. And if you want to just show up on a call as you are with your camera off and you’re audio muted, that is okay too. There’s no. Particular way that you would need to show up to a call. We really want folks to feel comfortable and just meet them where they’re at. that’s, you know, part of our, our commitment here.

Erin: Lovely. I would say too, for people who are skeptical of career coaching, like great, you absolutely should be. And this is something that like you do wanna put thought into when you’re investing in something like this at this level. And I think. Becca offers calls so you can talk to her beforehand and she’s a very real person and we’ll tell you if this isn’t for you, which is something that I think is really important.

Like we do not say yes to everyone. If someone is to purchase and then come in and in the first week we can tell like, uhoh, this isn’t gonna be a fit. We will tell them and refund them and have a nice day. That’s important to me because we want people to [00:13:00] succeed, right? We want people in the container who are taking action and moving towards their goals, and if we don’t genuinely believe that we can support you, we will let you know.

Otherwise, like, come in and let’s go. A lot of times people think they’re so special with the specificity of their journey and history and want a testimonial of this person with the exact number of years in the exact role at a state. Similar company who then went on to get hired. And I totally appreciate the desire to like, see that mirrored.

And sometimes we have something very similar. Sometimes it’s a little bit, a little bit to the left. And I just want people to know too that like, that’s okay. A lot of what happens in here is taking your unique story and figuring out how to craft that in a powerful way so that it’s your competitive advantage instead of the thing that you’re worried about.

So if you are courageous enough to come in and to let us see what has happened, right? To tell us about what has happened and why it doesn’t feel that powerful to you. We’ve many times on mindset calls and on q and a calls been able to like listen to something and then give it back to someone in a new way, right?

[00:14:00] And that goes as far as like a position that they don’t like customer service, potentially not being something that they could transfer into UX with confidently. Yes, you can. Here’s some, some examples of how and why. And based on what I know about what you’ve done, here’s how I might say that. And giving people like that starting point to then run with their case studies, uh, to me is like very empowering and very fun.

And lastly, I’ll just say that behind the scenes, I think people don’t realize like the level of nerdiness. Behind CSL and I mean like between Sarah and just setting things up so that delivery is good and automation is there and when you learn about us, like you can continue to be in the web.

Right. And on the other side of that, like when Steph and Becca and I are working on critiques, like the back and forth between questions, making sure that we’re, you know, giving all we can at all times is very high. Like we really, truly care and take it seriously. And I don’t think. Not everyone sees that and nor should you have to.

But just so you know, like it’s a very nerdy bunch back here. Steph is like an encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to the hiring [00:15:00] process where if ever I’m like, huh, what was that thing? Like, it’s right there. We each have different strengths that we bring to the table.

And it’s just really dynamic and I think it’s a great place to be. Like it really is a lab in that like all brains working together on different things. To wrap us kind of up here, if either of you have like a story you wanna share or a client experience that really kind of like gave you some wow.

Would love to hear that. If there’s any transformation that sticks out to you. And then I’d love to know from each of you, like, why do you choose to do this? Why CSL, each of us is choosing to be here in a different way. And for maybe different reasons, maybe the same. Let’s find out. But why does this continue to be a yes for you for years?

Steph Knox: So I think the client experience that sticks with me is one that took place recently on a mindset call we had about a month ago. And we host these weekly mindset calls for people to be able to show up and just show up however they want. Like Becca said, camera on, camera off muted, unmuted, you can talk, you can be in the chat or you can just kind of sit back and listen and observe. And we had one client who was expressing [00:16:00] that he’s been unemployed for about a year and that he was. Primary caregiver to his mother who has dementia and he had moved her into a home. And just how difficult and challenging it was to prioritize himself and his career, while also trying to prioritize family, his mother, her care. And that resonated with me personally. But listening to his story and also being able to connect him to someone inside of the community that was still an active member who just happened to not be on the call that day, who. Was going through the exact same thing different diagnosis, but primary caregiver to two parents and having to put their job search on hold so that they could be a caregiver.

And just finding ways and watching people in the community be able to support each other through such niche situations that when you’re in those and dealing with them day to day, you feel so alone, you feel isolated. You feel there could be no one else in this situation. Caregiving for a parent or a loved one while also looking for a job while also inside of this container.

But we found that connection. We were able to connect those two folks to be able to provide each other support and guidance as they’re still [00:17:00] navigating through the job search journey CSL, and also being caregivers. And I think that that was just very special to witness and to be able to hold space for that person on the mindset call to share like. I’m still a person and I still need a job, but this absolutely sucks and I’m doing this alone and being a caregiver and like how am I going to move forward? And that person continues to show up in the community and not only receive. Love and support and feedback, but also was able to give support and feedback to other clients. So they’re working on filling their cup while filling others. And it’s was just a really special thing to witness. and I choose to stay inside of CSL because I truly love to watch that transformational process of when someone comes in. I really love when a skeptic comes in and they’re like, well, I’m gonna join, but like, I’m gonna wait like. Now I don’t know about this. And when their mindset totally shifts in that they really buy into the CSL process, the curriculum, they’re able to kind of unlearn and unpack all of those I’ll say career one-liners that you hear, whether it’s from a LinkedIn tech bro, or like, you know, your [00:18:00] parents who have been in the same job for 40 years and think you shouldn’t job hop.

Like we’re helping to like demystify the job search journey. In the modern day and to debunk the one page resume and debunk, you know, staying at the same company for 40 years to have the most success and the most growth in your career. And watching people like leave CSL even if they leave and they haven’t found a job yet, watching them leave with a more positive mindset and feeling fully confident in what they’re presenting in the product they’re putting out in themselves is really why I stay.

Erin: That was great, Steph. Thank you for sharing. Becca, do you wanna share?

Becca: Yeah. Okay. So a story that sticks out to me. There, there’s so many, but. There’s actually, uh, something that Sarah says pretty often about your qualifications versus communication, and I think that will be helpful context just to, in preface for this story. So. Oftentimes we have a lot of folks who come to us and they think that they have an issue with their qualifications, [00:19:00] but really it ends up being a communication problem and that they don’t understand how to properly articulate the value that they’re bringing.

And I think this is like really a pattern that especially holds true for career switchers. And we do work with career switchers inside of CSL and. a, a big obstacle for, for people who are joining, they don’t quite understand how to translate that experience that they see as like, so far fetched from the field of ux. And about a year ago we had, uh, one of our CSL clients who was a career switcher. I. Who came in doubting that things were even going to be successful because this person was coming from a branding and marketing background. How will that translate? And then this person ended up, uh, within the fourth month getting two different contract roles. I know that she had about a 70% salary increase, and then by the time she had completed her. Her, [00:20:00] uh, membership with us. This person was hired for a full-time UX role, so it was, it was really thrilling. We were all rooting for this person. It was so exciting, and there’s just so much potential that’s there, but it’s, it’s like largely untapped if you don’t quite know how to articulate that experience and those accomplishments in a way that really connect back to the role that you’re looking for next. So. Yeah, that’s it’s powerful and. Just like on a note of like, not even a, maybe not a big milestone, but when we have people that tell us that they spent the weekend and it was off social media and they gave themselves a chance to like decompress their nervous system, they stopped doom scrolling the job boards. That’s a huge win and that always stands out to me. I think that’s, you know, these, these like that maybe are looked at as a bit. and nothing worth celebrating. But really, you know, that’s growth and uh, [00:21:00] nervous system regulation inside of the program is also important. It’s not just about the strategy.

We’re really looking at the mindset components and the healing aspects as well.

Erin: Love that. What makes you stay in CSL?

Becca: This process of exploration because that’s really what everyone’s doing, whether they realize it or not when they join us. There is a lot of self-discovery and there’s these shifts that are happening. I internally and externally, and I am so here for it, like as a coach and somebody who really believes in the power of your mindset, and it’s not just about that external environment, it really is about the internal environment as well.

It just, it keeps, it keeps me going. It keeps me inspired to be able to support people in that way and, you know, help them to, to look at things in a slightly different way, maybe a little bit more expanded than they initially were when they first joined us.

Erin: Absolutely. I love these answers. I will add. [00:22:00] So on a micro transformation level, I think when people do the compass statement and then they see themselves reflected back, there’s always such a like, okay, like, yes. And sometimes it’s even awkward at first of like, can I say this?

And I’m like, is it true? And they’re like, yeah. And I’m like, yes. Try it on. Like, let’s keep practicing. Like that confidence step feels so fun to me. Another client transformation. There’s another podcast with a woman named Katie Miller who shared her story. And she was a really. Amazing client to have.

She shared very openly on the mindset calls, which I really appreciated and really brought like to the spotlight, the human journey that goes along with this. Like we are not just employees or entrepreneurs or whatever, right? We’re not just designers or. Developers or directors or any of that, like you’re a human.

And sometimes like this process gets hard in an emotional way. And I remember her talking about like she was making progress on her career materials and then for a few weeks she was like, I’ve made progress on my garden. And I was like, yes. That’s amazing. Like sometimes you [00:23:00] have to go outside and do something else and like just tend to you.

And the rest, like we will keep moving. With an on as long as like you will too, you get to take breaks. You get to. Flow in a way that you need to, and not just push past the, oh my God, this is hard. I’m scared, I am sad. Like that is welcome here as well. And you can make progress while kind of moving through that.

And then of course, you know, she ends up getting hired at the end of that story which of course feels good as well. But I really connected with her like on that journey and appreciate the. The openness and oh my gosh, people are so vulnerable and open of like, what’s going on. And some aren’t and that’s okay too.

Like getting to watch and listen and be where you are on the journey and interact how you want to. Just really beautiful the reflections that we get as we move through everything along with the celebrations that come through as well, like from the actual hiring process. And I will say like on the why am I still here, still doing this side of things.

You know, a big part of it is like in CSL, people will ask us like, can I even find something [00:24:00] that I will actually like? Like does a role exist where I will like it? Does a non-toxic boss person exist? Like they’ve come out of all of these situations and I really like doing this genuinely, like I like the coaches that are here.

I like Sarah. I believe in the curriculum. I see the transformation happen and when like all those things are yeses. Great. Like that makes it a yes for me. And I’ll say too, like, I’m getting paid for this too, right? Like we all are, and that also feels like a fit. And I share that not to be like, oh my gosh, money, but like, let’s be real.

Many people who are joining career strategy Lab , need a job. They don’t just want a new job. Like we’re living under capitalism. We have bills to pay. And so when you can meet your needs and do something you love with people who are great in an environment that has the flexibility like you want.

That’s a win. So still here, still here, don’t see myself going anywhere and really like, grateful for the environment. And I hope that serves as a, a model, an example and evidence that like this [00:25:00] exists for you and whatever it is you’re doing, and we’d love to help, help you find that and be in a position where you’re articulating your value so that they see the value in you and that that win-win for everyone is happening with that.

Anything else you wanna add in or does that feel complete, ladies?

Steph Knox: I think that feels complete.

Erin: okay. Great. With that, that concludes our, uh, podcast for today. If you have any other questions for us or wanna know things from behind the scenes number one, you can email admissions@sarahduty.com and we’re inside the inbox and can answer, also send us questions.

We’ll do another podcast episode. Maybe we just have our own podcast. Who knows? But anyway, thank you for being here. Thank you for you and we will see you in another episode or maybe inside Career Strategy Lab.