Steve P Brady

Have you ever said any of these to yourself?

• I’m going to pursue my dream career as soon as I have these school loans paid off.
• I’ll really focus on my career once we buy a house and start building equity rather than throwing money away on rent.
• I’ll chase my dream once the kids are in school and we don’t have to pay for daycare.
• Maybe I’ll retire early when the kids finish college and start a second career in my real passion.

I see this pattern play out over and over.

People keep putting off doing what they really want to do because they are waiting for the perfect time to pull the trigger on a major change.

But then before they know it life has passed them by and their chance to make the kind of life they really want is gone.

Don’t be that guy.

The time will never be perfect. It will always feel like there are too many bills and too little time.

That is just how life is. 

Now I’ not saying to be irresponsible. I don’t want someone to quite their job tomorrow and join clown college because I said to chase your dreams.

The dreams I’m talking about are the kind that make professional sense. 

If you have a passion for space and astronomy then maybe it is time to start taking the necessary steps to move your engineering career from cars to NASA.

That is a huge and intimidating step to take if you have a solid career going in the automotive industry. However, if your passion lies elsewhere this is the kind of gamble that makes sense to take.

That is the kind of dream career we’re talking about.

There will never be a perfect time to make the jump, but if you are prepared, do your homework, and play it smart, you can do it.

If your passion is to be a novelist, you don’t need to quit your job, you just need to reorganize your life around that goal.

Make the commitment to stop watching The Walking Dead and Squid Game and instead spend a few hours each night working on your book.

If you really want a new career, go get it.

No more, Someday when I have more time.

No more Once I get my act together.

Take the next step.

Now.

Tired of endlessly applying on job boards? Want employers seeking you out instead? Join 100’s of other job seekers using this tool and level up your job search today. Enter your email below to receive your free LinkedIn Scorecard.

You’ve created a professional LinkedIn profile. Awesome!

You’re regularly engaging with your connections. Perfect!

Don’t get cocky, because you’re not done yet…

If a recruiter or hiring manager found you here, they are going to look at the rest of your digital footprint as well.

Spend some time giving yourself a social media audit.

Make sure your Twitter, Facebook, Instagram profiles use the same profile photo.

Scroll your feed a bit. Anything that needs to be deleted or hidden while you are in job search mode?

In general, you want to avoid controversy on your social media accounts when you are in the midst of a job search.

That means avoiding religious or political status updates or shares and “scrubbing” posts that show you engaging in anything that a prospective employer may find offensive or inappropriate.

Always err on the side of caution. If you are not sure about a post or comment- delete it.

It is important to have some kind of social media presence, but you also want to evaluate what that social media presence says about you.

Does it present a positive or negative impression of you? Does it establish you as an expert in your field, or a thought leader?

My recommendation is to think of your social media audit like you do spring and fall house cleaning. Schedule it and make it a regular part of your yearly cleaning.

Tired of endlessly applying on job boards? Want employers seeking you out instead? Join 100’s of other job seekers using this tool and level up your job search today. Enter your email below to receive your free LinkedIn Scorecard.

If you need help with your job search, LinkedIn strategy, or personal branding here are some things you need to know before hiring me as a career coach.

First-

I DO NOT care if you went to a community college.

I DO NOT care if you have a work gap.

I DO NOT care if you have job hopped over the last 5 years.

BUT-

I DO care that you are willing to put in the work.

I DO care that you are coachable.

I DO care that you are willing to listen to good advice and act on it.

Second-

There are some ground rules to getting the most out of your relationship with a career coach, so here are 5 rules for working with me.

1. Be honest. Never lie on your resume or profile. The better the information you share the better your brand will be.

2. Be crystal clear. The more direct you are about where you’re going in your career, the more effective your brand  will be. Targeting makes all the difference.

3. Be willing to invest. Plan to spend 1-3% of your annual salary on your career, including additional training, clothing for a job search, and career documents.

4. Be forward looking. I can’t include every detail of your life and work history on your resume or profile. These details are important to who you are, but not necessarily important for this resume for a particular job target.

5. Be proactive. Don’t wait until the last minute to start trying to build a personal brand. This is a career long project and the sooner you start the better your results will be.

If you want to apply for a job in 3 days and you have not looked at your resume or been active on LinkedIn for 3 years, there is only so much I can do to help!

So, if you are ready to start leveling up – reach out.

Tired of endlessly applying on job boards? Want employers seeking you out instead? Join 100’s of other job seekers using this tool and level up your job search today. Enter your email below to receive your free LinkedIn Scorecard.

I need to say a big thank you. Covid times have been a strange trip for many businesses, but I am so incredibly grateful that things here at Classical Coaching are going well.

In fact, we are in the midst of our best quarter ever! (That’s the royal we right there as it’s really just me and my wife toiling away here in the home office).

If you have worked with me over the past year and a half you are totally the reason why I am able to keep doing this work.

Thank you!

I’ve never strived to build the biggest business, just one that was quietly successful. I’ve had offers to join with larger firms, to take on additional writers – to scale. But that’s just not me.

For me, small is better than big.

I’m not a huge resume writing company.

I don’t take on dozens of clients a month.

I don’t farm out projects or work with a stable of assistants.

I work with a small and select group of clients- people looking to level up from their 5 figure careers and become true 6 figure professionals.

So far this year I’ve helped 89 seekers land interviews at their dream companies.

If you are one of them, you have my gratitude for letting me be part of your journey.

If you have been waiting on the sidelines, now may be the time to act.

Want to join them?

Tired of endlessly applying on job boards? Want employers seeking you out instead? Join 100’s of other job seekers using this tool and level up your job search today. Enter your email below to receive your free LinkedIn Scorecard.

I hate to say it, but you’ve been lied to, by schools, media, and society.

Here’s the truth.

There is no deadline to achieve things in life.

25, 35, 45, even 55 works.

Just start.

I know, easier said than done.

Sometimes it feels like you’re stuck.

When this inevitably happens, here’s my advice.

Do the next right thing!

Yup, that’s what 6 figure pros do.

When they feel stuck or unmotivated or just plain burned out…

they do the next right thing.

Here’s the not-so-secret secret-

Momentum doesn’t come from those brilliant flashes of inspiration, it comes from action.

I realize this is not a new revelation. I haven’t rediscovered the wheel here.  

Newton’s second law of motion is the law of inertia. Objects in rest tend to remain at rest. Objects in motion remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force.

In other words, once you get started it is usually easier to keep going than it is to stop.

So don’t wait for one of those flashes to create some momentum towards your goals.

Make it yourself.

Just do the next right thing.

Tired of endlessly applying on job boards? Want employers seeking you out instead? Join 100’s of other job seekers using this tool and level up your job search today. Enter your email below to receive your free LinkedIn Scorecard.

You know how important LinkedIn is, not only for an active job search, but for career longevity in general.

I looked at over 40 LinkedIn profiles last week.

Here’s what I saw.

1. Poor headshots.

Stop with the obvious selfies and awkwardly cropped shots. This is your career. Be a professional.

Do this instead.

Stand against a fairly bland wall with a light shining on you. Have someone take a clear headshot with a decent camera- most modern cell phones should be more than adequate. 

2. Bad headlines.

Do not use LinkedIn’s default for your headline. You don’t need to be advertising your current employer. You need to be selling yourself!

Do this instead.

Be sure your headline is dynamic enough to make the searcher click through to your profile page. Here’s a formula I recommend: I am a XX who provides YY for the ZZ industry.

3. Missed opportunities in the About section.

Do not waste this chance to tell your story. I see so many people either leaving this section blank, or just writing a couple quick sentences about their career.

Do this instead.

Next to the headline this is the most important part of your profile. Use all 2500 characters that LinkedIn allows. Be a bit more relaxed and personal here. Tell us your story.

4. Lack of recommendations.

This is another section that is often a blank. LinkedIn is giving you the chance to let others brag about you. Let them.

Do this instead.

This is the best social proof you can have. Reach out and get a handful. If you’re not sure how to ask, just start giving some to colleagues. Employ recommendation karma.

Learn from others’ mistakes and level up your own profile this week.

Tired of endlessly applying on job boards? Want employers seeking you out instead? Join 100’s of other job seekers using this tool and level up your job search today. Enter your email below to receive your free LinkedIn Scorecard.

Life can be hard. Most of you are juggling work, family, and life commitments while trying to get better at what you do.

And if you have to throw a job search into the mix, things get downright stressful. The thing is, stress compounds.

We all know how compound interest works. It’s how saving a little each month can lead to a nice nest egg 10 years later.

The same thing applies to stress. Add a little more each week and a few months later, you’re a wreck.

But there is a way off of this hamster wheel. 👇

I’m about to restart my day job teaching middle school English. It will be my 24th year- I know, I’m getting wicked old.

I also have a full slate of career coaching clients for the next 2 weeks.

And I have 2 kids at home. But I’m not stressed because of 2 things.

Stoicism and Systems.

Stoicism teaches me to let go of things out of my control.

Systems make sure I excel at the things I do control.

Now, Stoicism may not be your thing and that’s cool, but having system is a must. In fact, my entire career coaching business is built around teaching you a 5-part system to land interviews and grow your career.

It’s not fancy. It’s not overly complicated, but it works!

It revolves around 5 key components:

Personal Branding
Resume Targeting
LinkedIn Design
Networking
Tapping the hidden job market
If you are ready to level up your career we can work together on all 5 strategies. It all starts with a complimentary review of either your LinkedIn Profile or Resume.

No strings, just honest feedback as to where you stand.

Life doesn’t have to be stressful. You just need a system (and maybe a little Stoicism too 😁)

Tired of endlessly applying on job boards? Want employers seeking you out instead? Join 100’s of other job seekers using this tool and level up your job search today. Enter your email below to receive your free LinkedIn Scorecard.

I hate to break it to you but the traditional job seeking path is obsolete:-Write a resume
-Search Monster, Indeed, LinkedIn
-Send the resume to every job you like
-Wait for the call
-Schedule an interview
-Get hired
-Spend the next 15 years on the job

If it’s been 5 or more years since your last job search, you need to change how you view the process.

Here’s what has changed-

Companies are now inundated with applicants for openings because it only takes a few minutes to apply online. This means you need to work harder to differentiate yourself.

Job boards are now often black holes and are the least effective way to apply. Sending your résumé online through an employment portal or a third-party website is no longer enough most of the time.

Networking has always been important, but now it is where +70% of new hires come from. This is where you should be sending most of your time.So, if the traditional job seeking path is obsolete, what’s the new path? 

This 👇

-Create a personal brand
-Network as a way of life, not a job search strategy
-Research companies and tailor your approach to openings
-Show how you add value
-Schedule an interview and get hired
-Solve problems, gain experience and leverage it for the next job

You are the CEO of your career. Time to job search like one.

Tired of endlessly applying on job boards? Want employers seeking you out instead? Join 100’s of other job seekers using this tool and level up your job search today. Enter your email below to receive your free LinkedIn Scorecard.

Have you ever noticed that successful people tend to treat their time differently?

They know time is valuable. They don’t worry about outsourcing tasks that others can do better than they can.

This frees them up to continue doing what they do best, which made them successful in the first place.

Luckily you don’t need to wait until you have reached some secret level to start thinking like this. You can employ the same technique and reap the same rewards.

Let’s take the job search as an example.

There are 3 secrets every 6-figure professional knows about job seeking that 5 figure professionals don’t.

Want them? Here they are. 👇

6 figure professional: Knows outsourcing some tasks to experts pays off in the long run
5 figure professional: Tries to save money by doing everything themselves

6 figure professional: Actively networks continually throughout their career
5 figure professional: Starts networking when they start job searching

6 figure professional: Recruits their network to land interviews
5 figure professional: Applies to hundreds of jobs via job boards

See how the principle works here? The more successful job seeker doesn’t waste time spinning her wheels. She outsources what can be outsourced and then uses her strengths in a calculated way.

This doesn’t just apply to job seeking of course.

So remember, if you want to level up, work smarter, not harder.