The 10 Questions I Ask My Clients in a New Job!

About 10% of my active client pool is in transition, looking for new jobs or even new careers. The real coaching work begins after they land their new job, often choosing between competing offers, especially these days in the Silicon Valley. The reason I emphasize real coaching in this context is because until the client lands, my work with them is often more tacticaleven transactional, although we start their job search and transition with a definitive strategy. But, once we agree on the message, targets, and on how to land a job the client does most of the work based on the plan we developed and asks for my help as needed. Of course, I help them during any glitches that happen during the interview and the selection process, and in negotiating their salary.

The real career challenges start surfacing after the clients start their new job and have spent about a month in their assigned roles. So, after the first month in their new job I work with my clients to develop a 100-Day plan to define their career path during their first year and then beyond. But, before we begin fleshing out the 100-Day plan I ask my clients these 10 questions that tell me how things are going and how they are going to go for there during the next year and beyond, and if they need to make major adjustments to their original plan to keep their career on track, including limiting their time in the new job, especially if the outlook does not look promising at that point; this is where you must know when to parachute out!

1. What surprised you most in the first few weeks?

The reason for surprises during the first few weeks is the lack expectations management from both sides. During the interview process the employer showcases their best features of why the candidate should consider joining them. The candidate, on their part, does the selling, often over-promising skills, capabilities, and what can be delivered in a given situation. So, when the two sides come together as the rubber meets the road, there is often a mismatch of expectations requiring recalibration. Getting this fleshed out early from my clients perspective allows me to help them recover their lost bloom, because, at this point in their engagement there is still time to recalibrate expectations and get back on track.

2. What is going really well?

The energy with which the client responds to this question tells me how much to believe in their story. Really engaged clients aligned with their jobs are excited about the future and possibilities and cannot hide their excitement.

3. What is going off track that needs immediate attention?

This is where we discuss the main players in the clients new ecosystem and how my clients relationship with its members is helping or not helping my client get good job traction. Even now, there is still time to do some repair/recovery work, but here timing becomes critical.

4. What one thing can you do that will define your leadership in the next 3-6 months?

There are always exciting challenges in a new place of work. The new employee must focus on the most important and visible part of their assignment, so that if they succeed at it they will be held as a hero. There are ways to manage this success, so that your chances for new glory increase depending on how you set yourself up for that success early.

5. Now that you know the place better, what is that you really want to be and do there?

A month is a good length of time for someone at a mid-level to get their bearings and to understand how the place operates that will allow them to flourish if they take the right initiatives to pursue, beyond merely taking orders. Helping a client navigate through this puts them in the drivers seat to pursue their own path and to develop their own brand in a new setting.

6. What are you doing well that is helping you get there?

Awareness of what is working and how to amplify that outcome leveraging what you do well is very important to keep building your brand and career momentum in your new place of work.

7. What are you not doing well that is preventing you from getting there?

Awareness of the headwinds that are impeding your progress is also a good way to keep your progress on track and to make course corrections. In most cases these headwinds stem from poorly managed or assumed relationships.

8. What will you do differently on your next day at work to change that?

This is the change that must come out of this assessment, so that the client can amplify the good and attenuate the bad.

9. How and where can I help?

This is where coaching plays a part.

10. Where do you need most help (even if I cannot provide that help)?

If the client needs help in areas where there are commonly available resources (often free) I ask my clients to avail themselves of these resources to keep their growth on track.

The first few months in your new job are critical to make headway in how you position yourself for advancement and for building your career path. Becoming aware of what is really happening to youthe good and the unexpectedallows you to re-assess your strategy to keep your career momentum without impeding it. If you are in a new job, ask yourself these questions and find honest answers. Youll soon see the benefits.

Good luck!

About Author

Dilip has distinguished himself as LinkedIn’s #1 career coach from among a global pool of over 1,000 peers ever since LinkedIn started ranking them professionally (LinkedIn selected 23 categories of professionals for this ranking and published this ranking from 2006 until 2012). Having worked with over 6,000 clients from all walks of professions and having worked with nearly the entire spectrum of age groups—from high-school graduates about to enter college to those in their 70s, not knowing what to do with their retirement—Dilip has developed a unique approach to bringing meaning to their professional and personal lives. Dilip’s professional success lies in his ability to codify what he has learned in his own varied life (he has changed careers four times and is currently in his fifth) and from those of his clients, and to apply the essence of that learning to each coaching situation. After getting his B.Tech. (Honors) from IIT-Bombay and Master’s in electrical engineering(MSEE) from Stanford University, Dilip worked at various organizations, starting as an individual contributor and then progressing to head an engineering organization of a division of a high-tech company, with $2B in sales, in California’s Silicon Valley. His current interest in coaching resulted from his career experiences spanning nearly four decades, at four very diverse organizations–and industries, including a major conglomerate in India, and from what it takes to re-invent oneself time and again, especially after a lay-off and with constraints that are beyond your control. During the 45-plus years since his graduation, Dilip has reinvented himself time and again to explore new career horizons. When he left the corporate world, as head of engineering of a technology company, he started his own technology consulting business, helping high-tech and biotech companies streamline their product development processes. Dilip’s third career was working as a marketing consultant helping Fortune-500 companies dramatically improve their sales, based on a novel concept. It is during this work that Dilip realized that the greatest challenge most corporations face is available leadership resources and effectiveness; too many followers looking up to rudderless leadership. Dilip then decided to work with corporations helping them understand the leadership process and how to increase leadership effectiveness at every level. Soon afterwards, when the job-market tanked in Silicon Valley in 2001, Dilip changed his career track yet again and decided to work initially with many high-tech refugees, who wanted expert guidance in their reinvention and reemployment. Quickly, Dilip expanded his practice to help professionals from all walks of life. Now in his fifth career, Dilip works with professionals in the Silicon Valley and around the world helping with reinvention to get their dream jobs or vocations. As a career counselor and life coach, Dilip’s focus has been career transitions for professionals at all levels and engaging them in a purposeful pursuit. Working with them, he has developed many groundbreaking approaches to career transition that are now published in five books, his weekly blogs, and hundreds of articles. He has worked with those looking for a change in their careers–re-invention–and jobs at levels ranging from CEOs to hospital orderlies. He has developed numerous seminars and workshops to complement his individual coaching for helping others with making career and life transitions. Dilip’s central theme in his practice is to help clients discover their latent genius and then build a value proposition around it to articulate a strong verbal brand. Throughout this journey, Dilip has come up with many groundbreaking practices such as an Inductive Résumé and the Genius Extraction Tool. Dilip owns two patents, has two publications in the Harvard Business Review and has led a CEO roundtable for Chief Executive on Customer Loyalty. Both Amazon and B&N list numerous reviews on his five books. Dilip is also listed in Who’s Who, has appeared several times on CNN Headline News/Comcast Local Edition, as well as in the San Francisco Chronicle in its career columns. Dilip is a contributing writer to several publications. Dilip is a sought-after speaker at public and private forums on jobs, careers, leadership challenges, and how to be an effective leader.

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