Careers & Advancement
Here’s what I do - the bullet list:
- Personal values assessments
- Career path navigation & networked connections
- Professional development advice and planning
- Salary, benefits, and wellness negotiation
- Interview preparation and practice.
Here’s the story version of what I do:
I look at jobs, and job boards in coffee, all the time. I send postings to friends and clients looking for new roles almost every day. I also speak with both those hiring, and those wanting to be hired, on a regular basis. In fact – it’s my favorite type of work to do!
I recently worked with Kayleigh, a Seattle-based barista seeking a new role as a professional barista. Work dried up for her when she came down with the 2017 Killer Flu and her last employer didn’t have the ability to hold her spot while she was off the schedule. What a combination of events!
But with several years of experience, both in coffee and working festivals and events, we put together a promising new resume and LinkedIn profile. Through this process, we also discussed what kind of work Kayleigh wanted – did she need to be on a team, or did she want to work solo? Did she want to be part of a large company, or work on a scrappy upstart? Was there a job she could start right now, if she felt she needed to, that may work until her ‘dream job’ came along?
We talked through the positions that might be available – and one popped into my mind because a colleague had reached out to me about it. Ben Usen, from La Colombe, reached out months in the past, letting me know that an account in Seattle was hiring. It was a bit unusual because it was a chocolate-first café, that also happened to serve coffee. At the time Ben mentioned it, nothing came to my mind, but while talking through Kayleigh’s goals, it came up like a flash. Would that be interesting to her?
After our meeting, Kayleigh was reenergized and back on the hunt – and she landed a new role within 4 weeks. She’s now a Café Lead at indi chocolate in Pike Place Market, one of Seattle’s most iconic and beautiful landmark, as well as a fun place to work. (I worked there at the original Starbucks in 2014! It was great!). Plus, the gig is an easy commute from her home, and she gets to learn all sorts of new things about chocolate, while sharing knowledge about coffee.
Once she was all settled in, she shared her experience with me:
“ After following your advice I actually got an interview at every place that I applied and it really allowed me to be discerning. My interview at indi chocolate really blew me away as the right fit and I never would have found it if you hadn’t suggested it. Also I get to be in the Market and look out over the water every day, and no one is nicer to you than when you’re handing them free chocolate. My teammates ask me coffee questions and I get to share my knowledge and the team is grateful for my experience.”