Hi As an Executive Search consultant-who has been interacting with Clients(Hiring Managers) and candidates/prospects, I must admit I am privy to setting expectations at both sides. Here is a secret-just as anxious as you are..to impress a new employer, and get a good break, even the employer is equally as anxious& keen on -a good bet-adding to their team! Go ahead, do not worry about the references from an ex employer (bitter or not), and focus on presenting the value add you bring in. Convince the person(s) on how you can transplant your learnings from the earlier gig-and showcase some of your achievements to portray the proven track record. Believe me, if your employer still need certificates & testimonials from third party references to convince herself/himself, then there is nothing to crow about. Cheers..happy hunting!

The importance of a career, in any professional's life- is perhaps as important as many other assets one acquires during a lifetime. So, if there is scope for a private banker, to help High Networth Individuals -manage their investments across different products ( real estate, bullion, stocks, etc), there is no reason why a "Career Manager' cannot add value. More so, in a world where the half-life of technology is constantly reducing -the skills relevant for one's journey across each stage of the life cycle of their employment is changing. Life time employment & Career ladders are passe. With increasing mortality of companies the onus of taking charge of one's career is now squarely on the 'employee'..who is now required to navigate thru the maze-on his own. Retirement age is receding as our lifespans have become significantly longer. Today most of us have to change multiple careers -not just jobs- even at the risk of working for about 50 odd years, if one seeks to be employed. And there is a huge need for taking inventory of one's skills, transpant some of them -and constantly re-invent in a highly globalised world.. Surely..being a Life Coach can not just add value to many a life- but also provide a great lucrative career for many. And yes, you can collaborate with several other 'similar minded professionals' and monetise the network! If Tiger Woods needed a coach..we can all do better with one, right !?

As an executive search consultant for over two decades, we have been helping our clients with hiring solutions to help grow their business. While we have had our share of contingent search assignments- ( where one gets paid only for success), we have often found that most companies look at couple of metrics (as they are perhaps easiest to measure!) i) Time to fill. ii) Cost of hire. And these are rather painful especially since a) Often we compete with the internal recruiters-with a handicap. They have already done their bit, 'sprayed & prayed ', checked out the most obvious (a la low lying fruit) candidates from the competition & region, and well past an internal deadline. b) Companies also share the same mandate with multiple external recruiters hoping to get a better spread, and forcing an extra pressure to try harder...and find a candidate who is willing to join 'as of yesterday'! Ironically not necessarily the best of tactics..as it now becomes instead a 'game of speed from among those immediately available'-who pressed the buzzer first..rather than actually investing in the research and the best practices to identify and attract the best person for the specific role. My approach has been to educate our valued clients to be sensitive to 1.the 'quality of hire' and 2. the "ROI" of the right hire. And given a chance to partner them -rather than play a role as a vendor- we have been able to provide an extra edge by giving them 3. Culture fit 4. Great candidate experience -and ensuring 5. Better employer brand equity And hope to drive home the essence of what Jim Collins said in his book, Good to Great, "People are not your most important asset. The right people are!. I shall be glad to elaborate. Am just a call away :)!