2020 Year in Review

2020 was a year for the history books for Close Cohen Career Consulting, just like for each of you. We opened with a bang—a sold out/waitlist only professionals & leaders mixer at  Good Bar in Pioneer Square in February, where the wait staff had to lean all the way in to hear our drink orders over the absolute roar of our crowd.

Spotted in the crowd were C-suite, angel investors, senior directors and VPs from global brands such as Expedia and AWS, having drinks side by side with a selection of mid-career professionals as well as rising technical stars at unicorn startups such as UiPath and Stripe. Little did we know for everyone in the crowd that would be the last mixer of the year as COVID arrived in Seattle shortly thereafter.

Career Development Themes We Loved in 2020

Executive Vulnerability: Due to the stressors of the pandemic and heightened social movements, executives who were able to fulfill their duties and display their own humanity enabled employees to bring both parts of themselves to work.

Using the Telephone: The studies are in. Zoom and other video conferencing platforms are not a substitute for face-to-face connections. When two humans are in the same room, their mirror neurons fire and create a sense of safety. Zoom is an awesome tool, but it simply doesn’t bridge the gap fully. Hence, Zoom fatigue. Picking up the phone enables you to release the emphasis on appearances and connect via the warm tones of their voice and yours.

Ask Directly: For years people have been overwrought when building and activating their networks, leading to a common networking mistake. With many people now working from home, the need to be direct in networking requests is increasingly clear. Asking directly, which was already the best way to grow and activate your network, is now critical. Sharpening your ability to share the real situation and asking for help yields the highest results and best outcomes. Remove confusion with the gift of direct communication. The clarity will be appreciated, you’ll receive a cleaner response, and both parties will know where things stand.

Lean into LinkedIn: You can still grow and connect with your network when working from home. Participation and engagement with LinkedIn keeps your voice active in the conversation and helps you stay connected while working remotely.

Hot Tip: Hire an executive coach to rejuvenate your LinkedIn profile and strategy for elevated outcomes, current trends, and highest impact.

Transparency continues to be a key differentiator and value of our private practice. Just as our clients analyze data, uncover insights, and conduct self-evaluations, we use the new year as a time to learn, reflect, and share.

2020 Insights

Percentage of clients who sought executive coaching services: 45%
Percentage of clients who sought to prepare for a senior level job search: 55%

Client Titles Most Commonly Held, ranked:
#1. Director
#2. Manager
#3. Chief/Executive
#4. Senior Manager
#5. Senior Director

Client Industries Most Commonly Represented, ranked:
#1. Big Tech
#2. E-Commerce
#3. CPG
#4. Non-Profit/Civic Sectors
#5. Healthcare and Pharmaceutical (tie)

Client Subject Matter Expertise, ranked:
#1. Engineering and Data/Analytics (tie)
#2. Marketing
#3. Product Management
#4. Operations
#5. Creative/UX

2019 Insights

National research shows that unemployed job seekers average 12 months to find a role and job seekers who are currently employed average 6 months for their search. It would be premature to judge the outcomes of 2020’s job seeking clients, particularly those we partnered with in Q3-Q4. However, 2019 data provides a strong foundation to understand 2020 emerging patterns.

Percentage of clients who sought executive coaching services: 36%
Percentage of clients who sought to prepare for a senior level job search: 64%

In 2019, we coached 65 job seekers. As of January 2021:

• Number of clients who moved to a new company: 39
• Number of clients who pivoted industries: 7
• Number of clients who were promoted internally rather than moving to a new company: 11

Whether for candidate preparation and advancement, or leadership coaching and executive development, if you are considering retaining our services, please email Alisa@CloseCohen.com. For our graduated clients, it truly has been our privilege to partner with you. We are honored to be entrusted with your career growth, pleased to add value you to your development, and thrilled to celebrate your outcomes together.

We’re excited for what’s to come in the year ahead—here’s to 2021!

CloseCohen proudly serves a global portfolio of clients with strong representation from the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and Bellevue.