Location is an important factor when it comes to coaching interview techniques for political or corporate interviews and my clients have the best of both worlds. I usually coach clients at my home close to the beach in Sussex or in London. A lunchtime walk along the Bexhill seafront has cleared the head of many a client – and me. I have had clients come and stay with me from America, Europe and the Middle East – and they all say that they like, and profit from, the relaxed and non-corporate surroundings. I only coach individuals and the process can be very intensive. Having a comfortable and informal venue and a fresh environment, with no interruptions, helps with focusing on and achieving a client’s particular interview preparation needs and goals.
However, because of my political and corporate work I also have a base in London. I mainly work in clients’ boardrooms or meeting rooms and sometimes in their homes – which saves them travel time but eliminates think-time after the coaching session. When clients leave Bexhill I ask them to avoid using the phone or the internet or iPods and just to let their brain process what we have done during the coaching session. The brain works – but it needs free space before it starts whirring away.
Sometimes I actively ask to use the client’s home turf as a venue if I need to understand more about the real person behind the project, but of course coaching a client in their territory only works if they are able to focus and switch off or eliminate interruptions during the coaching session.
No matter where I’m working, the best part of the process for me is hearing about your success as a candidate. When the interview preparation works! It’s a huge adrenalin punch-the-air kick for me when clients get selected as a parliamentary candidate, even better when they get elected as an MP. But there is nothing quite like sharing the excitement of someone getting their first job!
Last week a client messaged me excitedly on Facebook to tell me that he had got the second job he had applied for after our interview coaching session only two weeks earlier. What a buzz! I love that. Coaching is such an excellent job!