Frequently Asked Questions

No! All career coaching is not the same.

Drawing on nearly 19 years of rolling up our sleeves and helping professionals, we have created a powerful and unique solution.

This allows us to be more effective than career counselling or coaching alone and provide a service that addresses all the barriers that can stop you from moving forward.

This is a truly holistic approach that helps you to build a life and career where you will be happy and fulfilled.

It goes beyond what others consider to be holistic because it draws on all your resources - your logical, analytical side and your intuition, instincts and feelings. This prevents you from falling into the trap of going down a road that sounds good but just doesn’t feel right.

We combine our experience of guiding 100s of professionals from all walks of life with best practices from related fields.

Here’s our recipe for success:

1) Career advising - providing you professional counsel and advice.

2) Career Coaching - recognizing that you are the expert in knowing what is right for you and using conversation and career discovery exercises to help you to know yourself better and make good decisions.

3) Career counselling - building skills that will enable you to be successful in times of career change or job search and providing emotional support.

4) Positive Psychology - helping you to recognize and build on your strengths, understand what makes you happy (at work and in life) and teaching you the tools to excel in all areas of life.

5) Skills to beat stress and regain control of your emotions - it is natural to experience ups and downs when we face career challenges; We integrate HeartMath tools in all our programs to help you: Feel better. Do better and move forward faster.

6) Focus on strengths - helping you to recognize and build on your strengths, understand what makes you happy (at work and in life) and teaching you the tools to excel in all areas of life.

With decades of collective experience in our team, we can safely say 'YES', we have successfully worked with people in almost all industries.

Our team approach means that we share expertise when needed.

This list includes but is not limited to:

Education, Retail, Administrative, Legal, Healthcare, Technology & Professional Scientific and Engineering Services, Public Administration/Government and the Public Sector, Finance, Manufacturing, Real Estate & Construction, Utilities, Transportation, Agriculture and all manner of creative careers in Arts, Entertainment and Recreation.

Yes, we do offer assessments.

They can be very helpful when integrated into a counselling program.

Each person has a different learning style. The type and number of assessments used depend on your needs and preferences.

Our programs rely on a well-rounded approach that includes assessments, insights gained from your coaching conversation and career development exercises.

When you are facing a change in your career, it can be like a rollercoaster ride.

There are ups and downs.

HeartMath tools help you to deal with difficult feelings like sadness, fear and disappointment. Even if you are feeling good about things, these tools help you to get (and stay) motivated, make good career decisions and improve your relationships.

We have taken tools that are based on 25 years of research and integrated them into the career coaching process.

Working with us will help you to get focused and energized and save weeks, months or even years of effort.

Effective. Simple to learn and use. We’ll show you how to make a big impact to your wellness in less than 5 minutes a day. We're confident our time-tested & proven approach can (and will) do wonders to your overall effectiveness and productivity.

More about HearthMath:

HeartMath is a research organization based in California that has developed information, tools and technology to help people beat stress and bounce back in challenging times.  

25 years of research show that these tools can dramatically improve your ability to deal with stress in just 5 minutes a day. They have been used in more than 100 countries and by large organizations to boost productivity and beat stress amongst employees and managers. These tools are used by organizations such as: NASA, The Stanford School of Medicine, Sony, Unilever and HP.

Careers by Design is the only North American career counselling company to integrate these powerful tools and information into a career coaching methodology.

Yes, we certainly can and we would be honoured to serve you!

All the career coaching you get will be 100% customized to your needs.  Our programs are fully personalized to your unique situation.  We differ from other companies in that we do NOT offer a one-size fits all solution.  Instead, we focus on your needs and your background and work from there to move you forward.

We are, first and foremost, career development experts which means we have specialized training in all aspects of career management. Whether you're looking for career guidance in Vancouver or support in navigating a career transition, our expert coaches will provide the tailored advice you need to achieve your goals. We utilize proven strategies combined with innovative approaches to ensure you're on the right path to success. Rest assured, with our personalized support, you'll have the tools and confidence to thrive in any professional environment.

We are not a job placement service.

Those types of services are paid by employers to recruit and fill positions. 

They are not in business to identify the best career/job fit for you.

We work for you!

We help with the following: 

-Defining a clear job search target (what type of job will make you happy and build your career)

- Identifying and creating job opportunities

- Developing and communicating a strong professional brand 

- Building skills to master the parts of job search that you find difficult 

- Access the hidden job market (only a small number of jobs are publicly posted)

- Negotiating compensation once you have received an offer

- Developing resilience to beat the stress of the job search

Great question 🙂

We call our first, initial coaching session the Turning Point because that's just what it ends up being for a the majority of our clients.  It's a chance to experience coaching with a Careers by Design certified coach to get a professional opinion on your current situation and also to build and co-develop a strategy together for career success.  

At the end of the Turning Point, your coach will know enough about the particulars of your unique situation to provide a recommendation on what actions to take and provide details to you of a customized program to meet all your career service needs.

Please read our page on the Turning Point to get more information about this powerful session.

No. We will help you to uncover what type of career will be a good fit for you.

If you already know what type of career/job you want, we will help you to achieve that goal.

All coaching is personalized and targeted to your individual needs.

We have worked remotely and created successful outcomes for clients across Canada and some very remote places (like an island off the coast of Russia, Japan & Australia).

Some of our local clients also prefer this option because it saves travel time and allows them to be in their own environment where they feel more comfortable.

Learn more about career counselling online using our preferred software, Zoom.

We pride ourselves on offering flexible, accessible support, making it easy for clients to connect with us from anywhere. Whether you're seeking help from our Toronto career counsellor services or accessing our guidance remotely, we ensure a smooth, personalized experience every step of the way. Our commitment is to help you reach your career goals, no matter where you are.

A Turning Point session is a one hour coaching session focused on helping you develop a strategy to solve your career concerns.  At the end of the Turning Point, your coach may recommend one of our career programs (offered in 4, 7 or 12 session formats) for ongoing support to execute your new strategy.  

You can also think of the Turning Point session as a way to experience career coaching at Careers by Design.  

It's not just a conversation - you will also leave the Turning Point session with a Personalized Report detailing your new strategy.  Most of our clients choose to continue with a coaching program and the support of their coach but there is no obligation to continue working with us after the Turning Point.

Learn more about the Turning Point session.

The first meeting “The Turning Point” session is one hour in length and the session is discounted to $147 + applicable sales tax.

At the end of the session, your coach will recommend a coaching program for further support.



This coaching program will be customized exactly to your needs.

There are many things included in the coaching programs which your coach will explain at the end of the Turning Point session.



The total cost of our comprehensive coaching programs range from CAD$888 (4 session program) to $2382 (12 session program) + applicable sales tax.  For our coaching programs, we also offer flexible, no interest payment plans, starting at CAD$222/month.

As you can imagine, this depends on what outcome you want to achieve. 



Coaching starts with a single Turning Point Session where we will listen to your concerns, understand what you've done so far and develop a strategy together that will define the work we will do together.  

Once your coach has a good understanding of your situation, your budget and your priorities, she can make a recommendation as to the length of a coaching program that will benefit you the most.  Then you will have a concrete idea of the number of sessions.  

Our coaching programs range from 4 to 12 sessions.

Most people come in for weekly sessions but we do also offer accelerated programs where you can decide how fast you want to go.  

Note that a
t each session you will gain more insight into your situation and/or learn valuable skills to help you move forward, faster.

Keep in mind that our coaching solution is designed to accelerate your success.  

Coaching is also very powerful as a long-term relationship for achieving big goals.

Some clients prefer to continue to work with a coach after completing a program.

Support is available to you until you reach your desired outcome.

Finding career direction can be like putting together a puzzle. 



As you learn more about yourself and what’s out there, your coach will guide you to bring it all together and make an informed decision.

Yes!

You will have the same awesome coach throughout your entire program!

Unlike other companies, before committing to a program, we offer our clients a "Turning Point" session, which allows you to "test-drive" our services with your coach to see if we would be a good fit.

An outcome like getting a new job or changing your career depends on many factors. 



We provide you with the guidance, information and support to succeed.  We ask our clients for feedback through the process and make sure that we are delivering value.

We have an 18 year track record of success and are committed to customer service!



No coaching company can guarantee that you will get a specific job but at Careers by Design, we do guarantee that you will be satisfied with our service.

We care about your success and are completely committed to helping you reach your goals.



We measure success by ensuring that we are helping you make progress on your overall goal (changing careers or finding a job) and that you are moving forward with each session.



At each session we focus on your top priorities and check with you to ensure that we have been successful in achieving the goals that you have for that meeting.

We also collect feedback at the end of every coaching engagement and are diligent about using that feedback to improve the effectiveness of our programs.



We have over 100+ glowing recommendations and testimonials - you can see some of them by clicking here.

No.  Insurance coverage for extended health care applies to medical expenses.

Our service is not intended to treat mental or psychological disorders.

Our service is private and confidential.  You must also consider that 'covered benefit' services may have a level of reporting to the insurance company and sponsor paying for the service.

The goal of our completely confidential & private services is to help you to overcome career challenges while increasing your level of well being.  

Many people experience worry, sadness or high levels of stress when they encounter career challenges.

We do provide support, encouragement and tools to help you to bounce back and build resilience.

These are skills you can use throughout your career and life and are proven to affect your health and wellness in a significant way.

Yes, we coach you to be more effective in interviews.

We will also help you build confidence!  Our coaches are experts at uncovering your accomplishments and will you help you practice talking about them in a way that is relevant to employers.

We can work with you on any trouble spots that you have or role play interviewing with you and provide you with feedback.

You do not need to buy a Turning Point session.  We do offer 2 and 4 session interview coaching programs that include practice and a mock interview.  Click here to find out more detail and to purchase an interview coaching program (you can purchase these programs right away and book yourself in as we know this need can be very time sensitive).

Yes.

We can help guide your educational choices and your help you decide on a future career direction.

Contact us to find out more.