Career Counseling, Outplacement & Career Transitions

Career Counseling & Outplacement/Career Transition Services:

• Individual Career Counseling and Coaching – short-term, typically 1-6 sessions – in person in Maine or by phone from any location
• Customized Outplacement and Career Transitions Offerings – for employers who want to provide employees (from executives to entry level) with a choice of cost-effective options or for self-referred individuals with outplacement counseling as part of a severance package

Individual Career Counseling

Barbara works compassionately and effectively with people who want to change some aspect of their work or explore a new career direction. Highly experienced and extensively educated in career counseling models and strategies, she is passionate about helping people explore possibilities, make good decisions and sustain healthy and satisfying work choices that go beyond work as a source of income.

Individuals may identify ways to make their current jobs more satisfying, or they may decide to embark on a new career path.

Barbara’s approach incorporates focused questions that reveal the heart of the matter combined with effective strategic actions that support individuals to:

• Increase clarity about work needs, desires and intentions as they relate to current life stage priorities
• Identify and change attitudes, behaviors and patterns that limit work satisfaction
• Create an effective career transition strategy or imagine possibilities for the next life phase
• More successfully balance work and family life
• Identify work and education opportunities and their requirements
• Learn current and effective ways to secure work by strategic networking and tapping community resources
• Create professional work-related documents:  résumés and cover letters that get attention, the latest in creating a LinkedIn profile and using the site effectively in a job search
• Adjust to new work situations through professional development and mindful work performance
• Build self-esteem and develop the ability to articulate accomplishments and/or negotiate an employment offer

To learn more about individual career counseling or to schedule an appointment, contact Barbara at (207) 775-6400, barb@barbarababkirk.com

Outplacement Consulting and Career Transition Services

Why Choose Heart At Work?

• Heart At Work’s offerings are flexible and tailored to the needs of each individual and organization, unlike many firms that use standardized approaches to their outplacement services.
• Employers can be certain that only experienced and credentialed career counselors will deliver all programs and one to one sessions, no matter the employee’s position in the company and that any inquiries will be addressed within 24 hours.
• In addition, we offer the most current information on job search strategies, including tutorials on the most effective ways to create an effective LinkedIn profile and use LinkedIn as a job search tool.

What Form Does Outplacement Support Take?

Option I. Half-day Group Workshop on Transitions & Job Search Essentials

(May include: managing emotions after a layoff, getting clear on a direction, effective job search strategies,

résumé & interviewing, Q&A, plus handouts)

Option II. Individual Career Counseling (including face-to-face, Emails and unlimited phone consults)

• Individual career counseling that addresses the individual’s values, life stage, competencies/skills and interests to clarify career direction and options in the marketplace.
• Administration of the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (personality assessment)
• Résumé and cover letter coaching and document reviews including editing and design for optimal success.
• LinkedIn tutorials that include creating a profile that gets attention and using the site as a job search strategy.
• Development of an effective job search strategy and specific steps to secure job leads, employment or resources targeted to starting a business.
• Marketplace resources and information on job postings on the Internet and locally.
• Interviewing strategies and coaching on salary and benefits negotiations.

Since any layoff impacts employee’s lives beyond work, it is an option, in the case of significant RIFs, to involve experts such as investment, tax and credit advisors and state unemployment benefits professionals to join Barbara’s team to address questions, offer advice as well as current and accurate information.

Specific outplacement and career transition fees depend on the number of individuals served as well as their time and roles within the organization.

Barbara and her team are professional career counselors with experience offering outplacement to an array of employers across industries that have included among others: Bernstein Shur, Corning Inc, IDEXX, UNUM, Bates and Bowdoin Colleges, Maine Audubon, the Portland Public Schools, PROP, Woodard and Curran, The University of Maine, Spurwink Services, Lonza Biosciences, Moss Inc., and Martin’s Point Health Care.