Jill helps people return to work after a psychiatric illness by assisting with resumes and LinkedIn profiles.
Tell me a little bit about how you got started?
I’ve always had side jobs, sometimes paid, sometimes volunteer. During the 13 years I worked as a mental health counselor, I did per diem work at the local psychiatric hospital or at a residential facility for mentally ill adults. Also, the last unit I worked in in the mental health center was employment services, so I got my start there writing resumes and helping people return to work after stabilizing from psychiatric illnesses. While I was doing that, I volunteered one day a week for the Dispute Resolution center, fielding landlord/tenant questions.
Then, I began my recruiting career. As a natural helper, it felt “right” to be the one providing the help, rather than what my corporate recruiter role called for—I was essentially the company sheriff and gatekeeper, and, while that suited my skill set, it didn’t really suit my personality.
Why did you start your side business?
In 2004, while I was working as a corporate recruiter, I thought I’d like to share what I was learning about how people actually get hired with people who were stuck in the job finding process. So, I bartered with an unhappy website developer (he wanted to be a network admin instead) to make my website in exchange for resume and coaching services to help him land his dream job. (He did.) I obtained a business license and started assisting a couple clients per week on evenings and weekends. My initial services included resume writing, job search coaching and interview coaching.
How long have you been doing this?
I quit my corporate job to run the business full time in 2007.
How do you make money (hourly, by project, retainer or one-time fee)?
Clients purchase resumes, cover letters and LinkedIn profile makeovers at a flat rate and I offer interview and job search strategy coaching on an hourly basis. I also offer talks on employment-related topics to various community and academic organizations and they pay a speaker fee. In addition, I am the social media marketing person for one of my former employers, a staffing firm.
What areas of marketing have worked best for you? For instance, referrals, social media, etc.?
I remember posting in the Craigslist services section a couple of times when I first decided to start the side business. After that, referrals took over, to the point where it no longer made financial sense to go to work. These days, 90% of my new clients are referred by clients I’ve worked with or referral partners.
I do maintain an I got the job! Facebook page, but I can’t say it’s really brought in any new clients. It’s mostly a place for me to drop thoughts and helpful articles I’ve found around career stuff.
When do you find the time to work on your side businesses with a full time job and other obligations?
I was a single mom of a young boy at the time, working a demanding job as a corporate recruiter, but I somehow managed to find time in the evenings and weekends to write a resume or do some interview coaching a couple times per week.
Did you set any business goals when you started?
No, I didn’t realize I was starting a “real” business. I just enjoyed helping folks from the other side of the desk—assisting job seekers by employing the real-world knowledge I’d gained of the hiring process.
What has been the best thing that has happened in your side business?
The freedom. I do what I want to do, when I want to do it. I work with people I like and don’t work with people I don’t. It’s awesome. Plus, it’s really useful information and services I’m providing, things people can do that actually help them get jobs faster and get better jobs. That feels pretty good.
What advice would you give someone just starting out?
Ask a million questions, particularly of people that do what they are thinking of doing.
Taking the initial steps to quit my corporate job and go off on my own was pretty scary, because I knew that when I made the final leap to go independent, I might not be able to pay the bills. I’d be leaving a corporate job with a great salary, benefits and stock options, and I’d never know when (or if) my next client was going to call. If the idea didn’t take off, it would have been disastrous–there would have been no unemployment benefits. It felt like jumping off a cliff, but as the CEO of the corporation I worked for said on my last day, “No guts, no glory.”
At the same time, I had built up my client base from a position of safety, so while it felt really scary, an outsider might have predicted success.
If you were starting all over again, what would you do differently?
I probably wouldn’t change that much, I approached the transition slowly, once demand sort of hit me over the head and made me realize what was happening–there was ample demand for my services and clients were pretty happy with my work, so I COULD do it full-time, if I wanted to. It worked out well and I needed my previous experiences to inform my current work.
How can people find out more about your business?
My website is igotthejob.us and I have an I got the job! Facebook page. I also provide free phone consultations, so people can decide if my services are right for them.
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