I received my fitness certification in 2010 with the International Sports and Sciences Association through independent study and additional training beyond required continuing education. I scored an 85% on my certification test and was proud.
In the same year, I consulted with a firm assisting federal employees on Army bases transitioning to other federal jobs or the civilian sector. Some of the work was remote, providing career coaching and federal resume writing while I substitute taught, which fit perfectly.
I didn’t maximize my Personal Training career, but over-indexed in career services and training. Both merged at the intersection of helping people find jobs and their best selves in fitness. Personal fitness training provided the template for assisting people in finding employment.
Although I no longer provide one-to-one career coaching, I’ve presented to colleges, organizations, and media. Here’s what I’ve gleaned from writing this blog, speaking, and engaging with peers.
1. Customized Plans Based on Individual Needs
Both industries are fundamentally the same in principle, while each has unique approaches. Getting in better shape and wanting a job are similar goals. Without plans, strategies, and goals, failure is imminent.
An obese person walking around the block is a plan. For someone who wants a job, it takes more than a walk. Both require focus, accountability, progression, and effort. For the job seeker, focus is the most challenging part. If you’re willing to do the work, you’ll progress. Without it, you’ll wander.
Action item: Employment and strength assessments help find industries to optimize skills and talents. Personal trainers prescribe correct exercises through assessments; job seekers need to do similar assessments themselves.
2. Behavioral Change and Mindset Coaching
Maintaining a healthy body is a lifestyle. Successful job seekers make job searching a way of life. Both require behavior and mindset changes. Losing 100 pounds and being unemployed both feel daunting. Progress builds resilience, despite discouragement.
Coaches emphasize discipline, provide encouragement, and promote proactive habits. Both fitness and job search clients need:
- Discipline to apply strategies for different results.
- Encouragement to stay the course.
- Proactive habits to avoid being reactive and stuck.
Action item: Enhance your most marketable skills, improve essentials to move forward, or connect with someone who can introduce you to others.
3. Goal Setting and Milestone Tracking
Most coaches set incremental goals. Clients who value mentorship initiate contact, direct their efforts, and own the agreement. While self-motivated clients thrive, most need a nudge. Slow job markets can be discouraging, so motivating without criticism is essential.
Progress happens with small wins. An interview after months without one is a cause for celebration.
Action item: Chart your progress and document successes and areas for improvement to aid future growth.
4. Progressing Past Plateaus
Everyone experiences workout, diet, and job search plateaus. Both indicate adaptation without progression, require evaluation and adjustment, and cause frustration if unaddressed. Job seekers often hit a brick wall when relying on mass applications without adding value or context.
Good coaches provide multiple strategies. Trying something different, like informational interviews, researching ideal companies, or preparing interviews with intention, stimulates growth.
Action item: Use varied job search strategies to build new skills and resilience, making you stand out even after a long search.
Feedback is essential. Personal training clients often misunderstand muscle use or food intake. Similarly, job seekers underestimate how they present themselves in interviews. Small changes make significant differences.
Mentors offer unfiltered constructive direction. Coaches and mentors help you address the little things that affect success. Personal training and job searching require awareness, feedback, adaptation, and progress. Both depend on effort and strategy. Coaching, whether self-guided or external, builds lasting lessons applied to life and career.
About Mark Anthony Dyson
I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.