Catherine Gilbert
More about Catherine …
My expertise, based on 20 years in Career Coaching preceded by several years in Executive Search, is in supporting individuals in objectively taking stock of their skills, motivations, values and experience and then creating the CV and marketing plan that makes the most of these assets.
1. Director, Head of London Region and Senior Team Member of global career consultancy, managing consultants and overseeing quality and innovation in deliverymof services.
2. Creator and deliverer of Portfolio Career Programme, including Non-Executive Director options, for several professional services partnerships.
3. Executive Search Consultant of an international boutique search firm, running pan-European searches for Managing Directors, Finance Directors, Sales and Marketing Directors in FMCG and hi-tech sectors.
4. Co-creator and Lecturer on the CIPD’s Postgraduate Certificate in Career and Talent Management, accredited by The University of Middlesex.
5. Accredited in personality questionnaires including Quintax, Lifo, and Korn/Ferry Lominger Suite of Competencies, including 360 ̊ Feedback.
Areas I can help you with include:
To work with a specialist career coach with the business knowledge and the acumen to act as an objective, independent and informed sounding board on any career move
To create a tailored career action plan, based on a sound understanding of your career aspirations, which would include approaches to the market place including the channels of Executive Search consultants, advertisements and Networking
To build tailored and impactful CVs that will open the right doors at the right levels
To hone your personal presentation skills, preparing your Positioning for Interviews of all types, including Remote, Panel, Presentations and One-to-one
To develop your personal networking skills to achieve the profile you need, both internally and externally, including media such as LinkedIn
To build a structured ‘First 90 Days’ onboarding programme for any new role to ensure a successful foundation for your new role
To identify gaps that may need to be filled to achieve the next career goal eg positioning to transition into the NED market or a Portfolio Career
Testimonials for Catherine
“Catherine is a consummate professional. From beginning to end of any career transition, she delivers expert, creative and practical advice to assist clients overcome specific challenges and helps them decide what appropriate action is right for them. More importantly, she tailors her advice to suit the candidate, delivering a highly personal service. I would wholeheartedly recommend Catherine’s service as a Career Coach and most importantly, I feel she was instrumental in guiding me through a challenging time using appropriate tools when necessary, to finally aid my career decision making, perfect interviewing skills and build confidence to finally get offered a great new job!”
“A career change would prove to be much more time consuming and more difficult than I would have imagined but Catherine smoothed the process. She helped me identify what it was I wanted to achieve and how to go about doing so. She knew exactly what questions to ask, guiding me to discover the right answer. I can honestly say that her assistance was instrumental in helping me change career and find a job. It was a pleasure to work with Catherine, who was always professional, has an excellent sense of humour, and was extremely generous with her time. If you need a career coach, I definitely recommend her.”
““Catherine draws on her extensive experience as a former head hunter and career coach in an easy and personable style to bring out your own aims and values. She instils confidence but is also realistic and challenging. she is not afraid to question assumptions and test your own ideas but does so in a way which is constructive and helpful. I enjoyed working with Catherine and benefited considerably from doing so. I’m glad I did.””
CASE STUDIES
Worked closely with Public Sector Director whose career had plateaued and who had a new boss who underrated him. Carried out structured Self-Assessment exercises, identified his key selling points and created a CV which gave him the confidence to approach contacts in a partner organisation. A job was created for him in which he thrived and became a trusted confidante of the Chairman in a high profile, commercial role.
Supported Executive working part-time because of child care over an extended period. Created a plan to build a profile and develop a network to achieve the first paid NED role, followed by a second within a year.
Coached Chairman of a professional services firm on his personal networking plan including an introduction to the ex-Human Resources Director of one of his target companies prior to his interview. He successfully achieved his desired role on the Board as a non-Executive Director, the first of several.