Tech Career Coaching Topics: Job Search, Leadership & More

$1289 Flat Fee Career Transition Package. We are here to partner with you in your job search.

What’s it like to work on Career Transition with me? Check out this video webinar on Resume Optimization I did with Jobscan on YouTube.

How Does Career Direction Coaching Work?

Career direction coaching helps tech professionals step back from the momentum of their existing career path and make a deliberate choice about what comes next — rather than simply pursuing the same types of roles they have always held. Working with a coach, you assess your current skills and experience, identify what you actually want from your career, and build a concrete plan to pursue a role you are both qualified for and genuinely excited about.

Not sure what your next act might be? We all suffer from “The Drift”—a career that has evolved naturally along the lines of the opportunities where we said yes. That first break in your current field may have defined the types of jobs you’ve been able to get for your whole professional life.

If you’re ready to take charge of your tech career and assess your skills and experience, you could choose your next role rather than going after the same sorts of jobs you’ve pursued in the past. We’ll take stock of where you are, what you want to do, and the steps to take to pursue a role you are qualified for and really want. This career exploration coaching works for software engineers considering management, product managers exploring new domains, engineering leaders planning strategic moves, or any tech professional contemplating a career change or industry shift.

Some clients like to do a few sessions before signing on for a Career Transition Package. Consider it an exploration of your career trajectory.

Coaching sessions with unlimited email support. Sessions will be conducted by video chat or telephone. Per session: $225

How to Manage Remote Workers Successfully

Remote manager coaching helps tech leaders develop the communication skills, accountability frameworks, and management mindsets needed to lead high-performing distributed teams.

Challenged as a Remote Manager?  Dropping by a team member’s desk to talk things over or see what they are working on is not possible when you are managing remote employees. We address the communication and leadership challenges that come with running your high-performing virtual team. It’s possible to be an effective remote manager (and work remotely successfully) through the development of remote management best practices, useful mindsets, and a clear point of view around accountability that starts with you and carries through to your team.

Four or six coaching sessions with unlimited email support. Sessions will be conducted by video chat or telephone, or in the Seattle or SF Bay Area some sessions may be scheduled in person. Per Session: $225

What Is New Manager Coaching for Tech Leaders?

New manager coaching helps recently promoted tech managers build confidence, develop their leadership identity, and navigate the common challenges of managing people for the first time.

Have you’ve been promoted and looking to develop your confidence and skills?  Many people are successful leaders who stay true to their values and individuality. Learn how to show up in your own powerful, professional way. I’ve worked with dozens of new managers and experienced managers to help work through common and unique challenges of the role.

Four or six coaching sessions with unlimited email support. Sessions will be conducted by video chat or telephone, or in the Seattle or SF Bay Area some sessions may be scheduled in person. Per Session: $225

What Is Core Communication Coaching?

Core Communication coaching helps professionals learn how to approach difficult conversations, reduce miscommunication, and connect more effectively with colleagues, direct reports, and managers.

Do you feel like conversations don’t turn out the way you expected? We’ll work together to discover what “having a conversation” means to you. We look at where and when communication frustration appears and help you develop skills to connect effectively with others. This type of coaching series includes “Core Communication” – an approach for talking through topics that might have seemed impossible to approach in the past and mindful awareness about what is getting conveyed to others. We come from the point of view that “the meaning of the communication is the response that you get.” Communicating from the right mindset can revolutionize your relationships.

Four coaching sessions over eight weeks with unlimited email support. Sessions will be conducted by video chat or telephone, or in the Seattle or SF Bay Area some sessions may be scheduled in person. Per Session: $225

How Do You Manage Emotions at Work Professionally?

Managing emotions at work professionally means developing the ability to acknowledge what is actually happening in a conversation — including the emotional undercurrent — without letting it derail the discussion or trigger a blowup. Most professionals either suppress workplace emotions entirely or avoid the conversations where emotions are likely to surface.

Feel awkward with emotions at work or afraid of having conversations around emotionally-charged or sensitive topics? Get a handle on how to show up for others as a professional who can speak to the real emotions in the room (without fear of triggering an emotional blow-out). Using my tried and tested “Core Communication” methodology, you’ll have access to a learnable approach that creates room to discuss the tough stuff like performance issues and interpersonal breakdowns. You’ll also master the art of delivering heartfelt praise in a way that resonates with managers, peers, and direct reports.

Four coaching sessions over eight weeks with unlimited email support. Sessions will be conducted by video chat or telephone, or in the Seattle or SF Bay Area some sessions may be scheduled in person. Per Session: $225

How Can You Improve Your Interpersonal Communication at Work?

Improving interpersonal communication at work starts with getting an honest picture of how you are actually coming across to others — not just what you intend to convey, but how colleagues experience you in conversation. Through coaching, you gain specific, actionable feedback on the habits and patterns that may be creating distance, along with practical tools for building more conscious, connected relationships with the people you work with every day.

Do you seem to accidentally peeve people off? It can be frustrating when people don’t want to hang out with us or worse, seem to be openly avoiding conversations. I will be authentic about how you show up in the eyes and ears of other people. Nothing to be fixed – you can learn to be with people in a conscious, mindful way. You’ll get some tools and points of view that will change how you relate to others.

Four coaching sessions over eight weeks with unlimited email support. Sessions will be conducted by video chat or telephone, or in the Seattle or SF Bay Area some sessions may be scheduled in person. Per Session: $225

What Is Startup Culture Coaching?

Startup culture coaching helps early-stage tech founders build communication skills and resolve interpersonal conflict before it threatens the company.

Is your startup having conflicts among the founders and/or other key employees? Maybe you’d like to minimize potential conflicts?

You went into business with your fellow founders to create a company that is successful. Don’t let emotions or communication issues between founders threaten the future of your company. It’s possible to create a culture of meaningful, authentic communication. When you compare the cost of losing a founder to the cost of bringing on a coach the math seems pretty easy. I’ll work with the whole Founding team to help you build communication skills that work and last. Experience with pre-revenue and early funding companies (from Seed through A round) and mature tech companies.

Custom Retainer Packages – Example program: Twice-monthly sessions for up to five founders with quarterly group meetings and scheduled on-site visits for coaching. Sessions will be conducted by video chat or telephone, or if in San Francisco downtown some sessions may be scheduled in person. Starting at $225/hour per founder.* Special companywide coaching packages for companies of 10 or less. 

*Every startup has different needs, we create the right program. If necessary, travel expenses negotiated and billed separately.

Can Timothy Thomas Coach Professionals Pursuing ICF Certification?

ICF Mentor Coaching with Timothy Thomas helps coaches in training accelerate their certification process, attract clients, build coaching experience, create income streams, and fulfill required ICF coaching hours. As a PCC, Timothy Thomas can provide official ICF Mentor Coaching for coaches currently enrolled in an ICF-accredited training program.

Love coaching and looking for pathways to make it a full time career? I have made executive coaching my full-time job. I have tactical information that will get you out in the world making a difference as a coach while pointing out potential pitfalls that we all want to avoid. Important note: As a PCC, I can offer this to coaches in ICF training as ICF Mentor Coaching, if desired.

Meet with me to discuss what is on your mind – practical business challenges, explorations on coaching as a career, or wherever you’d like to work. Sessions will be conducted in person in Seattle; by video chat or telephone in any other location. In the SF Bay Area? Some sessions may be scheduled in person. $175/Session (save $50/session) Must be in ICF training or ICF certified. 

Do you coach LGBTQ individuals?

Yes, I am here to be with you in an accepting and non-judgmental environment.

“Tim is a strong coach. Whether by phone or in person, Tim asks insightful questions, which allow you drill down into the tricky issues, pull them apart to see them from several new angles, and figure out the next steps that are the right fit for you.

Tim is really good at paying attention not just to what you say, but how you say it, to help uncover hidden assumptions about a challenge that you’re facing, which then allows you to take a different approach. He does all of this with a great sense of humor. I always leave coaching sessions with a renewed sense of what’s possible.” – Angela Knox, SVP of Engineering, Cloudmark