Career Coaching Reviews & Testimonials

“Working with Ian Christie of BoldCareer.com has proven to be one of the best decisions I have made in my professional career. With Ian’s assistance, I developed an understanding of my own skills and abilities, and I now feel empowered as I know how and to whom I can market my skills to achieve desired results. 

I found the traditional job search frustrating as few opportunities arose and even fewer seemed to have the appropriate fit for me. I was a very challenging client as I had extensive experience in a unique industry with seemingly little transference to other industries; particularly industries that provided the personal fit I so desperately sought. Ian facilitated a structured analysis and definition of my skills which we then packaged and used to approach targeted firms. As a result, I was offered exactly what I was looking for: a challenging position; working with exceptional people and technology; and, within an industry that I am passionate about. 

Ian is a very personable and intelligent individual. He has exceptional knowledge of the job market and effective job search strategies, and his commitment to my success was obvious. Working with Ian provided outstanding results that far exceeded my expectations. I recommend Ian to anyone who wants to take charge of their career and establish a trajectory that can create considerable personal and professional growth. Thank you Ian!”

“I thought that you might be interested to know that I recently received a promotion, and am now Vice President/General Manager.  This is a significant step for me, and was achieved with your assistance.  Your counseling and suggestions provided me with the tools and the plan to take the next step forward.  Two promotions since our first call - not bad.”

“Ian is great to work with because he is very experienced and is an outstanding listener. He did a brilliant job helping me to concisely define my own career (and life) goals and objectives, which created an effective standard for evaluating alternative career opportunities. His help in building a negotiation strategy paid out 10x what I invested in his services. I expect to use Ian again in the future.”

“Ian helped me to take my rather unclear thoughts and ideas regarding my future career path and crystallize them into a realistic and achievable plan to move forward. His approach is straightforward, forthright and it is clear he has a good deal of experience in his field.”

“One of the best decisions I’ve made in my professional life is hiring Ian as my career coach. He is attentive to my professional goals and comes to each of our meetings with new ways to tackle my objectives and get results. Creative, positive…simply a great coach!”

“Searching for a job is tough, finding the right job is even more difficult. I realized that in order to find a new job I needed to prepare myself. And I knew that I couldn’t do that alone. After so much time with one employer, I wanted an edge. I wanted guidance finding new opportunities, preparing for interviews, and I had doubts about my marketability in a competitive industry. Thank you, Ian, for your heartfelt advice, perspective and compassion. 

The enormous value I received from your positive and encouraging coaching cannot be overestimated. When you are knee deep in the changing tides it can be easy to lose sight of the horizon. Being able to have a personal and objective resource for all of the important questions and moments of self-doubt helped me stay focused. The experience of being coached by someone towards a very specific goal, which involved some difficult thinking on my part and a lot of patient probing on your part, was very positive. It got the job done.  And it got me the job. Thank you for being there for me on this difficult, but enlightening journey. I truly hope to work with you again in the future.”

“A portfolio career, like a financial portfolio, yields the best returns with savvy management. Ian Christie is a wizard at helping you find the most highly leveraged personalized strategy for investing your crucial time and attention resources for greatest impact.”

“If you want to achieve Everest-like career goals, Ian is the guide to help you get there! Initially, I was attracted by his deep experience in executive search in my local market. Once I signed up for his services, I appreciated his customization of a best practice approach to my specific needs. I would not hesitate to recommend him and have done so on three or four occasions already.”

“It would have been very difficult for me to get through this process without your help.  Your last email analyzing the situation accomplished something incredibly important - it got my family to feel good about me taking this offer.  You provided the credible outside expertise that we needed to bring our expectations into perspective.”

“I’ve tapped into Ian multiple times for his advice on day-to-day work issues as well as career planning. Ian always has great insight into situations and ready with some well-thought out solutions. I highly recommend him.”

“After a long fruitless job search had me wondering ‘what’s next?’, I began working with Ian. He helped me focus on the areas that I really wanted to work in, as well re-instilling the confidence that had gone missing.  Ian provided excellent feedback on my resume and cover letters, and was instrumental in my now successful job search.  Thanks Ian!”

“Ian has given me the confidence to take my career to the next level. He knows his stuff, and his advice is practical. I learn something from every conversation with him. I now know where I’m taking my career, and my search is more methodical and focused. I’m starting to build a network that will help me not just now, but in the future. Ian deserves a lot of credit for my future success.”

“Ian helped in the proposal phase of a new business venture. He was able to focus my energy and provide constructive feedback on the project. Ian’s help was invaluable. I highly recommend his services.”

“Ian’s delivery is very professional and helped me get back on track with my career by helping me see more clearly where my skills and passions lie.”

“Writing things down really works. There’s no way I would have followed through on writing that plan if I didn’t feel the pressure of being accountable through these weekly logs.”

“The Segal Graduate School at Simon Fraser University works with a very few select outside career coaches and experts to deliver parts of our Career Management Program to our MBAs. We have had the pleasure of having Ian teach and coach our students on various career topics.

I heard about Ian from an Executive MBA alumnus who used his services. Ian is one of a small group of external career coaches that I recommend to our alumni and the public. He comes from the executive search world and has the coaching skills and the business experience that I look for in career coach. I have no hesitation in recommending him – I consistently get great feedback from various people I have recommended to him.”

“I’m just following up with you to let you know that your mock interviewing service was such a valuable investment. I got the job offer and will accept it. Thanks for all your help.”

“Your skills in clarifying and organizing thoughts and presentation are considerable. I won’t hesitate to recommend you to others.”

“I was positive our meetings would be good as I was impressed by your knowledge at your presentation, and they are great - I always look forward to the meeting as I know I will learn a lot, but I never expected to get such excellent feedback over the email. I really feel like you put a lot of thought into your responses and your feedback. I really feel like I am receiving valuable advice and my money is well spent. The other thing that has come from working with you is that I feel much more confident about walking in there and telling them what I can offer now that I know what I am looking for - I feel so much further ahead. Thanks for all your help!”

“We have hired Ian on umpteen occasions to provide one-on-one interview coaching to MBA students in the full and part-time MBA program over the last four years. Ian’s insightful advice and professionalism has helped numerous students on their path to new careers. Ian has also conducted presentations to large groups of MBA students on maximizing their brand and marketing themselves successfully. His presentations are thoughtful, engaging and fun.”

“Ian stepped into my job search after several months of searching. He helped me craft the perfect resume and cover letter for my field. These landed me an interview with a great company. Ian then coached me through the interview and offer process. Within 2 weeks, I landed the job I wanted. Thanks Ian!”

“Ian has been a tremendous resource for me. He consistantly brings clarity and an action plan to solution for each question or challenge I pose. He is a expert in his field, well connected, and well respected.”

“Ian — I would send you a hand written card thanking you for your valuable time and unique insights. You have given me priceless gifts in preparation for my meeting. I am deeply grateful and look forward to sharing the outcomes.”

“Ian clearly strives for excellence in his dealings with his client base. He has a solid grasp on executive advancement issues and technology and is a very personable coach. His unique gift is his ability to transfer his vast knowledge and insight to another individual with the true spirit of a teacher.”

“Ian is that rare combination of talent plus experience that makes someone exceptional at what they do. His coaching has made my goal of shifting business sectors manageable by helping me create a strategic plan based on what he’s seen succeed in the past. And his framework for collecting details on my background was efficient and went well beyond what I was able to offer up through my previous resume and conversations, and also prepared me to talk crisply about my past experience. The copy writing he and his staff did for me is the best I have seen, which resulted in significantly raising the bar for my resume, LinkedIn profile, and bio. The personalized process and results both exceeded my expectations.”

“I began working with Ian on my personal career planning in 1998. Ian helped me to improve my professional situation by walking me through an analysis of my achievements, goals, strengths and weaknesses. Knowing where I was in my career made it possible for me to make the right moves and get to where I wanted to be. He has coached me through my last two career transitions. Getting a professional coach was the best career decision I’ve ever made.”

“There are times when a manager needs an ally and a coach. You were this and more. You created a comfortable context by phone and e-mail, even before we met where you could share your insights on the management issues I was dealing with. It is reassuring to know you are there — and that we could work together again if and when the need arises.”

“Ian brings clarity, confidence, energy and wisdom to my career planning. He has accelerated the development of my personal branding & self-employment plans. I now know where I am going and how to get there.”