Everything She Wants Spotlight: NYC Career Coach Nicole Orisich

Are you stuck in a dead-end job? Or perhaps you want to transition to a new career?  If you answered yes to either question, you may benefit from the services of a career-focused life coach like Nicole Orisich. A Certified Tough Transitions Career Coach (CTTCC), since 2010 Nicole has established herself as one of the top coaches in New York City. We chatted with the entrepreneurial Get Unstuck NYC coach, who also runs the Pretty Hard Body fitness studio for women in Harlem, about her inspiring career path.

Everything She Wants: What is it like working as a career coach in NYC?

Career coach, Nicole Orisich.

Nicole Orisich: I have four appointment slots a day and my sessions are each 90-minutes long. No two sessions have ever been alike. It's like watching a really cool Woody Allen movie, with fascinating characters sharing fascinating tales. I'm always left in a state of gratitude after my sessions, because you can't engage in people's lives around topics that matter without recognizing what a gift that is. 

ESW: How do you stay motivated in-between sessions?  

Nicole: I have hobbies that excite me. Like, laugh out loud, exciting! I've been taking improv classes for almost a year now and I can feel the difference it's made in my coaching. I also like cooking with new recipes, because I love food. 

ESW: Did you feel coaching was your calling? 

Nicole: Working in corporate America was not easy for me. And I realize now that I did it longer than I had to. Oddly enough, I have yet to meet a client whose situation does not, in some way, mirror a past experience of my own. I have no doubt that what I experienced in 15 years of corporate work, laid the groundwork for what I do today.

ESW: How does what you do differ from therapy?

Nicole: I have been in therapy, and from my experience, my version of healing is much more focused on what's happening in your world today, rather than what did or didn't happen yesterday. My clients are [usually] not broken people who need to be fixed. Coaching is a forward-moving conversation.

ESW: What methods do you use to help your clients?  

Nicole: The majority of my clientele come to me needing to make a life-changing decision. With these clients, a part of the session is spent listening to their story and then a part is spent with me sharing my interpretation and insight. These kinds of sessions feel more like "career readings" where people walk away with a clear answer on what to do. But I have other clients who have no idea what they want to do, so over the course of a few sessions, we'll use my career assessment tool to uncover their natural gifts and talents, and brainstorm career paths that will allow them to do more of what they do so well. From there, I have a few tricks in my bag to help them reach those "A-ha" moments.

ESW: What is your biggest challenge as a coach?

Nicole: When clients are misleading about their ability to do the work. Because I rely on my intuition, I always know when I am not a good match for someone. And because coaching is a forward moving partnership, clients who have trouble moving forward are usually the ones who require the help that only a licensed psychologist can provide.