Crafting careers, transforming lives and building communities – A journey from resume writing to building leadership.
By Jayanthi Krishna
Career coach, personal brand builder, Catherine Hahn, focuses on career development. She coaches anyone starting from high school students to CEO level. From job identification to career fulfillment to change in career. She believes that everyone has a career passion and she wants to help people identify and nurture their passion.
After graduating from UCLA Hahn joined Getty Museum as an intern curator, although she loved to study history and classical civilisation, she was not fulfilled with her internship. Then she moved on to work as an executive administrative assistant, to her luck, she got fired in the first week. Though it was very disappointing, Hahn gathered herself and looked up on the internet which was fairly new during 1999. She joined her first job at Mason Concepts in the sales department. She figured out how important it is to be prepared for the job. Being prepared is indeed crucial for success and efficiency in the workplace. Later when worked as a recruiter in an IT company, ironically the company’s management decided to part ways and dissolved the firm. Hahn started working for one of the business owners and specialized in Government recruiting for the City of Los Angeles. Without even a hint of imposter syndrome, Hahn tried to grab everything that came her way and she accelerated her career to new heights, by recruiting in various departments like Health care, Legal, Marketing, and many other sectors across the board. That’s an impressive level of confidence. She was going great guns for someone who was only 22 years old.
While recruiting for Government sectors, she discovered that the candidates had to have a certain parameter on the resume that flows into the job which supports them to land a job. So she started helping her clients write an effective resume. Hahn was good at writing because of her degree in college and found out that resume writing was a separate field she could pursue. Since she was evidently getting busy at home with young children, she needed a job she could operate remotely. Once she got her foot in the door, she started her own company called Affordable Resume Coach. Hahn is a certified resume writer and an interview professional.
Started advising her clients on career opportunities alongside writing resumes, that segwayed to many other arenas.
During the pandemic of 2020, as her parents wanted to retire from their real estate business, Hahn along with her younger brother, took over the business and continued to run the business. On the other hand her teenage daughters were emotionally hit by the lockdown and were looking for an opportunity to make use of their time. One day while watching the news, they thought they could start a small library for those who are interested in reading books. To encourage reading habits, Hahn started mentoring her daughters and their two friends who started a book club called ‘Dynamite Book Club’. The club organically grew and “it was almost meant to be that way, because they were approached by random people who asked them what they were doing” says Hahn, people started showing interest in their project and supported them. Started at her house with their personal library, gradually they started putting up book boxes for people to borrow and donate books. The kids felt purposeful as they continued. “My goal in life is to find everyone’s purpose as a career coach” fondly, shares Hahn. As a mentor, she started creating projects for students who could participate as volunteers and get hands-on experience. The book club has grown to 15 libraries and 3 more in the pipeline to go, encouraging many students now. Hahn guides and mentors students who approach for assistance. She takes great care of the entire project that the students propose to work on.
“Don’t fear asking” is her slogan for anyone that she works with, “worst case, if you get rejected you move on to the next” advises Hahn. Always be prone to saying yes, since you do not know what’s in store for you. Evidently her pet peeve is instant gratification, she insists that everyone has to work toward their goal and they will certainly achieve it, but without the efforts, nothing’s going to happen. Talking about facing the fear and handling the fear factor, Hahn says that when she was young she herself used to be an introvert to a large extent, so much that she tried to avoid going to church due to social anxiety, because she had to face many people instead she would hide in her house. She understands the new generation with similar issues. Hahn shares a few tips for especially students who are hesitant to take further steps. When talking to someone, looking above their head instead of looking into their face helps. While addressing a large crowd just focus on your words and do not worry about the people, you can handle it much better. She talks about narrow focus – An attentional style in which an individual has the ability to concentrate on relevant stimuli and ignore other stimuli. For facing fear or a challenge, first of all make a list of things to do to tackle the situation and practice, then put up a confident persona and face the world.
Speaking of failures and humiliation, she giggles remembering Aaliyah’s song title ‘Then dust yourself off and try again’ Hahn says, that’s it, “what if you failed in something, just pull yourself up and try again”, if you dwell on failure, you are only blocking yourself. “If you say ‘I can’ and ‘yes’, you are opening a world of opportunities beyond your imagination”
As a career counselor it is very natural for her to speak about career plans, growth, and living a certain kind of lifestyle. She commonly finds that kids (especially college bound students) think that they have a lot of time! Hahn sits with them and starts to explain to them as: Think of yourself 10 from now, you’ll be an adult. Start taking charge of yourself from now; what do you want to achieve, what kind of lifestyle do you want to have? Chart out the necessary action items to maximize your time available considering the age of the student. One can choose when to start their adulthood if they have a clear cut plan of action, discipline and time management – reaching milestones as per plan is key for reaching goals. Sounds cliche, but time management is number one! One of the best tools is a vision board. It is a great aid that represents one’s goals and aspirations, and enhances visualization of your success. It is a personal and creative tool for manifesting aspirations and fostering a positive mindset.
People will have the capacity to perform better and to their potential with guidance and a bit of handholding. Hahn takes pleasure in mentioning about one of her clients, who works as a radiology manager at a doctor’s office and he is all in for strategic growth. By both volunteering and as part of the workforce, he has been doing very well for himself, his podcast on cancer cure has been on top of the charts, he also has designed a program for caregivers which is classified information. She coaches entrepreneurs on marketing strategies, business development, and enjoys a bit of property management as well. Hahn genuinely wants to encourage youngsters to create their own career path which leads them to a great lifestyle.
Thinking back on her own career path, Hahn wishes that she had Catherine Hahn by her side to give the guidance and advice she gives her clients today. She thinks she should’ve explored more options and probably would have landed in the healthcare industry. Her biggest regret is that she should’ve continued her education to become a scientist and dietitian as her side gig. Hahn offers her clients a very broad spectrum of services from getting into a job, growth, change in career path, skill sets, long term strategic planning considering paying for mortgage and other loans, travel plans, though she doesn’t focus on finance as a financial advisor would, she helps her clients to plan their retirement, in terms of how much money one needs to feel fulfilled to retire and lead a comfortable life. She doesn’t look at retirement as what happens when someone stops working, she looks at it more like a lifestyle aspect.
Women should have a clear plan of what they want to do, how long do they want to take a break from their career in case they want to focus more on their personal and family life. Some of her clients intended to take a two year sabbatical, instead had to take a 10 year break. The Internet has a wide range of options for jobs like, return to work jobs, jobs for over 50s and getting back to college to refine their skills is a great investment, suggests Hahn. Consulting a career coach is the most effective and efficient way to restart or change a career path.
Since Hahn wears so many hats, like a career counselor, mentor to volunteers, property management, caregiver to her parents, social worker, and many more, she has to be on top of everything. Past two years she’s been maintaining a thorough planner after a friend advised her to have a planner. She chuckles and she credits her neuro diverse ADHD for her high energy in slaying the game. Writing things down has proved very helpful for her, a gratitude journal puts in the right mood for the day to handle it well.
“I want the kids to give back to society, it’s good for the soul and their mental health, gives them a perspective.” It is not just workforce volunteering but also for the community, which gives them hands-on experience, it expands the possibilities and creates a better generation. Hahn passionately shares “I’m hoping that one day even with one person at a time I’ll be able to help” that’s what she enjoys most about her role as a mentor and a coach.
It’s important that everyone has a hobby to unwind and enjoy something other than a regular routine. Hahn has an interesting hobby of metal detection at the beach. She’s been lucky to find a silver ring in her exploration. She’s aiming to collect a lot more interesting pieces of metal at the beach. Hobbies help in taking a minute for yourself when constantly being busy. It’s good to be busy but it’s also important to take breaks and invest in oneself.
Hahn has a very interesting approach which she has practiced with her clients who are seeking jobs. She has a unique program of ‘Brainstorming bubbles’ which actually helps in creating and building an extensive networking system. She highly recommends that students coming out of college should have internships or part time jobs lined up even before they get out of college. She is constantly looking for ways of helping out her clients and her volunteers so that they are benefited in more than one way. Exploring career options is crucial and she recommends volunteering at the workforce to get the practical feel of the job, environment and expectations of the industry. On the other hand, it helps in building a network.Which I feel is a privilege to have. Hahn jokingly says that engaging with random people on social media could lead to a lot of potential progress.
In closing, Catherine Hahn’s journey from intern curator to CEO-level career coach exemplifies the power of resilience, adaptability, and relentless pursuit of one’s passion. Her dedication to helping others identify and nurture their career passions is truly inspiring. Through her diverse experiences and unwavering commitment, she has not only transformed her own career but has also positively impacted the lives of countless individuals, guiding them towards fulfilling and purposeful paths. As we reflect on her remarkable story, let us embrace her advice to fearlessly pursue our goals, to embrace failure as a stepping stone to success, and to always strive for personal and professional growth. Catherine Hahn’s journey serves as a beacon of hope and motivation for anyone navigating their own career path, reminding us that with perseverance and the right guidance, anything is possible.
