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"Your excellent help made all the difference for me to be where I am today."
"Your coaching set me on the right path to actually achieving my goals. I know that your excellent help made all the difference for me to be where I am today. Thank you kindly."
-Colleen Richard, Ph. D., New Britain, CT.
"Within five months of working with Jane, I was offered my dream job."
"In the three years I have worked with Jane, she has enabled me to focus on the tough aspects of job searching and career development.
"Prior to working with her, I had been unsuccessful in obtaining an entry level position. The instant I met her, I knew she understood my situation, what I wanted to achieve and most importantly, the tools I needed to get there."
"Her task orientated style was an ideal match for me. I gained confidence and poise by completing challenging weekly assignments. Within five months of working with Jane, I was offered my dream job."
-Marta, MTV Networks
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Get to Know Jane Cranston
Are you thinking "Who is Jane Cranston and what makes her qualified to coach me and my career or job search?"
Then you are in the right place because on this page I share with you my background, experience, and a little more about me.
I started my first business when I was eleven years old. Granted my art school was on my parent's patio and my client base was limited to the kids in the neighborhood but I learned a considerable amount about attracting customers (busy mothers who wanted a respite from their kids), profit margins (quality vs. cost of paint and paper), and time management (I only had a summer). I mention this because it was an early indicator of my love for helping others to reach their potential and my excitement about my work.
My first real career (yes, I've had a few) was in the fashion/retail field. I held most positions in the sector. In my first company I had seven different titles in eight years leaving as the VP of Operations for the East and West Coast for a major NYC department store. While most executives in the industry were interested in product design, I found myself attracted to the people side of the business. It was in my numerous executive positions that I learned about my skill for managing people and the joy I got from servicing the immediate and ultimate customer. As my career progressed (I joined Banana Republic as the Northeast Regional Manager) I became more involved with staff development, management recruitment, and employee relations, while continuing with the merchandising, administrative and operational aspects of my work. I especially loved challenging managers to reach levels higher than they had imagined, in record time. At Liz Claiborne, where I was the Director of Stores, we were starting a new venture;the company's group of nationwide retail stores building an organization from the ground up, and introducing the employees to the culture of the a well-established company. All of this happened under the critical eye of the entire retail community. This experience was one of the highlights of my career.
With a strong desire to give back, as well as a new family life, I chose to earn a graduate degree at New York University. I then served in the world of not-for-profit. From the beginning my intention was always to bring my skills into the world of work: 1) because I saw the need and 2) it was the place I felt I could have the greatest impact.
Three years into the work my best friend (Susan Flynn) came into my office and threw a professional journal on my desk. "This is what you do, are good at, and should be doing more of" she said. The headline read "Coaching." I explored, trained at the Executive Coach Academy and became an executive career coach. From the start I knew there was a match. I am grateful to work in a field that honors all of my skills and experience and allows me to meet and assist a fascinating array of people in a wide variety of professions.
In addition to the corporate positions and the not-for profit job, I also opened and operated three successful businesses (not including the art school). They ranged from a general store offering specialty foods in Springs, East Hampton, NY (a 150 year-old historic building famous as the place Jackson Pollack traded a painting for beer and bread in the 1950s), a clinical practice, and my current executive career coaching business. Executive Coach NYC, my present venture, opened nine years ago, is based in Manhattan, with corporate and individual clients throughout the United States.
My executive career coaching focuses on senior and middle level executives, teams and business owners in fields such as finance, banking, information technology, manufacturing, real estate, research, fundraising, sales, marketing and media, the law, as well as entrepreneurs. My clients are successful at what they do but they want more. Sometimes they need to increase their people management skills (something they were never taught), or they want to get to the next level in position and/or salary, and are unclear as to how and want career advice. Others feel uncomfortable discussing their concerns with colleagues and want an objective, yet supportive, ear. Recently a number of clients have found themselves unemployed, at risk of losing their jobs or thinking of a career change. They need resumes,interviewing skills and networking techniques. Some come to me as an alternative to traditional outplacement. Why people come and why they stay varies but what they have in common is motivation and a desire to succeed in their careers in these tough times with less stress.
My education and training is broad. I have three degrees and completed the coach training program and became a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF). I bring all my experience, business and personal, to my coaching. I have been promoted, laid-off, on the right side of regimes and the wrong side of office politics, opened businesses and closed them: had jobs I loved and jobs I disliked, worked for a genius, many talented people, and a few morons and fools, sat in the board room and ate in the staff cafeteria, saw very ethical behavior and people with little integrity. In times of inflation, depression, stagnation, terrorism, downsizing, right-sizing, during the feminization of the workplace and the dawn of the age of technology, I was there. Numerous times I was the first woman to hold a particular position. Because of my broad career experience in a variety of fields, as well as an ability to see options, I was regularly seen as a generalist who was on the cutting edge as well as the fringe of my chosen fields. (I love that role). All of this only helps me work with the people I coach, many of whom are "firsts," not stereotypes, in their fields.
I am a member and observe the ethical code of these associations:
I have been an executive and career coach with Leadership Training Room.
It is with great pride I have observed the growth of my clients and employees. Most of these outstanding people have done remarkable things and have made major contributions.
Personally, I was raised in the suburbs, have lived in the city for most of my adult life, did a stint in a rural setting and now spend many weekends at the ocean. I have been single, married, separated, divorced, single (again), married (again). I come from a large and loving family that is more diverse than most and for that I am richer and grateful. I love my work and I have a full life outside of work. I enjoy entertaining, travel with my husband to the ordinary and the extraordinary, have a fabulous garden, great friends and family, and eat chocolate every day.
That is the short version. Am I successful? For sure! Did I have a career strategy—sometimes. Did I make some mistakes? Yes. Could I have benefited from the skills and support of a coach—ABSOLUTELY, which is why I have had coaches for many years.
For a complimentary, get-acquainted conversation, schedule a "Get Acquainted" appointment.
Have questions? Click here for "An Interview with Jane".
Interested in how others have made, set, and achieved their goals and enhanced their lives? Click here to read some client "Testimonials".
PS: I always suggest that people shop around when they are looking for a coach. Ask the important questions about their education, training, and relevant business experience. How do they work, what are examples of client successes? Speak with people who have been coached by this coach. And lastly, and maybe most important, there has to be a match, a fit of style and personality. Remember you are the customer—select wisely.
I promise if I do not think I can assist you or if I think another coach would be a better fit, I will happily refer you to one of my very qualified colleagues.
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