Susan McGraw
Founder and CEO
Career Success for Women & Youth
Career Success for Women & Youth
So much of my work over the past 25 years has been to support youth, adults, organizations, and communities to effectivelly "tell their story". The story might have been an important tool for them to obtain an internship opportunity, get into college, land the first job or the twentieth job, build a strong team, clearly communicate a vision or mission to their customer, or collaborate to address important community needs.
So, instead of a formal "biography", it seems only fitting to tell you a little bit about my own story!
My experience with making successful career transitions began "right out of the gate", when I wasn't able to get a job as a Special Education Teacher upon graduation from the University of Michigan! Although I was prepared for a career, I wasn't prepared for what to do when the job market suddenly shifted, and the jobs in my field simply vanished. So, when asked, I usually say that my career began "by accident" and I started out living and working in New York City, not by choice, but "by default"!
From that point until now, I have had the need (or as some would say, "opportunity") to reinvent myself, my work, and my life on a regular basis, continually expanding my skills, tools, techniques, experience, and expertise!
Early in my career, when it became obvious that I needed to make a job or career change, I often reacted quickly, usually with a bit of fear and panic! Luckily, over a short period of time, I developed some very effective strategies to be more proactive, rather than reactive, and recognized that "self-directed change" is way more enjoyable!
So, after several years of management experience in "the big city", I knew I wanted to live on the west coast in California. I put together a rudimentary plan and, sure enough, within a year, I was transferred from New York to Los Angeles to serve as a Regional Manager for an insurance company! That was the good news! The bad news....I was required to start firing employees (and improve productivity and morale at the same time!)! Voila.....a synchronistic event occurred! My passion for supporting individuals through a dramatic (or in some cases "traumatic") career transition became my new professional focus as I researched everything I could find on the subject and coached my employees through the process. After making my own transition to yet another unsatisfying executive level position in a healthcare organization, I knew it was time to start my own business as a consultant, trainer, and professional speaker.
Over the years, my business expanded beyond its initial emphasis on career development for women (first business: Women of Vision). As my clients changed careers or started new businesses, the portfolio of products and services which I offered expanded to include programs for work teams and organizations including: strategic planning; change management; career and organizational development; executive, leadership, and managerial coaching; team building; employee training and development; and performance management.
I am most passionate about assisting individuals, teams, organizations, and communities to design short and long-range plans to enhance job and career satisfaction, start or expand new businesses, improve team and organizational success, or to build strong collaborations among local community-based governments and agencies to address housing and homelessness, literacy, early childhood education, youth asset development, individual and community health and wellness, etc.
I have had the privilege of coaching more than 7,000 individuals, trained over 40,000 employees, and partnered with hundreds of organizations and community collaboratives to enhance individual, organizational, or community success. In addition, I have worked with local agencies, state governments, and corporations to build and operate Career Transition Centers to serve thousands of job seekers each year. I am proud to say that the training curriculum which I authored, the "6 Steps to a Great Job!" (for adults) and the "7 Steps to a Great Job!" (for youth), is being used by the staff of work force development organizations which serve over 15,000 job seekers each year.
I am a graduate of the University of Michigan and a Certified Practitioner of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator and the DiSC Profile. After being based in Los Angeles and on the central coast of California for many years, I am now living and working from my home on a sweet little lake near Ann Arbor, Michigan.
If you are interested in seeing a list of some of the organizations I have served, click here for a Client List.
For more information on my consulting services with organizations, visit Susan McGraw Consulting.