A simple change of his location on LinkedIn six months before relocating from New York to Hong Kong caught the attention of a recruiter and Kyle Binns secured a job in finance before even moving. “Having this job lined up before arriving was a big relief,” he shares.
At the start of his move, Kyle was offered career support as part of his wife’s relocation benefit. “Even though I already had a job waiting for me, I wanted to take full advantage of what my coach offered.” He was paired with Iris Kloth, a Hong Kong-based Career and Transition Coach who uses a caring approach to guide professionals to identify their strengths and accelerate their progress.
“A job should be something you enjoy doing and feel passionate about. Creating a focused action plan with my coach helped me find that.”
“Iris and I discussed where I thought I was in my career and where I wanted to be in the future,” Kyle comments. “She encouraged me to think about what I wanted personally and professionally.” Her guidance was especially helpful as Kyle learned more about his position in Hong Kong. “It was a great job, but it was not very challenging or exciting.” With Iris’ help, Kyle decided to change careers and focus on Cloud-based software systems. Together, they repositioned his personal brand and created an action plan to define how he would achieve the next stage in his career. “She really helped me understand what I wanted out of my career and gave me the confidence to go after it.”
“We spent quite some time improving my CV and LinkedIn profile,” notes Kyle. “I studied for a few months and obtained an Amazon Web Services (AWS) certification.” Then Iris asked the hard question – what are you going to do with your new certification?
Armed with a polished CV and LinkedIn profile, Kyle actively applied for jobs that focused on Cloud-based technologies. “Rather than having the certification to simply put on paper, I started looking for positions that directly required it. I was ready for a job that was fun and exciting, rather than just another job to pay the bills.”
In December, Kyle accepted a position at a tech startup as a Cloud Architect and Developer. “This job is a completely new start in my career as a technologist,” Kyle says. “Working at a small startup is a breath of fresh air. I am more energized and engaged because I am using tools and technologies that excite me and I’m surrounded by like-minded people.”
Iris comments, “I love working with clients like Kyle. He was very proactive and open. He focused on working toward his next career move and was strategic as he prepared for the change.”
Reflecting on the journey, Kyle shares, “In the past, I looked for opportunities that were secure or top paying instead of what would make me happiest. A job should be something you enjoy doing and feel passionate about. Creating a focused action plan with my coach helped me find that.”
