Sean O'Keefe is the founder of Career Launch Academy, and the author of Launch Your Career: How Any Student Can Create Relationships with Professionals & Land the Jobs & Internships They Want. Sean is also an award-winning professor of career and professional development courses at Santa Clara University.

Sean was on my show for episode two last year, where we dove into his story and how with little experience and not even being the best in his field, he was able to land several high paying jobs. He started to realize the methods and techniques he used to land multiple high-paying jobs were not being utilized by most people and students especially were the biggest victim. 

Since we last spoke to Sean, he has launched a course/academy that empowers students to access the hidden job market and leverage their skills appropriately to land their dream job. Sean also published his first book outlining the methods of the Career Launch Method. Sean also talks about the pandemic, and how that impacted students ability to land jobs. Sean made a few minor tweaks to his methods and has seen even greater results during the pandemic.

I really wanted to have Sean on again, because I know a key to optimal health and optimal living is being happy with your career. Let's face it, you spend most of your day and life at your work and if you're not happy there, you're probably living an unfulfilled, purposeless life. Sean's advice has helped me land multiple jobs and transition out of different careers, so I know his methods work not just for students, but for those transitioning careers later in life as well. 

Sean regularly speaks, trains, writes and consults for colleges, universities, and career education nonprofits and government agencies. His specialty involves teaching students how to build professional relationships from scratch, as well as providing advanced training to faculty and career counselors on how to effectively teach networking to their students. Sean loves to share both researched-back data and evidence-based success stories of his former students. He is a thought-leader with the uncommon ability to both inspire organizations and audiences and provide them with practical takeaway strategies.

Last but not least, I'm excited to tell you that I've just launched an 8 week program dedicated to busy and motivated men that want to lose weight and start living their higher purpose. We work on mindset, clarity work, diet/nutrition, exercise, sleep, habits, and much more. For more details, DM me @joelevancoaching or email info@joelevancoaching.com 

Timeline
1:30 - What is ikigai and why should you have it
8:12 - Why students need to be proactive in their job hunt and are typically not
14:17 - Why branding is so important for students and how to leverage networking skills by simply enhancing their email signature
17:09 - The importance of this concept known as gating and increased response rates
19:20 - The top two reasons students don’t do proper outreach
29:48 - Why follow-up is just as important as outreach 
32:30 - How Andrew used The Feedback Technique to land his dream job
38:05 - How the Career Launch Method still works even in a post-pandemic world
40:21 - Sean and I do a mock negotiation
50:56 - The #1 phrase to say when negotiating salary

Other Resources/Links

Launch Your Career Book
Career Launch Academy
Career Launch Assessment