Hello, I'm Alaina!
I am a bubbly, empathetic National Certified Counselor, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Certified Practitioner, and Career Coaching expert with Master of Science in Counseling and Educational Specialist degrees, with nearly 10 years of experience career coaching and recruiting.
In addition to supporting clients with their career development, I love fuzzy animals (like my pet sugar glider, Flaps!), going to Disney, and performing in plays as a professional actor. Reading fantasy novels and taking walks in nature while listening to audiobooks are some of my favorite ways to pass the time.
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I am passionate about empowering others to explore their interests, skills, values, preferences, and motivations to find the career paths that best fit them and their goals! From discovering occupations and education paths uniquely suited to you, to writing materials that tell your story, to building your brand, networking strategically, acing interviews, and landing the job that will lead to the lifestyle of your dreams, I am here for you every step of the way.
I have helped hundreds of new graduates, experienced professionals, and current students plan and achieve their goals. I combine a therapeutic, person-centered approach and the cognitive information-processing theory, along with elements of positive psychology, solution focused therapy, and happenstance theory to build relationships with clients throughout the career development process and job search journey. If you want someone to cheer you on, guide and inform your progress, and hold you accountable to grow in your career, let's talk!
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Get to Know Me
Check out the video below and read on to learn a little more about my background, personality, and my own career path!
Alaina's Career Story
Growing up in Florida, I always loved visiting Disney World with my family. The joy of being in Central Florida led me to attend the University of Central Florida where I graduated in two years as Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Communication and Minor in English Literature. It was a difficult decision to choose my major, as I had a deep love for theatre and the performing arts. Ultimately, my passion for helping others led me to choose education and counseling as my career.
I went on to earn my CACREP accredited Master of Science in Counseling and Human Systems and Educational Specialist degrees from Florida State University. While in graduate school, I worked in the FSU Career Center supporting students, alumni, and community members, as well gaining college counseling experience with high school students at a private high school. Shortly following my graduation, I became credentialed by the National Board for Certified Counselors as a National Certified Counselor.
Continuing my love for learning and supporting others in their career development, I worked in higher education for several years and obtained certification as a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Certified Practitioner in order to help clients further understand themselves and identify career options. I am trained and certified to administer and interpret a variety of career and personality assessments, such as the MBTI and Strong Interest Inventory, with clients to guide self-understanding and occupation exploration. At The University of Tampa, I held a leadership role within Career Services, building further expertise providing career coaching to students and college graduates with their Bachelor's and Master's degree and 0-40+ years of experience prior to starting my own career coaching practice, Ask Alaina.
My Coach Approach
Utilizing a humanistic, person-centered approach, I am authentic, genuine, and empathic. I give my clients unconditional positive regard and view you as the expert on yourself, while I empower you and facilitate the process to move you forward in your career growth. Our conversations together are completely confidential and will be informed by evidenced based practices, such as the cognitive information processing theory, positive psychology, solution-focused therapy, and happenstance theory. All of our sessions will be completely tailored and personalized to your unique needs.
When we work together, I get to know you. We will dive deep into what interests you, what you or others say your strengths and skills are, and what values are most important to you in your life and career. We will talk about options you are considering, past and current experiences, important relationships in your life, and what motivates you and brings you meaning. Together, we will review strategies, including the potential use of assessments, to identify and explore other paths that may be satisfying to you. Finally, we will go through the step-by-steps of how to find and land the job of your dreams through resume and cover letter writing hands-on support, interviewing preparation, and networking and personal branding strategies such as using LinkedIn. Working with me will result in you discovering more about yourself to illuminate the best-fit path and provide direction for what to do next. You will leave our sessions feeling heard and equipped with the tools to make progress and grow in your career!
Testimonials
Check out what clients have to say about working with me!
Read comments and full reviews below.
Dani R.
"Alaina is the BEST career cheerleader I know. I have known her for 4 years and have been working on taking a big leap leaving a job to start my own business, and she has been a consistent voice of motivation and encouragement that helped me feel ready to take the plunge this year. She has listened to my career anxieties and helped me to feel more confident and trusting in myself. I am proud to say I’ve been working for myself for 6 months now, and I without Alaina’s support it definitely would have taken me longer to take this career step. I recommend her to anyone I know needing career development guidance! She’s also a wiz with the awful task of applying for jobs, though thanks to her I won’t be needing that anymore! Definitely Ask Alaina if you need anything career development related."
Jorge M.
"Alaina is my go to for expert guidance and motivation for my career development, including finding ideal roles, expressing myself well in my application materials, and navigating role advancement/promotions. Applying for jobs/promotions has always been a dreaded task for me, but Alaina has made it so much easier and less overwhelming. One of the best things about her is her ability to translate your experience to the roles you are applying for, and she’s a wealth of knowledge on the technical aspects of understanding job descriptions and how to get through the barriers and auto filters on application sites. Her positive energy makes a stressful task so much more enjoyable."
Alex G.
"Alaina is incredibly thoughtful, and puts forth an incredible amount of effort towards listening and helping provide you the strategic discussion needed to determine your direction. She goes above and beyond to provide a top tier collaborative experience, and I'm grateful I chose her services."
Gabriel E.
"I appreciate everything Alaina has done for me and believing in me as well. Her feedback has been great and I definitely will reach out if I need additional assistance."