1Up is reinventing Career Coaching for First-Gen, Nontraditional college students and we are currently seeking an Online Career Coach to join our team.

This story needs a little background before I can explain the job.

I was a K-12 educator, working with students from poor families.

I switched to become a career coach. Self taught. Purposefully rejecting the conventional approach. My focus was First-in-Family college grads who were struggling to find good jobs. Mostly grew up poor; mostly African-American and Hispanic.

This career coaching effort was an experiment, and … it worked. Shockingly well. I say that as someone who, in other experiments, failed a lot!

So now some backers want me to serve more people who need this “Last Mile” help of getting a better job.

Please read this for context on what we do. And then read this for why our clients say that traditional career coaches (from their colleges) did not succeed with them.
*

Our framework: the client needs to “win” - to beat out 10, 20, 50 other (probably nice) people for the job. So any normal “light touch help” has a near zero chance of success. We ask for permission to be unusually blunt and directive - clients always say yes - and then that’s exactly what we are.

I’m looking specifically for ex-teachers or leaders from top charter schools (Uncommon, KIPP, IDEA, etc) who thrived in the classroom … but who now want a more flexible, work-from-home job.

Hours: ~20/week

I will train you on precisely how to help these recent college grads who are struggling mightily to get a better job.

Typical Career Counselor (What we DON’T do)
1. Wait to see who makes an appointment
2. Give job seekers encouragement and light resume and cover letter edits; suggest resources like job boards, Handshake , etc
3. Hope for the best

1Up Career Counselor (What we DO)
1. Our university partner sends out emails to recent alumni. “Hey if you’re struggling to find a good job, we can help.” When alumni respond “yes please” then they send them to us. You meet with them, and in an honest conversation, explain what we do and how we do it.

Context: these alumni often feel sad and low confidence. In May they celebrated college diploma and now in October they can’t find a decent job and feel like failures.

2. Usually your roster is 20 clients at a time. Each week you’re launching 2 new clients, helping 16 that are mid-process, and helping 2 at the finish line negotiate their offers and start the new job.

3. For me, while my hours have been roughly steady (I’m full time so I work 8am to 6pm or so), I make time when clients need me. They have a job interview tomorrow at 10am? And the only time they can prep is tonight at 8pm? No problem, I’m there.

For a 20 hour per week coach, I’d imagine a similar set up. Mostly regular hours but switching as needed - whatever it takes.

4. Just as an example of our process: a typical career counselor simply says, “What do you want to do?”

At 1Up we go much deeper. We have clients read Job Descriptions (JD) aloud to you; try to answer their questions on what each sentence means (you correct as needed); and then have them rate that JD 1-10. Usually after several of these “close readings” - both of you become clear on what the student wants.

You’ll read more about our approach in the links above.

Who would be good at this?
Someone with a great track record as a teacher or leader in a high-poverty school … very specifically you have given lots of direct, tough feedback in order to raise your students to the highest standard, without fear, using a relationship you build to maintain their trust and confidence. Jaime Escalante would have been a good Last Mile coach.

Bottom line: We need 2 skills … someone who can Sherlock Holmes everything it takes to get someone whose baseline is #12 out 20 applicants all the way to #1 out of 20 (not easy), and who ALSO can build trusting relationships with our particular demographic, freeing the Last Mile Coach to be very specific and directive.

Key Aspects of Our Approach
“Whatever-it-takes” coaching: We take responsibility for helping students find and secure a better job.

Blunt, no-nonsense feedback: We tell students exactly what’s working and what’s not—whether it’s a poorly structured resume or a subpar interview performance.

Hands-on guidance: We provide detailed coaching on everything from resume writing to interview prep, including night-before role-playing and specific communication tips.

Focus on underrepresented groups: First-generation college students and working adult learners, who often lack access to traditional career networks, are a core focus of this coaching initiative.

How To Apply
Email me at: Geordie [at] 1Upcoach.org

Get in Touch