TESTIMONIALS

Clients—

“When I got notice that I was going to be laid off, I fell into a funk - this had never happened to me and I am senior in my field. I heard the sound of ageism in my ears, but Dr. Klavans assured me that I could redirect and update my experience in a way that I could be of value in my field. We worked to reframe my significant achievements in a way that companies could see my strengths. I found a good position even with a shorter commute. The adjustment was not easy, but Dr. Klavans was in my corner for the entire process.” —Ben R.

“I got my degree from a top University, but I never thought it would take so long to get a good job. After waiting tables for nearly two years, I found Dr. Klavans, and she helped me find a good entry-level position in record time. That was four years ago, and I haven’t looked back!” —Arlene K.

“Dr. Klavans helped me find new direction in my stalled career. She was an empathic listener to my goals, and quickly came up with a plan tailored to precisely my needs. I can’t thank her enough!” —Jared R.

“Judith employs a variety of skills to help people advance in their careers or change to new ones. She is creative, detail oriented, and pleasant to work with, but she is not afraid to challenge you to do the hard work of examining your own skills and interests. Whether you are looking to move up or move on, Judith is a great resource.” —Danny

“Thanks to the thoughtful guidance of Judith, I once was lost, but now am found.” —Anne

Therapists—

“I have referred several challenging patients to Dr. Judith Klavans for help in solving career frustrations, job lay-offs and career changes. Judith is strong in listening and people-skills and creates a supportive and empowering environment for the clients she works with. She has an unusual set of qualifications for a career advisor. With her sophisticated technical skills, she helps people understand the artificial intelligence algorithms which control job search. Her work experience in industry, academia and government makes her uniquely qualified with information in these different work environments. Judith helped each of my patients in different ways to come up with strategies for job search. Working with her has been a highly successful experience for my patients and for me. She is adept at keeping clear boundaries between what is within her expertise in career advising and what is more appropriately handled in psychotherapy.” —SKS, New York City and New Jersey

“I’d like to take just a moment to share an important resource it took me, literally, 20 years to find. That resource is a career counselor to work with clients needing help finding their way through the morass involved in job hunting, as well as the process of researching and identifying solid and realistic career paths to pursue. She shepherds those who need it, and identifies a plan for more independent seekers of meaningful work. Whether the client is in their college years or older, she’s dynamite.

 Judith Klavans PhD in Dupont Circle is now my go-to person on all things related to work and career. She is not only sharp and knows her stuff but is just a very nice person. She has worked with a very challenging …client of mine and her ability to meet him where he’s at and make slow but steady progress has been amazing. She also works with executives in transition and international folks so she’s good with a range of clients.

I recommend her highly and without reservation.” —JF, Therapist, Bethesda, MD

case studies


Adam S.

“Judith Klavans provides an all-encompassing workshop to launch one’s career.  

The process begins with pre-courser exercises prior to the first session to get one thinking about what it is they are looking for as well as an autopsy on their existing career.  The goal is to make best use of everyone’s time from minute one on day one to next steps in-between, to prepare for meeting two and so on.  After each session you can expect detail- oriented notes recapping what was discussed within 24 72 hours, and what is expected for the following meet-up.  You are always “in the driver seat” so going at your own pace is preferred.  The flexibility to meet up either in person with multiple offices across the DC Metro Area, or via Skype makes things easy during the busy work week.  

In my experience specifically, I came to Judith not really knowing what I wanted to do but knew that I wanted to break away for the corporate world and do something entrepreneurial.  

I came to her with pursuit of 4 different opportunities and we outweighed the pro’s and con’s together to really dig deep inside myself and find out what it is that would make me most happy.  I was quite open with her about working with a therapist and she provided suggestions to work on for personal growth outside of our sessions for personal growth.  After narrowing down what I wanted to pursue the most, she was along my side through the journey.  The process took over 9 months and there was a total of 8 sessions.  The length of time had everything to do with nature of finding a new job, but more importantly finding the right job.  

Through each task that was thrown at us, we tackled them together.

It wasThis included everything from email review before sending something off to the interviewer, from resume upkeep and tweaking depending on the job description, understanding how companies post jobs, cover letters, and what tricks of the trade you need to know to get ahead of the curve.  A big help to me was preparing and practicing for my final interview of with power points.  This provided additional confidence and was every bit of having a coach in your corner. If I needed to ask her a question in between sessions or ask her too look at something she always got back to me within 24 hours.  It was nice to have someone by your side through out the journey.  Sometimes working with a spouse or a significant other or family member can create tension and having a 3rd-party made things simple.

All in all, Judith Klavans provides a top-notch service from soup to nuts.  

Her background of working with huge organizations for years like IBM, and her extensive background working for top universities like Columbia and Maryland, she provides all you need to get to the finish line.  I highly recommend her to anyone stuck in their seat looking to re-invent their careers.”


Beth C.

“I’ve had a wonderful 25 year career in the same position but it was time for a change.

I looked for a career advisor with the maturity and experience to help me think about how I could take what I’ve already done successfully and do something completely different. I interviewed three people and Dr. Klavans was by far the best. She has worked in industry (as I did), government and academia. She has experience with not-for-profits and social justice organizations.

After our first meeting, she sent detailed notes with what she called “homework” for us both. I found it easy to follow and stay on course through her flexible but disciplined methodologies. After the first meeting, we came up with a 3 month plan; after the 4th meeting, we reevaluated and readjusted this plan. Our joint goal was 6-9 months of planning so I could comfortably give notice in my current job and have the time to pass on my responsibilities while also building up my plan for financial security and emotional satisfaction.

— Something that I hadn’t known about (since it had been over 25 years that I looked for a job!) was that most organizations use something called an ATS, which is an Applicant Tracking System.

These systems will scan and filter all kinds of input (resumes, LinkedIn profiles, blogs, Facebook posts, twitter) to come up with a profile for any applicant. So even if you send in a simple resume, the algorithms that are used to filter ingest more that just that simple file you sent. If you don’t have the key phrases (words aren’t enough) in context, then you don’t get through the gatekeeping tools, plain and simple.

At the same time, you can’t just fill up your cover letter with every keyword in a job ad or it’s clear you’re trying to outsmart the technology. You’ll be discovered!

So if you don’t want your materials to slip through the application cracks, you need to understand how these tools work. Judith has a solid handle on the technology, and this is a unique capability that she offers. She is empathic and a great listener, plus she had a delightful sense of humor. All the tough topics we addressed together were done with respect and laughter. I did find something in the end that I never anticipated, namely going into teaching since I had expertise that I hadn’t yet identified as a teachable subject area.

I took a certification course and got additional qualifications, which I was able to do while I still had my other job. And then the application process started. I feel energized to have started this new career, in contrast to feeling old and washed out when we first met.

Dr. Klavans is a model of reinvention through her own career path.

She helped me to figure out what not to do which was just as important as figuring out what to do. She was an advisor, mentor and a boost when I needed it.”