Mr Schwarz called me. It was a Monday afternoon and I had just finished a coaching session. I asked, "What can I do for you?" He replied, "I heard through a friend that you support managers in critical situations." "Yes," I said, "it depends. What is your situation?" He replied resignedly, "I've been applying for a few months now, not without success, but I just can't get past the first round." I asked him what his previous position was, how old he was and what he earned per year, where he lived and what his family situation was. He readily gave me information on everything and we arranged a meeting to get to know each other personally. I asked him to bring all his documents such as CV, references and certificates. Three days later we met in Cologne. After he had told me how the applications he had initiated went, it quickly became clear to me what the problem might be. I suggested that we spend two days working intensively on his positioning and interviewing skills so that he could perform better. He agreed, and so a week later we began an intensive coaching job interview. The first thing I did was analyze his professional and family situation. It turned out that leaving his last company had not been without conflict, and in the background, anxiety resonated in every new conversation. I addressed this openly. "Mr. Schwarz, my impression is that for you the situation of leaving the company has not yet been resolved. Would you like to talk about it?" It was as if a great door had been opened. We talked about this topic for a very long time, and I showed him on the flip chart what his situation had been at the old company and why it had evolved in such a way that leaving was inevitable. Such realizations hurt. My client was also affected. He said, "Yes, that's exactly how it was. I wonder why I didn't realize it myself?" I replied, "That's often the case because it's hard to view such a situation neutrally from the outside for yourself. That's where the change of perspective together with a coach helps." From this key experience, his self-image changed. We worked out a clear positioning based on his range of services and experience, and I showed him how to prepare for the job interview and what he should pay attention to when conducting the interview. So he went into the next interviews well equipped, and it wasn't long before he called me to report, "I'm in the second round. What did you do to me?" I was happy for him and said, "You did it yourself. I just opened your eyes a little bit". He got that job, and I followed him for several more months until he had arrived at the new company and was well settled. But that's another story.