Strategic Career Development & Executive Coaching

"I highly recommend Joan to anyone who is looking to move forward in their career! She is an amazing person! Her coaching helped me redirect my work experiences into the career I have wanted my whole life, even when I wasn’t aware of it. She helped me grab the bull by the horns and I know will do the same for you. Some people are just perfectly suited for their profession, and Joan is one of those people. She is an absolutely passionate and inspiring coach. Thank you, Joan!!”

“Joan worked with me to advance my career to the next level. She was great from the initial meeting where she helped craft a plan based on what I wanted to achieve, how to ensure I covered every base to get there and finally to make sure I negotiated the best possible package for myself. Joan is very intuitive, has a great ability to see through the unimportant ” noise” quickly which means you get results fast. I really liked her high energy and unbridled optimism no matter what the seemingly unsurpassable obstacles were on the way to achieving success. She has an innate ability to empower you forward!”

“I wholeheartedly recommend Joan as a career management coach. She has practical and effective methods to help clients advance in their career. In my case, I went to Joan to help me close business. I knew I needed more insight, awareness and skills to develop more effective and persuasive communication skills. Joan very quickly helped me to identify and address my issues. Immediately following our work I had a much more successful interview! Joan is meant for this work; she has a tremendous ability to help people figure out what it is that really motivates them, and drives them to build on their strengths and activate their passion! She is compassionate and really “gets” it without requiring a lot of explanation and rehashing.”

“If you’re in a career transition, the best thing you can do is hire a career coach. Once you make that decision, I have two words for you: Joan Tabb. Joan has been an absolute goldmine of information and inspiration for me. Because I’ve always been extremely right brained, she has provided the all-important left brain activity that I sorely lack. Not only did I leave each of our coaching sessions pumped up and excited about the possibilities awaiting me in the job market, but I had very concrete assignments to help me achieve my career goals. Joan would not let me stagnate, but instead pushed me gently forward, encouraging me to venture out of my comfort zone. I cannot recommend Joan’s Great in 8 Coaching program highly enough.”

“Joan coached me to wisely translate my career story and platform into powerful tools and impactful conversations with influencers and employers. Working with Joan is an investment that will hold good for your entire career and lifetime. Simply what she taught me about negotiations paid for itself many times over! It doesn’t matter where you sit in your career, if you are ready to put in the work, Joan will help steer you in the right direction. Get ready to level up.”

“It is rare to come across a talent like Joan! She has the unique ability to know just when to bolster your sense of personal empowerment and confidence throughout the roller coaster ride of a new career search. She applies her practical real life professional experience to mapping out your career search development plan and keeps you on track every step of the way. I found her to be instrumental in assisting me to successfully and confidently bring out the best possible version of myself. I could not recommend Joan more highly!”

“Joan is the quintessential can-do, exuberant professional with whom anyone would want to work. Joan spoke at a daylong career transition conference I hosted, and her presentation was over-subscribed, although attendees had multiple tracks from which to choose. She was prepared, well organized, thoughtful, and empathetic to her audience’s interests and needs. I highly recommend working with Joan!”

"Joan is a Master-level Coach whose experience and guidance at the executive level is eye-opening. If you truly aspire to reach your goals and be more effective and fulfilled at work, engage with Joan Tabb. Joan doesn't pull punches, she's direct, intuitive and brilliant in being your guide, your partner - be prepared to push yourself to the next level, together."

“I highly recommend Joan as a strategic partner to anyone who wants to enhance their career. She brings deep expertise in career development and management, as well as the corporate business arena. She is perceptive, insightful, passionate, and focused on making a difference in her client’s careers. She is both a coach and a skill builder. Joan helped me with a unique 360 assessment, working closely to give me new insights and strategies. She has helped me chart my career forward. Working with Joan has been an excellent career investment and I will return to her as I move forward.”

"Joan is everything I could ask for in a career coach: insightful, inspiring, and most of all, effective. Working with Joan has been a transforming experience. I sought out Joan when I was at a crossroads, first to seek career guidance and then to upgrade my self-marketing skills to thrive in today’s arena. While working on these relatively concrete objectives, I also evolved into a better manager and worker from the heightened consciousness I developed through Joan’s discovery process."

"I would highly recommend Joan as an executive coach for any mid-to-senior level professional who is at a critical career juncture…Joan operates as a true partner—she’ll keep you “on your toes” and share with you proven leadership development strategies that will better help you maintain your “A game” while navigating the complex and challenging professional relationships that increasingly reflect today’s highly complex and competitive corporate environs.”

"I observed Joan’s leadership skills when she initiated and developed a community employment program to help people in our community get back to work during the economic downturn. The program was intelligently designed to connect the well employed with job seekers in the same industry. It led to many successful outcomes, and along the way Joan organized seminars and led training programs on positioning, interviewing and provided extensive networking opportunities within the community. Joan is both a strategic program builder and a most effective trainer and one on one coach. Joan would be an asset to any organization or corporation that is looking for a smart, dynamic, creative leader.”

“Joan was an invaluable asset on my first real job search. Coming straight from graduate school she helped me prepare for and navigate through a very new and difficult process. My confidence going into job interviews was always highest after just a single phone call with her. Joan brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her work, in addition to a desire to really get to know her clients and teach them the complexities of career building. In addition to being a great career coach Joan is a creative, amazing and fun person to work with! I plan to turn to Joan at key points in my career ahead.”

“I highly recommend Joan as a career coach. She did a great job helping me to identify my strengths and key accomplishments and then put it all together into a concise and compelling story. Joan was also a constant cheerleader through the highs and lows of the job search process and was very helpful at keeping me on track with my outreach week after week.”

“I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Joan since the beginning of my career, when she hired me as an intern at 3Com. Over the past 20+ years, she’s been an amazing friend and mentor. She actively listens, seeks to understand my perspective and the other variables at play, then provides keen insight and actionable advice. Her guidance is especially powerful, given it is based on a combination of personal experience and theory. I highly recommend Joan to anyone looking for that additional boost to drive his/her career forward with purpose.”

“Taking into consideration my past experiences, education, values, and preferences, Joan not only helped me elucidate a long-term career plan, but was also excellent in assisting me with aligning my goals and ambitions with the relative choices in front of me at the time I was deciding on my first job offers. Augmented only by her powerful combination of people skills and business business expertise, Joan’s practice of genuinely empowering the client is a significant asset. Based on my experience and her stellar reputation and track record, I’d suggest that if you want expert coaching, Joan’s the one to see!”

“Joan was referred to me when I found my company was closing operations and I would need to find new employment, and fast. I hadn’t needed to interview for several years, and I engaged with Joan to assist me with interview preparation. She helped me think about how to position myself and respond to the tough interview questions that I hadn’t needed to think about in such a long time. I was able to get several on-site interviews, leave good impressions, and land a great job shortly after working with her. I highly recommend her services.”

“I found Joan to be a wonderful and knowledgeable speaker, presenting in an engaging and interactive style. She presented to the Project Managment Institute Silicon Valley Career Management group all that she promised in her talk, “Eight Strategies Toward Career Advancement”. Joan provided stimulating ideas and challenges to action! She clearly demonstrated her expertise in career coaching and developing leadership and communication skills. Joan really connected with the audience, listened and responded fully to all questions, and provided an evening of real value to the group. I highly recommend Joan to organizations looking for a great speaker on the topic of career development and coaching.”

“Most recommendations of Joan Tabb focus on how she SEES a client and ACTIVATES them to pursue their various missions in life. This is true for me since I have used Joan’s services as a client. I also have seen Joan develop a concept from the ground up: to identify the need, measure available resources and activate new concepts into reality. She brings a sense of style and a global view along with her intense focus and immediate feedback. When you absolutely need a fresh approach, Joan will prepare you or your team for the challenges and opportunities you face. Joan’s value add in the field of career development and management, leveraging her 20+ corporate leadership career and creativity, is fresh, unique and highly effective.”

“Leveraging off Joan’s marketing expertise, she was able to wisely position and differentiate me for the job market. I never would have known how to brand myself given my disparate background and varying strengths and capabilities. She helped me integrate and communicate what I bring to the employment arena in a strong way. I feel I am a much more confident and compelling candidate as a result. I plan to return to Joan and Great in 8 Coaching for professional coaching as my career journey continues. You’d be fortunate to leverage off Joan’s corporate leadership and powerful coaching capabilities, too!”

“Joan is masterful at career empowerment. She brings tremendous insight, knowledge and dedication to her work and focuses, laser-like, on YOU. Joan is amazing, and I’ve returned to her at several career crossroads. I’ve recommended three people to her, and they have all benefitted tremendously. You definitely want a career partner with Joan’s passion and energy—she is a motivating force, indeed!!”

"I hired Joan in the summer of 2010 because I wasn’t getting through to the later rounds of the interview process. Joan helped me realize my strengths, create a framework around my answers, and project myself in a professional and confident manner. Within three sessions of working with Joan I was offered the job of my dreams in consulting and was able to negotiate a 12.5% raise in my starting salary. I know I could not have done this without her help and I will continue to work with her in the future to guide my career!”

“Joan is an incredibly intuitive career coach. She is personable, highly knowledgeable and to the point. Her insights are meaningful and well directed and I found her assistance to be fantastically helpful.”