Cochran Coaching LLC

Your resume might open the door, but your skills are what help you walk through it.

Communication, emotional intelligence, confidence, problem-solving, and the ability to build relationships all play a major role in your career growth. Don't spend all your time perfecting your resume, spend time becoming the professional your resume says you are.

Invest in both.

One small LinkedIn detail can make a big difference when you're trying to connect with someone. If they have Creator Mode turned on, you may see Follow instead of Connect.

But if you actually know the person, don't just follow them and move on. Click More and send a connection request. Following and connecting aren't the same thing.

Share this with someone who uses LinkedIn.

Networking isn't about collecting as many contacts as possible. It's about understanding what people are trying to solve and looking for ways you can genuinely help.

The best networkers aren't focused on what they can get from the conversation. They're focused on how they can create value for the people around them.

Become someone who solves problems.

The simplest high value networking conversation starter you will ever use.

Hi, I am Zachary. Great to meet you. Can I get your advice about something?

That is it. People love being asked for their opinion. It makes them feel valued, respected, and like their experience actually matters. And when people feel that way around you, they want to help.

Stop trying to impress people at networking events. Start asking thoughtful questions instead. You will be surprised how willing people are to show up for you simply because you asked.

Most people walk into networking events focused on the wrong thing.

Forget the elevator pitch. Forget collecting business cards. Walk in asking one question instead. How can I be of service here.

Every single person in that room has a problem they want solved. Your job is to understand what those problems are and connect people with an idea, a resource, or another person who can help.

That approach makes you memorable, builds deeper connections, and creates relationships that can last an entire career.

And do not forget to connect on LinkedIn before you leave the room.

Avoiding hard conversations is not just uncomfortable. it is expensive.

Here is a real scenario. Your coworker left, their responsibilities landed on your plate, your compensation stayed exactly the same, and you are quietly waiting for your annual review to fix it. That three percent cost of living increase is not going to cut it.

The move is to have the conversation with your supervisor about the value you are now creating. Yes it is awkward. Yes it takes courage. But the cost of avoiding it is real money left on the table every single month.

If you need help having that conversation, three books worth picking up. Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott, Crucial Conversations, and Getting to Yes for principled negotiation.

Need more support? Reach out. Happy to help.

When you have two big milestones in one week! 👀

In addition to hitting 9 years in business, I hit another milestone I’ve been working toward for 9 years—and that is becoming an ICF certified coach.

On Monday this week, I passed my ACC exam, making me one of now 60,000 certified coaches worldwide through the International Coaching Federation, which is the gold standard coaching credential for my field.

Now there are three levels of credential, and I’m months away from hopefully unlocking arguably the most respected coaching credential in the field—the PCC (or Professional Certified Coach) by the ICF. Even so…

Being an ICF certified coach puts me in a very elite club of the best coaches out there. There are about 6 million Marylanders, but there are only 62 ICF certified coaches under 40 years old in Maryland, according to the publicly available ICF Credentialed Coach Finder database, and I am proud and honored to now be one of them.

My thanks to Loyola University and their ASPIRE program for their awesome training program that gave me the required 125 coach training hours to get to the PCC qualified level, which I took in September 2024 - May 2025. Thanks to Katherine Keefe for persuading me to join their program and Carey Borkoski and Jennifer Anderson for leading that cohort, as well as my thanks to my peers in the cohort who let me practice my coaching on them, gave me feedback, and helped me continue to level up.

And thanks to you for celebrating with me! 🥳

Hi friends, thank you so much for your support over the last 9 years.

Cochran Coaching LLC was founded on this day, 9 years ago, on September 1st, 2017.

I’m proud to say that I’ve beat the odds, when somewhere between 62% to 85% of businesses that opened when I did have closed their doors.

More importantly, I’m grateful for your support—whether you’ve been a long-time client, a referral partner, a reader of my new book, a member of my team, personal friends and family, or someone who is in my business network. Thank you for continuing to root me on, watch my videos, and engage with me.

I have another fun and exciting major milestone I’ll mention in my video post tomorrow! 👀

To the next 9 years! 🥳🥳🥳 🥳🥳🥳 🥳🥳🥳

We overestimate what we can do in a year and massively underestimate what we can do in five.

Compounding habits over time as a young professional is one of the most powerful career moves you can make. Reading one business book a month, asking for feedback consistently, reflecting after every meeting, always knowing which professional skill you are actively developing right now.

None of it feels dramatic in the moment. But over five years the difference is staggering. Like the difference between a savings account and a retirement account that keeps growing in the market.

What habit are you building right now? Drop it in the comments.

Office politics gets a bad reputation. Gossip, power games, manipulation. but that is not what it actually is.

Think of it like a trail on a hike. You have to walk over the terrain whether you like it or not. The question is whether you navigate it skillfully or stumble through it.

Political navigation is simply understanding relationships, how influence works, and how decisions get made in your organization. The more skillfully you move through that landscape, the more opportunities come your way.

It is not dirty. It is just the terrain. Learn to navigate it.