CALGARY - Summer in Calgary is something of an anomaly: July is one of the best times to look for a job and to network - think Stampede events - and August is a key hiring season as a result. For Eileen Dooley, it's a season to gear up for a surge in business.

As a professional career coach, she sees a lot of job hunters who seek a career change at this time of year. After hunkering down and weathering the recession last year, workers are now contemplating a transition to a new job more than ever, she says.

"They just want to take more control into their hands," says Dooley. Fear is the biggest obstacle. "It's one thing to figure out where you want to go. The other thing is how to get it."

A lot of employees who are considering a job change tend to wait out the summer, thinking that fall will bring a renewed sense of purpose and a better job market. But they couldn't be more wrong, she says.

"There's a lot of jobs coming up in the summer," says Dooley. "Keep your ears and eyes open. Reflection is always a good thing to do."

She's been through it. After 15 years in public affairs, she wanted a change of her own. So, she sought the advice of a career coach and ended up becoming one.

She talked to dozens of coaches, did her homework, and got certified through the Coaches Training Institute - one of the established industry bodies that trains people to help others find their dream jobs.

It's not formulaic. Coaches don't hold your hand until you get a job. Rather, it's a person who knows what questions to ask and how to help you find a fulfilling role.

"The coach asks a lot of really good questions in helping you to put it together for yourself," says Dooley. Friends and family are always an anchor, but not necessarily the best place to look for career advice: "They'll tell you what they'd do."

When hiring season heats up, so does the business of career coaching. Once a concept where "executives had to sell it to the company," coaching has broadened in scope and many companies now mandate it for executives when it comes to leadership development and succession planning.

It's not just for executives. Most of Dooley's clients aren't chief executives of major corporations. They are ordinary people who want to set goals and have an independent person hold them accountable - to keep them on track with their agendas.

Erin Mackinlay knows how effective that can be. She lost her job during the recession as a result of corporate cutbacks and found herself looking for work at a time when job hunters had to prove themselves much more than during the height of Alberta's boom.

"It was scary," she says. "My husband was still employed, but it doesn't take the heat off. Mortgage payments are due, bills are still coming in - it wasn't fun."

Mackinlay used a career coach and refocused her efforts. Instead of scouring job boards for hours, she went out and met people.

After some tenuous encounters, she persevered and ended up in a management position for an oil and gas company that leveraged her previous experience.

Networking is one of the most effective - if intimidating - ways to land a job.

"If you're going to reflect over the summer, go and talk to somebody who is in a type of role you're interested in," says Dooley. "Everybody's been on the other side of the table and you never know when the tables will be turned."

derek.sankey@telus.net