Sarah makes an effort to really know and understand her clients. Not just through intake forms or paper work, but really talking about my life, history, and core values. This human-centered approach helped me to better understand who I want to be with regard to both my career and personal life. I enjoy self-assessment and really loved taking and then reviewing the Birkman Assessment. This tool helped me (and Sarah) to pinpoint my needs and desires. That learning is something I will carry into future roles. Sarah’s interview prepping methods truly aided me in advancing through interviews and finally securing my current role. She was always available to review and discuss response methods (STAR) and anecdotes. I think Sarah’s ability to understand and predict potential questions really sets her apart from others in this space.

Funny enough, I found my way to Sarah by way of her TED Talk. Once I learned she had her own coaching business, I knew I wanted to speak with her. When we first met, I was lost on my career journey, stalled in my current job search, and skeptical about the whole coaching thing. From the first conversation though, I knew Sarah was not only capable, but likely the person best suited to get me back on track and into a job that was right for me.  The Birkman was very interesting to me, and one of the reasons I was excited to work with Sarah. As a Certified Birkman Coach, Sarah was able to help me better understand the test and what my results actually meant for me. My results gave me clear and concise words to describe myself, and shed light on needs and work behaviors I was never aware of. It was also very helpful when it came time for interviewing! Through the months I worked with Sarah, I put my trust in her and her process. At times I was skeptical and uncomfortable, but Sarah was always there to ease my worries. From the coach to the counselor to the cheerleader, Sarah was able to become whatever I needed in that moment. When I finally received an offer for my ideal role, the best part was telling Sarah and having her genuinely share in my joy. Without Sarah and her wealth of knowledge, I would not be where I am today and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with her.

Sarah has had a profound and robust impact on my career growth. Over the years, Sarah has coached me through resigning timely, weighing job offers, interview preparation (which led to landing THE job), pivotal career decisions, and even stress management. At each step, Sarah had the expertise and the delivery to answer the questions I had; and ask the questions I hadn't but needed to consider. Undeniably, I always left a session with Sarah with acute clarity and most importantly, the preparedness needed to achieve what I wanted to achieve.

Dear Sarah - I have to share a story with you. I've just accepted a job offer. Thanks to your guidance, I'm going into this new job confident that it's a great match for me. There's one particular piece you have to know. After receiving the offer, I had a follow-up conversation with the person I'll be supporting. As we were getting ready to wrap up the call, he said, "One more thing, sort of an odd thing, I want to share with you. Normally, I'm not a part of the recruiting process. I usually meet candidates as part of their final interview. For some reason, I decided to look into the candidates for this position a little earlier. I looked at your LinkedIn profile and saw that your description said 'I'm Alfred to your Batman.' I have several Batman items in my home office. When I saw your LinkedIn profile, I said, 'Can we bring this candidate in?'" Even though I had told you, "I'm a trusty sidekick. I want to be Alfred." I never would have thought to include that on my LinkedIn profile. At your encouragement, I did it, and now I've been offered a job. It obviously helped to set me apart from other applicants. You're a genius! Thank you so much for your guidance and insight. It's made a world difference in my career path! Fondly, Matthia

I am so excited to finally feel like I am going down a path where I will not only enjoy the destination, but the journey as well...and [I] feel like I really am on the right track...I credit a lot of my progress to our work together, because Sarah helped me give myself the emotional permission to put myself out there even when I was scared. All in all I am in a much better place, and I only see it getting better from here. I thank Sarah for providing me with the important tools and some courage to begin the journey of finding myself, because really all this sparked from our meetings. Sarah inspired me to act on what I knew in my heart I wanted the most out of life, and that has only started an avalanche of self-care and positive energy...

I’m glad I chose to work with Sarah Andrus of Avarah Careers. As an experienced pro in the job search and hiring fields, she provided information and resources that really helped me along my path toward a new job/career. Once I had identified positions I wanted to pursue, she steadily supported me with insights about improving my resume, cover letters, and interviews. With her help, I’ve landed a terrific new job!

When I began working with Sarah I was a recent graduate with no direction in my work life. Sarah provided me with an in depth Birkman Assessment analysis which was instrumental in exploring my professional interests and ultimately in choosing a career path. Sarah also supplied numerous job search resources which helped me tidy up my resume and write higher quality cover letters.  

I came to Sarah not really understanding why I wasn’t happy in my career or with my employer. Was it me? Was it my job? Did I just not like working? We spent a lot of time on career assessment, her supporting me and providing advice on my current position and tactical job hunting/interviewing advice. I always trusted in Sarah, even though I wasn’t sure where it was going to take me. In the end, I made a career change, an industry change and an employer change! In the beginning of the process she had me fill out “my ideal job”, where I described the characteristics of the culture, flexibility, salary etc. I thought I was looking for a unicorn, but I’m getting ready to start my new job, and when I look back at what I wrote for “my ideal job”, this one checks off every single box! Thanks Sarah!

I had the pleasure and honor of working with Sarah as a Teaching Assistant to one of her Business courses at the University of Delaware. While I knew her before as an amazing mother to a good friend, I was fortunate enough to observe, interact, and learn from an incredible woman who pairs her warmth and compassion with her professional attitude and genuine care for those with whom she works. I am forever grateful for her role in preparing me to apply for a position as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guinea, West Africa. She was able to highlight the best in me on my application and interview, and I am currently almost a year into my service. I hope that anyone looking to forward or enhance their professional career has the honor of doing so with Sarah.  

I heard Sarah on a podcast and was so grateful when she agreed to take the time to discuss my future entrepreneurial dream. She helped me identify actionable steps to help me make this dream real. I love her story and pathway from start up to where she is now and I learned a lot from hearing more about the details. Sarah also made some great recommendations for reading.  Even though this was our first meeting she made the conversation flow and I felt her commitment to genuinely want to assist me with my future business goals. I was inspired and have already begun to implement the actions we discussed. Sarah’s compassion and supportive approach on the Zoom call allowed us to build instant rapport and really focus on career/business goals. You can tell Sarah really cares about people.  

I was referred to Sarah through a contact in my network. I was at a point where I was actively looking for a new job. I had spent a year of applying to jobs online on my own without making much progress and knew there had to be a more efficient way. After my initial consultation with Sarah and through my referral I knew that Sarah had a wealth of knowledge that would be valuable in my job search. The exercises and assessments that Sarah utilized throughout the program were very helpful in confirming what type of work environment / industry were best suited for my strengths. Sarah was very instrumental in taking the fear out of the most important job search technique…. Networking! Having regularly scheduled touch bases with Sarah pushed me to make progress each week throughout my job search. She also was very instrumental throughout the interview process by helping me prepare for interview questions and helping me formulate my accomplishments into a concise story. Finally once I received a job offer, Sarah helped me negotiate the terms of the offer which exceeded my initial expectations. Overall, working with Sarah was extremely beneficial in helping me navigate the ups and downs of my job search and ultimately landing a new job in just a couple months time.

I worked with Sarah as a communication coach. She helped me assess and understand my communication style via the Birkman Method. By using this tool and with Sarah providing her own thoughts, interpretations and analysis, it allowed me to gain a greater understanding of my own communication style and therefore, how to communicate and work with others much more effectively. Sarah has also helped me craft exactly what to say in certain situations which I have found very beneficial. I’d highly recommend Sarah as a communications coach to anyone looking to improve their professional communication skills.

Working with Sarah on defining the next step in my career has been very positive. The methodology she uses to identify personal strengths and potential sources of stress in work environments is extremely insightful and accurate. The tools we have used allowed me to hone in on what to look for and what to avoid in new opportunities. In addition, her guidance in the process of interviews and interview feedback was also very helpful. I highly recommend investing in yourself and engaging Sarah as your partner in a job search or career reset. Even with a good personal support system, it is so much more manageable to go through the often long and sometime difficult process with the extra support of a strong career coach, like Sarah.

At our first meeting, I was moved by Sarah’s warmth, powerful questions, and incredible insight. The very first exercise she gave me opened me up to a world of new possibilities, and I’ve been thinking about my skills and gifts differently ever since.  Sarah’s guidance has been invaluable in my career change.

Going through the process of being laid off can be very traumatic. It was for me. Luckily, after just a few weeks of being unemployed, a mutual friend told me I should meet Sarah. I had never used a career coach before, and wasn’t really sure what they did. Sarah’s warm personality and compassionate approach made it easy to trust her right away. Previously in her career she had worked for several large companies, met with much success, and yet knew first-hand what it feels like to get laid off. My first task was to take the Birkman Assessment. Sarah and I went over the results and I re-discovered several things about myself that I had lost over 15 years of working for the same company. Sarah helped me to take inventory of my skills and my passions which put me on a completely different career path. She gave me homework after every meeting, which added much needed structure to my week. After several sessions with Sarah I felt back on my feet again and full of confidence to start the next chapter of my career. I currently split my time between academic research and being the owner of a small chemical consulting business. I’m happier than I’ve been in at least a decade, and I owe a large debt to Sarah for helping me navigate through this time of disequilibrium.

Working with Sarah Andrus is like working with a swiss army knife of career coaching. She has many tools and resources to offer. Ultimately, she helped me figure out what it is that I really wanted from my career and then gave me tools, hints and tricks on how to go out and get it. Along with that process I also received her unwavering support. I really enjoyed her professionalism, her quick thinking and her ability to relate to me on many different levels. I would highly recommend working with her because she brings a level of focus to your career search that is top notch. I am glad I made the choice to work with her.”