Who We Are
Curtis Butler
Founder and Lead Career Coach
Curtis spent 30 years in finance as an investor and client-facing executive at industry-leading firms including J.P. Morgan, Jennison Associates, and an affiliate of Legg Mason. He has built and led teams and has been on both sides of the interview table hundreds of times. He has a keen understanding of what moves a resume to the top of the pile and what soft skills are required to stand out in an interview.
Throughout his career, Curtis always made time for mentoring and has provided individualized coaching to scores of college and graduate students at his Alma maters, Union College and Johns Hopkins University. He has also stepped in to help children of friends and colleagues escape the frustration of a job search and embark on successful careers. His passion for coaching students and young professionals led Curtis to launch Guided Ascent Career Coaching in 2024, with Zoom-based 1-on-1 coaching designed to help clients define their path, plan the steps that can lead them there, and apply the job-search strategies that have proven successful over time — regardless of the industry.
His Background
Curtis graduated from Union College with a BA in Economics and has a Master’s degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University. He spent more than 30 years in various analyst and investment roles in New York City and Boston, from The New York Fed to J.P. Morgan and Jennison Associates. He currently serves on his town’s legislature and is a member of the Education committee. Curtis is also on the Board of Directors of STRIDE Adaptive Sports, a non-profit providing disabled children and veterans access to athletic programs.
Curtis lives in Darien, CT with his wife and two daughters. In his free time, Curtis loves to paint and cook and get outdoors as much as he can. But most of all, he looks forward to the time he spends with his family, doing just about anything.
Our personalized one-on-one coaching helps clients feel confident and prepared for their job search.
Our Coaching Approach
The pressure of a job search can be overwhelming for college and graduate students. The ticking clock to graduation can introduce fear and anxiety and erode a job-seeker’s confidence. The same goes for graduating and heading home without a job in hand. This is where a coach and a plan can make all the difference.
Together, we develop a game plan and implement specific strategies that have proven to lead to more interviews and more job offers.
The coaching plan for each client covers all the components of a strong candidate profile and a successful job search.
This comprehensive approach empowers our job-seeking clients and sets them up for better results, faster.
-
Our career coaching sessions start with the big picture, helping our clients give voice to what they love and where their talents lie. Finding the nexus between what we love and what we’re good at is the critical first step in building a successful and fulfilling career.
-
Once a direction is chosen, we drill down into what it may take to get started in that area and launch that career. For many industries, the focus is on skill-building. Finding roles (internships) along the way that create a foundation not only boosts preparedness for a future role but also helps a client stand out to hiring firms.
-
A little-known interviewing secret: a well-delivered one-minute personal narrative can be the difference between a good interview focused on a resume and a great interview that showcases the whole person and helps the interviewer imagine our client working on their team.
We focus on helping clients build a compelling narrative and teach them how to respond effectively to the “tell me about yourself” opening of most interviews.
-
Like a good introduction to who you are, a well-crafted, visually appealing resume can also make up for a lack of experience. It’s not just what’s on the page, but what message each experience or chosen activity sends.
We help our clients transform their resumes from a list of what they’ve done to a personalized narrative showcasing not only the skills and experiences they’ve acquired, but also what they’ve learned through those experiences.
-
An interview is a social experience. It calls upon all of a candidate’s people skills and ability to form connections. And it requires practice.
The good news is, there are strategies that can help even the most unrehearsed candidate shine in an interview — from building confidence and personal bearing to asking the right questions that clear the path to being viewed as a young professional ready to contrbute. Our coaching offers the interviewer’s perspective and trains would-be candidates on how to impress and be remembered.
-
One of the best moments in a coach’s day is receiving a text from a client confirming a job or internship offer. The relief and gratitude are a joy to read. And it is not uncommon for that text to be followed by a request for help with salary negotiation or choosing among multiple offers. For most students, this is truly uncharted territory. For us, it’s familiar ground.
