Some things in life are incredibly significant, with an impact that infiltrates every aspect of our lives, from our finances to our happiness. Things such as our family, our health and our career. The career choices you make throughout your life will affect your future so it’s vital to make the right decisions.
As you would consult a doctor about your health, hiring a career coach can bring huge benefits to your work prospects. However, unlike the medical profession, the career coaching industry is unregulated. There are no laws specifying the training a career coach must take or the qualifications they must have earned. This means it’s up to you to find a good career coach, the one that will work best for you. Understanding what makes a good career coach will help you find the perfect coach to advance your career and offer you the very best help and advice. Hiring a good career coach is a great investment in your future.
Why might you need a career coach?
There are several reasons why you might find the skills of a career coach useful to you. It could be that you’re not happy in your current career. Perhaps you’ve become stuck in a rut, you don’t find the work enjoyable anymore, or you’d like to improve your work / life balance. A career coach can work with you to help you find an alternative path, and help make the transitional process easier for you.
Or maybe you’re not progressing in your career as fast as you had hoped. A skilled career coach can work with you to identify any roadblocks to career progression and help you to overcome them.
Or it could be that you’re finding it difficult to break into a particular industry or to find any employment at all. Career coaches can help you build a great resume, write an excellent cover letter, and share their tips for performing well at interviews.
A good career coach will…
Spend time getting to know you
You are unique. Your experience, your goals, your dreams, your interests and your needs. They are all personal to you. So it makes sense that a good career coach will spend a lot of time working with you to fully understand all your requirements, to determine how they can best help you. This process of learning about you could take many forms, with a good career coach using a variety of techniques.
The best career coaches are not only great at giving advice, they’re also good listeners. As you work with your coach, it is likely that you will begin with an informal chat, where you talk about your current situation, and where you’d like to be. They’ll ask questions about your home life and how that fits in with your career goals, so they will know if you need a flexible job due to childcare commitments, or if you’re feeling burnt out with working long hours and are looking for a better balance of your time.
They may also have questionnaires for you to fill out, and personality tests, so they can determine what career might be most suited to your abilities, disposition and personal interests.
Offer tailored advice
When it comes to career coaching, there is most definitely no ‘one size fits all’ solution. A good career coach listens carefully, analyzes the information they gather, and offers personalized advice that is tailored to your needs. If you feel you’re being given generic advice that could work for anyone, or that the help you’re being given doesn’t really meet your needs, it could be a sign that you haven’t chosen the best career coach for your requirements. Don’t be afraid to speak up if you feel like you’re not being given helpful, relevant advice.
Be motivational, yet realistic
A good career coach understands the importance of a positive mental attitude. Job hunting can easily get you down, rejections can start to make you doubt your skills and abilities, and feeling stuck in a job you dislike is tough to live with. A good career coach will help you to see the positives, they’ll be encouraging and help motivate you to action, but a really great career coach will also be realistic. They’ll encourage you towards a particular goal, rather than simply offering you the mantra of ‘you can do anything’. They’ll steer you in the right direction, and while they will encourage you to follow your dreams, they will also let you know if they feel your dreams are unattainable at the moment. A good career coach will then help you find a similar career, or work out the steps you can take to ultimately achieve your goal.
Have the latest job market knowledge
The best career coaches are always learning. From the latest trends in resume writing to gaining insight into new industries and niche positions. They’ll know the skills you need to pursue your goals, and they’ll be able to advise you as to what training or qualifications would benefit you. A good career coach will be focused on constantly enhancing their own career as well as yours!
Be visionary and think outside of the box
A truly great career coach will suggest ideas that you haven’t even thought of. Ideas that will enthuse you, for example suggesting jobs you’d love, that you could apply for if you took a short course. Your coach will help you to clearly see your potential, and find the right path to achieving your career goals.
Help with practical skills such as creating a resume
Helping you decide on the best path to take is one thing, but actually making it happen is another. A good career coach will kick into gear at this point and put their words into action. They’ll impart their expertise and help you put together an excellent resume, and draft perfect cover letters, tailored for each position you apply for. They will have their finger on the pulse of the job market so they can suggest the best websites to use for your job search and they’ll know of any specialist industry agencies you can apply to. This help is invaluable in order to make your profile stand out from all the other applicants and increase your chances of career success.
Be reliable, professional and available
A good career coach is a coach you can depend on. They’ll respond quickly to your messages and they’ll always answer your questions. A great career coach can be of use to you throughout your career. You may call upon their services periodically over many years, and so you need a career coach who is reliable and professional.
