Have you reached the top of your career? Would you love to help others to do the same? When you achieve all your goals, you are left with nothing to aim for. You can look back on your past accomplishments, but unless you’re set for retirement, simply coasting along in a job with no chances of progression can get pretty dull over time.
If you’ve always been a goal-oriented career-driven person, you won’t want to sit back and relax, you’ll be looking for the next challenge. But where do you go when you’ve reached the top of your game?
You could choose to start again, perhaps you’ve always had a passion you’d like to follow. If you have the time and the inclination, or a burning desire to go into a totally different profession then that may be where your priorities lie. Or maybe you could share your skills at climbing the career ladder, and your years of experience at overcoming setbacks, maintaining a positive attitude, and working your way up in your chosen profession.
By becoming a career coach, you don’t have to start from scratch. You’re taking a sidestep rather than going all the way to the bottom again. You’ll use your expertise and experience to help others achieve their career goals, as you have achieved yours. It’s a role that delivers a whole load of job satisfaction.
But of course, it needs to be financially viable for you if you’re going to take this big step in life, so let’s take a look at the numbers…
Career Coaches can be Big Earners
Career coaching is one of the most lucrative coaching positions, earning, on average, substantially higher rates than other types of coaches such as life coaches and guidance counsellors.
Get Certified for a Higher Income
The earnings for a career coach can differ wildly. Anyone can set up a career coaching business, so you’ll find many uncertified coaches out there. For those who have not taken the time to gain certification, the earning potential tends to be lower than that of a fully certified career coach. Having a certificate to prove your credentials fast tracks you to higher earnings.
An uncertified career coach can make from around $50,000 up to more than $140,000 per annum. With career coach certification under your belt, a qualified career coach can earn anything up to $400,000 – $500,000 and beyond.
How to Become a Certified Career Coach
As you can see, having that all-important certification can make a big difference to the amount of money you can make as a career coach. But if you’ve already spent many years working your way up in your current career, you may not be too keen on the idea of going back to school. It’s also perhaps not practical, due to childcare commitments, or the need to keep bringing in an income to pay the bills and maintain your lifestyle.
Well, you may be interested to know that you can study for career coach certification part-time, from home, at hours that suit you. And what’s more, you can find courses that are short, and don’t cost the earth. If you’ve dismissed the idea of training to become a qualified career coach due to the cost and the time commitment, we do urge you to think again. It could be much easier, and more cost effective than you’ve previously thought.
The Benefits of Career Coaching Certification
When you’ve completed a career coaching course, as long as you pick one that gives you a certificate for your efforts, you’ll be able to reap the rewards this can bring.
Excellent proof of your credentials
Being certified proves your skills to potential clients. It’s a reassurance to them that you know what you’re doing! In an unregulated industry, literally anyone can call themselves a career coach, so having a certificate as proof of your credentials can go a long way, giving clients peace of mind that you’re a legitimate, successful career coach who can effectively help them to achieve their career goals.
The perfect head start
When you’ve taken career coach training and earned a certificate, you’re already a step up from much of the competition. Before you’ve even taken on your first client, your image is superior to those coaches who have set up a career coaching business without taking the time to learn and gain certification. You can of course mention your certified status across your website and social media accounts, and this will allow you to set your rates somewhat higher than those who are not as qualified as you.
Gaining extra knowledge and skills
Your certificate is worth its weight in gold in an unregulated industry, but that’s not all you’ll gain by taking a career coaching course. The knowledge you’ll gain is also invaluable and can hugely enhance your skillset.
Most likely you already have a wealth of experience and expertise, but you’ll also learn so much more. For example, if you’ve been in the same job for several years, your resume-writing skills may be a little rusty. When you take a career coaching course, you’ll learn all the latest resume tips and trends.
You’ll get the opportunity to fine-tune your talents, so when you get your first client, you’ll have the skills and the confidence to help them in every aspect of their career journey. You’ll learn how to assess a client’s skills, talents and interests, to help them get on the right track to career success and holistic life happiness.
More Ways to Become a Higher Earning Career Coach
With your career coach training and certification complete, what other steps can you take to ensure you reap the financial rewards of a successful career?
Always keep learning
A good career coach keeps on top of all the latest developments in the world of recruitment. When a new job vacancy listing website is launched, you need to be right there checking it out and determining if it will be useful to any of your clients. You’ll keep abreast of the latest career opportunities, and you’ll have your finger on the pulse when it comes to ways to advertise your own business.
Make the most of your satisfied clients
When you’ve done a great job, your client is happy, they’ve found their dream career or they’ve secured that promotion that has been eluding them for years, it’s time to get that all-important testimonial for your website. This is also your chance to remind your clients that you’re always looking to help others and ask them if they wouldn’t mind recommending your services to their colleagues, friends or family. If they’re happy to do so, handing over a few business cards would be helpful should they forget your contact details, or mention an incorrect website address etc.
Build a professional-looking presence
Image is everything. If your website looks cheap, and your social media posts are out of date or full of spelling mistakes, this will reflect badly on your image. Investing in your career coaching business can be hugely beneficial. A high-quality website, a professional. stylish logo, and regular, quality social media posts, will all help to convey the message that your career coaching business is a cut above the rest. Elevate your brand, and you can command higher prices.
