What a Career Coach Can or Cannot Do for You
What a Career Coach Can or Can't Do for You
I want to start with what I think good career coaches do for
people who are looking for new jobs, facing downsizing, ready to
retire, but want to work longer, etc. Any category of job seeker
is who we want to work with. I'll start with my own definition..
1. Coaches can become friends with you. Friends of a kind that
you can tell your secrets to and not fear recrimination or
judgement about you and your decisions.
2. Coaches have resources for you. All kinds of resources to
give you or ask you to find for yourself. They are: videos,
books, websites, people, you name it. These resources are meant
to awaken your desire to find the information that only you need
to make a career decision.
4. Coaches guide you towards the decisions you want to make.
Most job seekers know what they want, but need confirmation of
what they really want to do, regardless of how zany the choices
may be. The career coach helps the job hunter make firm
decisions.
5. The career coach is also a cheerleader. A cheerleader who
wants the job seeker to win, and win at the job or career
decision
What a Career Coach Cannot Do: The coach is not a therapist and
cannot solve deep personal problems. However, the coaching
experience may be therapeutic with the job seeker becoming more
authentic in the coaching process, simply by having a person who
is interested in their welfare.
A career coach is not someone who can solve your financial
problems either. Talking about what you need to do as a joint
venture about how money affects you is a possibility in the
coaching process, but not how to spend or budget money. That's
the kind of advice a financial advisor is better suited to
handle.
Lastly, a good career coach is a person who can celebrate with
you when you have successes. The coach will be there when you
need more information, resources, or just a pat on the back. Go
find one when you need career help.