7 signs you’re ready to hire a career coach—and 3 signs you’re not
Are you feeling stuck in your current job or struggling to make progress in your job search? Consider hiring a career coach to provide expert guidance on resume building, negotiation, interviewing, and motivation. With their certified expertise, a career coach can help you reach your full potential, but it requires dedication and effort on your part. If you’re looking to make a change in your career or enhance your job prospects, a career coach can assist you in finding the right path, polishing your resume, and planning your next steps.
Whether you need help securing a new job, transitioning to a different career, or simply finding satisfaction in your current role, a career coach can provide valuable advice and support as you work towards your goals. It’s important to be ready for the journey of self-improvement and growth that comes with hiring a career coach. They can offer valuable insights and tools to help you progress in your career, but it’s up to you to put in the effort and commitment required to see results. Take the time to consider if you’re prepared to make the necessary changes and improvements before enlisting the help of a career coach.
By finding the right match for your goals and being willing to put in the work, you can make significant strides in your career development.
What is a career coach?
A professional career advisor is skilled in guiding individuals through the process of developing their career path and working alongside them to achieve their full potential and advancement.
These advisors typically possess specialised knowledge in areas such as resume crafting, career strategizing, negotiation tactics, interview preparation, mentorship, and motivation. They excel at recognising and nurturing your unique strengths and talents, aiding you in reaching greater success in your professional endeavours.
Benefits of a Career Coach
Career coaches offer valuable support to job seekers by assisting them in standing out from the competition. They provide guidance on how to create a distinctive personal brand that sets them apart in a saturated job market.
Additionally, career coaches help job seekers tap into hidden job opportunities that are not publicly advertised, utilising networking and personal connections to secure employment.
Through tailored coaching sessions, job seekers learn how to effectively communicate their strengths and passions in professional documents like resumes, cover letters, and elevator pitches, as well as in mock job interviews, increasing their chances of impressing potential employers.
What to expect from a career coach
A career coach can help you identify your goals, whether those are to land a higher-paying job, change careers, earn a promotion, or ace a job interview.
Working with a career coach is a creative process that can inspire you to maximise your personal and professional potential. The coach’s responsibility is to:
- Discover, clarify, and align with what you want to achieve.
- Encourage self-discovery
- Elicit solutions and strategies.
- Hold yourself responsible and accountable.
Through this method, clients can experience significant enhancements in their perspectives on both work and life. This also enables them to enhance their abilities as leaders and tap into their full personal and professional capabilities.
7 signs you should consider hiring a career coach
Determining when to reach out for external support to progress in your career can be a challenge, as not all signs are straightforward. Below are seven crucial signs that hiring a career coach could be a valuable decision for your professional development.
- You’re experiencing job angst. If you’re bored or frustrated with your job but don’t know what other career(s) you could pursue, enlisting a career coach is a valuable idea. Friedman says that many of her clients start with a vague sense of feeling overwhelmed without knowing why and then come around to thinking, “‘I need a trusted advisor to guide me and to hold me accountable as I try and figure out my career.’”
- You’re struggling with your job search. If you’re sending out resumes without bearing fruit, a career coach can help. This might mean getting no calls in response to a resume or not being asked to do job interviews. For those who do get the call for an interview, a career coach can be a valuable investment if you’re not receiving offers.
- Your professional brand needs work. To market yourself, you need to consider your professional brand, and this starts with a strong resume. If you need help crafting a resume, cover letters, and other materials, or if you are seeking tips on how to present yourself in your best light in job interviews, a career coach can be a good choice. Career coaches can help craft resumes, cover letters, elevator pitches, and all the other facets of developing your professional brand to be successful in your job search or your career progression.
- Your career has stalled. Another clear sign a career coach is for you is that you’re not moving up the career ladder, despite your hard work. “I also see clients who are trying to move up, who’re being groomed for leadership, and who need help navigating politics in the office and organisational change,” Friedman says.
- You’re challenged to stand out from the crowd. It’s important to present yourself as more than just a collection of skills and credentials. In extremely competitive labour markets, homing in on your unique strengths and passion can make all the difference, and a career coach can help you identify and build on those strengths, helping you to stand out as the perfect fit for that next role.
- You struggle with self-motivation. Advancing your career is challenging work, and at times, even the most motivated individuals can find themselves slacking or burned out. If you find yourself in need of someone “neutral” to hold you accountable for achieving your goals, a career coach is a good bet. Setting goals and milestones and mapping out a path and concrete steps to achieve those goals can be easier when a neutral third party is holding you accountable.
- You’re ambitious: If you are looking to accelerate your journey to achieving your career goals, a career coach can be a catalyst. You can’t expect your dream career to fall into your lap; you must prioritise success, and with a career coach by your side, achieving your professional goals can be that much more likely.
3 signs you’re not ready for career coaching
If you find yourself unable to reflect on your own abilities and are hesitant to put in the effort to uncover your strengths and weaknesses, seeking out a career coach may not be the best option for you right now. A career coach can provide guidance, but ultimately, you are the one who must be proactive and dedicated in order to achieve the fulfilling career that you desire.
Here are three indicators that a career coach may not be right for you.
- You think a career coach possesses all the answers and will find you a job. If you approach a career coach expecting the coach to connect you with a VP job in four easy steps, you may be disappointed. Career coaches are quick to point out that they can’t perform miracles. What’s more, the service is not a quick fix. “This is not a situation where the coach waves a magic wand and gives you magic insights and everything is all better,” says Curt Rosengren, a career coach in Seattle who specialises in matching people with professions. “If what you’re really trying to do is buy a solution, the solution comes from the work you do.”
- You’re reluctant to self-assess, self-examine, and, quite possibly, network. A career coach will almost always give a client something to do or think about in preparation for their next session. For example, the coach could ask you to take a personality test, to reflect on your best and worst work experiences, or to network in your spare time. It’s in your best interest to put time into this work; otherwise, you’re wasting your time and money. While a career coach can help you identify your passions, build up your strengths, and mitigate your weaknesses, much of the actual work in improving your career prospects will come from within.
- You have trouble opening up to others. For coaching to be effective, clients must be honest with themselves and their coaches, and both coach and client must be open to feedback and constructive criticism. Good career coaches won’t be shy about asking direct, probing questions and will be open to hearing constructive feedback on what is and isn’t working both in the general coaching process and in the job or career search. You shouldn’t be either.
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