In our lives, we are doing certain checkups in specific areas of our existence. This should also apply with our careers. Occasionally, we need to check our current place and how we should improve it. Are we stuck in where we are currently? How should we advance ourselves in our professional lives?
A career coach would be the best person to help you get your answers. If you are thinking of advancing your professional goals but you are confused where to begin, career coaching is your secret weapon for achieving your career goals.
Finding a career coach
But how do you find a coach? There are things that you should consider before approaching one and deciding to hire him or her. After all, you will be investing not only money but also time and energy in meeting one. Here are some things to consider before you hire a career coach.
Check out the coach’s background
It is normal to be skeptical of those who offer career coaching services at first. They are still strangers who would like to take a peek at your professional life. Do research and find feedback or testimonials about their services.
Check if he or she really knows something about your industry
There are career coaches who can guide better in this industry than the other. As you check feedback about them, also check the industries of the clients they worked for. This will be helpful for you to decide whether he or she is the one for you or not.
Know their career coaching method
Just like teachers, some of them implement coaching methods that may not suit you. You should know yourself also as a student. You can depend on your work experiences to identify the career coaching method for you.
Ask about accountability
Career coaches should be comfortable enough to tell you what steps you committed wrong in your professional life. Check how you will both collaborate with one another in terms of accountability.
Why should you hire a career coach?
Now that we figured out how you can find the perfect career coach for you, it is time to dissect the reasons why hiring a career coach can be helpful in your next career path and job search.
Make your dream career come true
All of us have dream careers, but one of the reasons why we are having difficulties in achieving it is the fact that we are lost on what we should do to achieve it. With a career coach, he or she can help you take the first necessary steps. Do you need to improve your resume and cover letters? A career coach can check your existing ones for you and point out the areas of improvement. Do you need career tips? Your career coach can give you tons!
Know how to face a hiring manager better
We all know how nerve racking a job interview can be. To get out all the jittery vibes in our system, a career coach can train you to become a better jobseeker. They can check your resume, cover letter, and even your portfolio and see if there are areas that need improvement. They can also coach you on the most common questions to the least expected ones in job interviews.
Even in hiring and recruiting, there are trends, and these trends can change rapidly. It is important to be updated with these trends if you are an active jobseeker. A career coach can update you with these from time to time.
When you want to build connections professionally
Building connections is also a vital task to do, to help you reach your professional goals. Yet, sometimes, we do not know where to connect appropriately. As career coaches also have their own connections, they can give you a heads up where to start. They can also equip you with the right skill set in trying to connect with other professionals within your industry. Remember that professional networking is something that should be done comfortably but still in a formal sense so, in some industries, there are things you must remember before you start connecting. A career coach can help you know these things.
Help you have a personalized plan to reach your target career path
What worked for others will not always work with you. Therefore, career coaching is helpful to know which areas you would need to check and improve in your careers. With a career coach, he or she can assess the right approach to help you which next steps you have to take to change something in your career.
Personalized career plans made by career coaches are programmed based on the skills the jobseeker has. These are also based on the target goals and the industry where the jobseeker belongs to.
Help you build yourself better for more opportunities
With the right amount of knowledge you will gain from your career coach, you will have a better outcome in the end. This is why more opportunities can be for you in the future. You will be more equipped to face recruiters if you decide to level up and seek another job.
The mission of career coaches is to become the help every professional needs. They can be the answers to our question for our career paths. We must go out there, explore, and meet the right coach for us.