If you’re searching for your first full-time job or haven’t looked for work in years, you’re probably unsure of what to expect on the road from where you are now. You might need a career coach to walk you through the nitty gritty of modern job hunt. The most crucial piece of job-search advice is to build your confidence for the tedious process. But with many of them on the list, it bears considering how to find a career coach that matches your personal and professional preferences.
The first thing you should know is that rejection is an inevitable aspect of the job hunting process. Prepare for several interviews and rejections before receiving a job offer. You could strike it rich on your first or second try, but you’re more likely to get a lot of rejections before getting a yes.
Fret not: We will give you an idea on how to find a career coach that could help you get called for an interview. A coach can help you answer the question “Why are you applying for this position?”
What is a Career Coach?
Career coaching is comparable to career counseling in nature. A career counselor may help you find work by providing you with industry knowledge and suggestions. Conversely, a career coach performs the same thing, but also looks at your overall life, taking into account your values, abilities, and interests.
Moreover, career coaches may assist you with everything from figuring out what you want to do to identifying your objectives. It does not matter whether it is to obtain a higher-paying job, switch fields, advance in your career, or ace a job interview. Plus, they will be supporting you through the ups and downs of job hunting as well as in achieving your smart career goals.
A career coach uses an instructional and prescriptive approach to help you develop your job search skills. They may also assist you in evaluating the current job market by giving information such as industry trends, employment statistics, wage expectations, and more. They also offer tactical assistance in the job search.
Qualifications of Career Coaches
Consider the educators, supervisors, and other mentorship and leadership personalities with whom you’ve previously worked. Who has supported, motivated, and assisted you in reaching your goals? What skills did they all share?
Behavior analysis, interpersonal talents, relationship management, case management, youth worker, instruction, and recruiting are the most prevalent key skills of career coaches. Aside from these, they should have the following qualifications:
1. Active Listening and Attendance
Attendance is the skill of being in someone else’s presence and being able to offer them your undivided attention with no interruptions. With this, clients feel supported and valued. It is of utmost importance that they can embrace the essential aspect of counseling: connection.
2. Respect for Confidentiality and Professional Boundaries
Confidentiality must be scrupulously adhered to. Clients should be encouraged to make their own judgments and conclusions without being affected by their career coach’s opinions.
3. Nonjudgmental Attitude
It is not the role of a career coach to make a judgment or offer advice on a client’s behavior or feelings. Clients must be able to freely communicate their views and feelings without fear of being judged, criticized, or rejected.
4. Problem Solving
Clients come to coaches with their difficulties; in the hope that they will be able to fix them. A career coach must be able to recognize their customers’ issues and provide the most appropriate and accurate answer.
Most career coaches have experience working with people from a number of sectors and understand how to provide advice to those with highly specialized skill sets. In general, if working with someone who is highly specialized or has a lot of experience is important to you, you must be meticulous in finding a coach.
What are the Services Provided by Career Coaches?
Career professional services vary based on their degree of training, competency, location, customer demands, and other considerations. According to Arizona State University, career coaches advise, mentor, and counsel clients toward the development and implementation of career goals. They apply job search strategies and evaluations that are tailored to their client’s unique requirements and diversity concerns.
If you have a better idea on how to find a career coach, you can reap the benefits such as articulating your strengths and passions in professional communications. They can contribute greatly in preparing resumes, cover letters, elevator pitches. Moreover, they will give you a glimpse of the interview process through simulation. They’ll make sure that all efforts will catch the attention of hiring managers. Career coaches perform the following:
- Conduct individual and group personal counseling sessions
- Encourage self-advocacy and determination
- Improve self-awareness and uncover employment alternatives
- Introduce, teach, and practice decision-making skills to help make better professional choices
- Identify roadblocks to career planning and provide coaching to clients on how to overcome them
- Make appropriate recommendations to other experts, organizations, and community resources based on the individual’s particular requirements or the coach’s limits
When Do You Need a Career Coach?
Finding a new job may be difficult and irritating unless you are one of the fortunate few who works in a high-demand profession. However, there are times that doing the efforts on your own could lead to job stress. Here are several important signs that hiring a career coach is a good idea.
1. You’re having frustration at work.
If you’re dissatisfied or upset at your current job and don’t know what else you might do, hiring a career coach is a good option.
2. You’re having trouble finding work.
If sending out resumes isn’t yielding results, try working with a career coach. This might include not receiving calls in response to resumes or not being invited to job interviews. If you do receive an interview call, a career coach might be a good investment if you aren’t getting any offers.
3. Your professional brand requires work.
You must consider your professional brand while marketing yourself, which begins with a solid resume. A career coach might be useful if you need help writing a resume, cover letter, or other materials, or if you want advice on how to portray yourself in the best light during job interviews.
4. You have trouble motivating yourself.
Advancing in your profession is difficult work, and even the most determined people can get sluggish or worn out. A career coach is a good option if you need someone “objective” to hold you accountable for accomplishing your goals.
5. You’re ambitious.
If you want to speed up the process of obtaining your career goals, it’s best to know how to find a career coach. You can’t expect your ideal job to appear out of nowhere. You must prioritize achievement to achieve your professional objectives.
6. You feel unfulfilled.
If you’re wondering, why am I still working here? It might be time to think of how to find a career coach. A good coach may assist you in finding balance in your life, unraveling your habits, and discovering fresh perspectives on who you are at work and in the world.
How Do Career Coaches Help with Job Search?
The job market is competitive, and one of the most effective methods you can employ is to ensure that you stand out from the crowd and demonstrate to the hiring manager that you are a candidate worth interviewing. This is why it’s essential to understand how to find a career coach who can help you improve your public speaking skills.
1. Troubleshoot your job search.
The main aspect is that it’s a numbers game; and as a job seeker, it’s important to keep track of actions of where the job search fails. You may build a focused, well-thought-out remedial approach once you know where the error occurred. Coaches can assist you in developing a better job search approach.
2. Grow your network the right way.
Building a strong professional network is much more than just collecting hundreds of LinkedIn contacts. Professionals with strong networks invest time and effort into forming new connections and strengthening old ones. Here’s how to expand your online and offline network.
3. Gain career clarity and focus.
Career insecurity impacts everyone, regardless of where they are in their careers or their degree of expertise. After all, choosing a career is both an exhilarating and terrifying prospect. So, if your job path has taken a bad turn, it doesn’t have to be a dead end. Your career compass will be adjusted once you have clarity.
How to Find a Career Coach
Finding the right match can be difficult given the impact and personal nature of career counseling. Asking for referrals from individuals in your network is the greatest place to start. Listing the notable qualities of a potential coach will be easy once you have envisioned your road to career success.
Make sure you get a coach who treats you like a VIP customer rather than simply another appointment. If the coach appears to be excessively busy, choose someone who will have time to focus on you and your needs instead.
How to Choose the Right Career Coach
Once you’ve decided on one or two candidates, request a session to learn more about their personalities. Many coaches will provide a complimentary one-hour introductory appointment to see if the partnership is a good fit. Also, make sure to inquire about references.
There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all technique for finding a job. Everyone is different, with their own mix of talents, experience, beliefs, and interests. As a result, each professional path is unique and must be addressed as such. Thus, work with someone who is willing to invest in making sure that you’re a good fit.
Some career coaches are excellent at assisting you, while others wing it by leaving your worries in the general job seeker’s problems list. That’s why, before you invest your time and money, you should know how to identify a good coach, how much to pay, and what to anticipate from sessions.
How Much Does Hiring a Career Coach Cost?
A one-on-one meeting between you and your coach typically lasts 45 to 60 minutes. The majority of customers meet with their professional coach once a week, while others meet every two weeks or even once a month.
The rates offered by career coaches vary widely, so you should search around for the best and worth the session. The cost for a two-hour session ranges from $100 to $500. On the other hand, by browsing through freelancing websites you may discover cheaper career coaching services. However, usually they do not have a coaching certification. Also, some of them are not qualified career coaches with established procedures.
Take the time to evaluate a coach’s credentials before signing a contract. Also, have a discussion about your objectives to ensure that you’re both on the same page in terms of intended outcomes.
Career Coaching: A Valuable Decision for Job Seekers, Professionals, and Career Changers
Trapped in your job, having trouble finding work, or just need some assistance making tough decisions and planning your future? Investing in a few sessions of career counseling might be a smart investment.
Of course, everyone’s professional and financial position is different. Some people believe that hiring a career coach is just a waste of money. On the other side of the fence, you’ll find people who believe that it is money well spent. So, if you feel that hiring a job coach is too expensive, there’s another option to obtain job search advice: read our articles written by experts.
Decided on asking for professional help with your job search? Start looking for a career coach that will practice with you today to succeed. Make sure you have an updated resume to help you win a job interview tomorrow.
