What is career coaching, and do I need a career coach?
Here is everything you need to know about career coaching and how to find the best career coach or career advice for you.
The titles and terminology for career help and support are confusing. Should I hire a career coach, a career counsellor, a career advisor, a career consultant, a career psychologist, an interview coach, ……. or maybe an executive coach, a business coach, or a leadership coach?
In short, the answer is……it depends. It depends on what you need support with and what your goals are.
What is career coaching and what does a career coach do?
If you, are asking yourself any of the following questions, you may benefit from some career advice and support:
“Am I on the right career path?”
“What should I do if I hate my job?”
“How can I get promoted?”
“What are the most common interview questions?”
“How do I calm my nerves before an interview?”
“When should I transition from one job to another?”
“What do I do when I am stuck?”
“How can I be more confident at work?”
Basically, a career coach can help you manage and develop your career. Career coaches are experts in skills such as job search, CV building and career planning. Some also have expertise in career management, career development, career change, career transitions and interviewing.
Some career coaches offer career advice just in CV writing, writing cover letters or just job hunting. Whereas others just specialise in interview skills training.
However, if you are looking for support in areas such as career change or development, you might want to consider hiring a career counsellor, or a career coach and counsellor, or even a career psychologist. Changing career can be complex. In changing careers, you need to have a full understanding of yourself and your career motivators, (such as strengths, skills, interests, personality, and values) to make the right work decisions for you. Psychometric assessments are useful in assessing your abilities and personality, so you need to find someone who is qualified in valid and reliable psychometric assessments (normally a career psychologist).
However, if you have issues at work that you want to conquer, such as being nervous at interviews and presentations, feeling like you are an impostor at work, worried or anxious at work, or you want to build your confidence at work, these are some of the issues that can also be helped by seeking assistance from a career’s professional with a background in counselling or psychology.
To make things more confusing, executive coaching and career coaching can often cover the same sort of issues, such as time management, networking, managing difficult people or getting promoted at work. There can also be cross over with leadership coaching, where the focus is on coaching in the leading of others. Again, it is good practice to find out if your career coach has competence in these areas if these are the issues you want to work on.
Some career coaches, such as I, have experience and expertise in career counselling, career coaching and are career psychologists. So, have expertise in many areas, from advising on job search to counselling clients on issues at work. Coaching and counselling are different tracks. The goal is to support people in making informed career decisions, as well as offer career advice on CVs, cover letters, application forms and LinkedIn profiles—to meet those goals.
How to find the best career coach for you
As already discussed, it is advisable to find a career coach who has expertise in the area you need support with. Coaches who say they are counsellors or psychologist need to have the appropriate training.
Check out the career coach’s qualifications and experience. As the field of coaching (including life coaching, career coaching, executive and leadership coaching) is not particularly regulated, it is important that your career coach has a membership to an appropriate organisation. For example, the Association for Coaching or the International Coaching Federation. These organisations have codes of conduct and ethics and to be a member you need to abide by their rules. It is also advantageous to be an accredited member of these associations as the coach will have gone through a rigorous assessment to have achieved this.
How much does it cost to hire a career coach?
As with many other professionals, the cost of hiring a career coach varies depending on the coach's experience and qualifications and the location of their practice. Although most career coaches are practising remotely, a career coach London based, will in general be more expensive than a career coach Edinburgh based, or a career coach Glasgow based. With remote working, your career coach can be based anywhere in the world. The advantages of having one based in the same country as you are that they will know your market better.
Generally, career coaches charge £75 to £150 per hour for individuals. Corporate charges can be from £250 to £500 or more. When you are choosing a career coach, the bargain option may not be the best option. Results are what matter. It is useless having lots of meetings if that does not get you to achieving your goals. So, choose a career coaching who is results-focused and wants to work with you to achieve your goals.
What should I look out for when hiring a career coach?
If you are thinking about hiring a career coach, consider that although there are many reputable coaches available who can help you with preparing for an interview, a career change, or any issues at work, there are some career coaches who are not what they seem. Many career coaches have little to no experience or qualifications.
Choose a professional career coach, career advisor, career counsellor or career psychologist who has several years of experience, certifications, and strong client testimonials.
You will also want to find one who you get on with, so choose a career coach who offers an introductory consultation. In that way, you can get a sense of what it will be like to work with that person before you invest in your career. You will also find out what they can and cannot help you with, and their approach to career coaching.
Is it worth getting a career coach?
Investing in a career coach will pay off in the long run. Whether that is helping you be happy in a new career, starting your own business or gaining a promotion. Having a career coach can save you time, effort, and heartbreak as you are gaining from their expertise and experience. If you have been miserable in your career, changing your career to something you love is priceless!
How do you prepare for a career coaching session?
If you have an initial introductory consultation or “chemistry session” with a career coach, have a think about what your goals are from career coaching. What do you want to achieve? For example, do you want to be able to smash interviews without feeling nervous? Do you want to change your job or change your career to the one you love?
Once you have found the best career coach for you, they will tell you what they need you to do for the meetings. Every career coach is different. Some will want you to have completed some pre-work beforehand, or psychometric assessment, others will want you to email your CV or the job description if you are having some interview skills training.
Always take notes from the sessions, so you can reflect afterwards.
What a career coach can and cannot do
There are many things a career coach can do for you and your career. It is good to understand the limitations, in order to manage your expectations.
A career coach can not make decisions for you
The best career coaches ask the right questions or provide the right questionnaires, psychometrics, or exercises for you to understand yourself to make the right career decisions for you. They can provide information and career advice about how to do a CV, LinkedIn profile or competency-based interview, for example, but it is your career, so ultimately the career decisions are up to you.
A career coach can not do the work for you
Career coaches will not do the work for you. It is up to you to do the meeting pre and post-work if required. It means putting in the practice time.
A career coach does not find you a job. They may be able to advise on good recruitment consultants or know people to speak to in the relevant field but getting a job for you is not a given.
A career coach does not have a magic wand
I am sometimes asked to have an hour meeting so I can tell a client what they should do next in their career. Unfortunately, informed decisions take time and effort to make the right one. My career change programmes are at least seven hours of one-to-one meetings with exercises and psychometrics.
Your coach may be able to work through your CV and interview preparation with you quite quickly. However, it takes longer to work through ingrained beliefs resulting in a lack of confidence and self-doubt. These sorts of changes take longer.
A career coach can help to increase confidence, insight, and inspiration
Career coaches work in the field all the time, so will know the latest trends in interviewing or how employers are recruiting, for example. They can help you with insight into your job search or career development.
Getting positive feedback and encouragement from a career professional can help to get through times of unemployment or uncertainty. It can be tough to go through career transitions and changes and a good career coach will be there to support you.
Working with a coaching psychologist in careers can also mean you can gain a huge amount of self-understanding. You can create some career ideas and career options and make career decisions that are right for you.
Career specialists in the field of wellbeing at work can also help with managing stress, building resilience and self-confidence.
Taking positive steps to manage your future and understanding what you need from your career can have an enormous impact on your health and happiness at work.
I am Diana Dawson, Founder of Working Career. As a Professional Career Coach, Career Psychologist, Career Counsellor, Career Consultant, Executive Coach and Wellbeing at Work Coach, I work with organisations and individuals to help manage their careers.
I am an Accredited Master Coach with the Association for Coaching, a Coaching Psychologist and Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist with nearly 20 years of experience in the field.
I work with professional people from different sectors and backgrounds to cope and flourish at work. I also run Career Workshops and Wellbeing Workshops for organisations.
I can provide one-to-one career coaching in Edinburgh or zoom sessions worldwide. I can provide Career Workshops at your organisation or remotely. Find out more about me here