What does a Career Coach do?

Are you feeling stuck in your career? Do you find yourself struggling to make progress or unsure of what steps to take next? If so, you may benefit from the help of a career coach. A career coach offers specific knowledge, expertise, and support that can help you make informed decisions, navigate challenges, and advance your career more effectively than you might on your own. How do they do this? They can help you to better know yourself, what you want and how those two things might fit together in your career. Coaches ask questions, encourage action, provide a different perpective and allow you to see things in a different way.

1. Objective Perspective: Career coaches offer an objective viewpoint. They aren't influenced by personal biases or emotions, allowing them to provide fresh ideas and questions you might not have thought of before. This can be especially helpful when making tough decisions or navigating difficult situations.
2. Expertise: Career coaches have specialized knowledge and expertise in career development, job search strategies, and industry trends. This can help them to tailor your experience and focus on strategies which will help you get closer to your goals. 
3. Customized Guidance: Coaches tailor their guidance to your unique needs, goals, and circumstances. They can create personalized strategies and action plans to address your specific challenges, focusing on action steps that will get you closer to your goals and objectives.
4. Accountability: A career coach holds you accountable for tasks, your action and commitments. They help you stay on track, track your progress, and make adjustments as needed. This can be incredibly motivating and encourage consistency in reaching your desired outcomes. 
5. Skill Building: Coaches can help you develop essential career-related skills, such as interview preparation, networking, and negotiation skills, to enhance your job search and advancement opportunities. This can be especially helpful if you're looking to switch careers or are just starting out in your career.
6. Confidence Boost: Coaches work on boosting your self-confidence and self-esteem, which can be crucial for successful career transitions and overcoming challenges. This can be helpful especially if you are making a transition, have never worked before, were laid off, or are returing to paid work after a career pause. 
7. Networking Support: They can provide guidance on building and cultivating your professional network and strategies to grow or reengage with your network, especially if it has been a while since you invested time and energy into those relationships. 
8. Problem Solving: Coaches help you identify and overcome obstacles and challenges in your career path, ensuring you make informed decisions. They can be a great sounding board and provide valuable feedback and ask open ended questions which allow you to see new solutions. 
9. Goal Setting: Coaches assist you in setting clear, achievable career goals and help you break them down into manageable steps. For those who feel like they are starting new, or starting over, breaking it down into small steps can make it feel achieveable. 
10. Resource Access: They may inform you valuable resources, tools, and assessments that can aid in your career exploration and development. There is alot of information and tools for exploration, so a coach who understands your goals and needs, will be able to suggest those that align with your interests and objectives. 

These benefits are exciting and through them we can imagine a lot possibilities. There are many positive outcomes and possiblities. One major reason this is true, is that you are the focus of the process. The coach can ask you great questions, challenge you when you aren't seeing the whole picture and empower you to move forward. However, working with a Career Coach isn't something you will sign up for and then sit back and reap the benefits. It's hard work. You will focus on getting you know yourself. The action will be yours. This may sound overwhelming, but in fact it can be incredibly exciting. You will define your success and your goals, the coach will be there to help you facilitate it. So, before investing in a coach, be sure you are ready to invest in yourself. That is how you will get the most from your time and resources. 

It might take you a few times to find the right coach. A way to ensure success in that process is to do some of your own work on the front end.

Ask youreself questions such as,

"What style am I looking for in a coach?" 

"Do I want to work with someone who will really challenge me? Or more of a cheerleader?"

"What outcomes am I looking for from this experience? Is this coach able to help me reach that outcome?

There are many benefits and results that can come from engaging with a Career Coach and enlisting them to support you in your career journey. However, your journey is just that, yours. So, be sure to know what you want from the experience, be clear on how you plan to engage and follow through and know how to articulate to your coach what you want to achieve. This will create an empowering, collaborative and results oriented relationship that will benefit you for years to come.