Achieving Professional Success: Career Coaching Explained
In the past, people tended to find a job out of high school or college and stick with it. Their first job became their entire career. They literally started from the bottom and worked their way up.
In today's job market, professionals are always looking for ways to gain more skills, grow internally, rise in their company, and earn more money. This means that people no longer stay at the same job indefinitely. They switch roles, teams, and even companies.
People realize that they spend most of their time at work, so they might as well feel happy and fulfilled. Career coaching can help you in achieving professional success. Let's learn more about career coaching and how it can help you.
What Is Career Coaching?
Career coaching is when a certified and trained coach helps individuals identify and achieve the goals they set for themselves, as well as provides guidance in making more effective career decisions. These are just a few of the different areas that career coaches can help with:
Developing necessary skills for career advancement or change
Implementing plans for achieving goals
Providing unbiased feedback
Self-reflection
Setting smart, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-sensitive goals
Reasons for Career Coaching
Career coaching has proven to be an effective method for additional support when looking for help in navigating different options for your career. Here are just a few of the different benefits that individuals can experience with the help of career coaching:
Feeling Stuck
Many people will go through a period during their careers where they just feel stuck. They may struggle to see if there is hope of advancing in their role. A career coach can help to provide a fresh perspective on things you may not have considered yet.
Freelance Support
Maybe you're considering starting your own company or going freelance. A career coach can help guide you in business planning. They'll help you define your personal brand as well as help you work through the challenges of self-employment.
Future Planning
Many people look towards completing short-term goals, but what are your hopes and dreams for the next ten or twenty years? Career coaches can help you better define these long-term goals so that they align with your hopes and dreams for the future.
In Between Jobs
Being in between jobs can be challenging. You may have chosen to take a break, or maybe you were let go. Explaining a gap in your resume can be uncomfortable depending on the circumstance. A career coach can help you enhance your resume and cover letter, improve your job search strategy, and help you show up in the best way you can when interviewing.
Other Benefits
These are just a few of the many areas of one's life that a career coach can assist in. They can also help with increasing your confidence levels, professional development, networking, switching jobs or careers, or navigating other life changes. The benefits of a career coach extend beyond just job searching.
How to Find a Career Coach
Finding a career or life coach that is suitable for your wants and needs just takes a little work on your end. Here are a few things to consider when finding a career coach for you:
Ask friends, family, and colleagues for referrals
Check the coach's availability and flexibility in scheduling
Consider your preferred learning style to see which method is best suited for you
Determine what you want to achieve through career coaching
Make sure the time and financial investment works for you
Read client testimonials
Review their educational background, experience, and credentials
No matter if you're trying to clarify your professional goals, considering a change to a new team, role, or market, or wanting ongoing support in your professional life, a career coach can be a huge help. The future is yours. Let's help you achieve the goals you set out for yourself.