Career coaching can help a client navigate through uncertainty and gain clarity on what path they should take to discover their next position or job.
Career coaching is under the general umbrella of life coaching, which has been around for decades.
Coaching can provide a client with a range of training and guidance in areas they may be struggling or searching for more fulfillment. Many people look to coaches to help guide them to a specific goal they want to achieve but have been struggling with attaining.
There is a wide range of topics a life coach can cover, and most coaches specialize in helping specific niches and particular clientele. Life coaching can be done over the phone, virtually over a computer, or in-person, depending on the coach’s and client’s preferences.
Coaching can be greatly beneficial to those who use it and has become a major part of business development, entrepreneurship, and career navigation.
WHAT IS LIFE COACHING?
The International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines life coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”
WHAT DO LIFE COACHES DO?
Life coaches help people to reach their personal and professional potential, depending on the client. Coaches can meet with clients in person, virtually, or on the phone, and most sessions run from forty-five minutes to an hour, depending on the coach and the setup.
Professional coaches ask a series of questions to dig deeper into a client’s problem or issue to help find resolutions and wisdom. Professional coaching is rooted in neuroscience and backed by years of research.
WHAT LIFE COACHES DON’T DO?
Life coaches do not treat or diagnose mental illness or mood disorders, they do not consult or tell their clients what to do, and they do not give personal opinions on their client’s issues or problems.
There can be a general misconception of what life coaches do and don’t do and it’s crucial to understand the differences. It’s important to remember that life coaching is NOT psychotherapy, mentoring, or consulting. Life coaching is a process of co-creating a step-by-step plan to help the client achieve their goals.
Life coaching (certified programs) is founded on neuroscience, listening intently, and asking pointed questions, NOT telling the client what to do or diagnosing/treating mental health issues.
WHAT IS CAREER COACHING?
Like any industry, there are many sub-markets within the larger niche.
Career coaching is a niche within the niche. Most, if not all, career coaches had personal experiences within their own career that led them to help people with major career decisions.
Although you don’t need a certification to be a professional coach, having one increases the coach’s reputation and potential skillset. Learning the science behind coaching and having to put in hours of practice sessions goes a long way in making a quality coach.
Career coaches help by supporting and guiding the client along their journey to their career goals. Career coaches are there to ask questions, hold you accountable, and help overcome any challenges or obstacles that arise during the process.
But within coaching, YOU the client holds the agenda, not the coach. The coach is trained to listen and provide wisdom, insight, support, and ask appropriate questions to further the client’s agenda.
The career coach’s ultimate mission is to better position you to reach your career goals quicker than you could on your own.
So how do they go about this process?
Here are some ways career coaches can help you.
NAVIGATES CLIENT THROUGH UNCERTAINTY
There will come a point in everyone’s career when they will face some level of uncertainty.
Whenever we find ourselves at these crossroads, it can be extremely challenging to see clearly and find a solution. This is where a coach can be a major benefit to a client who is struggling with which path to go down, which job to take, and which passion to follow.
Here are a few examples of career uncertainty:
New Opportunity: You may be at a point in your career where you are comfortable but not challenging enough. You are facing a decision – stay in your current position, take on a new position within your company or leave your company. Many people find themselves unsure of what the “right” answer is to this question. And this is where coaching can help the client illuminate the answer which best suits them.
Had Enough: Plain and simple – you are miserable at your current job, regardless of position. It could be because of co-workers, managers, the work itself, or even the office environment, but all you know is that you need to get out. Yet you don’t know how to start the process, and you’re scared to lose the security of your currency position. A coach can help you in solving these uncertainties.
Finding A Passion: One of the biggest reasons people seek career coaching is to help create a career doing something they are passionate about. Many people are either unhappy with their current jobs, or those who are just bored or too comfortable, that seek to discover a career that lights their soul on fire. The problem is this can be a tricky thing to do for many of us. Coaching can assist in developing a plan of attack to find that passion and make it a reality.
ALLOWS CLIENT A PLATFORM TO BE HEARD
Career coaching is an excellent space to be heard.
Often, when we are faced with career uncertainty we tend to keep many of the thoughts to ourselves. Over time they can build up and become louder and louder. Eventually, thoughts turn into worries, doubts, and fears that hold us back from really going after what we want.
A career coach’s job is to hear you out in full. These coaching sessions allow you to talk out every thought you had spinning in your head. They are an ideal and safe space to get your thoughts, worries, and ideas out to your coach. Together, you can co-create a precise, step-by-step plan to help get you where you want to go next.
HELPS CLIENT THROUGH CHALLENGING OBSTACLES
Career uncertainty can cause a great deal of challenging obstacles.
Whether you are in a position that is causing you daily stress and anxiety, unhappy with the direction of your career, afraid to make a big move, or unsure of how to create your dream job, career challenges can be overwhelming. In fact, these challenges and obstacles can often lead people to make choices that aren’t in their best interest.
Examples:
A person might stay in a job that causes them stress and affects their well-being just because they are terrified to take the next step. Coaching can help the client find clarity and begin to build a plan to take the next step forward.
Another challenging area for some is figuring out what they are passionate about and how they can make a living off of it. I’m a firm believer that you can never be truly great in a career without having a passion for it. By passion, I’m referring to a strong interest and love for what you do. Coaching can help the client discover this passion and help create a path to getting there.
Lastly, there are many who struggle to make any major changes in their careers. This fear is understandable and very real – but it can be navigated and managed. Being able to go beyond the fear and make the big move is difficult. But this is where working with a career coach can help get you to where you want to go.
ASSISTS CLIENT IN VIEWING SITUATION FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
Changing our perspective on a given situation can have a major impact on the outcome.
Creating a healthier perspective can be difficult at first, but this is where having a career coach can pay dividends. Coaching is about helping the client sort out everything spinning around in their heads into an orderly, step-by-step plan to get to where they want to go. Taking a different perspective on a challenging or negative situation will help the client traverse through the obstacles in a more light-hearted and pragmatic fashion.
Coaches are there to listen to their client’s current perspectives and help them discover a new one that is healthier for their short and long-term growth and development. In order to achieve their goals, clients need a healthy perspective. Career coaches are masters at assisting in this process.
CO-CREATES STEP BY STEP PLAN FOR CLIENT WITH POWERFUL QUESTIONS
One of the most important roles a career coach plays is helping the client through a step-by-step plan to achieve their career goals.
Now, let’s focus on the word co-create. This does not mean the coach comes up with the agenda, the plan, or the steps. This simply infers that the coach asks questions and helps direct through their questions a step-by-step process that the client ultimately comes up with on their own that works for them. Coaching is about teasing the wisdom from within the client, which then empowers them even more. This is an important aspect of coaching compared to therapy, mentoring, or consulting, where typically the person tells the client what to do. Coaching empowers the client to create their own plan of action with the guidance of the coach.
Coaching empowers, listens, and supports.
The step-by-step plan will help guide the client to their own goals with the support and encouragement of their career coach.
This brings us to the next thing…
HOLDS CLIENT ACCOUNTABLE
Accountability is a crucial aspect of career coaching.
When striving to navigate career obstacles, new challenges, and accomplish larger goals, having someone stand by you every step of the way can make the process a lot easier. Although ultimately the client needs to hold themselves responsible to achieve their vision and accomplish their goals, having a career coach to help listen, ask powerful questions, and encourage the client towards their final objective.
When the client is held accountable by their coach for completing the next steps, it creates a healthy relationship between the client and coach to facilitate future growth. Accountability also helps on days and weeks when the client isn’t feeling up to the task. When you know you’re coach will ask you how the previous days or weeks we’re, the client will want to come to the session excited to share what they accomplished. It helps to keep a client moving in a positive and forward direction. Career coaching is an excellent accountability tool.
SUPPORTS CLIENT THROUGH ENTIRE PROCESS
As I’ve stated several times in this article, career coaches are there to help support the client through the challenges and obstacles of achieving their career goals.
Supporting the client (with different coaching techniques and what we’ve discussed above) throughout the entire process is extremely important for many reasons. One, the client has a sounding board they can bounce thoughts, feelings, and ideas around without fear of ridicule or judgment. Two, the client has someone who is willing to stand by them step by step along the way, no matter where the process takes them. Thirdly, the client has a person to help hold them accountable while also offering words of encouragement. And lastly, the client has someone who is trained in asking the right questions and getting the most out of each session to move the client forward towards their goals.
Supporting the client is a keystone habit of coaching.
IN REVIEW
Career coaching has many short and long-term benefits. No matter what type of career adversity you are facing, coaching can help you mold a path through to the other side. Navigating fear, uncertainty, stress, anxiety, and difficult circumstances are all part of what a career coach can help you accomplish. If you’re thinking of taking that next step, send me an email at info@upplifter.com and we can schedule a sample session!
Although we strive to provide accurate general information, the information presented here is not a substitute for any kind of professional advice, and you should not rely solely on this information. Always consult a professional in the medical and health area for your particular needs and circumstances prior to making any medical or health-related decisions. For your health-related questions, please seek the advice of a licensed physician or any other qualified health care provider immediately.
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