What Is A Career Coach And Why You Should Get One
This may or may not be controversial, but Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL. For those of you who don’t like Tom Brady, I’ll throw out a less polarizing, clean cut, no drama athlete named Tiger Woods, who happens to be the best golfer in the history of the sport.
What do these two guys have in common besides being the best athletes in their respective sports? The answer I’m looking for is, they didn’t do it alone.
Both Tom and Tiger spent years perfecting their craft with the help of, you guessed it, A COACH. Now you may be thinking to yourself, “Tom Brady and Tiger Woods were way too good for coaches.” That thought my friend, is wrong. Tom and Tiger have talked about how impactful their coaches have been to their success throughout their careers.
So, if Tom and Tiger, two of the most successful guys in, I’ll say it, the history of the world have coaches, then why don’t you?
If you’re a Finance Manager at Toyota or an Office Assistant at a local law firm, you may be wondering why you would need a Career Coach. You may also be wondering, what exactly is a Career Coach?
Well don’t worry, by the end of this, you’re going to understand exactly what a career coach is and why you should get one.Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
What Is a Career Coach?
We can safely say, that a Career Coach is not someone who helps you pick jobs off of Job Trees…Sorry Charlie..If you had to guess you’d probably say something along the lines of, “Someone who coaches you to find the right career.” While this answer isn’t entirely wrong, it’s kind of general. If you do a Google search, you can find a lot of different definitions of a career coach ranging from someone who gives career advice to someone who helps you find a new job.
While these are all things that a Career Coach will do, a real Career Coach, like the ones you’d find at Your Career Strategy guide you in finding yourself and understanding what motivates you. They are people with a deep understanding of the industry they are coaching you in, gained by personal experiences and a strong network of professionals.
A Few Qualities of a Good Career Coach:
Compassionate
Knowledgeable
Honest
Empathetic
Resourceful
Now if that made you feel warm and fuzzy, and it should, I’m glad. But not everything is rainbows and butterflies in the career coaching world. There is a, well, dark side. And no, I’m not talking Star Wars dark side. Or is it Dark Force? Who am I kidding, I have no clue about anything when it comes to Star Wars? The only thing Star Wars does for me has put me to sleep in five minutes or less. Who would have thought a blog about career coaching would turn into an attack on one of the most popular franchises in the history of Hollywood. Anyway, we’ll get back on track.
The Dark Side of Career Coaching:
Unfortunately, in 2022, anyone can say they are a Career Coach and try and make a quick buck. It’s important to look out for these people because it’ll say you a lot of time and money along the way. Want to know how to spot these people? Here’s how:
Anyone Who is Guaranteeing You a Job: There are only two guarantees in life; death and taxes. If someone is advertising themselves as a “Career Coach” and telling you they can guarantee you a job in a certain amount of time, head for the hills. How in the world can someone guarantee you a job before they even talk to you or spend any time with you? Be very wary of a guarantee like this because you may be getting involved with someone who’s in it for a quick buck with no benefit for you.
Someone Who Has the Perfect “System”: As we saw in Brady’s first season with the Buccaneers, everyone that thought he was a “system” quarterback in New England was greatly mistaken. To take this to the career coaching world, there is no perfect “system” when it comes to guiding someone through a career change or helping them find a new career path. If a Career Coach tells you that following their “system” will get you hired, tell them to take their system, turn it sideways, and stick it you know where. Okay, that was a little aggressive, maybe just say “no thanks” and move one.
Now that you’ve avoided these two dark roads, let’s get back into the light and talk about some more happier things: Certifications.
Should My Career Coach Be Certified?
Unfortunately, this isn’t a simple yes or no answer. While certifications are great, they aren’t the end-all be-all in the world of career coaching. If you’re like my three-year-old son, your next question will be “Why”.
Well, a certification is great, I’m never against someone getting a certification to become a Certified Career Coach or a Career Counselor (which is basically someone with specific certifications so they can call themselves a Career Counselor). The problem is, when someone only relies on their certification and has no real-world experience in coaching or knows anything about the job landscape. If you’re planning to hire someone who only has a shiny piece of paper and no other experience to talk to, then you might be in for a rude awakening. I know I said we were out of the dark side but this borders on the dark side, we’ll call it, being in the shadows if you want me to name it something.
So sure, a certification is fine, but let’s look at the whole person and not just the piece of paper that they may or may not have.
Now that we’ve answered the question as to what a career coach is, and is not for that matter, here’s why you NEED one.
Unless you’re a professional Ice Cream Taster or model in Hawaii, there are probably some aspects of your career that you aren’t exactly thrilled with. Hey, even the professional Ice Cream Taster could become lactose intolerant. But seriously, Career Coaches aren’t only for people who lost their jobs or are looking for jobs. They’re someone who can help you ask for that raise you’ve been wanting or help you through the promotion process. A Career Coach’s job is to help you navigate through your career and help to get you to the place you want to be.
If you feel intimated by the process of finding a Career Coach, reach out 1-1 Coaching — Your Career Strategyto one of us at Your Career Strategy and book a Discovery Call to see what it’s all about. You can also click here to read about our coaching programs to find out more information.