In this article, I’ll discuss the Top 10 Reasons to Consider Career Coaching. And to start off, I’ll get right what most people are concerned about – money. The top economic reason to consider career coaching is that it can help you negotiate salary and benefits, ensuring that you receive fair compensation for your work.
A New Perspective – The First of Ten Reasons to Consider Career Coaching
We can look back in history and see how these iron-clad perspectives dissolved when challenged by science – the world is round, not flat, and the Sun is the center of the universe not Earth as was once thought.
As we continue to gain knowledge, our perspectives can shift … and they should shift in support of our growth. Having an objective partner to look into the picture frame of Y.O.U. can offer a far different perspective from the one we hold as the person in the picture frame.
One reason to consider career coaching is to help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to make more informed career decisions.
Coaching offers an objective new perspective where the coach is not tied to the outcome of the client’s decision. I recognize that decision is yours to make and I honor that.
That may not be the case when bouncing ideas off a person with whom the client is really involved, e.g. a spouse, friend or co-worker.
I offer advice in the interest of keeping you safe and secure; however, that may be the very thing
Opportunity to Co-Create
Another reason to consider career coaching is helping you develop a career plan that aligns with your values and goals.
It is invigorating and productive to collaborate – or co-create – with someone else. Generally, two heads are better than one!
At its core, the foundation of coaching is the professional relationship formed between the client and the coach. We are equals and we both have an active role.
As a trained coach, I use honed communication skills to support you as an objective thinking partner. My goal is to develop a relationship that together will create more power for you to affect meaningful change and take dynamic actions toward your goals.
One of the key mistakes we can make is believing that we can do it on our own. Some call this the “Lone Ranger syndrome.”
Sounds good; however, when we pull the curtain on any of our heroes, there’s always someone behind the scenes who is helping them to perform optimally.
That is the role of the coach, one who is seeking the best for the client yet has no vested interest in the decisions that the client will ultimately make for themselves!
Credentials Count!
Getting valuable feedback on your resume, cover letter, and interviewing skills to increase your chances of landing a job is one of the best reasons to consider career coaching.
The International Coaching Federation (ICF) is the most widely known professional organization that supports the coaching industry. It is a relatively young organization – having formed in 1995.
ICF’s mission is leading the global advancement of the coaching profession. Coaches who become members have been trained by an ICF-accredited institution.
They will have the opportunity to enhance their credentials over time through ICF’s individual coach certification process. The three levels of certification – ACC, PCC, and MCC – reflect the coach’s dedication to continuing education and is associated with their proficiency level (as noted by their accumulated hours of professional coaching).
Coaches who are members of ICF commit to operating their coaching business in accordance with the ICF Core Competencies and adhere to a strict Code of Ethics.
I have been a member of the global ICF since 2014. I am active at the local level as a chapter board member with responsibility for public relations and communications.
Being part of this credentialed community helps me to stay abreast of current coaching trends and to collaborate with my colleagues to shape the future of the coaching profession.
For you, this means I will use the most up-to-date coaching techniques to help you reach your career goals.
Can You Hear Me Now?
A supportive and unbiased perspective on your career decisions is a good reason to consider career coaching.
When in conversation, we want to be heard. We’re not looking for someone to jump in to tell us how that same thing happened to them or to one-up themselves moving the attention from you, the speaker, to them, the “listeners”.
Active listening is both a science and an art. The science part dictates that we place our full attention on the speaker.
We do this by making good eye contact and engaging in body postures that signal active listening to the speaker. The art comes into play when we listen for the significance of what is not being said. There are lots to be uncovered there as well.
Coaches learn active listening and questioning techniques that allow you, the client, to be fully heard not only in the words you spoke but in the thoughts you left inside.
This combination allows you to explore your thought and feeling patterns as an effective way to shift your thinking and consider new possibilities. You can do this without concern that you will be in an “I can do one better” situation that will derail the co-creative process.
I’ll Catch You When You Fall!
Reason number four when considering career coaching is that working with a career coach can help you build confidence and improve your communication and networking skills.
Imagine watching someone walk the tightrope – with a net and without one. Which makes you more nervous? When making life-altering changes, we may see ourselves as that tightrope walker.
With a safety net, we will feel more secure as we navigate to abandon old operating systems and install new ones that will serve our new direction.
A coach can serve as your safety net, a safe place where you can experiment with several possibilities and ideas without worrying that you will fall flat on your face. Some form of failure is inevitable in a change process.
With the cushion of a coach, you will learn how to fail fast and gracefully. When you fall, you’ll have a companion who will help you to identify lessons learned, and who will “carry” you forward.
No more time spent beating yourself up because something didn’t go as planned. No more paralysis in taking that first step because you have the assurance of your safety net.
I am that coach who will hold your hand as you take that step!
Clarity Builds Confidence
An extremely important reason to consider career coaching is that it can help you explore different career paths and industries, providing you with more options to choose from.
In today’s world, we have so many things coming at us at warp speed that it can paralyze us. We allow our hopes and dreams to take a back seat to fear, doubt, and worry.
Or, we simply go into automated mode going along with the program because the thought of unraveling and evaluating our thoughts, wants, needs and desires is confusing and exhausting.
In a coaching relationship, confusion can become clear as we take a deliberate step-wise approach to going inside to figure out what we are about and what we really want.
Many times, there are “A-ha” moments that shift our thinking immediately. With clarity, we know the next step to take.
Knowing what to do next and leaning on the support we receive from our coach builds our confidence.
- Confidence does not mean we have no fear.
- Confidence means we acknowledge our fear and do it anyway!
Accelerate Your Progress
Overcoming obstacles or challenges that may be preventing you from reaching your full potential is another reason to consider career coaching.
What’s the first thing we drop when we are pressed for time?
Usually, it’s us.
We’ve been socialized to put others ahead of ourselves notwithstanding the sensible “put your mask on first” instructions we receive when flying.
Beyond putting everyone else’s needs ahead of our own, we procrastinate. There are many reasons for this – yet our dreams and our goals are waiting for us to pay attention to them.
Although there is never a pre-set agenda for an individual coaching session, there is usually a schedule of calls or visits on the calendar.
It’s amazing how much we accomplish when we have a target completion date, i.e. our next call.
More important than that, the permission we give ourselves to explore and consider all possibilities opens us up to many “aha” moments. These revealing moments generate so much positive energy that we are ready and raring to go.
Pedal to the metal – full speed ahead!
Be in Action!
The final and one of the most pragmatic reasons to consider career coaching is that it can help you stay motivated and accountable as you work towards achieving your career goals.
The best antidote to feeling stuck and fearful about accomplishing your big goals is to “Take Action!”
The action you take does not need to be monumental. It can be as simple as making a phone call or researching an aspect of your goal on the Internet.
A good coach will work with you during each session to identify the most important action items you can take to accelerate your results.
I will check with you to determine your ideas about the next steps you want to take. The objective is that you want to take those steps and that you agree that taking this action will serve you well.
It is important to note that this “assignment” is for your benefit and not just homework that you need to complete for the coach. These actions are for your benefit!
Too often, we can be caught thinking we need to know the whole way forward. But it is common that the whole way forward will not reveal itself until some steps are taken.
The path will reveal itself as we continue moving forward. Act in faith and confidence remembering the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
“Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result but the cause, of fear. Perhaps the action you take will be successful; perhaps different actions or adjustments will have to follow. But any action is better than no action at all.”
— Norman Vincent Peale
Be Accountable!
Work-life balance is a very important reason to consider career coaching as it promotes well-being and personal fulfillment.
Just as we tend to do for others before we do for ourselves, we can also suffer from missing the deadlines we set for ourselves – so our progress languishes.
One of the most important aspects of a coaching relationship is the accountability factor.
This is not the hard-nosed “do it or else” approach. Remember, you remain the master of your own decisions and timelines.
Think of the coach as playing the part of traffic markings on a highway. These lines serve as guides that we are on the right course, and as alerts when we stray from them.
Coaches use what I call “nurturing accountability” to keep us operating within the lines we drew for ourselves.
There is no blaming and shaming in this form of accountability. The coach will remind us of the commitments we made to ourselves and check our progress toward those commitments in each session.
If you’re stuck, it may be of value to explore the reasons for this. Uncovering these and redirecting our efforts will bring about the kind of permanent change we are seeking.
Remember, also, that as a sounding board and safety net, the coach will check for ways that they can support you in this challenging area.
Getting things done – especially those that will take us to higher ground – feels great!
Discover YOU!
Yet another reason to consider career coaching is to provide you with the necessary skills and tools to navigate the job market and find the right opportunities.
My mentor reminds us that our accomplishment of the big, grand vision or goal we have is almost never the real gist that comes to us.
The real gift comes from having taken the time to learn who we’ve become in the process.
When we make a genuine commitment to investing in ourselves, the ROI (Return-on-Investment) never depreciates.
Through coaching, we learn to be present in the moment we have right now. We revitalize our imagination to dream about possibilities with the advantage of having new and different perspectives from our own.
We move from feeling stuck to feeling unleashed and empowered to tackle the tasks we know will make it happen for us. We wear our newfound clarity and confidence as a badge of honor, and a tribute to Y.O.U., Inc.
Fear will still visit; however, we will have the tools to stare fear in the face, acknowledge its presence and keep walking in the direction of our dreams.
“Whatever we expect with confidence becomes our own self-fulfilling prophecy.”
— Brian Tracy
So just to review:
- One of the reasons to consider career coaching is if you want to develop new skills or improve your existing ones to advance in your career.
- If you feel lost or stuck in your current career, it may be a good reason to consider career coaching to help you identify and pursue new opportunities.
- Finally, a good reason to consider career coaching is if you are unsure about your career direction or want to explore different options. Career coaching can help you gain clarity and make informed decisions.
If you’re looking for expert guidance to advance in your professional goals, I can help. Book a consultation with me, and I can share the best advice to help you reach your full potential. Make sure you download your free career vision guide.
Download my FREE Career Vision Guide to Get Started.
Resources
8 Reasons To Hire A Career Coach (Plus Tips) – Indeed
10 Reasons Why You Need A Career Coach – Work It Daily
Do You Need a Career Coach? – Harvard Business Review
Why You Probably Need a Career Coach – Now or Soon! – Ask A Career Expert
10 Reasons to Get a Career Coach That Have Nothing to Do with Job Searching – GetFive
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