How do you choose the right Career Coach, Career Consultant, Counsellor, Mentor or Life Coach?
The most important thing is to decide what you want to get out of a coaching relationship. Do you actually need a CONSULTANT or a COACH, or a Mentor? In this video I explain the difference.
You need a Career Consultant if you want to be told what to do and to be guided through the process on how to get your next role.
A Career Coach also focuses on the ‘meaning of life’, what really makes you tick and what you hope to achieve in your career and other aspects of your life.
A coach will help you to discover what’s really important to you. This is especially important if you’re feeling a little bit fuzzy as to what you really want in your life and your career. Coaching will help you to discover the real you, the ‘AHA!’ moments come from the coaching conversation and are so enlightening.
All of us, deep down within us, know what we were born to do, but often that knowledge has been blurred by life events.
The way I work with my clients is either as a Coach and a Consultant depending on what YOUR needs are. And, I have to admit, I love focusing on the meaning of life with my Coach Hat on! However, that might not be YOU want.
If what you want is, for example, Interview practice, or you want to strengthen your resumé and don’t need the exploration phase, then I put on my Consultant Hat. That’s when I guide you and show you, step-by-step, what needs to be done to get to where you want to be.
I would recommend, if you’re looking for a Coach or Consultant, to do your research, and then make a decision as to who you like, feel most comfortable with, and have a good rapport.
If you don’t feel comfortable with your Coach, it’s not going to work. And even though your Coach will challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and face your fears, you develop a very close professional relationship.
I have clients that I have worked with many years ago, and we might have had an intensive series of coaching sessions initially when they were going through a career or life transition. And now that they’re into their new careers, perhaps every six months or eight months, they’ll suddenly make a booking in my online calendar, because they need a top up session.
This might be nothing to do with job hunting, but something to do with their communication skills at work, or maybe there’s an office bully they aren’t sure how to handle, or there’s some other concern that they’re worried about or perhaps they need leadership coaching if they are growing their team.
And, because we’ve developed a strong rapport, and we have worked well together in the past, I’m always delighted to work with them again!
But if you find that you’re working with a Coach who just doesn’t feel right; please don’t work with them, because you must get to know, like and TRUST your Coach.
So, the best way to decide is to get a referral from someone you respect, then make sure that they are qualified, and, even more important than the qualifications, is the RAPPORT. Talk to some of their past clients and ask, “What are they like to work with? Do they follow up? Do they keep you on track? Do they keep you accountable?”
Because really, your Coach is there for accountability to make sure you take action to create the life or career you desire. And they’re your Champion when things get tough.
A good coach will work with you and celebrate your successes! When you’re feeling down, they are there to pick you up, and help to empower you to keep going in the right direction despite the challenges that inevitably occur in life.
If you’d like to have a chat about what you need, let’s find out what’s going on in your head.
Book in for a Complimentary Career Clarity Chat here
