Happy New Year! Are you headed off to the gym to shed unwanted pounds, gain stamina or just breathe better? Have you ever thought of doing the same thing for your career? A career coach can get you unstuck in your career, help you change careers, coach you to the next level or help you turn your side hustle into your full income.
Ok, so what’s a career coach and why would you want one? Well, a career coach can have a lot of different backgrounds. They differ from a life coach in that they typically have professional expertise in a industry or recruiting. Many career coaches will have served as consultants for big companies and can help you align your skills and passions with an income source that works for you. Career coaches aren’t going to delve into your personal life or your medical history. They’ll focus on your professional career.
Who benefits from a career coach? Honestly, most people benefit from career coaching. Many professionals are often stuck in their career. Sometimes they’d like to be a people manager, but they don’t know what that would take or if they could really do it. Others would love to change careers but aren’t sure of the steps to take as they transition to a job that gets them excited to go to work every day.
Why would you need a career coach? Career coaching is a great way to get some external perspective on your current spot, learn tips from the pros, and discuss viable options. Career coaching helps those who would like to change careers or move to the next level. If you hear the same type of feedback year after year in your annual review, career coaching can be very helpful. Your manager may know they’d like to see a different performance, but they may not be able to articulate what success would look like in your role and most often they can’t tell you how to get there, but a career coach can give you a solid plan and is happy to share tips and tricks to ease the journey.
Can coaching help a manager or is it just for those starting out? Yes, career coaching is a secret weapon of the best managers. New managers and supervisors often find themselves floundering to learn a new set of skills without a great guide, training program or mentor. Career coaches typically have management experience and a familiarity with all the research and best practices of leadership. A career coach is always happy to share this information and will help you define your leadership style, so you can lead in a way that fits you.
You may still be wondering what a career coaching engagement looks like. Career coaching engagements can vary from coach to coach, but a good coach should have an intake or assessment call to determine what you are looking for and make sure they feel they can help you. You may be offered to take an assessment or two to define your career interests or skill sets. The specific assessments will change from coach to coach, but the purpose is to provide objectivity and drive a data-based discussion. After that you’ll have a series of calls or meetings to help you grow in your career.
A career coach works like a personal trainer in the gym. You’ll have exercises and assignments to help you grow professionally and you should see results in a few months. So shed those unwanted Monday morning blues and get excited to go to work every morning – give a coach a call.
By Christina Sarabia, Ph.D.
Christina Sarabia, Ph.D. is an Industrial Organizational psychologist with a successful track record promoting and contributing to business success. She partners with clients to create the people related strategies that drives your business.She is founder of Celesios (celesios.net), a Gainesville-based firm providing customized professional coaching, training and leadership development.
