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Career Guide Career Coach: Definition, Benefits, and Tips to Find the Right One for You

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Career Coach: Definition, Benefits, and Tips to Find the Right One for You

Feeling stuck in your job? Anxious about your career path? It might be time to consider career coaching. Find out how a career coach can provide valuable tools and techniques to help you grow and develop professionally.

Herdina Ika

Updated Jul 26, 2024

Whether you're feeling stuck in your current job or can't get over your recent horrifying job experience that leaves you anxious, these could be signs that it's time to consider seeing a career coach.

Some people might think that a career coach won't be able to fix these problems; in fact, many don’t even understand the role of a career coach.

More than just providing advice, a career coach can offer a life-changing solution for those seeking a partner to guide them in developing and growing, especially in a professional context.

So, what do they actually do? Let's talk deeper about it here and see how career coaching could benefit you.

What is career coaching?

Career coaching is when a coach works with an employee to help them reach their fullest potential and goals. A career coach offers services by identifying their client’s career goals and potential, and helps them reach these goals by providing valuable tools and techniques.

Talking about paving a career path can be complex since everyone’s journey is unique and diverse from one another. This makes the career coach’s job description range widely.

Basically, a career coach is responsible for covering a wide range of professional development topics. This can include:

Helping job seekers practice mock interviews
Assisting in drafting excellent resumes
Assisting in job searches
Assisting with career planning
Providing career assessments
Advising on reskilling or upskilling in the current job
Advising on exploring career opportunities
Helping set short and long-term professional goals
Identifying new strategies to enhance career development

A great career coach understands that growth is highly personal and can adapt to each individual's circumstances to help them become aware of their needs and goals by identifying barriers and developing plans to overcome them.

A career coach is often equipped with specialized training subjects such as resume building, professional communication, or mock job interviews. In other words, a career coach may help you find your dream job, help you examine your current job for career enhancement, or guide you in navigating a career switch.

Who needs a career coach?

Now the question is, do you need one? Some people aren't aware of the signs that indicate they should consider hiring a career coach. Here, we outline four signs that a career coach might be a life-saving investment:

1. You’re struggling with job hunting

You might be experiencing sending out tons of applications without receiving a single response. Or, you might be stuck in not receiving calls for interviews or progressing through recruitment assessments.

This is a clear sign that you should consider hiring a career coach. They can help you identify key problems and devise plans for better outcomes.

2. You feel stuck in your current job

If you sense that your career has hit a plateau, providing no further growth or satisfaction, you might feel unmotivated. In this phase, you indeed need an unbiased opinion to examine whether the lack of progress is due to the state of your industry or if you need to upskill or reskill.

3. You’re not sure that you’re in the right path

Making a career change is a tough decision that requires courage. If you’re experiencing feelings of uncertainty, a career coach can guide you to identify which path can lead you to success.

Whether it's going back to school or quitting your job, a career coach will provide you with consideration and advice on the best steps you can take.

4. You seek for better work-life balance

Feeling unmotivated and displeased with your job can also be signs that you need a better work-life balance. This is often followed by feelings of frustration when dealing with simple tasks or struggling with your coworkers.

Without good guidance from a career coach, job burnout may cause bigger problems that disrupt various aspects of your life.

Where to find a career coach (and tips)?

It might be challenging to find the best fit career coach. First of all, we need to agree that there are no perfect career coaches; they come in all shapes and sizes.

You need to find the one that works for you, and the best way to do so is by asking people in your network for referrals.

Alternatively, you might seek a career coach in your specific industry through professional platforms. There are numerous websites for career coaching professional organizations you might check, such as:

Professionals Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches
Career Directors International
Career Coach Academy

Many career coaches are available online and may actively write blogs, articles, or papers published on the internet. A helpful tip to ensure they’re a good fit for you is to read their writings to see whether you can connect with their tone and topics.

Besides, it’s also important to choose a career coach whose certifications and credentials align with your goals.

For instance, if you want to sharpen your standpoint in an industry crowd, you might look for a coach with a personal branding credential.

Be sure to confirm their legitimate credentials, as they indicate whether a coach knows what they're doing.

If you have narrowed down one or two options, you might ask for free trial sessions. From here, you can decide whether you get the 'clicked' feeling or not.

How much does career coaching cost (and what's included in the program)?

If this is your first time considering seeking a career coach, you might wonder: How much does it cost? And is it worth the investment?

Compared to the potential return on investment you might gain, career coaching can be affordable.

However, in general, career coaching charges range from $50 to $250 per hour. This isn't an exact range, as it may depend on other factors such as the length of the session, the coach's experience, and the certifications they hold.

The cost also depends on the programs you choose to follow. Therefore, it's essential to understand which services you need and which you do not.

While many people think that the primary output of career coaching is a powerful resume, it's not entirely wrong. Since career coaching is personalized, the outcomes can vary.

You might come equipped with lessons you expect from a career coach, but you should also be open to further guidance that they believe will lead you to success. By doing so, there's a possibility you'll reach a mutually beneficial payment arrangement with the coach.

Difference between career coaching and career counseling

For those who are just learning about career coaching and searching for further information on the internet, it might be confusing to differentiate between career coaching and career counseling: What's the difference? And which one do you need?

In brief, career coaching and career counseling differ in focus areas and outlook fragments. Career coaches work with clients across various career stages, including individuals in job searching, transitioning to new industries, or seeking career enhancement.

Meanwhile, career counselors offer guidance to individuals facing specific challenges related to their career, education, or vocational aspirations.

The outlook fragments that career coaches and counselors offer are also different. Career coaches offer a long-term career plan outlook, while career counselors focus on short-term improvements and chasing immediate goals.

Benefits of career coaching

Given the impact of career coaching, there are many benefits that you can gain, including:

Reduced burnout
Increased resilience
Improved productivity
Increased self-awareness and self-efficacy

Career coaching helps you plan your career

Highlighting the crucial role of career coaching, it helps you plan your career journey; furthermore, it also aids in your personal growth throughout your entire career roadmap.

Here are just some ways in which career coaching might help you:

Provides tailored career feedback: A career coach will offer valuable and unbiased feedback, ensuring the best advice considering your personal circumstances.
Assists in the job hunting process: Although you won’t get hired instantly after career coaching, guidance from a coach can help you navigate the job exploration process and present yourself in the right light to recruiters.
Preparation of assets: Career coaching provides guidance to prepare valuable professional assets, including skills, personal brand, and professional presence, that will help you continue to grow.
Interview training: By giving guidance and feedback, you’ll be able to refine the skills needed for interviews, including communication styles, body language, and responses to common interview questions.
Performance reviews and promotions: Having a career coach allows individuals to address any performance gaps or developmental opportunities.

What can be expected from a career coaching program?

As this is your first time having career coaching, you might not have any idea about what to expect from a career coaching program. In short, typically an introductory coaching session leads to:

Career assessment

This is an initial test to identify your strengths and weaknesses. In this test, you’ll be assessed on key capabilities, behaviors, and mindsets. Career coaches tend to use different techniques and tools to conduct this assessment.

Discussion about career aspirations

To map out your career journey, a career coach should know your goals both in the short and long term. Even if you don’t know what the future holds, you still need to share the skills and capabilities you’d like to develop.

Obstacles reflection

What’s the point of hiring a career coach? Ask yourself this question. The reasons might be the obstacles you’re currently facing, such as the last performance review, your endless unresponded applications, or the feeling of being unmotivated that haunts you.

What should be prepared before career coaching?

Now, once you are ready to embark on the journey of career coaching, there are a few things you should prepare, including:

Self-reflection: Take a moment to reflect on your current journey, find out what you’re facing, and what you want to become.
Commitment to the work: Though you’ll have support and guidance, during the process, you’ll still need motivation and courage to reach your fullest potential.
A growth mindset: Hold onto your aspirations tightly but make sure to always be open to guidance and advice. It takes willingness to grow into something big.

As you've already learned about career coaching, we wish for you to find a fitting career coach who can guide you to pave a successful future journey. No matter how small or big the challenges you face may seem, be sure to communicate all your career concerns to fully experience the benefits of career coaching.

Do you want to pursue career? Get your job recommendation with Epicareer today.

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Herdina Ika

Digital Marketer

Meet Ika Herdina, a Senior Digital Marketer at Epicareer. With over 5 years of experience, she has the expertise of ads, social media, SEO, and writing creative stuff. Ika helps businesses grow using smart, creative strategies. If you need help with digital marketing, she's the one to talk to!

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