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15 Topics about Careers to Discuss with a Career Coach
Whether you don’t know where to start in your first coaching session, haven’t decided which career path you desire, or are still confused about what you seek in coaching, we'll help you figure it out right now. In this article, we will share 15 topics about careers that you can discuss in your coaching session. Perhaps these can also trigger your career aspirations, so let’s discuss them.
Updated Jul 28, 2024
15 topics about careers to discuss with a career coachWhat is career coaching?
Career coaching is a process where you can work with professionals to help you navigate career exploration. Within the dynamic interaction with a coach, you might gain invaluable insights, not just in general, but specifically tailored to your own case. You’re more likely to boost your self-esteem due to the presence of a coach who acts as a trainer, motivator, and role model, particularly in your field of expertise.
Besides the personal benefits, career coaching also provides an indispensable space for your professional growth. Within organizations, career coaching is regarded as a strategic approach to addressing employees’ issues. Through this practice, employees can gain better competencies that lead to improved confidence and overall performance.
Good news for those who frequently wonder whether coaching is worth the cost: ICF Executive Summary 2009 found that coaching has a positive impact on clients’ financial gains. 68% of individual clients and 86% of company clients indicated that coaching had at least made back their initial investment.
Topics to discuss with a career coach
A career coach can help you in a wide range of ways. Don’t worry if you’re still confused to articulate your concern or asserting what you desire because here, we provide 15 topics to discuss during your coaching sessions.
1. Job hunting and accelerating the job search process
Career coaching can help you accelerate the job search process. This also includes assistance with writing effective resumes, interview preparation, and salary negotiation. Coaching can also benefit those who are still confused about deciding on their career options.
Whether you’re torn between two career options, facing a dilemma in aligning your career options with your skills or considering entering a new industry, having a career coach can be very helpful. You can gain a neutral perspective that will guide you in weighing your options and making decisions that align with your goals.
2. Career growth and progression
There is no single standard that determines how career growth should unfold. You might experience twists, turns, or unexpected developments in your career path. Coaching is suitable for those who want to explore what’s next in their careers, including taking steps to upskill.
The new insights provided by a coach will help you gain new perspectives. You can see what seemed impossible before becoming possible through the dynamic focus on unlocking your hidden potential, which can leverage your career.
3. Career switching
When you’re considering a career switch, you might have a complicated time since you feel there are a lot of things to weigh. Having a career coach can help you go through this phase. You might uncover insights related to career switching, the potential you can unlock, and identify transferable skills.
4. Work/life balance and mental health
Coaching is the ideal place where you can get help to find a balanced portion of yourself, both for your work and home, especially considering today, when many companies are pulling back their employees to return to the office after the work-from-home phase.
If you're now dealing with work and caregiving, this is such bad news. It might be hard for you to find balance between them, while maintaining mental well-being. Coaching can help you find the middle way, so you can take care of your responsibilities without neglecting your own well-being.
5. Performance and promotion
Many of us experience inappetite once we realize we’re going to have a performance review in a week. Having a coach can help you prepare for performance reviews. Coaching sessions can be used to review your self-evaluation, with objective opinions from the coach to highlight your blind spots.
6. Networking and developing a personal brand
If you’re reflecting on yourself now and you find you have a professional circle, but today you’re stuck and want to progress ahead, it indicates that you need to start networking. Building a network involves solid personal branding.
A coach can help you develop your personal branding, highlighting your interests and competencies. This includes online and offline practices, like optimizing your LinkedIn profile, positioning yourself, and identifying your unique selling point.
7. Public speaking and overall communication skills
How many opportunities have you missed due to your fear of communicating your thoughts?
Having communication barriers can prevent you from seizing many great chances, especially if your role requires you to talk habitually to a large group of people. Coaching can help you solve this.
During the coaching sessions, you can ask for your coach’s assistance to identify what makes you afraid to talk, learn to overcome it, and enhance your speaking skills.
8. New manager coaching
Congratulations on stepping into a new manager role!
Besides the technical skills that you’ve obtained, you should understand that the role of manager is definitely different from those at the officer level. You’re not merely focused on giving your contribution, but you also have to help your team to become great individuals.
A coach can help you by providing approaches and soft skills training that you need for that role.
9. Giving and receiving feedback
Despite its importance, not everyone is comfortable with feedback. It seems simple, but learning how to give and receive feedback in proper ways will help you adapt to your workplace culture easier.
Coaching can help you master this, so you can build a healthy and supportive workplace that will affect your overall job satisfaction.
10. Workplace dynamics and boundaries
During a coaching session, you can discuss the topic of workplace dynamics and boundaries with the coach.
A coach can help individuals navigate complex workplace dynamics by providing strategies for effective communication, conflict resolution, building positive relationships with colleagues, and also by helping you recognize and assert your needs.
11. Leadership development and professional etiquette
A coach can provide guidance on leadership development by offering feedback or role-playing scenarios.
Additionally, the coach can offer insights into professional etiquette, including proper conduct in diverse workplace settings, navigating office politics diplomatically, and maintaining professionalism in all interactions.
12. Financial consideration in career decisions
Discussing financial considerations in career decisions during coaching sessions is essential for making informed choices that align with your personal financial goals and values.
A coach can assist you in evaluating various factors impacting your financial situation, such as salary negotiations, benefits packages, career advancement opportunities, and long-term financial planning.
13. Entrepreneurship and remote work transition
Coaching can be beneficial for you if you are considering starting your own business or transitioning to remote work.
You can gain various insights that will help you adapt to a new venture independently while maintaining strategic maneuverability.
A coach can provide guidance on various aspects such as business planning, financial management, and capitalizing on opportunities.
14. Retirement planning
Coaching is suitable for you if you want to secure your financial future for retirement.
During your coaching sessions, you might discuss this topic to gain insights about your career roadmap, how to get the most out of your career, how it aligns with your future financial plan, assessing retirement expenses, and sharing saving strategies.
15. Career gaps and job market re-entry
As we all know, it’s not easy to re-enter the workforce after an extended break or career hiatus. Maybe it’s been a while since the break you took to take care of your family or were laid off. This condition can be confusing, especially when you haven't kept up with the job market updates.
Having a coach can assist you in assessing the impact of career gaps on your professional skills and marketability, identifying strategies to address potential gaps, and creating a compelling narrative to explain career breaks to potential employers.
Those are just some of the many topics that you can discuss and ask for guidance from your coach.
To get the most out of it, you don’t have to tensely focus on the point where you want to get. Instead, limiting the discussion to a specific area can help you stay on track.
Later on, as you put together all the pieces into a whole big picture, then you’ll know what you should do.
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