The Importance of Having a Career Coach and How To Find One

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Coaches are becoming increasingly popular, due to the high demand from individuals across the globe. From a mindset coach to a finance coach, many diverse forms of coaching can be used to combat different hurdles faced in both our personal and professional lives.

When it comes to professional development and progression, the most popular coach used is a career coach. We all recognise that professional growth and development are extremely important if we want to be more successful in our roles, but understanding the right paths to take can be a very overwhelming task, which is where finding a good career coach can come in handy.

In this article, we will be defining career coaching, looking at how career coaches can help, listing their incredible benefits, looking at the signs you might need one and discussing ways you can find a career coach to go further in your career.

What Is a Career Coach and How Can They Help?

A career coach is an individual who supports and guides their coachee to maximise their potential, they help them with their career choices and support them with the issues they face in the workplace. Career coaches are experts in career planning, and are often used by individuals who want advice on things such as resume building, career planning, salary negotiation, motivation and interviews.

When it comes to career coaches, each has diverse experiences and backgrounds, it’s never a one-size fits all scenario, with every coach being able to offer unique perspectives to a situation. Although, they all have a shared goal, to help their coachee grow and uncover what they need to do to become more successful in their career.

But what can a career coach help you with? Some examples include:

• Navigating career transition
• Sharing career advice
• CV writing guidance
• Creating a strong personal brand
• Exploring career options
• Developing interview skills
• Writing cover letters
• Maintaining motivation
• Helping you set boundaries in the workplace
• Assist in the job search
• Developing networking skills

5 Top Benefits of Career Coaching

There are several benefits that come with finding a career coach. Due to there being so many, we’ve compiled a list of our personal favourite benefits of finding a career coach, which includes:

1. Job Search Support

We all understand how stressful and overwhelming it can be to look for a new role, so why not do it with the help of an expert? Finding a coach is a great option if you need support during the job-searching process. As mentioned above, they help with many things from writing a great CV to networking with other professionals.

2. Coaches Help You Prepare for Interviews

We’ve all felt post-interview anxiety, probably more than once in our lives. Since interviews are not only the recruiter's first impression of you but are essentially the most important factor in securing a job role, they need to go well. Another benefit of career coaching is that your coach can help you prepare for interviews, given that they have knowledge surrounding interview techniques and help you find the right answers for the most common interview questions. Due to this, you will feel much more confident before attending your interview, which is always an advantage.

3. They Help You Plan Your Career

Do you know what you want to do in your career? What are the next steps? A career coach is there to help you plan out your career, something that can be a daunting task for most professionals. A good career coach is there to help you identify where you want to be and help you uncover your next move. When it comes to planning our careers, one of the most common challenges is being able to step out of our comfort zones, with the help of a coach, this is something that becomes significantly easier, helping reduce the stress of uncertainty that comes with not knowing what to do next to progress.

4. You Gain Valuable feedback

Sometimes, you need to hear the truth, even if it’s never easy to hear, it’s essential for growth. With help from your coach, you’re able to gain honest feedback about things impacting your career. Whether you’re someone who keeps making the same mistakes over and over again or simply can't comprehend what is holding you back, your coach can give you the feedback needed to continuously improve. Your career coach can identify what you’re doing wrong and help you going forward.

5. Career Coaches Hold You Accountable

One of the most important benefits of finding a career coach is that they keep you accountable. Whilst, your coach is there to help you set goals and assign you tasks, it’s your responsibility to finish them. When someone else is holding you accountable, it raises your motivation to get things done. Your coach is there to make sure you’re making the best moves going forward and are on track to meeting the goals you set.

5 Signs You Need a Career Coach

Now you know what a career coach is, what they can help with and the benefits, what are the signs you need one? Many people believe that you should find a career coach when actively seeking new roles, but that isn’t the case. Your career coach can help with combat many different challenges you face in the workplace, Aswell as when seeking a new role. If you’re debating whether you need a career coach, here are the 5 most common reasons you need a coach:

1. You Want To Improve Your Work-life Balance

Having a good work-life balance is important for reducing chances of burnout, keeping you engaged, and improving satisfaction within your role. With the cases of burnout increasing each year, now more than ever should you consider a career coach if this is something you regularly struggle with.

2. You Feel Stuck

Are you someone who feels stuck in your job? Then you should be considering finding a career coach. Most professionals are always looking for ways to challenge themselves in their career, whether that’s by finding a new role or getting more responsibility within their current role, either way, when you don’t feel challenged or motivated, your career is going to stay stagnant.

3. There Is No Sign of Promotion

Working hard, with no sign of promotion is a disheartening experience. Your career coach can help you move forward in your career and get the promotion you’ve been working hard for. Your career coach can help you gain the skills you need, whilst revealing what you need to do, to get where you want to be.

4. Your Struggling With the Job Search

If you’re someone who has been applying for countless jobs and it feels like you're getting nowhere, then your coach is there to help you during the job searching process. From being better prepared for an interview to gaining feedback on things you need to improve, your coach is there to help make the job search an easier process.

5. You’re Starting Your Career Journey

Are you a fresh graduate? Or maybe you're switching job roles and starting your new career journey? Starting a new career is one of the most common reasons people find a career coach and for a good reason. Your coach will be there to help you go through the different possibilities that come with starting a new career journey, helping you figure out what you need to do, to get started.

3 Ways To Find Your Perfect Career Coach

Finding a career coach is a relatively easy thing to do, which is surprising for most people. With more people recognising the importance of coaching, over the last few years, we’ve seen a huge rise in the number of coaches available.

There are many different ways you can find the best coach that meets your needs. Here are 3 examples of how you can do it:

1. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the world’s biggest platform for professionals. LinkedIn is a social network where professionals come together to connect, share knowledge and exchange ideas. When it comes to finding a career coach, we truly recommend utilising this social network due to its large number of members. You can find coaches numerous ways on LinkedIn such as using the search function, or posting to your timeline and looking for recommendations.

2. PushFar

PushFar is the world’s leading career progression and mentoring platform, but did you know it’s also commonly used for finding a coach too? PushFar has an open network of over 100,000 members and is completely free to use. Similar to LinkedIn, there are multiple ways to find a coach, either by using the search function or through our smart algorithm. PushFar’s software can also be used within organisations to help them streamline an employee coaching program.

3. Google

A quick google search will reveal hundreds of coaches, both available online or local to your area. Whilst this is a simple enough way to find a coach, it can sometimes be hard to see if they have the right experience and skills you require. If you use this method, make sure to use keywords that help target your specific challenges.

Final Thoughts

We hope this article was able to provide you with a deeper understanding of the meaning of career coaching, how a career coach can help you thrive, the benefits of having career coaching and where you can find one. Whether you’re just starting in your career or are an experienced professional with 20+ years of experience, it’s never too late to find someone to help you on your journey.