You have landed on this page either because you are unemployed and looking for a job or you are employed and are thinking of either switching jobs or switching careers. Your first question may well be, “What do I look for in a career coach?”. I can’t answer that question for you but I can give you some clues.
If you are the kind of person who likes using scientifically based methods, you might look to an article written by Steven Brown and some of his colleagues in 2003. Dr. Brown looked at 62 other studies about career coaching in various forms and found that all of the successful ones had at least one or more of five features. The more of these five the coach used, the more successful the whole process. So now you know what to look for when you are hiring a career coach, ask how many of these features he or she uses.
And what are those five features?
- Workbooks and written exercises
- Individualized interpretation
- World of work information
- Modeling
- How to build support
And, by the way, if you are wondering, you will get the benefit of all five if you choose to work with me.
Perhaps you are less into science and trust big names. Then you might want to look at an article written by Dorie Clark in Harvard Business Review in 2015. She suggests three steps in choosing a career coach. First you have to know what you want to learn. What exactly are you looking for? Of course, a career coach can help you figure that out, but it is better to have a good idea before you begin. Next you have to give your coach a test drive. That is more than just a complimentary conversation, read their blog and anything else you can find. Make sure they “speak your language”. For example, if you like things science based, I might be for you, if you like feelings and the energy of the universe, I probably will not be a good fit for you. And third, Ms. Clark suggests that you realize it is not forever. That means that if you start with one coach you should realize that you are not married to them, you can always find a new coach as the need arises.
Getting back to the first item on Dr. Brown’s list – written exercises. You are going to be doing the work here. Before we even talk to each other, I will ask you to complete a Career Insite survey created by the Alberta Learning Information Service in Canada. Yes, even our 15-minute getting to know each other phone call is going to be productive. I don’t want to waste any of your time. And you will get homework to complete after every session to get things moving along as quickly as possible.
Some coaches ask you to sign up initially for 12 weeks. I will not be doing that. Not that I think 12 weeks is a bad thing. In 12 weeks you can accomplish much more than just three times 4 weeks. But you need something very specific – you need to find a job. I hope to help you do that in one month or less. I am not making promises, but I am betting on it. I am literally betting my own money on it by not asking you for a 12-week payment. Just 4!
Usually the first few meetings with a coach are just to clarify your goal. We already know your goal – not that we will not work on clarifying, we will. But you mostly know your goal, you need some support finding a new job. You already know that means that we will also work on your resume and on interviewing skills.
Look, I could go on and on, but I won’t
Bottom line –
15 minute introductory call to analyze your career options based on the Alberta career exercise – free
4 career coaching sessions each about 30 minutes – $200. If we need more, you can “re-up” for another 4 sessions for $200 (there is no teaser rate). Any unused sessions are refunded at the full prorated rate.
If you are interested, fill out the form below to get the ball rolling.