5 Ways A Career Coach Can Benefit Your Career

When we want to lose weight, we might work with a personal trainer.  Equally, we’ll spend money on getting our hair or nails done or pay a relationship counsellor to help with our personal relationships without thinking twice. Yet when it comes to our careers; the thing that provides us with the income needed to pay for all these things  it very often doesn’t cross our mind.

However, if we need help in our careers, we hardly ever think to hire a career coach – but why? Read on to find out why having a career coach on your side can make all the difference in your career.

For many of us, we take the view that if we need a job, we’ll just search job boards and find our next move. This might be true in many cases but what happens if you don’t know what your next move will be?

What Is Career Coaching?

A more formal definition of career coaching from the International Federation of Coaching (ICF) states that a ‘career coach partners with you in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires you to maximize your personal and professional potential. Coaches honor you as the expert in your life and work and believe you are creative, resourceful and whole’.

Who Needs Career Coaching?

Hiring a career coach may not be cheap, but for professionals who feel stuck or just confused about what the next step should be, a coach can be an invaluable resource.

This is especially true the older we get as we often find it harder to make decisions over career change having spent the better part of our working lives doing something different. A career coach can help make a seamless transition into a more suitable and satisfying career

So, here are five ways hiring a career coach is beneficial for your short- and long-term career success.

Help Identify Your Value as a Professional

Often when seeking a career change or just assessing where you are in your career, many people assume this means starting at the bottom. In doing so we forget that we have certain strengths, skills and knowledge that would be of value to any  future employer. Working with a career coach will help you identify your strengths, transferrable skills and what you have to offer as a professional, as well as when it comes time to negotiate a salary that is fitting for your skills set.

Help You Determine The Best Career Path, Not Just a Job

Many of my clients are looking at a 3 – 5 year horizon that extends beyond their current day to day role. As the world of work changes, it can be quite daunting not having a handle of whether or not current job or career will be one that you want for the future or if it will even be there in the same format. As a career coach, knowing the person and what their personal style and preferences helps when it comes to plotting a clear career path that builds on your strengths and provides a rewarding and fulfilling career.

Help You Build Your Confidence When Making Career Choices

One of the biggest barriers to career change, especially as we get older is a lack of confidence. We  might be highly skilled professionals but  we may not know how to project this to best effect. A Career Coach will work with you to help you understand how to project your strengths in a way that has the right balance of confidence without appearing cocky or arrogant.

Keep Motivated While Remaining Accountable

Even the best of us can lose out motivation when it comes to career search or career planning. Like most things in life if you want something you have to make the effort. You are more likely to make the effort if you have someone cheering you on and asking you how you’re getting on. Career Coaches will help you unblock  something that might be standing in the way of your career progression. Knowing you have someone you can talk to an who understands the world of work can go a long way to keeping you on the right  Career path.

Help When It Comes To Making Difficult Career Decisions

When it comes to making a career decision, it can be one of the most life changing decisions we can make.

What if we get it wrong? What if we don’t like the choice we make? Perhaps you think its time to ask for a promotion or a pay rise but you’re not sure  if this will have a negative impact on your career with your current  employer.

These are some of the concerns many of us have when it comes to career choices. Having the ear of a Career Coach to hand who has your best interest at hear and who can act as a sounding board and guide you through some of these difficult decisions will help make your final choices much easier and far less stressful.

You Don’t Have To Go It Alone

Yvonne Akinmodun is a HR and career expert with 20+ years’ experience. She is the founder and CEO of careercoachingmatters, a site dedicated to helping people solve their own career problems. Do you have questions about your career? Click here to book a FREE consultation session