Going it alone and taking the next step in your career can be huge drain on your time, effort and energy. One way of ensuring you are supported in your goals is by bringing in the help of an appropriate career coach. Powerful coaching can skyrocket your career plans and get you there in half the time a solo journey would take. However, not all coaches are created equal.
Anyone can set themselves up as a coach. This does not mean they know how to coach or that they can help you. If you don’t choose wisely, at best, you’ll waste time and money working with someone not suited you. At worst you’ll action some poor advice from someone who has no real idea how to meet your needs, potentially jeopardising a fantastic opportunity. Finding yourself a good coach will pay dividends in creating structure, saving you time, effort and energy and ultimately getting the kind of role you want. So how do you sort out the good from the bad (and very ugly?).
Here are 5 ways you can pick the right coach by Sarah Rourke, a Careers and Professional Development Coach at Henley Business School.
Shop around to see who resonates with you and your values.
Your future coach might be posting on social media. Do you like what they’re saying? What experiences are they sharing that make you trust their ability to help you? Perhaps they share free information such as a Top Interview Tips PDF or a CV shaping tool so that you can see how they work, risk free.
Take advantage of a free initial chat
Many coaches offer a free 20 minute ‘chemistry call’.This is a low-risk way to see if you gel with a particular coach. They may ask you to sign up at the end of the call. Don’t feel obliged to say yes straight away.
Do this with at least three other coaches so you can get a feel for how different people work and, more importantly, whether their style resonates with you. There’s a reason it’s called a ‘chemistry call’.
Consider Specialisms
Go super niche for even more tailored help. Some career coaches market themselves as ‘career coaches for millennials’ or ‘career coaches for millennials looking to move into tech’. Finding someone in a specific niche can help you focus down even further.
Qualifications and accreditations
For some people, it doesn’t matter to them whether a coach is qualified, as long as they’re experienced. For others, it’s really important to know that the coach has been through at least the fundamentals of how to have constructive coaching conversations that produce results.
Coaching is not a rambling chat. It’s not the coach blasting you with what you should or shouldn’t do. It’s not pure advice giving. The coach is not your mum.
Accreditation means the coach has had their coaching ability scrutinised by an accrediting body such as the International Coaching Federation (ICF) or European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC), to show that they are in fact creating a coaching environment that is in the best interests of the client. Accredited coaches have a code of ethics that they must demonstrate, and they undertake continued professional development.
Having said that, there are many coaches out there who choose not to be accredited and they are absolutely fantastic coaches so this one is really up to you.
Get recommendations
Do you know someone who has been successfully coached? Who did they use? Ask around your network for recommendations. What are the coach’s clients saying about them online? Is there a warm and fuzzy feeling around them? Do they get public feedback and acknowledgement?
A personal recommendation is one of the most sure-fire ways to know if a coach is worth their salt so don’t leave this one off your list. Creating time and finding resources to work with a coach will pay for itself over and over as you will develop the tools for career progression that are yours for the rest of your working life. Sarah Rourke is a Careers and Professional Development Coach at Henley Business School.
