Your Perfect Career Coach is Out There – Find Them in 5 Steps

You can’t deny that if you want to progress in your career, a coach can be just what you need to suceed. With such a large number of people out there who call themselves ‘coaches’ you might find that you can’t see the wood for the trees. Here are my five top tips for finding a career coach who’s better than the rest.

At one, shop around. Look at as many different career coaches as you can before you make a decision. Look closely at their testimonials, typical clients, sucess rates and price. Remember that when it comes to paying for a career coach, cheaper doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get better value. For the purposes of comparison, the average amount you’ll pay for a session at the moment in the US is 161 dollars an hour.

Secondly, the best kind a career coach is someone who you can connect with. A big part of career counselling is about highs and your lows, your smiles and your tears. A career coach who you doesn’t make you feel comfortable enough to open up with, will not provide you with the results you deserve.

Thirdly, take advantage of any freebies before you decide. A good career consultant will offer a gratis first session to make sure that the both of you are happy with the arrangement. This could be in person – at your home or at their offices, or over the phone. If you can’t have a trial session, make sure that you can have the contact details of some real past clients and follow them up.

At number four, be wary of ‘Coaching Certifications’. These qualifications can be received after just a single weekend. They are not the sign of a great, experienced career coach. The professional qualifications that a really good career coach should boast are – counselling psychology, human resources or organisational leadership

Lastly, keep your eye out for these big career coaching no-nos:

A good career coach will never ask you for full payment upfront or try to push you into a long-term contract.
If you are being promised a particular job or quoted a specific salary, you know that this coach isn’t quite right.
If he or she refuses to give you any references or allow you to connect with their past clients, you should steer clear.
If you question them about how you will reach your goals together and their answers are vague, you’ll probably find that they aren’t as experienced as they make out they are.
Nobody likes homework, but a coach who doesn’t give out any is a bad coach.
Here’s my final warning sign of a coach that isn’t in it for the winning. Only giving positive feedback without the guts to offer constructive criticism.