Posts Tagged ‘career coach’
What is a Career Coach and How Can They Help Me Find a Job?
What everyone should know about a career coach
A person who specializes in helping other people find, reach and achieve their career dreams is known as job or career coach. This field of profession is continuously growing due to the fact that there are plenty of people who are dissatisfied with their current job. If you are in a position that you need to re-enter the working world, find a the suitable position for you or find a job that perfectly fits your personality and desired lifestyle of choice, then you are a prime candidate for hiring your personal career coach.
At the initial stages, a job coach typically asks a several questions that are specifically designed to draw out information about the client’s life goals and job experience. Another purpose of the questionnaires is to allow the job coach to determine the client’s personality and qualifications for potential positions. During these questions, it is normal for the job coach to record the whole event. After assessing the client’s answers, the job coach then talks to the client. Informing the client on his or her weaknesses and strengths, and consulting with the client in formulating future goals.
Although, the job coach and client work together, but in the end, the client has the last say on what goals he or she is going to set and pursue. The goals can be setup in a way that one goal is a stepping-stone to reach another goal. An example of these goals can be like a goal to move higher in the corporate ladder, or goal to attain higher level of education. These stepping stone goals are designed in such a way that the client will land himself on a job that he or she truly loves and enjoy doing. After the goals are in place, the next aspect that needs to be discussed would be the timeline of achieving the goals.
After the timeline setting of the goal, the client can proceed on achieving such goals, while the job coach offer advice and encouragement. A job coach’s encouragement may come wide range of forms. Sometimes a simple congratulations greeting would do, while sometime the occasion may demand for a more involved and complex form of congratulations.
Another useful aspects of having a job coach is that they help a client find a job by providing critical information about possible job openings, and imparting specific strategies and advice when it comes to applying for a specific position. Also, a job coach helps a client put together the vital paperwork to make a great application. The career coach may also do simulation interviews to help the client through the process.
A Career Coach Can Help You Through Your Career Transition
Think about this: for the first fifteen to twenty years of our lives, most of us grow in a structured environment under the supervision of mature educators. Then when it is time to start earning a living, that support structure is dropped right out from under us. Think about all the things you learned between birth and high school. Now imagine what you could do if you had a personal teacher to help you learn a new, more profitable career! It is certainly cheaper than going to college and could be done throughout the rest of your career.
A career coach may bring to mind the super motivators who put on conferences and yell things to get you pumped up, but I want to separate that image in your mind from the often humble, unassuming people who care about others and were born to help them through a life-altering career transition. These people can help and are interested in working one-on-one with you to figure out what lies ahead. They are interested in long-term relationships that are beneficial for both people and ultimately make the world a better place. It may sound cheesy as you read this, but really is that not what everyone would like to see happen as a result of their contribution to the workplace?
How to Get A Promotion – 5 Tips to Help You Move Up The Ladder
For many, getting that deserved promotion can be an elusive thing. You work hard, possibly harder than those who have already been promoted, you are good at your job and you always have the company’s best interests in mind. Why then has your boss not rewarded you with a promotion?
If you are confident that your work performance is up-to-snuff and you have been with the company long enough to warrant a promotion, it is time to take a look at why this has not happened for you yet. Quite often, it is not your performance that is holding you back, but other factors that you may have overlooked or neglected.
Here are 5 tips that may help you get a promotion.
- Revisit your last merit or performance review. Were there areas there that your boss had suggested needed improving? Did he/she focus the conversation more on one aspect of your job than on others? This may be an indicator that you need to focus a little attention on improving that skill.
- Do not eat your lunch at your desk. You may think eating your lunch at your desk while working through your break makes you look like a dedicated worker but your boss may look at it as anti-social behavior. It is important for your boss to witness that you get along with your co-workers.
- Participate in creating solutions. Another benefit of eating lunch in the lunch room with your peers is the fact that eventually conversations always turn to work related problems. Being aware of these problems and taking part in developing solutions will help you be a more valuable employee.
- Never engage in office gossip. Although this is sometimes a very hard thing to do, you should not be among the group who spends time gossiping about other co-workers. When someone tries to draw you in, make it clear that you are not interested. Eventually they will stop seeking you out for those types of unfavorable activities.
- Are you dressed for a promotion? This may sound silly, but sometimes a promotion is not offered because of your wardrobe. Take a look at the people who are getting the promotions. Do they dress differently than you? The boss has to visualize you in the position you want and therefore, you must look the part.
These are five simple changes you can make that can have a big impact on how your boss views you and why he may be passing you over for promotions. Make those adjustments and see if the position you are longing for is handed to you the next time it becomes available. Getting a promotion is not just about job performance, it is about the big picture and promoting yourself as a valuable part of the company.
Finding the Perfect Balance Between Your Professional and Personal Life
As a single adult, you already know that finding the balance between your personal and professional life is a constant challenge. In fact, this is quite common among female singles today since the demands of your career can often grow as quickly as the demands of your family. If you are just starting a family or raising young children, then it is even more difficult – likely than you ever even imagined. But fear not – reward is at hand.
In fact, keep that word handy throughout your day, and apply it to your day as often as you can. For example, getting away from work at the end of each day is a “reward” in and of itself. You have made it another day. Success! Although you will make more money and further secure your stability in your field with extra work and overtime, there will be plenty of those times – so give yourself a rest when you know you really deserve one!
In fact, studies have shown that women who create quality time with their families end up being more successful singles in the long term. So if you think you are making a sacrifice now for your family by working longer hours, think again. Those who can manage to strike a good balance their life and work are more beneficial to their law practice, and certainly have happier and more contented home lives.
So, what’s the key to balancing your professional and personal life?
- Every day, make a list of your priorities – including work and home life.
- After completing the list, then evaluate it what you’ve just written. You may find that you are devoting too much time to activities that are not really that important. For instance, spending too many hours at the gym can really eat up your hours after work. What would you really rather be doing? How can you give “equal time” to everything in your life? Carefully make those adjustments to your schedule.
- Understand that you’re not heading for perfection here – don’t expect yourself to check off everything on your daily list that you wanted to accomplish, but reward yourself for the things you do get squared away and leave the rest for the next day.
- If you feel it’s necessary, hire a professional personal assistant and certified coach to assist you in organizing your life goals so that you can better enjoy that life – instead of stressing out over often-tangled wires that will impede your goals.
- Finally, schedule yourself some personal time. This means even though you may need to work longer hours, make sure that once you leave the office, you leave everything at the office. Resist the temptation to check your emails, answer your cell phone or let other distractions intrude in your personal time or your time with your family unless it is an emergency.
It’s truly more daunting to simply think about how to reorganize and reschedule your time at work and at home than to actually just do it! Again, the rewards of feeling less stressed – and more balanced – will far outweigh the efforts that you expend while making the changes.
Career Coaching – What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?
How many times were you asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” when you were a child? Often a child will give an unrealistic answer like “I want to be a princess” or “I want to be a baseball player” but at some stage of your childhood you are expected to come up with a realistic answer to that question. How can you, as a young adult, really understand what you are best suited for when choosing a career?
Most young adults look to unqualified people for guidance which is why, more often than not, they end up choosing a career path that is not right for them. If you turn to your parents for advice you will often be guided to either follow in their footsteps or to go after their unfullfilled dreams. A high school councelor is generally a jack of all trades who is there for moral support to get students through any number of crisis’ teens may encounter while attending high school.
Are these really the people you want to help you plan out the rest of your life? When you are sick you do not go to a lawyer for advice. When you need your car fixed you do not go to a dentist. Why then do you not seek out a certified career coach when planning something so important as your life’s work?
A certified career/life coach will have you complete a series of tests that will identify your strengths, your weaknesses and your passions. From these tests they will give you a list of career choices that best suit you. And let’s face it, do you not want to be successful in life? Of course you do. You can only reach your full potential in life by being skilled and passionate about your career choice.
Before you commit to spending thousands and thousands of dollars on education you must be sure that money is not wasted. A small investment in a certified career coach can prevent you from throwing your education dollars, and years of your time, away.
Career Coaching – Is Your Career Having a Mid-Life Crisis?
Do you find yourself looking toward retirement with much more enthusiasm than you look at your job? Do you often feel like you are just putting in time until you can finally leave your career behind? If that is the case you may very well be suffering from a career mid-life crisis.
When you first embark on your career journey you are fresh-faced and innocent to the ways of the working world. You are idealistic and enthusiastic and excited about becoming a part of adult life. You are ready to change the world!
This zest for life can carry you through many years and, if you are lucky, will result in achieving many of your career goals as you begin climbing the career ladder. After a few years you remove your rose colored glasses, wake up to the real world and realize that your job choice may not have been as wonderful as you first thought. It is more difficult to get up everyday and go to work. Work has become boring and unfulfilling.
There is no passion or joy left in the workplace. You would like a divorce from your job but what alternatives do you really have? You have put a lot of time and energy into your career. Is it wise to just throw away the seniority and stability of your current employment?
Even if it was a wise choice; what’s next? How do you even begin to plan for a career change at this stage of your life? The first logical step would be to contact a certified career/life coach. A good coach will help you see your life more clearly. Maybe a small change in your personal life can have a significant enough impact on your existing career that it no longer seems in need of a change. Maybe your career really does need a switch up. A career coach can help you identify your dream job and guide you into a position to make it happen for you.
She will help you evaluate your existing skills. You would be surprised at just how many skills you have acquired that are easily transferrable into a new career. You may already be qualified for that dream job and she will help you not only find that job but coach you through negotiating the best possible salary with your potential employer.
Do you need to adjust your financial strategies to handle a career change? Your certified life coach can help you make those adjustments and help you make any necessary changes to your lifestyle in order to make your dream job a reality.
A good career coach will discuss your options and to help you understand whether a career change makes sense for you right now. She is the best investment you may make in the rest of your life.
Coaching for Life – Are You Single And Loving It?
You are a strong willed individual with a clear sense of independence. You are self confident and devoted to experiencing life on your own. You have made the decision that marriage is not one of your life goals and you celebrate that fact. So why can’t people be happy for you?
Unfortunately, people who have not made the same decisions as you cannot phathom wanting to go solo through life. They assume that you are single because the right person has not come into your life yet. They assume you are lonely. Quite simply, they just do not understand that you are single by choice. We all have heard the term “happily married” but how often have we heard she’s “happily single”? That is because the concept is so foreign to anyone on the outside.
One of the biggest obstacles that individuals who are committed to the single lifestyle face is not having a reliable person, who understands your situation, to go to for advice. You can’t turn to your parents because they are too busy still trying to find you “Mr. Right”. A life coach may very well be your best ally when it comes to making informed decisions that will effect your career, your finances and your personal growth.
Finding a certified life coach who specializes in coaching singles is not always easy though. This person will be your mentor who will guide you through all of the plans you have for your life so you need to be very sure that you choose wisely. She must specialize in helping individuals reach their goals, she can also be a great source to network with other people who, like you, are committed to the single lifestyle.
Have you found a certified career/life coach out there who is as happily single as you are? If so, she will be the best one to guide you. She is a rare find because she understands the difficulties you face as an unmarried person in a corporate world. She has faced the same situations you will encounter in your career and can help you deal with descrimination that singles often come up against in their corporate life.
So if marriage is not one of your life goals, celebrate it and rely on those who truly understand.
January, 2010
(June 2009 issue, page 95)
