Fastest Way to Find a Job - Tip 21 Career Coaching

Career Coaching

If you’re in the job search, you have certainly heard advice about job boards, networking, or even temporary work. But have you ever considered a career coach as a path to a new job?

When I say “ Career Coach ,” I do not mean the kind of life coach who helps you decide what you should do with your life. Don’t get me wrong, they have their place, but what I’m talking about is a coach who helps you with your career: finding and getting a job that will help you further your career goals.

This one is near and dear to my heart, because I am a career coach as well as the CEO of Career Confidential. In my career coaching role, I help people on an individual basis knock down the barriers that are holding them back. These barriers could be anything from negative internal voices that cause them to not step out and do the things that they should; to resumes they think are good because they were professionally written but don’t actually sell them as a candidate; to people who don’t know how to sell themselves in the interview and only need coaching on how to answer interview questions (practice and role-playing interview questions is incredibly helpful). That’s the kind of career coaching I do.

That’s mostly what I do, although I do have a few people calling me to talk about what they want to do when they grow up. Maybe you need a career coach to talk to you about what career field you should be in. If they know a lot about that field, they are an incredible resource for you. To me, that’s more valuable than a personality test (although I do think personality assessments are valuable) because that’s first-hand knowledge that you can tap into and see if you think it would fit you or not.

I have a lot of people who want to talk to me about transitioning into medical sales because I have such a strong background there. A lot of people I just shepherd into the role they want, but one man spent time with me talking and learning about medical sales and eventually got enough information that told him that career was not for him. That time he spent with me as a career coach saved him hours and hours of effort and a large amount of money that he would have spent on getting himself ready for that career. It helped him clarify.

When you are choosing a career coach, make sure the person you’re listening to has real experience. Either someone in your direct industry with experience there, or a recruiter who understands what hiring managers are looking for and can show you how to sell yourself for the job. Your coach should be an expert you can learn from and grow with.