3 Benefits of Working with a Career Coach

You might think this post is going to be very biased since I’ve been a career coach for well over a decade now.

While of course I can’t remove that lens, I know what it’s like to be on the other side of the table, too!

It was through working with a career coach myself back in 2005 that I discovered this path.

I was at a crossroads. I realized I didn’t want to be a teacher – something I worked towards for almost 4 years of college already, and my go-to reply whenever anyone asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”.

Feeling completely overwhelmed and stuck, and then finding my way after working with this coach, was an incredibly formative experience. What I learned from being a career coaching client myself is influencing what I’m sharing here as well.

This post is aiming to answer a lot of the common questions I see when prospective clients originally reach out to me for a complimentary consultation. There is often a period of a lot of stress, nerves, or anxiety before people end up reaching out, so my goal is to provide tons of information so no matter which coach you explore working with, you have a good sense of things and feel more excited than nervous 😊

With all of that in mind, let’s get into 3 of the benefits of working with a career coach!

1) You get to talk about yourself with an un-biased person who has your best interests in mind

When you’re working with a coach, you’ll notice a difference in the way they listen to you compared to how it feels when your friends and family listen (no offense, friends and fam!).

Not only will they be fully engaged, attentive, and attuned to what you’re saying, they’ll ask lots of follow up questions to dig deeper and learn more. In addition to this open and mindful listening, a coach has no ulterior motives steering them to encourage you to make a particular decision.

In fact, most coaches won’t even tell you what decision to even make! They’ll reflect back what you’ve shared, what they have heard you articulate as your values, interests, and drivers, and help you to connect the dots you may be too close to the situation to see.

Their true goal is to help you feel empowered, informed, confident, and supported enough to make a decision that feels right to you based on what matters in your life. A coach can help you see the forest from the trees when you’ve potentially gotten caught up in the opinions of others, which are usually well-intentioned but clouded by the values of those people.

Here is how a former client of mine shared how this felt for her:

“While Aileen is amazing in so many ways, I think one of her most outstanding qualities is her ability to listen. Aileen never told me the job she thought I should want - she always made sure that my career decisions reflected my passions and aspirations.” – Megan Quill

I’ve had previous clients joke with me that they feel like I’m their therapist, which is (definitely not what career coaching is!) so flattering as it illustrates just how heard and supported clients can feel when working with a coach.

2) They hold you accountable

This may be the most valuable benefit of working with a career coach!

For some people, having an external source of accountability as they work towards a goal in their lives can make or break their progress.

You may know this about yourself already, but if you’re wondering whether or not you’re one of those people – or if you just want to learn more about the kind of structure that enables you to maintain momentum when working on something – I highly recommend taking the four tendencies quiz by Gretchen Rubin.

If you’re curious about diving into the four tendencies more, you can read this article about how understanding your tendency can help you improve your life. Gretchen has also been on countless podcasts and written many other articles in addition to her books.

Image is from https://gretchenrubin.com/podcast-episode/podcast-120-happier-four-tendencies/

I’m an “obliger,” which is the most common tendency, and Gretchen states that “Obligers meet outer expectations, but struggle to meet inner expectations. They’re motivated by external accountability; they wake up and think, “What must I do today?”

I can know that I need and want to move my body, but if I don’t sign up for a yoga or barre class, I’m much less likely to do it. I can know that I need to take time to focus on marketing my business, but not do it until I work with a marketing consultant who is checking in on my deadlines and progress.

(Yes, I’m a coach who basically loves having coaches herself!)

This is part of why we see group fitness classes, personal trainers, business coaches and more being so popular – for most areas of life there is likely a solution that involves creating external accountability for it.

When you work with a career coach, you have a dedicated person invested in your professional success who is there to give you the tools and create the structure needed for you to succeed. That accountability stops the cycle that is common for countless people - wanting to prioritize your career development but often having it fall at the bottom of your to-do list because life gets in the way.

When I work with my career coaching clients, I ask them what kind of accountability feels good for them. Questions I ask most often include:

  • Do you want to set a deadline to do these action items by and if I haven’t heard from you by then I’ll check in?

  • Would you prefer to schedule our next session, so you force yourself to have to have updates by then and see a goal on the calendar?

Every person, their style, and their life circumstances look different, so I meet each person wherever they are based on the kind of support that makes them feel good.

If you know you thrive when there is external accountability, what areas of your life have you implemented this and how has it helped you move forward?

3) They offer reliable resources and bring structure to a structureless process

Another benefit of working with a career coach is having a reliable, knowledgeable go-to source to answer all the million questions that come up throughout your job search. Questions such as:

Instead of spending hours googling the answers, and getting lots of conflicting advice, you have an expert in your back pocket. Moreso, someone who understands you, your background, and your personality so they’ll tell you the best practices but also help create some workarounds if a typical approach doesn’t align with your comfort zone.

Additionally, many people feel overwhelmed when job searching. They’re not sure where to start to create a job search strategy, what to focus on, and how to spend their energy efficiently to get the best momentum and results. They may come out of the gate strong but then if they’re hearing crickets after applying they aren’t sure what to do next.

Working with a career coach will help you create structure and efficiency in an often structureless process, so you can get results, and, get back to the rest of your life.

Now that we’ve exhaustively covered the top 3 benefits of working with a career coach, let’s delve into what it actually looks like to work with someone.

What to expect when working with a career coach

One of the most common questions I get from people is “So… what… does... it actually look like?! What do we really do if we were to work together?”

Which always makes me think of this scene from Office Space:

what do you do here in office

The answer depends on two things:

  1. you and your unique situation and

  2. the coach

In my practice, if you’re in a good groove and just want an extra pair of eyes on some application documents, a refresh on job search strategy or interviewing, and a sounding board, I typically recommend we focus on 1-1 appointments. These are done via zoom, phone, or in person as you feel necessary.

This means I’m here when you need or want to connect, cheering you on and checking in in the ways you’ve said feel good for you, but we don’t have a regular standing meeting filling your calendar.

If, on the other hand, you’re feeling rusty on all things job search, overwhelmed with how to proceed, and/or know you thrive with more support and accountability, I supplement those 1-1 sessions with “on demand coaching.”

I created five comprehensive learning modules with an arsenal of resources (videos of me teaching you what you need to know, workbooks, templates, guides) for each step in the road – figuring out your path, updating resumes and cover letters, LinkedIn, interviewing, taking care of yourself while doing this work, and more.

With instant access to this kind of coaching, you can chip away at your job search on your own time (no schedules to coordinate!) and then we end up being able to dig deeper in our 1-1 coaching time together. To make it manageable, based on where you’re at, I’ll get specific with your “homework” and point you to the resource/module to start with and then we plug away together from there.

Clients have access to this for life, and my whole ethos is that I’d rather teach you how to write an effective resume vs do it for you so you don’t need me again! Most people change jobs a good number of times in their life, so I believe it’s powerful to equip each person with the tools they need to feel supported in future job transitions as well.

The nitty gritty of what coaching looks like can be very different, so I always encourage people to shop around and ensure they find a coach that feels like the best fit for them, their personality, and their needs.

This brings me to my final point – how to find coaches, and what to do if you want to dip your toe into more self-guided work in this space before/instead of reaching out to someone.

How to find a coach + ways to explore working on this yourself

I always do a complimentary phone consultation with anyone interested in working together. I do this to not only make sure they feel like I’m the right person for them, but I also want to make sure I feel like I have the right skills, approach, and background for what kind of support they need.

If I don’t think I’m the best coach for the job, I typically refer prospective clients to my trusted colleagues and friends in the field, helping me feel confident that they’re in good hands.

I also always recommend that people explore free coaching options, especially if budgets are tight. Most people are surprised when I tell them that if they studied somewhere for an undergraduate degree, there are often a number of free resources (including coaching sessions at times!) available to them through the Career Services office. This typically is not heavily advertised, so I recommend people reach out via phone/email to the center directly to ask. Often there are 1-3 sessions for free for graduates, and/or access to internal job search resources.

Lastly, one of the most frequent recommendations I give to people exploring making a change in their professional lives is the book “Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life.” This is an incredible resource filled with hands-on activities for building self-awareness and deepening your understanding of what work means to you and what might be exciting to integrate into your next opportunity.

I hope that this comprehensive post not only helps you understand some benefits of working with a career coach, but also gives you tools to find someone that is right for you to work together towards achieving your professional goals.

Here’s to feeling supported in the process of doing more of what you love, no matter what that is!