Finding a Coach that Works for You

There is something quite comforting when you speak with people who do the same job as you and share common experiences.  You can use the shorthand lingo, express frustrations and feel a little more understood.  It is the foundation that makes the after work drink world keep on spinning.  When career counsellors meet, inevitably the conversation turns to client expectations.

So many of us have been confronted by people we want to help, who have spent numerous years trying to work out what the right job is for them have the expectation that a single meeting with a career professional will unravel the mystery for them.  Or the number of clients who believe that by listing what they are good at and what interests them in as brief a time as possible will, in the telling to expert ears, result in what effectively is the kind of trait and factor response (you like maths, ergo be a mathematician) that they would have got had they completed one of the variety of questionnaires to do just that.  These instruments can help you understand more about yourself and therefore about what kind of work you may enjoy, but that is one possible step in a process that has many layers.

Photo by nikko macaspac on Unsplash

Acknowledging that you need help managing your career is a big step.  If you feel out of step with your career or you are seeking a working life, which offers you more challenge, is closer to your values or more authenticity, you are not alone.  Few of us are fortunate enough in adulthood to be in a position to answer what seems the simplest of questions when we are little and fewer still seem to know with any degree of certainty what we want to be when we grow up.  While I am not completely convinced that this question is more than a red herring at a time when most of us will have at least two or three career changes during our working life, the desire to answer it can be a real driver at best and a paralysing undercurrent at worst.  When it is the latter, it presents itself sucking energy and confidence from life.

If you can take that all important step into finding help for your career you will begin to feel a real sense of momentum, but rarely are the results miraculous or instantaneous and nor should they be.  However unhappy you may be in your current situation getting out of it will teach you much about yourself, your potential and the world and this will set you on your path to greater work fulfilment.  There are no guarantees, but a career professional can help you prepare for a career you are happy with and help you embrace an openness to change and taking action that can begin to make things happen and take shape in the way that you want them.  It is unlikely that they are going to tell you what you should do with the rest of your life, however, or that your relationship will be reminiscent of a friendship even though you will feel listened to and supported.

Photo by Hannah Barata

Working with career professionals often represents the polar opposite of taking the easy option, as most of us are as supportive as we are challenging, seeing both the best in you and what may be holding you back.  We can help you synthesise your career options, but this will be done in partnership with you and requiring your effort and openness to the process.  There is often a swift sense of relief as a result of the collaboration, but no miracle cures.  In the alchemy of partnership you can learn much about yourself and move closer to your career goal, but this is a relationship of equals and though it may propel you to achieve beyond your expectations, it is you who has to act.

Please note that it is important when contracting with a career professional that you check their credentials, ensure you feel comfortable with the boundaries of the relationship and avail yourself of the free initial consultation to get a good sense of what service you will receive.