Hiring a career coach

If you asked me 10 years ago what a career coach did I would have had no answer for you. If you asked what value does a career coach bring, I would have guessed that they give you advice and solve your problems. This notion would be incorrect. A career coach helps guide you through your goals and challenges while you solve your own problems and create your own path.

I have been coached and am also a Certified Professional Coach. I can attest to the power of coaching. While the process of coaching can sometimes be uncomfortable for the coachee, the benefits are long term as you build the confidence and skills you need to solve your own problems. From my experience, coaching can transform the way someone thinks.  

When I started training as a certified career coach, I went through the coaching process as a coachee.  I was struggling with building a business and a bout of unemployment. I thought “how can this career coach help me get a job and get my business up and running?” I had a small experience with coaching a while back, but didn’t quite understand the full value of the coaching process. What I got from the career coach was much more valuable than just finding a job or starting my business.

First, I realized that the time off from work was a gift. Every moment was a treasure. This was an unusual opportunity for my husband and I to travel and live in parts of America we had never been able to live. It was an incredible experience that led me to write a book, create an even stronger bond with my husband, and gave me the time to start my own career coaching business.

Secondly, the process led me to determine exactly what I wanted for my long term and short term career goals. This made it much simpler to target my job search and focus on what I really wanted. In the beginning of my search I threw resumes out to wherever to see what would stick. For the record, that’s not a job search strategy. It was panic. Working with a coach, I did not feel the need to panic and take any job simply because I was unemployed. I had a mission to find a great fit and if it wasn’t right, I would enjoy my time off.

In the end, I landed a terrific job that was exactly what I wanted. For more information on career coaching, go to www.katekibler.com.