What IS career counseling or coaching, anyway?
This is probably the most frequently asked question I get, and of course some of the answer depends on the situation, but in general terms, it’s a relationship between 2 people (or sometimes a group) that focuses on the career growth of the client. Basically it’s a lot of talking. Fairly typical steps in the process run along these lines:
Step 1: exploration. In most cases, the first thing your career professional will want to know is where you are and where you want to go. Don’t worry if you’re not at all clear at the beginning, because that’s part of what you will work through together.
Step 2: diving deeper. Next, you’ll work to find out the details of the jobs you’ve identified. You’ll learn about such things as the required education, work tasks, and salary ranges of the positions so you can make an informed choice.
Step 3: networking. Yes, this is the thing that people express the most horror over, but it’s really not that bad. Your career pro will work with you to identify authentic and manageable ways to reach out and build connections.
Step 4: applying. This is the nitty-gritty stuff like resumes, cover letters, and interviews. People often want to start here, but I hope you can see now why this step comes closer to the end of the process.
Step 5: closing. This might mean leaving an old job or simply negotiating for the salary and benefits you want from the new offer, but it’s a key step in ensuring that the job fits, so be sure not to overlook it!
Finally, many coaches will offer you an option that may seem intimidating at first but is probably the most powerful approach: The Program.
The program is usually a period of time instead of a specified number of sessions, based on how long it typically takes people to get what they want. As a rule, this time is anywhere from 2 months to 6, though of course there are many options.
In my case, the program requires a lot of participation from my clients, and there is a lot of homework. At the beginning, I do a sort of needs assessment in which we decide what the client’s goals are, although these sometimes change in the course of the 3 months. Programs are typically a coach’s most expensive offering, and also the most powerful. However, they’re also time-consuming, so they’re not always a good fit. But if you’re feeling really confused and lost, a deep dive may be just what you need!
