- While economists laud over our country’s low unemployment, for some the job market may not be so receptive to their skills.
- With these job seekers, it is quite possible that their skills are too specialized, which can hinder them in getting a job.
- With others who are unable to find a job can simply chalk things up to a matter of bad luck.
- If you are a long-term sufferer from either of these or other employment-related difficulties, it might be time for you to consider a career coach.
It doesn’t help when friends and/or family look at you as if something’s wrong; that after all this time spent within what has been a strong economy and you can’t find a job there’s something obviously the matter with you.
All-in-all, though, you shouldn’t take this criticism too hard. For one, it’s an unfair judgement of you that just because others have employment you should too. That apples-to-apples comparison is simply not correct.
For instance, what if you have a particularly skill that the marketplace doesn’t have a demand for – is that your fault? No, and you should not fall victim to those who may say it’s your fault.
Or, if you do have a job, but things are a bit rocky with your employer, should you be considered a subpar employee who simply can’t handle pressure in the workplace, particularly when yours is a personality clash, not a work clash?
Of course not.
What you might instead consider is a career coach.
As The Muse.com outlines in two recent articles, a career coach can guide you through the challenges, opportunities, or dilemmas along the way to either helping a person gain employment or have a successful job change.
On top of that, hiring a career coach is simply good for your morale.
A career coach can provide you a huge boost of professional confidence and insight as you transition.
Also, a nice plus to career coaches is that contrary to what some seem to believe, career coaches do not work exclusively with those workers who are new to the job market; they also assist veteran workers who seek to transfer from one job to another.
Whether you are a new job seeker or a someone who has been employed for several years, but wants to make a change, here are 6 big reasons why hiring a career coach can be beneficial to your working future.
1. When You Find Yourself In A Bad Work Situation
This is one of those predicaments that career coaches aren’t necessarily known for; that they in fact can help individuals who are already working. According to The Muse.com here’s why:
Sometimes, something unexpected happens at work and you know—almost immediately—the best way to handle it. Other times, you’ve never encountered a situation like this before and you’re stumped.
Maybe the company you’ve been with for a period of time is restructuring and changing your responsibilities.
Or, you love your job, but hate your new manager. Or, perhaps you feel like you aren’t communicating your true value to the team.
A career coach can direct you as to how you should examine the moving parts of your employment, and help you consider and analyze all possible solutions as well as any consequences that may follow.
Your career coach will highlight factors or details that you may have missed while experiencing an emotionally-charged situation.
Potential solutions can be the engagement of new strategies toward communication with a boss who may have an incompatible managerial style.
Or, if you’re simply fed up with your current employment, a career coach can help you find a job sector that interests you if you decide to pursue new opportunities.
In short, the right advisor can turn a difficult situation into opportunities for growth and learning.
2. When You’re Faced With A Career That Seems To Be Going Nowhere
Going through mid-career (or early or late career) slumps can feel endless —especially, if it’s been a while since you’ve been offered a raise, a new/better title or more responsibility.
This is why The Muse.com article states that coaching at this point in a person’s career can be surprisingly transformative.
Career coaching can awaken curiosity and ambition in employees who may have forgotten the excitement that got them onto their career path in the first place.
The truth is if you’ve been in the same position for five or more years, you may realize that you have the capacity to take on a larger role.
With this, you feel that by now you are ready to begin training for an executive position, or you could be considering a complete career pivot.
If that’s the case, a career coach can help you set goals and write an action plan, advancing your career at a pivotal stage and guiding you into the next chapter of your work.
3. As A First Time Job Seeker, You’ve Sent Out Large Numbers Of Resumes Without Success
The writing, editing and sending out of resumes can be a tricky affair.
Many moving parts need to be considered with the utmost care or your resume campaign could turn into a complete disaster. The following are only a few components to consider:
- Is your resume aligned to target the job you want?
- Is your resume too long, too short, or not informative enough?
- Does your resume have grammatical and/or spelling errors in it?
- Are you even sending your resume to the correct people in the business where you want to work?
All this resume business needs to be mulled over, and with that a career coach can help immeasurably.
A career coach will assist you as you build a comprehensive story of yourself and your work experience. They can also root out the people to which your resume should go.
Most importantly a career coach may be able to tell – more accurately than you – if you are a fit for the job to which you are applying.
In short, a strong career coach can help you avoid wasting time with companies where you have less chance to land a job as compared to other companies which are more so in your wheelhouse.
4. When You’re a First-Time Manager
Some people only seek advice when they’re looking to change careers or find a new job. But coaches have varied expertise, including leadership training, and helping people develop and manage a team.
If you’re a new manager, a career coach might be someone you should look into.
New managers are often overwhelmed by the responsibility, visibility, and confidence needed to effectively guide subordinates.
This is particularly true if your role expands into mentoring staff, making hiring decisions, and running a department. Simply put, you’ll need new skills.
An expert who specializes in this can share resources to help you develop, both as a manager as well as a creator.
Additionally, receiving feedback from someone outside the office can prove invaluable when you aren’t exactly sure how to handle a dilemma.
Lastly, this person can help you boost emotional intelligence and strengthen your ability to communicate clear goals, processes, and vision.
5. When You Hate Networking
For some employees (as well as employers) networking can appear more as a never-ending chore than an beneficial event.
This is why networking is regarded as one of the hardest aspects of a job search. As some job seekers experience anxiety, have awkward conversations, and struggle to be themselves in large groups of strangers, networking for many is simply not a fun activity.
If your network is suffering because you opt out of big events and stay away from groups outside of your immediate circle, a career coach could become your new and very needed best friend.
The Muse.com suggests the following list of what you should remember a career coach can do for you when it comes to networking:
- Their profession requires ample amounts of networking, speaking, and pitching.
- A career coach can suggest the types of events that fit your strengths.
- Career coaches can hold you accountable for meeting more people while guiding you as to how you can find your networking sweet spot.
When you invite a professional to become your networking partner, your previously dismal experiences can become anticipated opportunities to make new connections in your industry and practice a new skill.
6. When You Want to Build a Side-Business
This can be one of the best aspects of career coaches; they can help you even if you want to go into business for yourself.
Inc. contributor Minda Zetlin states that if one were to launch their own project, that no matter the project size or the current urgency that project begin operating ASAP, the employee turned future employer needs to consider the following:
- Time management skills
- Tools to measure different goals.
- A plan for how long you’d like to balance your full-time position and your new side business.
A strong career coach can help you manage the expectations, resources, and goals for both your 9-to-5 and your side gig.
In fact career coaches are often multi-passionate individuals themselves who once balanced their own jobs or side projects.
Do yourself and your future work endeavors a big favor and pick a career coach who has personal experience in managing and developing a side business. Your coach can share what they’ve learned as far as realistic goals and transition strategy.
Starting your own project or business while holding a full-time job can be daunting, but with the right guide, you may find yourself in the best of both worlds.
Conclusion
The Baby Boomer days of old where an employee stays on a job for the entirety of their career has long since disappeared from the current workforce.
In fact, most employees are not expected to last longer than 3 years at a job, particularly when there is little to no growth within the position or the job sector as a whole.
To be sure, many negative and positive obstacles face today’s workers. Not to mention the job market can be tough and in some respects, very complicated.
It’s for this matter that career coaches should be considered for anyone who is either first getting into the job market or has already been employed throughout a long career.
Career coaches strive to make an employee’s daily work experience more fulfilling, focused, and supported.
Or, if a career move is desired, a career coach can give you many options as to what your next step should be.
While some feel they can successfully go at it alone when searching for a job – the rest of us may not have that type of confidence.
This is when you know you need a career coach.
Simply put, career coaches can advance the trajectory of your work and help you gain confidence in new phases of your career.
And with that, honestly, what more can you ask from a job?
