How to Find and Choose a Career Counselor or Coach
On some days, you feel confident about your career path. You know you’ve made the right choice. You believe there’s nowhere else you would rather be, doing the work you’re doing right now. But there are other days when you aren’t as sure of the choices you made. You worry you might have picked the wrong career; that maybe it’s not too late to change your mind. It doesn’t matter when you feel those doubts. It doesn’t matter at whatever stage of your career they come. We all have those thoughts. For some, those thoughts can be more persistent. One way to clarify your professional goals and determine if you’re still on the right track or want to try a different career path is to talk to a career coach. A career coach or counselor can help you get through the confusion and arrive at the correct answer. Here’s how to find and choose a coach.
Start with Research
Find someone with years of experience in providing career counseling services. Better yet, look for someone who specializes in offering career coaching for women. Their knowledge and understanding are sure to provide them with the insight to help you with your problem.
Look for Credentials
Credentials are an excellent marker for reliability. Consider the qualifications of the coach. For how many years have they done this? How many clients have they had? What are their background and training? Knowing the answers to those questions can help you find coaches that best fit the bill. If they have an excellent track record of helping clients, you’re making the right hiring decision.
Consider Trust
You go to a counselor for advice. You want to ask questions that will likely determine your professional development and future. That’s why you need someone you can trust. Someone with experience and credentials can inspire that trust in you, but that won’t be enough. Look for someone that you have an easy time talking to. Communication is key during the sessions. If you are not comfortable with the coach, if you don’t feel like you want to emotionally open yourself up to them, you’re better off finding someone else. If you can’t be completely honest or open to them about your problem or thoughts, they’d be working blind and giving advice that might not be entirely appropriate or lacking all the pertinent information. If you truly want help, find someone you can talk to.
Give It a Try
There’s no better way than to try the services of a counselor or coach. Book an hour of their services to learn more about what they can do or how they can help you. An hour is enough time to tell you if you’re talking to a coach that can provide relevant insights or if it’s someone merely winging their way through the session. A session can also tell you if they have the experience to back up their claims and the expertise to steer you in the right direction.