I often get asked “How do I know it’s time to invest in a career coach“.
Today I’m going to share the signs that tell you that NOW is the time to invest in a career coach so that you get that next promotion or make that next career move with confidence.
1 – You keep missing out on promotion
When you keep missing out on promotion, that’s really frustrating. A career coach can help you figure out what’s happening and why. Is it a skills gap? Or a confidence gap? How clear are you on your skills, strengths, and what you bring to the organisation. Very often we take our most valuable skills for granted and underplay these in an interview setting.
2 – You’re feeling completely overwhelmed
If you’re rushing around juggling career and family commitments, it’s easy to get so overwhelmed, and have so many ideas in your idea that you just don’t know whether you’re coming and going. A coach will work with you to identify tools and strategies to cope with the overwhelm so that you can start thinking more clearly.
3 – You know what to do but need accountability to do it
When you know what to do, but for some reason, it’s hard to get going, there maybe something else going on. Maybe you can’t quite put your finger on it by yourself. Sometimes it’s a fear of failing. Or maybe it’s fear of success. Either way a coach will help you figure it out AND hold you accountable for the actions you commit to.
4 – You’re stuck in a rut and don’t know what to do
When you’re stuck in a rut, often it’s hard to get out. Your energy is low. Your motivation’s lost. Your belief in yourself has gone. Talk to somebody with fresh perspective and no hidden agenda to get you thinking clearly about what you really want and how you’re going to get it.
5 – Your boss is telling you to ‘up your game’
What does ‘up your game’ even mean? Maybe she recognises that you are falling short of your full potential. Perhaps she senses a lack of commitment. A career coach can work with you to understand where or how you can ‘up your game’ so that even your boss is impressed.
6 – You keep wondering “when will I get found out?”
Your inner critic in your head is the voice of all your fears and self doubts. Sometimes known as imposter syndrome, your inner critic can really sabotage your career. She stops us putting ourselves forward for promotion or applying for that brilliant job opportunity.
A career coach will help you to recognise the inner critic for what she really is so that she stops holding you back.
7 – You’re thinking about a career change or industry change
Then a career coach is absolutely the right investment for you. Of course you can do it on your own however a career coach will help you do it much more quickly: identify your transferrable skills, research the job market, rewrite your CV and update your LinkedIn profile so that you get the change you’re looking for.
8 – You’re going back to work after a career break or redundancy
Many of the women I work with who’ve taken a career break have lost confidence in themselves or lost their sense of identity. A career coach will work with you to help you identify your values, get clear on your talents and strengths, figure out the career path you want to take and help you attract the right opportunities so that you get back into work.
Of course there are other signs too however these are the most common reasons that prompt my clients to get in touch.
Coaching is an investment in you and your career. Not just a financial investment, but to get the most value out of coaching, you need to invest time and commitment. A coach won’t tell you what to do. She’ll ask you the right questions to get you to the right answers.
If you’ve already taken the plunge and decided to invest in New Year, New You coaching, check out these tips on how to make the most of every coaching session.
And if you think I might be the right person to be your coach, explore how you can work with me here.
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