At the start of every new year, people take the time to reflect on their lives and question their personal status quo. This questioning can often lead them to wonder if their current job is the right fit for them. Moreover, there have never been so many people rethinking their careers in general given the effects of the pandemic. In the BBC article “Can a Career Coach Find you your Dream Job?”, Anna Jones interviews multiple coaches as well as coaching clients to paint a fuller picture of how coaches can purposefully guide people towards achieving their professional goals.
In the past, hiring a coach used to be reserved for upper management, but today more people have begun to accept the idea that everyone can benefit from coaching. The industry’s growth reflects this.
“The International Coaching Federation (ICF) estimates that in 2019, there were 71,000 career coach practitioners around the world and that the industry is worth an estimated $2.8bn globally.”
However given how unregulated the industry can be, Magdalena Mook, the CEO of ICF, advises that one way of vetting a coach is verifying their membership of a professional organization. This membership implies training, a code of ethics, and regular updates to their knowledge base which are all key components of a qualified coach. Understanding a coach’s role is also important to know beforehand– specifically that they are not therapists or mentors. Therapists are qualified to unpack past experiences and mentors are typically an experienced person within the same industry that a mentee can occasionally turn to for guidance.
“Coaching is more about having the skills to guide someone along their own self-discovery journey.”
Mook clarifies this point by adding that coaches do share their knowledge and draw upon their own experiences, but coaches lead people to forge their own path rather than simply giving advice. Find a coach who gives you the tools to build your own success today.
Did you find this helpful? Read related articles here: How Can Coaching Help You? and What a Business Coach Is (and Isn’t)
