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Does AI Pose a Challenge to the Human Touch in Career Coaching?

Does AI Pose a Challenge to the Human Touch in Career Coaching?

One search term has dominated the internet in the past year: AI. Brittanica defines AI as the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings. The definition is important because most of what we read about AI are polarized views of it. As with most things in life – AI will derive value from how humans use it, not ,at least for now, by how it will govern itself. 

AI-powered career coaching

While AI does not appear compatible with career coaching, it can be when used in conjunction with a human career coach. Even though AI-powered coaches can’t perform the same roles as human coaches, like fostering relationships and offering personalized advice, AI can democratize coaching. AI-powered career coaches are cost-effective, and some are free. In addition, AI-powered career coaches are available around the clock, eliminating the need for advanced scheduling. Think of an AI career coach as a targeted Google search – providing you with the most basic, most relevant information on demand.

Innovation in the AI-powered career coach sphere

Various US-based coaching platforms are beginning to develop AI-powered career coaches. This year, Hallo, a career coaching company, created by an AI-powered career coach named Boris. Boris’ services will be directed at Gen Z students, providing various functions, such as resume review and interview practice, with feedback. The service will cost $5 a month, an attractive price for college students and post-grads.

One of the biggest job search platforms, LinkedIn, is creating a free AI career coaching platform in LinkedIn Learning. To generate accurate content, LinkedIn gathered content from over 3,000 career experts. LinkedIn claims its AI-powered career coaching platform can answer multifaceted questions, such as “What is the best way to negotiate my desired salary without being too aggressive?” and “I have two job offers. Can you help me choose the right one?” Interestingly enough, these example questions will require complex answers, with a high level of personalization. Should you trust an AI-powered career coach to tell you which job offer to accept? Absolutely not, at this time. 

Over the summer, CareerVillage, a nonprofit ed-tech organization, completed beta testing for their AI-powered career coach, and they’re expecting to release a public version during the fall. Students can access CareerVillage’s AI coach for free, increasing democratization in the career coaching field. Above all, CareerVillage emphasizes that this tool should not replace career coaching; instead, it will work with career coaches, enhancing the client’s experience. By highlighting the vitality of human career coaches, CareerVillage demonstrates and recognizes that AI-powered coaching cannot replace coaches.

The limitations of AI-powered career coaching

One thing is clear: AI is here to stay. As a society, we must learn when and how to use it. As exemplified with the rise of AI-powered career coaching sites, low-cost coaching provides recent college graduates with an intriguing introduction to career coaching. 

At ideamix, we believe that AI-powered coaching will, on the one hand, help educate younger and future generations about coaching. On the other hand, it could warp the true definition of coaching given that personalconnection between coach and client is a huge driver of effective career development. Personalization and AI are incompatible by nature; therefore, AI coaching can not be customized to your needs the way that 1-on-1 coaching naturally is. While AI-powered career coaches are beneficial for the low hanging fruit of career readiness, such as resume review, only a career coach can properly address overarching topics.

You may be wondering: should I try AI or a human career coach? If you solely require a grammatical review for your resume or an answer to a commonly asked question, should you use AI? Yes! If you want to formulate your goals and figure out how they map to your professional career, should you use AI? Absolutely not!

We created an interactive quiz to help you make an informed and educated decision on whether you require an AI-powered career coach or a human career coach. At ideamix, we believe in the power of personalized coaching to fuel unique paths and individual achievement. Take our quick quiz to figure out what you need! 

If you want to work with a human career coach, take our 1 minute assessment to get matched with your best fit coaches.

https://coaching.theideamix.com/onboarding – Link this to 1 minute assessment text above

https://www.theideamix.com/library/work-life/the-future-of-work-and-coaching-with-chatgpt/

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