Sometimes when people are struggling, it can be difficult to distinguish what you want from what you need. Especially when it comes to your career, you might know what you want to accomplish, but what you need, is help getting there. The key to getting that help is a career coach. In her article titled “Do You Need a Career Coach?” in the Harvard Business Review, Marlo Lyons skillfully answers that question with five reasons hiring a coach should be your next move.

The five moments she outlines as the signs to hire a career coach are:

• You don’t know what you want to do next.
• You aren’t sure how to make your resume substantive — and also simple.
• You aren’t over your ex — job, that is.
• You’ve been interviewing but haven’t landed the job.
• You’re not moving up in your career.”

How a career coach can help you

Focusing first on not knowing what you want to do next, a coach can help suggest a wide range of potential jobs based on your interests, rather than solely your past experience. This can be especially helpful if you are considering a career pivot. Career pivots can be especially difficult to accomplish alone, when past job experience is not necessarily related or similar to jobs in the new desired field. Coaches work with you on your resume to showcase transferable skills and narrow down what experience is relevant to the potential role. 

A career coach also helps you look back on their past jobs, and review your personal assumptions about yourself within the workplace. This retrospective can be helpful especially if you had a negative job experience in the past, that is affecting your confidence or ability to perform in a current job. Similarly, a coach’s outside perspective can help you understand why you’re not getting offered jobs you interviewed for or advancing at your current company. 

What to look for in a career coach

If any of these reasons to hire a coach resonate, Lyons also outlines the five best ways to hire a legitimate career coach:

• know what type of professional you need to hire
• know which services you need and be open to services you don’t know you need
• try sample sessions with at least three coaches to find the right one for you
• research coaches’ training, certifications, and experience
• consider cost, cadence, and contact”

All of these tips can be easily followed here at ideamix. If you are considering a career pivot yourself or want a second opinion, start looking for a career coach today.