How Can a Career Coach Help You Get a Job You Love?

How Can a Career Coach Help You Get a Job You Love?
By Susan Andrewes

There are a lot of misconceptions out there about what career coaching involves and how it differs from other professional forms of support such as career counselling, mentoring, and even therapy. With this in mind, I thought I would set the record straight and explain exactly how career coaching differs from other disciplines, and how it can help you get a job you love.

Therapy - therapy is about resolving past emotional traumas and is not within the competencies of a coach. Coaching is very much focused on attaining future goals quickly and effectively, rather than trying to understand past decisions and events.
Career counselling - a career adviser or counsellor is someone who gives advice about what various professions entail, and who can match up your existing skills with a range of suitable careers. If, for example, you fancy getting into photo journalism, becoming a writer, or teaching music, a career adviser will be able to provide you with specific advice on those industries and where to start your job search. Or they will be able to give you a list of organisations to contact to obtain more information and get a better understanding of what those professions involve. A career adviser is a great resource if you want to consider various options, work out which is a better fit for you and what skills or qualifications you will need to acquire to enter that profession.

Mentoring - a mentor is typically someone from your industry who has 'been there, done that'. A mentor is someone who has already achieved what you aspire to achieve yourself, and can therefore be an excellent resource if you already know what you want to do. All successful people have mentors to guide, advise and support them as they progress toward their goal. If, for instance, you harbour a secret desire to become a travel writer, and you know someone who has already succeeded in that field, you could approach them to find out how you can go about achieving the same success.

Career coaching - a career coach comes from a different angle. Rather than giving you advice or telling you what to do, a good career coach will help you to develop your self-awareness to identify where you are now, exactly where you want to be, and how to get there more quickly and effectively than you would do by yourself. By working with a career coach, you will gain a much clearer idea of what motivates and drives you, your skills, strengths, talents and passions, and what kind of job will fit with who you are and the kind of life you want to lead. A career coach has the training, expertise and experience to give you objective feedback and act as a sounding board to bounce ideas around before committing to them.

Many people find that they simply do not have the full support they need from friends and family, and a professionally-trained coach will offer valued support and give you honest feedback as you decide what path is right for you and move forward. A coach will therefore support you emotionally, help you overcome inner obstacles to success and help you to build and maintain the winning mindset that is key to achieving your goals. By helping you to bust through any doubts and negative beliefs holding you back, a coach will help you gain the confidence you need to face the challenges that inevitably come with making a successful career change.
The real value of a coach, however, is that they will challenge and stretch you the whole way, and hold you accountable to yourself and your goals. They will stop you from procrastinating and making excuses, and help you take action and truly get the results you desire.

Susan Andrewes is a leading Career Coach based in London, UK. She helps professionals who are tired of their current career get a job they love. To download your free 5-Step Plan, 'How to Get a Job You Love', visit http://www.getajobyoulove.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Susan_Andrewes