Are you looking to transition out of an unfulfilling career or ace an upcoming job interview? Maybe you're trying to negotiate a salary raise or plan out your career growth. Whatever your career goals, you can always use the help of an expert! But how do you exactly find a career coach? Well, in this post, I share 4 ways for you to find a career coach and a few questions that you can ask to judge for fit before you choose to work with one! 😉
First, I think it's important to highlight a couple of things:
Career coaches or experts can help you achieve your career goals, whatever they may be. The best time to work with a career coach is before you need one.
Before we talk about these four ways for you to find a career coach, I want to be clear. I mention this in my other content too - when I say or use the word “career coach”, I’m referring to any career development expert, I'm just using career coach because it's the most common colloquial one that's used. The real difference between one career expert from another is in terms of their training, experience, and expertise
Now, let's talk about these 4 ways.
This is by far my favorite recommendation for you. Why? Because if you can talk to a friend, a family member, a colleague, or a coworker, and just ask them if they've ever worked with a career coach, or if they have one for you, you're more likely to find someone that you'll trust easier!
Moreover, through a referral, you are able to hear the firsthand experiences of people who have worked with that career coach, as opposed to just reading what the person does online or just reading and researching about them.
Through a referral, you are able to hear the firsthand experiences o of people who have worked with that career coach. Share on X
Having the knowledge that someone you personally know has experienced what it's like to work with that coach will lead you to feel more comfortable. This is important because generally, it can be difficult for you to open up to a stronger. But opening up is key for a successful coaching relationship. But with a personally referred career coach, you're more likely to feel like you’re in good hands, as tried and tested by the people around you.
The second way to find a career coach to work with is by searching on social media. I personally recommend LinkedIn and Instagram for your searches, but you can use any social media platform.
LinkedIn is a career networking site. So, if you were planning to grow your career or establish yourself as a thought leader, or as an expert in your field or your industry, you're probably going to want to search for a coach on LinkedIn.
If you were planning to grow your career or establish yourself as a thought leader, or as an expert in your field or your industry, you're probably going to want to search for a coach on LinkedIn. Share on X
However, not all career coaches are on LinkedIn, and there’s nothing very wrong with that. But in my view, I do think it’s a little bit of a red flag if they're not on there. Since most career coaches can help you establish your presence on LinkedIn, how is a coach without a LinkedIn profile going to do that? Nonetheless, that’s just something to think about!
Now with LinkedIn, you can just search the term career coach (or any other terms, like, career counselor, career mentor, career expert, etc.) in the search bar, and people will come up!
Instagram mostly (but not always) allows you to get to know the career coach on a personal level before you even start working with them. It can help you determine if a relationship with them will be a fit.
To find a career coach on Instagram, you can use hashtags to search for #careercoach (again, or any other terms), and it’ll give you a list of suggestions. From there on, you can do your research.
Both platforms can be effective in looking for a career coach but know which one you’d prefer better. On LinkedIn, you can see the credentials, experience, and overview of a career coach. It mostly serves as sort of an online resume. As for Instagram, it focuses on a career coach’s social media presence. The content is mostly about their expertise, offers, and maybe even personal stories which can lead to a better connection.
The third way to find a career specifically, a counselor to work with is using a directory. The National Board of Certified Counselors has a Counselor Find function where you can search for counselors. And, when you go in there, you can filter for experts that specialize in career development and career expertise.
Now, I like this option of using the directory because coaching is not the most regulated industry. Anybody can call themselves a coach, which means that some career coaches are teaching or helping from their own expertise. There’s nothing wrong with that at all, it just means that they might be limited in what they are able to help you accomplish because likely, they're helping you accomplish what they've accomplished for themselves. Which again, if that's what you're looking for, that's perfectly fine.
The directory from NBCC is specifically a career counseling directory. It has some regulations around it. For a career counselor to maintain their certification, they have to keep up with continuing education units, which means they're constantly learning, constantly researching and bringing you fresh and new ideas. So, that is a more regulated side of things. Ultimately though, it just depends on the kind of help and support that you're looking for.
And if you're someone who likes those accolades/certifications/expertise or training, then you might want to use the directory to find a career coach to work with.
Seriously! Just go on Google and search for what you’re specifically looking for. You can search “career coach” followed by whatever you need help with.
For instance, if you're looking for a job search expertise, type in “career coach job searching”. If you need help with your resume, look for a “career coach resume writer”. If you're looking for help with an interview, go for “career coach interview help”
Just put those terms together to find what you need help with.
If you want to work with someone physically, then you might put “near” at the end of your search to see who's around you locally. Although, a lot of coaches these days often offer virtual services. That being said, you might want to focus more on fit than proximity.
As I mentioned earlier (and probably a lot on my other content), many career coaches use different titles, e.g. career counselor, career mentor, career strategist, career expert, etc. Thus, if you're going online to do a search, get to know the different phrases and terms that career coaches are using. Be aware of the differences between various career coach titles, so you can find the right career coach that can help you reach your career goals.
Be aware of the differences between various career coach titles, so you can find the right career coach that can help you reach your career goals. Share on X
Here's an important tip: say you’ve done your research and found a potential coach. You like their style, and maybe you booked a call with them. Here are three questions that I suggest you should ask to determine fit:
Although those are not the only questions that you can ask, I think an answer to all three can really help you get a clear sense of how your work with them will go. You should clarify their style so you can determine if they're a fit for you. Lastly, knowing their client results will give you a sense and assurance of the kind of results they can provide.
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