Signs You Need A Career Coach, According To Experts

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Signs You Need A Career Coach, According To
Experts
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While family and friends can be great sounding
boards for your career woes, career coaches' main
mission are to help people get on and stay on
track regarding career matters. "through all
sorts of major milestones switching gears and
going back t Career coaches can guide you o
school or learning how to manage a team," says
Bitte. "But smaller bumps in the road do come up,
and you might not realize you need help. Calling
on a career coach for a tough negotiation or even
just a particular presentation can be a great
idea. Externalizing your situation, explaining
the challenges, and getting a professional's
trained eye could make all the difference in
achieving the outcome you want."

• What Exactly Does A Career
• Coach Do?

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Perhaps the most obvious sign that you may need a
career coach is because you are not happy. Of
course, you never intended to become so negative
about everything, not just in the office. But,
somehow, everything seems to bother you and it
all goes back to your job dissatisfaction. Yes,
you may smile and pretend you are happy, even
though you're doing a job task you hate, but are
you honestly happy? You may be at a job where
menial work adds up to getting promoted, and then
someone else will be doing that menial work. But
if there's no advancement in your future and
you're getting bitter, you may need a career
coach to give you an extra nudge.

• 1.You're Not Happy At Work

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Are you a "working for the paycheck" kind of
person or an "I love my job and I happen to get
paid for it" one? I'm the latter, but I can think
of plenty of people who are the former, and you
probably can, too. So then what? Stay in an
unhappy job or career setting forever? The most
common feedback I hear from coaches in this
scenario is 'I feel like I'm in a soul-sucking
position.' A 'crossroads' can emerge in many
forms, including you feel stuck in an
unfulfilling job you feel out of control at work
(e.g., there's a lack of leadership, management,
and communication, lots of changes, and frequent
re-orgs) you feel out of alignment with your
current role or company (i.e., 'I'm good at this,
but it's not really me.') you know you're
capable of more and meant for something greater,
but you're not sure where to start, what it is,
or how to make it happen."

• 2.You Know You Are Not Doing A Job You Love, But
  It's A Paycheck

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Almost everyone has been there at some point You
like or love your job and have put in a lot of
time... but you have not gotten a raise. A career
coach can help. "We all want the recognition and
compensation that a promotion usually brings, but
it's not always obvious how to achieve it," says
Wood. "Career coaching can help you not only
achieve the necessary goals to build a strong
case for promotion, but also help you navigate
the politics and prepare for performance review
and compensation discussions."

• 3.You Need Help Getting A Raise

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Do you feel your career or job is going nowhere?
Are you not getting promoted? Or do you feel
stuck in your job? "If you feel like your career
has plateaued, it is a sure sign a career coach
is a good option for you," says Wood. "This may
mean you lack options to move up in the company,
you are maxed out, pay-wise, or you feel like
there's just no room for growth and learning
within your company or industry. A coach will
help you figure out if there are creative ways to
advance or if a career change is what you need to
feel 'un-stuck' and excited about your future."

• 4.You're Not Getting Promoted Or Advancing In
  Your Career

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So what happens when you have an OK job, but it's
not what you really want to be doing? It may be
time to consider a career coach. "Not being sure
what you want to do with your life may happen
right after college when you're entering the
workforce or it could happen years down the track
when you decide you don't want to do what you're
doing anymore," Wood says. "Many of our clients
come to us after years in very successful careers
which they are no longer interested in or
fulfilled by, but have no idea what they want to
do instead. A good career coach will help you
reflect on your own abilities and motivators and
will help you craft a career plan which matches
who you are as an individual, so that you can not
only achieve great success but also personal
fulfillment."

• 5. You Forgot About Your True Career Goals

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Whenever you are unsure about something, you may
experience anxiety or nervousness, and this may
be related to your career, too. So, it may be
time for a professional to step in and help you.
"Because coaching helps you be introspective and
build a better understanding of yourself, your
goals and actions will be more aligned with who
you are and what you need to be happy," Wood
says. "Though your coaching may have been geared
toward career progression or developing certain
skills, you will also be finding ways to do more
work that you enjoy and eliminate the behaviors
which make you dissatisfied at work."

• 6.You Have Anxiety Or Are Nervous About The Future

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Perhaps you were a business major and started
working in your field after college. But, after a
few years, you realized you're not a business
person like you thought you were. Now what? Often
professionals are stuck in jobs they don't like
because they are unsure what else they could be
doing, Coachultant (Coach Consultant). A good
career coach will analyze your skills and
interests to help you understand what your goals
are and then help you reach them."

• 7.You Don't Know What To Do With Your Life

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You may have the opposite issue and have too many
interests and need to focus on one or two at a
time. "Learn before you leap," Gwen Lane, Capital
One Workshop Lead, tells Bustle. "If you're
thinking about a career change and you're unsure
of what it would really be like to do something
else, try it out first. Look for a short-term
volunteer, freelance, or internship opportunity
in the evenings or on weekends to see if this is
something you are really going to pursue.
Schedule informational interviews with people in
the same position you see yourself in so that you
can ask questions and get more familiar with your
potential new career. Learn as much as you can
before you make any big decisions."

• 8.You Feel Like You Have Too Many Interests

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"Once you've decided on making your career shift,
it's time to figure out your next steps," Lane
says. "If you need to acquire a certification or
take classes, this is the time to create an
action plan with deadlines to keep yourself on
track while you're still at your current job.
Clear deadlines are the lifelines to your next
career. It's also time to network to new work.
Think about your current relationships and
perhaps making new ones. Do you know anyone in
the industry or industries that you want to be
in? Are there any events going on with people in
the industry that you want to get into? Start
researching your LinkedIn or Facebook networks
and check out Event rite or Meet up for events.
It doesn't have to feel like networking and only
reaching out to someone 'when you need
something.' It's more about putting yourself out
there, going to events and meeting new people,
and proactively creating connections that foster
an environment for future opportunities.

• 9.You Feel Like You Don't Have Enough Interests

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You and I have all been there at some point
unemployed. Perhaps you send out 5-10 resumes and
cover letters every day when you wake up. But
nothing's working. What should you do? If you
have sent out over 100 resumes and have not
landed the right opportunity, it may be time to
get a second opinion on your strategy. A career
coach will look at everything from resume,
emails, and even LinkedIn, to help you craft a
more cohesive story and strategy.

• 10.You've Been Unemployed For Too Long

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How many of the resumes you send out get you
interviews? You only have one chance to make a
first impression. If you tend to freeze up or
talk too much, get a coach that can help with
mock interviews and walk though different
potential challenging questions. And even if you
are getting interviews, you may need help getting
offers.

• 11.You Need Help With Nailing An Interview

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I'm sure your family and friends are great at
offering you advice. However, sometimes they give
you the advice they would take, what's best for
them like a lifetime at the same company in the
small town they live in versus what's best for
the big-city person that's you. "Working with a
coach helps you identify your strengths and
incorporate them into your work, even if that
wasnt the initial intent of your coaching," Wood
says. "A coach is also there as your professional
wingman/woman, keeping you on track and reminding
you why you are pursuing these goals. With them
by your side, you feel more confident in your
decisions and skills, and more empowered to go
after what you want."

• 12.You Need Advice From Someone Not In Your Inner
  Circle

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Perhaps you have gotten a new job, and it may be
in a whole new field, so you could use some help.
"Congrats on being brave enough to follow your
passions into a completely different industry. It
will be beneficial to have a career coach help
you navigate through the intricacies of your new
career path. Or, you may have gotten promoted at
your current company, but could a boost of help
from an outside source. "Perhaps you just
received a promotion and you are managing people
for the first time, or maybe you are now working
in a remote capacity, which is new for you. A
career coach can help guide you through this
transition and help you build the necessary
skills to be successful in this new position.

• 13.You Need Help Navigating A New Job

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I think one of the best parts about having a
career coach is having someone to hold you
accountable, just like a gym buddy when you want
to workout more. One of the greatest benefits of
having a coach is that you are now accountable to
another person to do the things you said you
would and in the timeframe you said you wanted to
do them, Wood says. Often, we get busy and let
our personal deadlines slip or lose touch with
the inspiration we had when we initially set a
goal a coach keeps those goals top of mind for
you and ensures you stay on track with reaching
them.

• 14.You Need Someone To Hold You Accountable

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Thank You By - Career 5