The tight job market and the shrinking of some industries has caused many professionals to reconsider their career paths. Some go back to school for training, others are starting at the bottom in a new field. Using a life or career coach can help during the exploration process — and steer you on the right path.
Joanne Victoria, a life coach of 25 years, says people who are unhappy in their current jobs or lost their job may be worried about the future and have no perspective about the “big picture,” and a professional can help bring back the focus, working collaboratively with the client.
“(Together) we look at where they are, what they want and how I can help them develop the strategy to get there,” says Victoria, who is an author of two books and the owner of New Directions in Silverdale (www.joannevictoria.com). “…They have to take stock of transferable skills. It’s a matter of what’s going on in their lives that will help them get to the next step. I’m able to look at things in a micro way.”
Bill Branson, a Gig Harbor coach and consultant, and owner of Strategic Business Architects (www.linkedin.com/in/billbranson), says the most important part in career transitions is knowing yourself, including passions, strengths and weaknesses. “If you know yourself well and know how to articulate it, you can take the next step, telling the world who you are and getting traction,” he says.
Knowing yourself means personal branding — a buzz phrase that entails creating a professional image used to market yourself, similar to how a product has a brand.
“You’re exuding who you are and things you’re excited about and people will recognize that,” Branson explains the concept of a personal brand. “It will also repel some people, which is good because you don’t want to be working for those people… If you do it correctly, it’s the opposite of false advertising.”
A coach can be a sounding board and a mirror in this process, Branson says, and help look at things from all sides. The coach can also keep you accountable, much like a personal trainer would.
Victoria says there is typically no cookie-cutter approach to career coaching, and her method depends on a person’s circumstances and the reason for the transition: It is someone close to retirement who just needs a new job for a while, for example, or is it a young person with a college degree who realized he or she doesn’t like the choice made? Or maybe it’s someone underutilized at work and simply needs a different position instead of an entirely new career. “I can teach people how to create their own position within the context in which they’re in,” she says.
She says the most difficult part about career transitions is the actual doing of the work, figuring out what transferable skills and undiscovered talents you may have. Another key is self-confidence, and she trains people how to be more confident in themselves. “Confidence is vital. If you don’t have confidence, you’re very needy and employers don’t want to hire needy people,” she says.
You could also work with a wellness coach who can help you with a more holistic approach to your life. Rae Hight, owner of Moxie Consultation (www.raehight.com) in Port Orchard, says career transition could be a stressful time in someone’s life, which means people tend to ignore health issues like good eating habits, or their relationships.
“No matter what the circumstances are, whether a person made a choice to change a job or someone made the choice for them, it’s unsettling,” she says. “It’s really important for them to become centered so they can see the whole picture.”
Hight says a wellness coach can look at the physical and emotional aspects of transitioning, and help you create a system for dealing with them in an organized way. “Part of the organization is almost like taking an internal inventory, starting with physical health,” she says.
Working with a coach is a highly personal transaction so it’s important to hire someone who’s a good fit. Branson says there should be a certain chemistry and when you first meet with a coach, pay attention whether the session makes you feel energized or neutral (or maybe even worse than before), whether the coach has the personality that complements yours. “One of the most important things in hiring the coach is to be very clear what you want and where you want to be at the end,” he says. “Be really direct about what you think you need.”
