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Could You Use (or Be) a Career Coach?

Guest post by: Terri Levine

Article Overview: Hunkering for a career change? Here are some tips to help you.

Could You Use (or Be) a Career Coach?

Grab a sheet of paper and a pen. Write the answers that pop into your head as you read each question below. Do not spend a lot of time thinking - write fast. Your first answer is usually the right one.

1. What are the things you find positive about your current work environment and experience? (Hours, location, working alone or in teams, skills, etc.)

2. What are the things you dislike about your current work environment and experience? (Hours, location, company, working alone, management, skills, etc.)

3. Do you want to be a clinician, marketer, teacher, administrator or creator? (Choose one)

4. What type of environment do you prefer? (ex: school, hospital, corporation, home office, etc.)

5. What interests you most? (patient care, management, education/training, designing, being your own boss, etc.)

6. What really interests you? What special technique or skill do you have or what product you would love to see developed?

7. Describe your ideal job. (be very specific: what kind of setting, how does it look and feel to you, what kinds of people do you work with, what hours do you work, what are your primary responsibilities, secondary responsibilities, how much money do you make, etc.)

8. List all your hobbies or activities that bring you pleasure. Put down at least 25 - think creatively. What did you enjoy as a child that you no longer do?

9. What makes you happy and brings you joy or pleasure? Create a huge list here - no one else will see this, list everything.

10. List careers that you may find interesting. Ones you have heard about through the media, or that friends have, or of professionals you use, etc. List at least 10 and forget about the qualifications. If you were back in college today, what career might you choose?

11. What are your needs? What fulfills you? List things you must have in order to meet your basic needs. (example: sleep, friends I enjoy, sunshine, etc.)

12. What are your values? These are not things that you can't live without but are things that are important to you. (example: flexible schedule, no weekend work, low stress job, etc.)

13. Review what you have written and define your purpose in life - what is your mission or your reason for being on this planet? Now write your vision, how you want to live your life. (e.g. mission: to help people improve their quality of life and enjoy a balance between work and family; vision: to be surrounded with people who bring me joy and to build a life and career that bring a better quality of life to others).

NOW WHAT?

As you review your answers listen to see what they are saying to you. There is a message in them. Put them aside and pick this back up and read it again in a few days. You may even want to redo it all and see if it still feels like you.

If you are confused or overwhelmed or just want assistance, consider career coaching. Many people experience difficulties during times of transition and uncertainty in their work life. It can be confusing to make major decisions and reach new goals when you are feeling overwhelmed or lack the most current job search methods.

Through career coaching you will have the support to make a career decision, enjoy the process of the job search and bring new possibilities into your work life.

What steps should you take in moving forward?

* Assess your skills, interests and values

* Research and develop focused goals

* Discover new resources and create new networks

* Design a job search campaign that brings results

How would career coaching work for you?

After listening to your concerns, your coach will help you to develop goals and strategies that fit your individualized needs. Your customized career plan will vary depending on your time frame, personal and professional needs. Coaching sessions are designed to guide you, providing specific ideas, tools and resources along the way.

Services would include:

* Interest inventories

* Skills identification

* Values clarification

* Goal setting techniques

* Decision making tools

What strategies might be employed?

* Individualized job search plan

* Networking and informational interview contacts

* Resume development form an employer's perspective

* Use of on-line services

* Effective interviewing techniques

* Staying motivated by keeping supported

As a result of coaching, people have discovered the work they really loved and valued, reclaimed old dreams and put them into action, understood their vocational self for the first time, freed themselves from "career paralysis", designed a successful job search plan, and developed and effectively pursued new goals while continuing at their current job. Coaching is completely confidential and done through weekly phone contact and e-mail support, so no matter where you live, you can get the support and techniques necessary for you to develop and reach your optimum potential. It is about you and your goals!

Maybe you have read this and found being able to help people in this manner resonates with you, in which case maybe your next career choice could well be career coaching. Everything is possible for those with the desire and the passion.

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Article Tags: career change, career coach, coaching, job satisfaction, personal development



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Re: Business Coaching Resources - You're fortunate when you can find a Business Coach who has experience beyond where you've been and even where you are going. When your budget is slim and even after, it's good to have a mentor. Several of various backgrounds are very useful. They can be teachers, professors, pastors, business people, family members, bosses and former bosses. You have to be clear on what you want and what you desire to achieve, be able to convey it as simply as possible. Stop and listen and don't over tax their time. You should always expect results whether from a Business Coach or Mentors. If you're not gtting results, you're either not focused or you need to upgrade the quality of your mentors/coaches. Always surround yourself by people smarter than you.
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Book: Comeback Moms - Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years Monica Samuels and J. C. Conklin 2006 Jacket: Millions of educated, professional women are quitting their jobs to stay home and raise their children. That would never be you, right? You worked hard for your degree and even harder to get to this point in your career. Quitting now, even for a few years, would kill your career, right? That's what Monica Samuels thought when she found out she was pregnant... Over 60 percent of professional women who leave work to raise children want to get back into the workforce someday. If you even think you might want to go back to work, be it in one year or twenty, you need to lay the groundwork now for a successful reentry or your options will be limited. 1. Quitting: When is the best time to cut the cord 2. Feathering the nest: How to financially prepare before you quit 3. Departure strategies: leaving the office 4. Money and Power: Constructing a new life on the home front 5. Backlash: handling family, friends and angry strangers 6. One foot in, one foot out: How can they miss you if you don't really go away? 7. Part time: It ain't perfect, but it's doable 8. Going back: the when and how of returning to work full time 9. Career counseling: When you need a change 10. Entrepreneurs: True Stories Resources Index
Re: Want to be a published author? - Thanks for sharing some options out there for us, Ladies! I'm one of those people who have a number of books in the works, but haven't quite finished them yet... I think I need to bring this up with my own Coach, but that's another story! *LOL* Anyhow, it's nice to know what I can do about it all when I'm ready. Shri, I'll keep you in mind when the time comes! Thanks again, Tami


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