Hey Siri - define "career coaching" for me please.
According to Growthspace, Career Coaching "is the engagement of an external expert, most often a dedicated coach, to guide an employee in their career choices and help them with challenges in the workplace."
I feel like that definition is equal parts clear and equal parts vague.
The reality is that career coaching means 1000 different things to 1000 different people.
The simplest, and easiest part to package, is resume writing and Professional Profile development. It's simple because it's straightforward and the process doesn't really change all that much.
It's the most straightforward because your resume and LinkedIn profile are the documents you need in order to start your job search.
But what else does "career coaching" mean?
Let's start with a few of the most obvious.
1. Interview Preparation
Your resume has gotten you in the door, now you have to perform. Job interviews can be daunting, intimidating, and stuffy. Those feelings can be magnified if you're a natural introvert or haven't interviewed for a job in a long time.
The key to a successful job interview is your ability to tell relevant stories with confidence.
When we're delivering "career coaching" for clients preparing for an interview, it starts with a mock interview where we use our 15+ years of experience in talent acquisition to develop questions based on a job description and then put our recruiter hat and ask our clients those questions while providing them real time feedback.
Some clients just need the one practice session. Others need more detailed help. That's where we dig more into the coaching and work with our clients on "The Art of Storytelling" and how to answer the types of job interview questions that are being deployed in today's job market.
2. Salary Negotiation
If you thought a job interview caused anxiety within the job market, you haven't considered how you're going to handle the various scenarios that can come up when negotiating your compensation and benefits.
There is more to negotiating a job offer than just salary (read our blog here), but let's keep it simple for this post and just talk numbers.
The old adage is "the first person who speaks" in a salary negotiation is the loser. I simply don't believe that is the case.
Salary negotiations don't have to be hostile and it's best to at least get ballpark figures on the table early. New employment laws around salary transparency vary from state to state, but these have been helpful for job seekers trying to figure out how to position themselves.
3. Job Search Networking
"It's not about what you know, it's about who you know," is the old adage when it comes to networking during your job search.
I would take it one step further and say, "it's not about who you know, it's about who knows you."
Most people dread networking and, in full transparency, I don't particularly enjoy going to networking events. But events are only a small portion of your job search.
We help our clients identify "who knows them" and then help them change the typical networking conversation and make it less transactional and more strategic.
As mentioned earlier, career coaching means 1000 different things for 1000 different people. Additional coaching services we've provided clients include negotiating a raise, managing a performance review, navigating a difficult manager, and angling for a promotion.
If you feel stuck in your job search, contact us and schedule a free intro call to see how we can help.
