There are quite a few misunderstandings about career coaching. For that reason, I have listed a number of them, plus some more explanation.
A career coach maps out my future
You take a test, it shows what you have to do and so you do it. Sounds simple doesn't it? Unfortunately it is not that simple. There is much more to making the right choice in your career. Who are you as a person? How is your current situation? And what are your short and long term ambitions? The role of the career coach is to investigate and identify possible future scenarios that suit you. Together we look at how this can then be made possible. The final step lies with you, when you choose which direction you want to take.
Career coaching is only for job seekers
Not only people who are out of work are walking around with career questions. Perhaps you are now in a place that does not feel quite right, or you feel that you are ready for the next step. But you don't really know why that place isn't right, or what that next step should be. It is precisely these questions that a career coach can help you find an answer to. Learning more about who you are as a person and what suits you will make it easier to find something that really fits. And you can also take that step in your current job.
Career coaching is for when you really want to do something completely different
Maybe you really want to start that bed and breakfast in France. But I also speak to people who are not completely satisfied with their current role and who eventually manage to adjust it after coaching so that it does fit. We call that job crafting. You really don't have to throw everything overboard for that. In fact, drastically changing course is often not the best solution at all.
A career coach knows everything about the labor market
Of course, a career coach knows where the best opportunities lie at the moment and which network is most useful for this. But that does not mean that a career coach has every possible position on the labor market ready in the back of his mind. That is not necessary at all, because you often know best what opportunities there are within your own field. Instead of playing an employment agency, a career coach is much more focused on helping you to gain more insight into your wishes and qualities and to teach you how to convey them better. It is a process of self-development that will ultimately help you get to that desired job. And therefore also worth much more than just suggesting possible jobs.
Career coaching cannot solve my communication problems at work
Feeling at ease at work has a lot to do with communicating well with your colleagues. If there is a lot of misunderstanding or if you have the feeling that you are not given enough space, this can make the workplace a lot less pleasant for you. By gaining more insight into your natural way of communicating as an introvert and how that relates to that of your colleagues, you can learn to look at situations in a different way. This new perspective can help you feel better at work. Career coaching can certainly help to improve communication and therefore also the work atmosphere.
Would you like to know more about the possibilities for career coaching? Feel free to contact me about the possibilities.
