3 Ways a Career Coach Can Help Improve Your Life
Do you pass the hours at work dreaming of the career you once vowed to pursue? Are you chomping at the bit for a promotion, unable to figure out why you’re always passed over? Are you a fresh high school graduate at a loss about what professional path to pursue? Careers are complicated, and everyone struggles at one point or another. Career coaching is often an ideal solution in such situations.
If you’re at a crossroads in your professional life or feeling unfulfilled in your job, a career coach can be just what you need to get you moving toward a more successful job and a bigger paycheck. Although it does require an investment of both your time and money, the results can be more than worth it if you find the right coach and engage with them regularly to get the most out of your sessions. Of course, this also requires that you’re willing to be honest and vulnerable so that your career coach can determine how to best help you move forward.
We’re aware that career coaching isn’t an investment everyone can make, but we also know that it’s one people rarely regret making because of the tremendous benefits it brings to their lives and careers. So, if you have the means, seriously consider working with a career coach to maximize your professional potential.
Since job satisfaction is key to overall life satisfaction, career coaching can significantly improve your life and bring about positive change much sooner than if you attempt to tackle whatever issues you’re facing by yourself. It may be true that no one knows you as well as you do, but the uncomfortable reality is that most of us don’t know ourselves that well. A career coach is trained to ask the right questions to help you see what you want, and they are skilled at interpreting your answers to extract deeper meaning, thus helping you reach a new level of self-awareness and carve out the right career path for you.
Fleshing out your ambitions isn’t the only way a professional career coach can transform your work life. They’ll also help you set meaningful, realistic goals that put you on the right path, encourage you as you work hard to realize your ambitions, and hold you accountable when you lose sight of what you want. Having the guidance and support of an expert can have a huge impact on your productivity and progress toward your goals, so don’t dismiss the idea of hiring a career coach before considering the substantial returns you can get on this investment.
If you’ve been considering the services of a career coach but are worried about the cost, reach out to our team of professionals and speak to an experienced career coach today to learn more about the costs and advantages of this personalized service. You never know how a career coach can change your life, but here are three ways they can help you improve it.
1. Heighten your sense of fulfillment
Feeling unfulfilled in your job or your career as a whole can have a hugely negative impact on your life, your sense of satisfaction, and, ultimately, your happiness. Given the amount of time and energy we spend on our jobs, it’s no wonder that how much we enjoy our work, how good we feel to be at it, and how closely it aligns with our goals and expectations can significantly affect our overall levels of satisfaction and fulfillment. If you’re on the clock five days a week, your job makes up the largest chunk of your life, and most people define themselves by their occupation—if you’re dissatisfied at work, those feelings will likely follow you home.
Feeling stuck in your job or career can have a detrimental impact on your mental health, which is why a career coach can make a huge difference by helping you surmount the obstacles you struggle to overcome on your own. Asking for help doesn’t make you weak, but fighting something more powerful than you can definitely be draining and counter-productive. Relying on an experienced coach to guide you through the tough decisions and lowest points can go a long way toward improving your overall quality of life. Don’t forget that everyone struggles in their career, even the people at the very top or people you look up to. Everyone’s challenges are different, and everyone’s optimal strategy is different, but for most people, career coaching is an effective way to tackle these challenges.
2. Understand your self-worth
Sometimes, we’re blind to our own qualities and qualifications and need someone else to highlight them for us and help us believe in ourselves. We often judge ourselves much more harshly than others do, so the objective eye of a third party can give us valuable insight into our strengths.
After analyzing your skills, work history, experience, and goals, a career coach can not only help you understand better your strong points and capabilities but also show you how to make other people—such as potential employers or investors—see your worth and pay you what you deserve. They’ll work with you to outline effective strategies for selling yourself and your skills to potential employers, and the boost in confidence you receive will make your pitch much more effective. This is a huge investment in your self-esteem and your future because it will put you on the path to enhancing your professional and personal worth. Getting objective insight into your strengths and weaknesses also helps you determine which qualities you should work on and which you should lean into.
Professional career coaches have plenty of experience working with employees in various fields and industries, meaning they have a unique perspective on what each client has to offer and how much their particular skill sets are worth. This leads to clients feeling more empowered and more confident, which is absolutely crucial to moving forward and boosting your career. You may even discover that a skill you had considered irrelevant to achieving your career goals actually opens the door to a wealth of lucrative new possibilities. So, consider hiring a career coach as an investment in your future, something akin to enrolling in a course or learning a new skill.
3. Make more money
Many people who hire career coaches do so because they’re unhappy with their salary and want to either negotiate better remuneration or find a higher-paying job. After all, no matter how much we like our jobs, at the end of the day, most of us are there for the paycheck. Negotiating a salary increase isn’t easy for everyone, but luckily, career coaches know all about promotions and pay negotiations. Not only that, but a career coach can also help you build up your billable skills, transforming you into an employee who truly deserves higher pay. In addition, you’re bound to grow your confidence as you work with your career coach, which will make it much easier to convince your boss that your work is worth more.
Basically, you need to ask yourself what your career is worth and what you’re willing to do to achieve your goals. Are you prepared to invest time and money into making yourself a more appealing job candidate? Are you ready to face your own weaknesses and insecurities and work on a plan to improve yourself so you can move up and earn more? If you are, then a career coach can help get you there. They can’t achieve your goals for you, but they can give you the advice, guidance, and support you need to get there on your own while they cheer you on from the sidelines.
If you’re feeling unfulfilled in your job or have no idea what career step to take next, career coaching may be just the thing you need. To find out more, check out our various services for job success.