So, what can a career coach do for you?

Agility in how you plan for career moves and flexibility in how you react to unexpected career events are key to maintaining momentum and balance throughout the various phases of your career.

Taking time to do some planning or run through possible scenarios (probable and less probable) can be a great help when the time comes to respond to opportunities or setbacks.

Many people will seek out a career coach when they’re under time pressure to consider an opportunity or when they know a forced change is coming that might have an impact on their role or when they’re in the end phase of knowing they want to make a change.

Often we don’t have visibility or time to anticipate events and decisions that might affect our career, so it can be important to do some thinking and clarifying before time, when there isn’t pressure to make significant decisions or take action.

Discussing your current situation and possible scenarios in advance can help you respond in a more considered way when the opportunity or threat presents itself or when you know you have reached the point of needing to make a change.

So, how can a career coach help?

Some tangible outputs from career coaching include:

• More complete understanding of your strengths and weaknesses and how to leverage them

• Identifying any barriers that might be blocking your professional advancement

• Considering what are the right opportunities or range of acceptable options

• Brainstorming ideas, options and research that might be useful

• Planning for action, setting out steps and milestones

• Understanding your professional value; what you offer to current and prospective employers and defining that offering for different audiences

• Deciding on what skills and competencies you might want or need to develop and how you’ll do this

• Providing a safe and confidential space to discuss all aspects of your current situation and your aspirations, concerns and fears.