Career coaching incorporates a number of strategies throughout the process. As a highlight of both the process and the strategies, what follows is a typical flow of the coaching engagement:
Big Picture – explore what the client wants in all areas of their life for awareness of influencing factors and competing priorities.
Options – ask the client to brainstorm multiple options and then explore the possibilities for each.
Focus – empower the client to choose their focus based on their awareness of all considerations and opportunities achieved in the first two steps.
Preparation – strategize how the client wants to prepare for their objectives including their own training or experience, their resume, and their network.
Practice – during coaching sessions practice networking conversations, informational interviews, interviews, and negotiating.
Planning – empower the client to design their specific plan of action and to implement it.
Motivation – support ongoing motivation by visualizing the outcome, building confidence, and celebrating steps along the way.
Adjusting – as the client progresses review their progress and explore where they want to make adjustments to further enhance their results.
In addition to the coaching process, at various stages training or consulting is also incorporated. For example, assessment tools may be used to add ideas and insight when exploring options. Training sometimes makes sense during the preparation phase. Occasionally consulting on job search strategies is helpful during the planning process. When balanced and defined the additional services are a great add-on for the coaching work.