Coaching – GPS for Your Career

Career coaching is a fabulous GPS for launching, reinventing, or advancing your career because the coach works with you on defining your direction and implementing your step-by-step movement toward your objectives.  As with a GPS, it starts by finding where you are now and then the directions are determined based on where you want to go.  A simple example of this in career coaching is using the following for exploration and prioritization:

1. Highlight what is on your existing resume.
2. Describe your education and experience.
3. Describe your ideal career path.
4. Prioritize the type of work you want and rank the related work tasks.
5. Describe how you are searching for a job or how you are advancing in your career.
6. Prioritize the coaching focus by ranking this list:
   • Defining the ideal job
   • Exploring career options
   • Creating a strategy for a promotion
   • Enhancing resume
   • Expanding job search strategies
   • Planning job search
   • Preparing for interviews
   • Practicing interviews
   • Follow-up on leads, applications, resume submissions, and interviews
   • Negotiating title, responsibilities, salary, and benefits
   • Starting a new position

Career coaching is often combined with training and consulting.  This makes sense because the training provides information, the consulting provides expertise, and the coaching then supports you determining, planning, and implementing the routes you choose.