When you are looking for career guidance, make sure you’re clear on the kind of Executive Career Coach you’re looking for, and be willing to hear hard truths… “yes-men” need not apply!
If you came to me as a client and said “I’ve decided I need a change of direction in my career. I want to be an astronaut.” I would most likely tell you it’s not going to happen. My job isn’t to tell you “Yes” to any career plan you make, it’s to prepare you for your next job search with the skills you have already developed, and to help you plan to market yourself successfully for a job you’re qualified to have. So, unless you’ve already been working with the Canadian Space Agency, or are leaving a job in the U.S. with NASA, I’m professionally obligated to tell you that being an astronaut is off the table!
A good Executive Career Coach should help you plan your job search based on what skills and experience you have, or based on the skills and experience you plan to acquire. Your Executive Coach should have enough knowledge to help you decide if you can make the leap from one career to another as you are, or when to decide to go back to school or make a lateral move to gain additional experience.
Great Executive Career Coaches can then help you create a great resume, develop your personal brand, practice interviewing techniques, help guide you to network more effectively, and walk you the first few steps down the path toward a new or progressing career that is a great fit for you.
Some of the hardest parts of my job as a professional Executive Career Coach are when I have to tell people they aren’t being realistic about setting new career goals. Some of the best parts about my job are when I show people how they can make their career goals and dreams into reality! My clients can trust my advice, because they know I will tell them if their plan isn’t viable.
I celebrate my clients’ successes, and I love my collection of stories about how my clients have grown their careers to heights they could once barely imagine. I’m also proud of the moments when I was able to inject reality into those career plans. Some job or career changes require more education, lateral movement to gain additional skills, or leaving beloved jobs because there’s no room for growth in that organization. Telling those truths can be hard, hearing those truths can be even harder.
When you need career guidance, hire an Executive Career Coach who is willing to tell you those hard truths. “Yes-men” need not apply, because they can’t help you make the leap into the career you want, or help you get qualified to do the job of your dreams.
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