How To Know When You’re Ready To Work With a Career Coach
If you’re not feeling fulfilled in your career and want to know what kind of support is out there to figure out what’s next and take inspired actions, this post is for you!
Could working with a career coach be the best next step for you? Complete the interest form and book an initial conversation.
10 key attributes of people who are ready to receive support to improve their careers
These are the qualities I've noticed in the clients who've had the most impactful experiences through our work together.
I want that for you, too! Why? Because when you're ready and excited to do the work, you bring a certain energy and dedication that shape your experience and results.
Score your readiness
To help you determine your readiness, score each attribute between 1-10 (with 10 being a strong "yes").
At the end, tally up your points.
Reminder, in case you have perfectionistic tendencies, a score that's not 100 is totally fine! This is more about being honest with yourself than about getting a high score.
1. You want support to increase your clarity and direction
You’re not sure exactly what changes you want to make in your career, but you want a supportive space to figure it out and take intentional action.
You know that things could be better, and you're not sure where to start. You recognize that the answers will reveal themselves as you engage with the necessary steps.
Many of the core steps are the same from person to person, but the details will vary for you, based on your unique needs. And once we start working together, we will co-create an experience that is focused on your unique needs.
2. You’re ready to learn to stop letting your fears hold you back
Fear about possibly making “the wrong decision” might have been holding you back. Maybe this has been preserving your status quo and making you feel stuck.
When you have a guide to help you learn to come from love instead of fear, you accept your situation, yourself, and those around you. You see supporters instead of competitors all around you. You realize that you don’t need to go it alone because there are people with gifts and experiences you can learn from and partner with. You don’t punish yourself for being imperfect.
You use your wins and increasing awareness of your strengths to catapult you toward what you're meant to be doing at this moment in your life.
3. You're eager to build & maintain momentum
Something that's been lacking for you is momentum. You find that you're constantly starting and stopping when it comes to advancing your career goals.
You put in lots of effort for a certain period of time and then when things don't work out, you go into burnout mode. You hit pause, possibly for several months, and then try to restart the process.
The problem is, you're rusty. You don't have a portfolio that is up-to-date and relevant. You don't feel confident about certain skills such as interviewing or negotiating. And you haven't been consistently engaging with your network.
I've been there!
Instead of being reactive and scrambling to get your act together while competing with droves of people, you want to hone your ability to take a sustainable, proactive approach to your career. That way, you can anticipate opportunities and be positioned for them.
You recognize that all of the challenges you’ve been experiencing in your professional life did not come into existence overnight. Like dental plaque, the challenges have built up over time.
Learning and consistently using best practices also requires time. You can speed this up by having a capability partner who can help you reduce the overwhelm so you can take intentional action and create a fulfilling career. Building momentum will help you generate small wins along the way so you can develop a sense of hope and feel energized by your progress.
I'm here to help you identify your strengths as well as what's not working and how you can approach things differently to advance your goals. We will develop a strategy to help you hone in on the necessary steps to take. As a result, you'll notice that your stress melts away -- you feel more relaxed and more present in the moment. This presence will help you approach situations with more clarity and purpose.
4. You’re ready to be the boss of your career
Despite feeling like you can't trust yourself, you are ready to be bold. You are ready to take steps that will help you look back on your life and say, "I made the most of it!"
You're ready to make some changes, despite your concerns that things may not turn out as you'd imagined.
As we work together, your confidence is likely to grow within a matter of weeks, because the work is designed to have that effect, and it consistently does.
As you increase your self-awareness through our work together, you become more in tune with your strengths, your accomplishments, your interests, and your goals. So too, as you feel more prepared for whatever may come your way (a layoff, a merger, a promotion, a new job, a move, etc.), you build your confidence. It is a virtuous cycle.
5. You can allocate the necessary time & focus
You’ve looked at your calendar and you feel confident that you are prepared to dedicate the necessary time and focus — typically 5+ hours per week for activities.
Everyone is different and moves at their own pace. Whereas someone with a high level of clarity might only need 2-3 months of support to achieve their goals, someone with a lower level of clarity about what they want will typically benefit from longer-term support.
"I used to always think, in a few months things will be quieter...things will be easier,” shares my client Jill S. So, she put off focusing on her career until things got to a point where she was eager to receive support to clarify her goals and take intentional action.
Jill S. shares that her new approach to making herself a priority is helping prepare her for the future. "I wish I had done this three years ago, but I'm very grateful I was finally able to participate."
6. You’re open to doing the work
You’re ready to look inward and take responsibility for what you control. You’re ready to accept support from a coaching professional to examine your mindset and practices. This may feel scary -- and that's normal!
You're feeling ready to stretch yourself and discover new ways to approach your career.
You’re ready to invest in yourself and show up for yourself - consistently.
Whatever the particular challenges in your life, you're ready to learn to face them in a new way.
7. You’re on your health journey
You’re taking steps to care for your health — mental, emotional, and physical health, and have support systems in place. You feel that you have the bandwidth to focus on improving your professional well-being.
8. You want to learn
You love to learn! You are not only focused on the promotion or new job you want in the next few months. You're seeking to invest in your continuous learning and development in a longer-term way.
You view your career as a journey, not a destination. You believe in establishing a solid foundation for the house before you focus on the decor if you know what I mean.
It's important to you to learn ways to make each day the best it can be, regardless of external factors. You don't control your boss, but you can open yourself up to learn self-leadership practices that will enable you to manage your thoughts and actions.
9. You’re ready to invest the necessary resources
Any type of meaningful change requires a certain amount of focus, whether it's improving your physical health, growing your retirement savings, or being able to play more sophisticated songs on your piano.
I'm going to tell you how it is! Working with a coach involves time, money, and energy. If you’re not ready to invest meaningfully in all of these dimensions, you’re not ready right now.
On the other hand, if you are ready to invest in your learning, growth, and development and are motivated to bring about a strong return on your investment, you have the ability to use the tools and support provided to you to create an extremely valuable experience.
10. You're still reading this post
If you are still reading this post, that's a good sign. You may have the drive to learn and explore that will serve you well as a coaching client.
Recap
There you have it -- 10 ways to know that you have the bandwidth and desire to be more strategic in your career, with the help of a partner.
Your score
What score did you give yourself? If your score is 80+, let's explore working together. This could be an incredible opportunity for you to progress. And here's why...
My clients who have the most powerful experiences working with me all have the bandwidth, the desire, and the readiness to face their fears and be more strategic.
Next steps
You’re feeling ready
If you're feeling ready and you think it could be a good match, I'll be excited to co-create a terrific, personalized experience with you.
Let's find out! If this post helped you realize that you're ready, express your interest. Let's get started clarifying and exploring.
You’re not feeling ready yet
If you're not ready, it's OK! My hope is that this post helped you realize what you need to become ready. You might decide to take some steps to ready yourself and get in touch in the future.
As you get ready to receive support with your career and professional development, resources on my website such as the reading recommendations and other blog posts could be of value.
You might re-read this post in a few months and assign points to each question again, and compare it to today's score. If your score goes up substantially, it could be an indication that you're becoming more ready to move forward.
Career Development Resources
National Career Development Association
Your school’s career office
Your county/state career services center
US Department of Labor
