|
Article from ST Recruit, 29th June 2004
GETTING A COACH
With more career coaching services on the market, PAUL HENG offers tips on choosing the right one.
If you are contemplating engaging the services of a coach, it is useful to first understand the difference between a job search coach and a career management coach.
A job search coach assists you in your job search by, for example, helping you to better identify your key strengths and skills, and career objectives.
As well, he may aid you in developing a search strategy and coach you in interview skills. Once you land a job offer, he will guide you in salary negotiations and play a behind-the-scenes role to secure you a fair and equitable deal.
The career management coach, however, helps you to focus on broader issues related to your career as a whole. He will typically take you on a journey that examines where you came from, where you are now and where you wish to go.
Every person should take charge of his own career. However, it is useful to have a coach to provide an avenue for on-going discussions and bounce off ideas against. A career management coach will help you take a holistic view of your career by also focusing on other areas such as work-and-life balance, financial situation and personal aspirations.
A career management coach is typically engaged for a longer period than a search coach as the latter tends to work on a project basis. You should consider these when selecting your career coach:
Accreditation
Though it is useful to seek out coaches who are professionally qualified, do not write off those who aren’t. They may have enough working experience, exposure and maturity to be effective.
Professional and personal background
Your coach-to-be should preferably have a mix of senior-level experience in western multinational companies, local-owned firms, government-linked companies and even community-based or voluntary organisations. This is important as personal experience counts when dishing out advice on such issues as differences in work cultures.
Age and cultural background also matter. It would be ill-advised to select a coach who is too young to have the experience or maturity, or one who has just come to Singapore. A seasoned traveller exposed to different cultures is a plus, especially if he has a deep understanding and appreciation of local idiosyncrasies.
With a global, borderless business world, it is critical that your coach have a regional, if not an international perspective.
Client references
Most coaches are bound by their clients to preserve client confidentiality and most clients would prefer not to talk to others about their coaching experience.
However, you should ask to speak to a few clients of your potential coach. And a fundamental question you must then ask the client is: “How have you benefited from the coaching intervention?”
Coaching methodology
You may be asking: “What should I do?” If your coach offers advice, listen to him but you must make your own decisions — simply because it is your career and life. Coaching advice should be restricted to a minimum.
An effective career coach provides the right framework and leads you to answers that you seek. He should not be providing the answers all the time. Ask for a trial session and assess the coaching style.
If he insists on following a pre-set format, ask how often he varies this. No two clients’ needs are similar, hence the approach and formats must vary too.
The use of psychometric testing instruments (to understand personality types, strengths, weaknesses and so on) could be useful but to a limited extent. Perhaps a good rule of thumb could be one, or at most two. Do not be awed by a coach who proposes the extensive use of such instruments.
Right chemistry
Do you feel comfortable relating to the coach you plan to engage? It would be disastrous if both the coach and client do not have the right chemistry to begin with. I once lost a corporate client-sponsored coaching assignment because the individual preferred a female coach. I was happy to have lost this as it would have been an assignment doomed to failure if the client had insisted that the individual accept me as her coach.
Well-informed and well-networked
Ask pertinent questions about the state of the job market, what industries are booming, which are on the way out, which jobs are hot and which are not. An effective coach should be up-to-date on such issues, preferably with regional basis, as more people now seek career challenges and opportunities at the regional and international levels.
If you are seeking a job search coach, it is a given that he must be well-networked not just in the corporate world but also in academia and community-based organisations.
Identifying and engaging an appropriate career coach can be a time-consuming process. Do not rely on just e-mail exchanges or phone conversations. Take the time and effort to meet potential coaches and ask pertinent questions before making a decision.
Most coaches charge by the hour and this can range from $100 to $300, or more. Do not view it as extra expenditure but as an investment in your career. After all, your career is a major part of your life and the major determinant of your happiness and peace of mind.
|
Programs 