What does a topnotch Career Coach look like, anyway?

Looking back to my comments on Agents….there are strong similarities.

Which stalwart professional - technical or otherwise - hasn’t stopped mid-track during the day, or woken up in the middle of the night and wondered what else was out there for them to do with their lives? A quality recruiter is standing in the wings waiting to deliver you to that searing question. However, the person most qualified to help you answer that question is someone beyond average recruitment skill sets who takes you into the realm of Career Coaching.

Step one will be to help you figure out what you dislike about your current role. Is it matching what you have in your mind as your Ideal Job? What is it you dislike about the role you have in comparison to the one in your perfect mind’s eye?

Perhaps it’s the technological environment. Perhaps it’s the actual work you’re immersed in daily. Perhaps it’s your boss or a colleague or two. Your engagement with a top flight Career Coach should begin with soul-searching discussions with you about what you’re desiring to get accomplished that you’re not getting a crack at now, and what would make you feel complete professionally.

That information is just an intro, and only scratches the surface. Your next step requires examining your current work from the perspective of what success or failure you’ve had. A look at your most significant accomplishments. The skillsets you’ve most improved upon in the past two years. The opportunities you’ve been given, and those you’ve created in your current role. What would you most like to change about your career at this point in time?

Not to mention working at a deep level with you to question what your best career experiences have been up to this point. How about looking at the size of the organization or the cultural fit you thrive in? Do you have that now? If you haven’t asked yourself about these essential work elements lately, you might just have found the pin sticking into your side.

As a Career Coach and Recruiter passionately focused on both the technicals and the personalities of the people I work with, I am essentially a Matchmaker. The companies I represent are searching for highly-experienced candidates and those with key expertise they require - peerless performers who will deliver their corporate goals. This mission puts me in a position to search for someone to convince me they’ll be a good fit for the role I am representing. At the end of the day, only by working indepth with you will I succeed in making sure my client company sees you the way you want to be seen, and equally ensure that my client gains a new hire who is 100% committed to the work ahead, and will stay the course.

Many people begin this quest by writing their Mission Statement. Career experts have long recommended it. A good Career Coach is there to amplify your hopes, dreams, aspirations and expectations, and run with that gameplan to help you decide whether to start looking around…. or to jump ship when you get an offer.

In any personal assessment, a strong Career Coach is also going to help you look straight into your soul to examine your assets, along with the life experiences that you bring to the table. Following upon that, as a Recruiter, this is what I need to deliver to my client in relation to any position I'm involved with. Do you have skills and assets firmly in place and ready to offer? An excellent Recruiter isn’t speaking with you about a specific role or any salary expectations you may have unless you’ve got game.

Any Career Advisor worth their weight will advise you to weigh job offers carefully to make sure you’re not hastily jumping into a situation you’ll regret. Nevertheless, there are good reasons to make the leap. An offer that promises challenge and advancement ranks at the top of criteria that give real job satisfaction as opposed to money. A trusted Recruiter who’s looking out for your interests won’t let you be motivated by short-term financial gain.

In all my years of Personal and Career Coaching and Recruiting, I never once found that skill sets, education and experience alone closed the deal. Rather, it was the cultural fit. This explains why a top reason cited for making a change is a “more compatible work culture,” and why the first thing you would want to do before considering any job change is to evaluate all of the intangibles alongside the tangibles.

My advice? Begin by writing your Wish List of 10 things you want in your career. Make the Top 5 dealbreakers –without them, you won’t budge. The remaining 5 are negotiable.

In the best case scenario, you need to figure out what you want from your work, and ultimately your career.

If, after considering all the positives and negatives of what would make you feel passionate to get to your desk, you find that the grass is greener somewhere else, the guiding hand of a great Career Coach should walk you straight to the end of the dock for the dive.