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October 01, 2007

Feeling Lost in Your Career? Get a Coach

Nine years ago today I was one month into my first professional job (I’m not counting my five years as a paperboy or my off-and-on stints cutting bagels in college). I was working as a study abroad advisor and recruiter at a state university in Central New York, a role that often had me marching into classrooms all over campus and telling students how a summer, semester or full academic year overseas just might change their lives.

I was young, wide-eyed, idealistic, confident and full of ideas. I had my whole career in front of me and knew long term, I was going places. The only problem was, I just couldn’t figure out the next step on that long road to professional glory.

What I really could have used was a career coach.

Career coaches are the people who keep you on your toes. They teach you to set meaningful goals for yourself and to create an action plan for meeting -- and exceeding -- those goals. Coaches also challenge you to take on projects that are outside of your comfort zone today in order to become a more knowledgeable worker tomorrow.

And the really good coaches? You’ll sometimes curse them for holding you to such high standards -- but then you’ll thank them later.

Today I do have a mentor; in fact, I have a few of them. And my career is infinitely richer because of their wisdom, teachings and support.

So who guides you along your career path? Tell us in the comments below.

In the meantime, here are a few Monster resources on career mentoring and coaching:

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Posted by Bryan on October 1, 2007 at 04:17 PM in Career Development | Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBack (0)

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Comments

I tried other things before I became a career coach, including jobs I was not good at, got fired from, etc.

However, when I had the "electric light moment" in my head when I was doing part of my internship at the career center in Walnut Creek, CA, I had to actually coach people when they came to the center for help. I did not choose who they were. They were assigned to us as students to work with on their career needs.
I realized I could do this well. I haven't looked back.

I guess what we all need is to find and experience what we are good at! I did, and at middle-age.
Marilyn J. Tellez, M.A. Graduate of JFKU career program
Certified Career & Job Transition Coach
e-mail: doitnow@nwinfo.net

Posted by: Marilyn J. Tellez, M.A | Oct 2, 2007 4:55:30 PM

Advisement to career coaches, please take note of the current job market trends, in the nation and the metropolitan area you are servicing your clients.
I have used career coaches, recently and received etheral results, such as, "do what you like," and that doesn't work in a competetive, techinical, industry specific, and down sizing marketplace.

Please coaches be concrete with your assistance.
Thank you for your attention.

Posted by: M | Oct 9, 2007 1:47:25 PM

The problem with getting a coach, for me, is twofold: 1.) Money (the fact that I've been unemployed for five years, and have no income whatsoever creates problems... I've not been able to find anything in life that's "free")... and 2.) The fact that such a career coach will not understand the unique issues I face due to my Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I nearly choked my alumni career counselor because he would not let me list what I can't do. He kept going into that "don't say no" mode- and that just isn't reality. There are indeed things that people can't do, most often due to the way other people run things.

If you can point me at a coach willing to listen to what I can't do (travel, manual labor, customer service, phone work and so on) and suggest valid ideas that fit my skill set- for free- I'd love to know about it! Because after five years of trying to come up with a solution myself, I keep spinning my wheels or get shut down when I do get an idea (like not being able to return to school since I can't get a grant, due to already having a degree.)

Posted by: Jaym | Oct 9, 2007 7:48:50 PM

I haven't begun a professional career yet but maybe you guys can help me out. Currently I am a part time student working on my Bachelor's in Psychology with a minor in Sociology. I plan to get my Master's and would like to receive my LPC (licensed practicing counselor) certificate. I want to be a shrink. I like listening to other people's problems and helping them out. Anyway, I have worked in restaurants all my life. I am a key employee at a corporation next in line to become a manager. They earn about 45,000 a year without the need for a degree. I know that I don't want to do that as a career and have chosen to leave my job at a corporation and work in a family owned bar as a bartender and make the same, if not more, amount of money as I am making now, about 400-500 a wk. Not a lot but for a student it is. Is this a mistake? Isn't America and most of it's wealth built around corporations? Help?

Posted by: Adrian | Oct 10, 2007 2:14:01 AM

Fitness Coaches will tell you "no pain, no gain!". This little gem is just the same with career coaching. Human nature says you will always stretch that little further when you have have someone working alongside you, pushing you to excel. Career Coaches will tell you the truth; push you out of your comfort zone; and ensure you are using the best strataegy to get where you want to be. At first it may seem daunting, but as you see your progress you will never regret your decision or turn back!

Jill Kelly, Career Consultant - Career Edge www.careeredge.com.au

Posted by: Jill Kelly, Certified Advanced Resume Writer | Oct 10, 2007 3:46:21 AM

I retired, but, I need a job that pays at least $10.00, per hour. I can do office work, maybe light industrial. I've been looking for a job for 1 month, and haven't found anything. My resume is ok, I don't have any money to spare for a coach. How else can I find a job?

Posted by: PER | Oct 10, 2007 10:19:30 AM

Please proofread and correct your posts. All of the comments here are valid and insightful, but when I see spelling and grammar errors in them, it makes me doubt the credibility and effectiveness of a career coach, or conversely, helps explain a jobseeker’s difficulty in securing a lucrative and fulfilling position. (FYI, I ran this note through two different checking programs and proofread it myself a day after I wrote it, so I’m hoping there are no errors.)

Posted by: B | Oct 10, 2007 1:22:01 PM

To Jill-just an FYI but I believe punctuation marks are supposed to be on the outside of parenthesis. Just had to give you a little roust there. :)

To M: you don't want to do physical labor, travel, customer service, or phone calls. That doesn't leave you a whole lot of options. For someone that has been unemployed for five years, I think you might be a little too picky. We are working in an ever-increasing services-driven industry and all of those attributes (minus the manual labor) are all qualities that you need in the services field. Now that I think about it, I can't find one job where you don't need at least one of those skills. I'd do some serious thinking about what you "can't" do and what you just don't "want" to do.

Posted by: Adam | Oct 10, 2007 2:46:16 PM

To B:

I'm not sure if you understand the nature of M's difficulties.

M has indicated having an Anxiety Disorder. S/he may truly be hampered by an inability to perform certain tasks. You wouldn't stuff a person with claustrophobia into an elevator and tell them to "suck it up" (unless they're in some sort of therapy program and you're supposed to subject them to such things).

I don't feel you addressed his/her concerns in a very constructive manner.

To M: Have you tried looking for a "Nonprofit Center" (i.e. "The Greater Sheboygan Nonprofit Center" or "The Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee") in your area? These types of organizations frequently have folks who volunteer specifically to help people find jobs. You might also look for a nonprofit organization for persons with life challenges, with a career counseling program that might be available to you for no cost. And they will, hopefully, better understand your needs - and help you find a fit for your abilities.

Best of luck! JC

Posted by: Jennifer | Oct 10, 2007 3:40:26 PM

To Adam: The names that are attributed to each poster come after the post, not at the top, so I think your criticisms of Jill's grammar belong to B. However, if the full sentence is contained in parenthesis, the punctuation should be parenthetical, too. I believe what you're thinking of is when there are parentheses at the end of a thought, but which do not contain an entire thought, the punctuation goes after the parentheses (like this).

I know this is off-topic, but I couldn't let it go! It's in my blood.

It's not the first time I've seen people get confused on the boards about whose comment is whose. Maybe Monster ought to come up with a less confusing way to attribute posts and comments to their owner.

Posted by: GrammarGirl | Oct 10, 2007 6:08:09 PM

Just a quick point in this follow up- everyone seems to be looking at the wrong names on this! M isn't the one with the Anxiety Disorder- that would be me, Jaym. And it was Adam, not B, making the suggestions that all of jobs require at least one of those skills! The names go under the comments and separator line. =D

As to Adam's comments, I certainly wish that it was a matter of my just "not wanting" to do something. Instead, as anyone with Anxiety Disorder can tell you, it is a matter of not being able to do it- or, if you do go ahead with it, you'll pay for it greatly in the near future.

It is not like a phobia, where you can expose yourself to heights to overcome your fear of heights. It's not a curable thing, for some people (and I'm one of the lucky ones that can't have it cured.)

I was a virtual reality developer- my tasks involved sitting at a desk, with some headphones on listening to music and getting the project done. I didn't have to speak to a ton of strangers on the phone, I didn't have to travel to (many) places- and those trips I was made to go on were unnecessary. No outdoors work, no danger of harm to myself, no customers off the street. Just work, on a computer, mostly by myself or a handful of other team members. I can't continue this work because the companies involved in the field all under-schedule their projects, selling something that should take 8 months to a year to finish to a client for a 2 month deadline. I missed most of my entire 20's to working 7 days a week, no less than 12 hours a day for nearly 8 years! Simply too much work, and I can't continue to do it. The bad part is the skills I used were very niche, and therefore I do not have the same development skills the kids do coming out of college. Therefore, competing with them over a job in this terrible job market is a nightmare- few companies want to hire someone who'll need to learn as they go- plus, that's a situation I've not been in before. I've always been the best developer at each place I've worked.

There are jobs that do not require travel, customer contact, phone work, physical labor and so on... it just seems that in my case society doesn't want to allow me to engage in any of them- apparently, if you have anxiety disorder, it's expected you must constantly deal with people, fly all over the nation, and work as many hours as possible. After all- life is overrated, right? Let's just hurry on that heart attack!

Eventually, when my family support runs out, I'll be forced into a high school kids' job, not making enough cash to live on in the first place. So, when you step into your local McDonald's and you start to give your order, don't complain when the middle-aged cashier collapses on the floor in front of you, unable to speak. And I'm not paying for the ambulance, either. =P


(Jennifer: Thanks for the tip on the nonprofit centers, I can look into that and see if there's any such organization around here! Again, my luck finding quality free help has failed entirely, but it must be out there somewhere!)

Posted by: Jaym | Oct 10, 2007 7:35:40 PM

To Adam, -well put. I feel like saying "suck it up" too, but that's not really constructive.

To M: I would agree with Jill that you list of "cant's" seem to be pretty encompassing, however, you seem to have managed to survive unemployed for five years, so perhaps your not as limited as you think. Also, some general counseling on your GAD might be more helpful than trying to tackle the job market without it. See http://www.panic-anxiety.com/ or call 1-800-480-4359, which offers free audio tracks, videos and newsletters. Another approach would be SSRI's, SNRI's or any of the Benzodiazepines under the direction of a Physician. The good news is that GAD is treatable. -Good Luck!

Posted by: Grinch | Oct 10, 2007 8:24:03 PM

To B:

If parenthetical material falls within a sentence or clause (as it does here), end punctuation appears after the closing parenthesis. However, if the material within the parentheses follows a complete sentence that ends in a period and constitutes a complete sentence itself, the end punctuation appears before the final parenthesis. (You'll see that the only point of this particular sentence is to illustrate the previous point.)

Consult the Chicago Manual of Style, the Associated Press (AP) Style Manual or Strunk & White's Elements of Style for more detail.

(FYI, the use of commas in the previous sentence was in accordance with AP style and in disagreement with Chicago style.)

Posted by: Kiapita | Oct 10, 2007 10:23:20 PM

Hello Jaym,

You have abilities but need to expand them. You indicated that you have technical abilities which provide a foundation, start there. I do not have a disorder but had a similar problem at one point in my career - few options. Through research, perseverance, and self study (library and internet) I developed the abilities to accomplish software development (program) and now have a good career.

After developing the ability, it's easy to volunteer services to produce experience and a network. Your unemployed at this time and have one of the greatest resources - time. As one post indicated, "no pain, no gain"; therefore, it starts with effort on your part. Your family support will go much further if they see you have a plan and are working toward a solution. You will grow as a person and have more confidence after this process.


Good luck!

Posted by: Kim | Oct 11, 2007 11:24:01 AM

Jaym,

Consider becoming a 'semi-independant' contractor.
Ok, I know, strangers = yuck!

I'm envisioning you teaming up with someone who is already an independant contractor and has a bit too much work. They meet with the clients, you do computer work.
This would probably be a boss/staff type relationship, with you being the 'staff'.

Try sending out your resume, samples of your work, and a cover letter explaining your situtation a bit.
Be honest, but also point out the benefits: Cheap expense account due to minimal travel. No jockeying for the client's attention in meetings. Minimal interuptions during the day from myriad friends calling your cell phone...
I bet you can find someone who sees the benefit of a partner who has no desire to hog the limelight.

Other career options to consider:
Writing fiction. You design virtual worlds in computers, maybe you can do it with words?
Hollywood special effects. Computer animation. Ok, I admit I know next to nothing about the skills required for either virtual world design or special effect design, but it seems to me like Pixar might be interested in your skills. ...

Good Luck

PS. No pot-shots on my grammar, spelling, or creative use of punctuation. I was a Science major, not an English major.

Posted by: NatureGirlNine | Oct 12, 2007 9:13:31 PM

Ok.
This one is returning to the topic of Career Coaches.

Let me start by saying I've never hired one.
And I agree with what other folks have said. "Do what you love" is not useful advice.
And the comment about focusing on the positive was right on track - I need a career change at this point and if I knew what I would love doing, I wouldn't need a coach, now would I?
What I do know is what I DON'T want to do, and what I can no longer do.

Let's see,
I love: sleeping, and eating, and reading, and playing in the garden (but only if it is not too hot or cold out), and my partner, and knitting, and hiking.

I graduated in 1992, so I have been around the block a few times and I have learned that:
I don't like to be micro-managed, I don't like dealing with angry clients all day (I get depressed when I'm yelled at all day), I don't like QA (you spend all day criticizing people), I don't like R&D (you spend 5 years working on something only to find out your hypothesis is wrong).

I was just diagnosed with arthritis in my wrists, so lots of typing and lots of pipeteting are now "can'ts".
15 years in a lab has trashed my hearing, so jobs with lots of time on the phone are out.

Are there career coaches who can work with people who don't know what they want to be when they grow up? But they do know what they don't want to be? Because I don't have cash to spend on warm-fuzzy-platitude advice, I need concrete advice based on the current job market.

Posted by: NatureGirlNine | Oct 12, 2007 9:38:33 PM

I wanted to add that you sound as if you have also ruled out work environments that have unrealistic or heavy deadline pressure through experience. It sounds to me like that would also include McDonald's fast food restaurants in most areas except a virtually dead one with a very nice manager who's pretty easy going and works out what you're good at doing because they can and want to take the time to do so--they aren't obligated to help you--win them all with your personality once you are hired so that you can stay hired if you like the position. In terms of work place advice and assistance, I would like to suggest that you be evaluated by a career counselor or simply a psychotherapist or psychiatrist who can test your work abilities and assist you with this process.

Also, we live in a litigenous society thanks to the Bush Administration. Don't choke anyone--you never know where it could end--possibly with court dates and records to follow!

Posted by: Robin | Oct 15, 2007 8:36:02 AM

Fortunately I am able to do what I love and it is what I am good at. Unfortunately there is no money in it forcing me to become more creative with what money I do get. It is a joy to go to work everyday since I own my own business. So it does make a difference in doing what you love.

Posted by: Lydia | Oct 31, 2007 12:57:58 AM

Everybody always says "the best is to do what you love" and what happen when you are so lost that don't even know what you love, what are you good at?
I have a B.S from another country, and after trying for 4 years to validate my degree here, it was impossible. So, now I feel pretty lost. I need to go back to school but for some reason I am terrified of that. I am from another country and I have a foreign accent. I am already a citizen here, and I have hold jobs as customer service but my experience has been awful, with people constantly rejecting me and even being rude to me. I have developed fears and they seem bigger that me. My social anxiety is so big that I feel like I am in jail. Like M said, sometimes the advice from coaches doesn’t fit your reality. I wonder how I can liberate myself of fears, they are destroying my life.

Posted by: ML | Dec 4, 2007 3:33:50 PM

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