How to Choose a Career Coach

After reading through all of the chapters of What Color is Your Parachute, most people have a greater understanding of how to approach the job search, while others still feel like they could use some extra help. Today, there are a number of career coaches, counselors, and agencies that will help you through the process... for a fee. The fees can be hourly, and others require a large amount up front.

If your're going to pay for someone to coach you through the job hunting process, you would hope that they know what they are doing, and aren't just trying to pull a scam. Unfortunately sometimes those are their intentions. In the Appendix of What Color is Your Parachute, three different types of career coaches and counselors are mentioned. There are the ones who are honest, compassionate and know what they are doing; others are honest, but don't know what they're doing; and then there are the ones who are dishonest and just want your money. 

Here are some ways find a career coach that is best for you and avoid the scams: 

Do Research:  Before buying a new car you look around, research online, and see how it fits you. It is not a process that is rushed and done without thought. Finding a career coach should be done the same way. It is absolutely necessary to do research. If you don't you can easily be taken for your money. So, ask around, use the internet, look in he yellow pages, or take a look at Appendix D of What Color is Your Parachute to get some names to get started.

Once you have a few names, do some comparison shopping. Meet with at least three different career coaches to see which one you like best. If it helps, you can make a chart to compare the answers you received from each one. Remember that you need to look for who is best for you not who is the best.

Watch the Vibes:  Sometimes it is hard to get a true first impression of someone, but you should watch for any bad vibes during your first meeting. The most obvious bad vibe would be not liking someone. For whatever reason, if you don't like them, you definitely should not choose them to be your career coach because you will have a difficult time getting what you want. Other bad vibes include getting the impression that everything will be done for you, avoiding answering the question, "How long have you been with this firm?", or hearing that their success rate is 100 percent. 

Consider Money:  As I mentioned earlier, career places charge fees. Some charge by the hour and others charge a large fee up front with a contract. The safest of these would be the first one, especially if you cannot afford to loose any money. When you pay by the hour, you only pay for the actual time you spend meeting with your career coach, and you can stop going at any time. 

Contracts on the other hand, require you to go for a specific period of time and have a large fee attached. This can be risky because while some firms will give you attention and effort after paying the fee, others won't. 

If you are someone who feels like they could use a career coach or counselor, remember to do your research. There are some places out there that are honest and know what they are doing, but there are others who just want your money. Remember that you are looking for the one who is the best for you and will help you land the job you desire!