Career Transition Coach: Are they Worth It?
73% of people are aware of coaching but only 35% have tried it, according to an ICF survey.
Everyone agrees that career transitions are hard - yet people seem to be confused about whether career transition coaching is worthwhile.
Are you one of those people?
Then this article is for you.
Is a Career Transition Coach a safe or risky bet?
You know you need to transition to a new career, but you are facing some struggles. So you think it might be good to get some help.
Maybe some help around knowing what you can and should do. Or to be confident around what actions to take. Or to overcome fears and procrastination. Or simply someone to work with so you are not doing it all on your own.
A friend or partner suggested working with a career transition coach. Or you have read about it somewhere.
It sounds interesting - but is it worth it?
Common Barriers to working with a Career Transition Coach
Making a career transition midlife can feel like a big step. Especially if we have been in our existing career for a long time.
As we get older, every decision we take can feel bigger and more important, and we can get more and more cautious and hesitant.
Yet deep down, we know it is time for a change.
That we have skills, interests and strengths that would be better applied elsewhere.
Or that we have lost motivation and drive for our current role, and can’t face another five to ten years in it.
Or maybe the industry is now moving too fast for us.
Wouldn’t it be good to have someone help you clarify your direction and map the way forward?
Wouldn’t this kind of support be valuable for rebuilding your confidence - and to help you feel more positive and excited about making a change?
So what's getting in the way?
Why do so many hesitate and sit on the fence?
It can feel like a big and risky decision to work with a career transition coach.
The idea of opening up to someone else might feel uncomfortable. Of having to say things out loud that we've not said to others, perhaps even to ourselves.
Maybe we don’t like the idea of telling other people that we're working with a career coach. It might feel like an admission of failure. An admission that we’re not self-sufficient, and that we don't have everything figured out.
But real failure is hiding from the truth and staying unhappy.
Real failure is not trying - not giving it your best shot.
And in order to give it your best shot, and be more likely to land in a good place, you might just need a career transition coach.
So how can you decide if you need one?…
Career Transitions and the Value of Coaching
What does the data say about coaching?
Research supports the idea that targeted coaching interventions have a high success rate.
A study titled “Effectiveness of career counseling: A one-year follow-up” (Sophie Perdrix et al) found that career counseling was effective in the short- and the long-term on career indecision.
Individual coaching also outperformed other interventions in a randomised field experiment compared individual coaching, self‑coaching, group training, and control groups (Sabine Losch et al).
Finally, meta-analysis by the British Psychological Society finds that executive coaching has a moderate-to-large effect on performance, well‑being and goals. With the relationship between the coach and coachee being the biggest driver.
Reported satisfaction rates with coaching are also very high.
The Institute of Coaching claims 99% of people are satisfied with coaching and 96% would repeat the process.
What makes Coaching different?
Coaching is a different kind of support. It is something that’s especially helpful when we are feeling stuck and confused. And when we have already tried other ways of solving the problem.
One overlooked part of what makes coaching so valuable is the value of having a confidential, non pressurised, and nurturing space.
This creates a safe environment for exploration and noise-free thinking. It is an environment that fosters making connections in our mind, for gaining more clarity and getting in touch with what our intuition is telling us.
The value of having a structure to follow and targeted exercises to complete between sessions is also often overlooked.
Following a structure helps break down the career transition process into more manageable steps. It also helps break down our fears one step at a time.
Tools and exercises give us the key inputs we need to make an informed decision, while removing the unwanted noise and circular thoughts in our heads.
Then there is the magic that happens as a result of two humans connecting and working together.
Yes, this can sound like some hippy, spiritual baloney. But I can assure you that it is a thing - it’s a great enabler for getting clarity and figuring everything out.
Coaching is a fundamentally different way of working than reading a book and trying to work it out by yourself. You get to step out of your own echo chamber and see fresh perspectives - find renewed interest and energy. Find options you never thought possible.
It’s way better than speaking to a friend or partner that has twenty other things on their mind, and where there is an enmeshed relationship. If these things had worked you wouldn’t be considering coaching in the first place!
If you’re seriously considering it, book a free call with me here to discuss how coaching works and how it might help you.
When not to work with a Career Transition Coach
Career transition coaching is not for everyone.
If our mental health or level of burnout is too big an issue for us at the moment - we might need to address that first.
It can be hard to explore ourselves and our options if we are struggling to just get through the day.
If we're not able to find the time or unwilling to put the work in, then we’re unlikely to get the results we desire.
Coaching, including the work outside sessions, usually only requires a few hours a week.
But it is a commitment and it will take effort.
A coach can help, support, guide, and challenge us - but they can’t do the work for us. And they can’t make our decisions for us.
Advice from Clients - “Just do it!”
We seek help and support and so many areas of our lives when we do things for the first time.
Learning to play an instrument, … training a puppy, … driving a car, … a course to learn new work skills.
It's strange that there's so much resistance to getting help in one of the most important areas of our lives.
When I ask my clients what they would say to someone in two minds about coaching, they invariably say - “Just do it!”
Would you like support to understand the best way forward?
Then let’s have a chat.
Book your free Discovery Call here:
https://cal.com/timstorriecoaching-gmail.com/schedule-an-initial-consultation
Author: Tim Storrie
-------------- About the Author: Tim Storrie
I'm an ICF-accredited career coach with an Oxbridge education, an MBA and a corporate background.
Drawing from my own mid-life experience of burnout and transition to a more fulfilling career - I help men over 40 with symptoms of burnout, and who are feeling lost and frustrated, to find a career that excites them by gaining clarity and confidence.
My coaching approach is both nurturing and challenging, and combines a structured, exercise-based approach with a focus on getting to the underlying heart of the matter.
Would you like to understand how career coaching can help you get clarity on a more fulfilling future?
Book a free Discovery Call at: https://www.timstorriecoaching.com/contact-me