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The Why's and How's of Finding the Right
Career Advisor
By Barbara Kofman, CHRP, CFM
(Published in the December 2004 edition of Business Speak Magazine)
There are lots of people who claim to know a great deal about work
search, these days, and are happy to provide you with their services to
assist you in carrying out your own. However, all career advisors that
I've come across have, at their core, a similar process. So why use a
career coach? Why not buy a book and do it yourself? After all,
there're countless books on the market that can teach you the basic
steps.
The reality is that while many individuals do a decent job
self-directing their own employment search, for others this isn't
enough. The opportunity to work with someone who can strategically coach
them through the long term benefits of a career search process, ask the
tough questions, set deadlines and provide feedback is of intangible
value.
Throughout my years in corporate Human Resources I was always amazed
at who the people were who really knew how to conduct a proper work
search and who the people were who thought they knew how to undertake
one, but really didn't. Later, while working as a senior consultant in
the outplacement industry, I could never comprehend why many
individuals who were offered a support service to assist them in their
work search chose not to take advantage of it even though the company
was paying. I can only guess that they just thought they could do a
better job on their own or had no idea what it was they were turning down.
As someone who has worked in this profession for years I'm still always
learning new approaches and would never assume that I could not gain
from the insights of others in the field.
While recognizing you would benefit from using a Career Advisor is the
first step, finding one that you can have confidence in can be the real
challenge. Like many other professions, Career Management is
self-regulated. Consequently, potential buyers of these services leave
themselves open to being duped by a clever sales pitch.
Although regulating the industry would appear to be the simple
answer, this is generally perceived to be an unnecessarily restrictive
measure even by the people who are legitimately practicing within it.
As is typical with many self-governing professions, the preference is
to educate the public regarding the dos and don'ts surrounding hiring
someone in the field. However, this is costly and not easy to do well.
As a result, it sometimes seems that the old adage "caveat
emptor" is the only one to trust.
The Career Management industry has become increasingly a casualty of
this predicament. Two developments in particular highlight the need for
consumers to be vigilant when seeking the services of someone in this
profession-the growing number of individuals promoting themselves as
"career experts" despite having very limited experience of
any kind, and the latest sordid revelations about an international
career firm that misled clients by promising them access to "the
hidden job market", a claim that was erroneously interpreted by
many who paid for their service, as an entrée to a sure job.
As the use of career specialists continues to grow, there is more
than ever a responsibility on the part of the profession to educate
potential clients on why and when they might benefit from these
services and how to find someone they can trust who can really help.
So back to the original question-why use a career coach? Aside from
the more obvious scenario of job loss or impending job loss, using
someone who can take you through the ins and outs of a successful work
search can be useful in many situations. If you currently find yourself
at a career crossroad, start by asking yourself a few key questions.
Are you:
- Unhappy with
your current job?
- Considering
changing your career, your industry or both?
- Not sure about
what the right career is for you?
- Doing a first
career search?
- Rethinking
your career at midlife or retirement?
- Returning to
the workforce after a prolonged absence?
- Short on the
discipline required or suffering from a lack of confidence about
your ability to carry out a productive work search?
- Concerned
about managing your career for the long term?
- Looking for
better work/life balance?
If you answered yes to any of these questions a career coach could
be of immeasurable assistance.
How do you find someone reliable who has the counselling experience
that you require? A good place to start is asking people you know
who've worked with career professionals, who they recommend. If this
isn't possible, then another option is to contact ACP International*,
the primary association for experts in this field. It has an online,
geographically-based service called "find an expert". More importantly,
from the consumer's perspective, it has a code of ethics for its
members to adhere to which, among other things, entrusts them to
clearly define the services they will provide and ensure that these
services are within their knowledge and abilities.
Once you've identified potential service providers, there are other
factors to consider. While there are possibly a few people who can do
an adequate job at career consulting without having had much
experience, common sense suggests there's a greater likelihood of
achieving your goal when you use a career advisor who's been there and
who's developed deep connections to what is going on in the world of
work. Of equal importance can be the chemistry you have with the
individual-do you believe you can effectively work with this person? If
you're not sure, it's wise to talk to more than one career coach. Have
a list of questions to ask and, if they have a website, check it out
thoroughly before you have a conversation with them. Then, have a
"good conversation" before you enter into a contract with
anyone and satisfy yourself that this is really going to be a value
add.
While a first-rate career advisor never promises to get you a job,
you'll be surprised at what you'll learn and most of all with the
quality of the opportunities that will come your way when you work with
someone who has a stake in your success, however you might define it.
But remember, personal career planning will not succeed without hard
work. Only an ongoing commitment to the process by you will lead to
that happy, healthy career.
* ACP (Association of Career Professionals International) has a
list of coaches available across Canada. All members must adhere to a
strict code of ethics. www.acpinternational.org
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