Career coaches

[Picklingaround79]

Hi everyone
Having had my flexible working request turned down by my employer, I'm now looking for a new job after being on mat leave for 10 months. Like many others here I'm hoping to find something flexible, partime but still challenging and inspiring! But going by many others experiences, I realise I may need to set up my own consultancy to do this.
I've also got the classic back to work uncertainty where I've spent the last few months trying to work out what the hell it is I really want to do for an ideal career! While I see that having DD in tow has limited my choices in some ways, having 10 months away from my job has expanded everything out again for me. Conversely it seems like I have far too many options! (Depending what side of the bed I woke up on).

I'd really love to hear any stories from others who've made a career switch after years of doing somehing else, but also wondering about coaching.

Has anyone on here every tried career coaching? Was it helpful at the time, and was it expensive?

Thanking you!

[PegsPigs]

I am actually a qualified coach who has begun to specialise in career coaching. I'm not going to give you the hard sell don't worry!

I have begun to specialise in it because I love the buzz I get from the light bulb moment when people realise what direction they need to take. I have successfully coached 2 people who were at career crossroads and knew what they didn't want to do but didn't know what they did want to do. I plan to set up my own consultancy once we've got enough savings in the bank and want to further specialise in career crossroads such as the one you're now at - maternity leave or redundancy are classic 'sit back and take stock' times.

So I would wholeheartedly support it. I genuinely think coaching is something many people would benefit from. Not because they're not good at their job or because they're indecisive and need someone to tell them what to do (that's not coaching; coaching assumes you have the answers you just don't know you know them. The role of the coach is to ask questions that bring clarity to the coachees thoughts) Coaching helps people to be the best version of themselves and to not accept second best in terms of just going to work to get the money. I strongly believe in job satisfaction if you can see the purpose of what you're doing and why it is such a motivator. Good luck!

[kathrunneth]

Hi Pickling, I think it can be very hard to work out what to do next just by thinking about it. It's where most people get a bit stuck - either over thinking it or kind of ignoring it because it's too hard to think about any more.

So finding the right role for you - whether that's another job or setting up your own consultancy or something else - is much easier to do with someone independent like a career coach to work with. With a coach you can be completely honest (which can be sometimes hard with your partner, family and friends who have their own ideas/agendas), and a coach should be able to share with you a range of experiences and ideas from having worked with many clients.

I am a career coach and I specialise in career transition including after maternity leave/after family break. Perhaps uniquely, I'm also a small business coach (and serial entrepreneur) so I bring my experience of coaching small business clients to the discussion. I find it's helpful to have both aspects to my coaching because many people are considering a business option (consultancy, business start-up or franchise) alongside possible employment options.

I'm not here to sell anything but, just as an example, I charge £695 for a 3 session Career Transition package, which is designed to help someone find the right career direction with an action plan to get started. Probably the best thing to do is to call a couple of career coaches, have a chat about how they work, decide who you like and who you think will be best able to help you. The first chat should be free so don't be afraid to make contact.

Good luck with the next steps! Happy to answer any questions you might have.

Kath (runneth london)