Are career coaches worth the £££?

[chatenoire]

Given my current job situation I thought of reaching out to one but the price tag just made me realise there's no way I can afford one. Or if we do, we'd have to sacrifice other family expenses. Maybe I'm not their target market. Like I like her, and I think I could benefit from it, but not at that price tag.

I guess it depends on the coach. Some are probably fantastic but a lot will be expensive rubbish.

I bet there is a wealth of insight and experience that you can tap into here on MN if you want to share the details of your situation.

I've had 2 in the past, and also worked for a team that trained coaches and sought volunteers for the trainees' case studies so turned over quite a lot of 'clients'. Having seen the results that one of the trainees got (who was also training in counselling, separately), I wanted to be (and was) a guinea pig for them.

There are lots of different styles. For me, I did not find useful at all the types who base things a lot on certain sports psychology techniques (such as having a discreet finger sign as an 'anchor' for confidence, power poses, a deep belief in affirmations). Just not something I can swallow.

I was also deeply sceptical about psychometrics but having done a few now, with no assessment resting on them, I am somewhat won round but would recommend something not general, which is most of the better-known ones (e.g. looking at leadership, strengths and strengths 'in overdrive' and how they then start to get in your own way, or similar. That was useful and quite affirming).

The important thing is that you do the work through it all. The coach will be a 'champion' for you and try to show you where you're viewing things in a skewed way. I would recommend that in an early discussion you also ask them to help hold you accountable for things that you want or plan to do (however you want to do that), and see how they react to this. They do help you do tricky things like ask for feedback from people who do know you, which is awkward.

Paying - yes, but not over the odds. Perhaps for something like 4 sessions, well spaced, to begin with? Trainee coaches, if there are any needing people to sit in the coachee chair as practice subjects, will be variable but mostly pretty good on accredited programmes.

That's the thing the commitment was for 12 weeks, with no PAYG option.

I need help in how to navigate a situation, not so much to change myself. I do need to change my mindset a little bit, but I don't lack confidence, I just need to find clarity of what to do next.

Out of interest how much is it?

You might be able to access free careers advice where you did your studies - I was able to see someone for a one off session at the university I graduated from around 12 years later. I found it quite helpful.

or you could just post here for advice on your specific situation?

Group programmes can be quite useful for looking at specific situations.
One example is SEAL Overview — South East Action Learning (seactionlearning.co.uk) -- other regions or mentorship groups available.

I did one. It wasn’t a commitment for 12 weeks, it was two sessions over about 3/4 weeks with some reflection at home between. I think it worked for me. I did take a long break between the counselling and applying for jobs due to covid, pregnancy etc. When I did apply I got my first job. It helped me to see things that were leadership opportunities without leading a team and reframe some of my weaknesses etc. I think I need to do it again but as you say, it’s expensive and it takes away from money spent elsewhere. If you need to change the situation urgently though it’s not something that’ll probably work.

It's £2400 @TulipBluebells

I don't know if one session at my alma mater would help.

The problem is simple, I left a job that I loved because of internal politics. I quickly found another job, but I feel like it's not the right fit.

However, I don't know if I should wait it out, and see if it gets better or simply try to look for another job.

I think it depends on your field and role...

For me...
Honestly.... no. They were sort of vaguely helpful but no way would i have paid for the sessions myself.

If i was self funding i would be looking at online resourcing to orient myself and use the money to take undertake relevant training/certs/qualifications

I would be looking for more of the talking therapy side of things.

Almost like a work therapist

How much is it? What do they do exactly?

It's £2400 they give 8, 1:1 sessions and "tasks" during 12 weeks. CV/LinkedIn curation is separate (extra £500).

They're like self discovery sessions to help you through whatever "blockers" you have.

If you've been in your new job under 8 months then I'd wait it out. It always takes at least 6 months to get into a role and more so if there's any remote working element.

I've worked remotely for most of my professional life, and this has been the most difficult onboarding I've ever experienced.

There are three things that' I've identified to be the issue:

1. I don't have concrete tasks, do I have to reinvent the wheel or at least come up with something that shows I'm actually making any progress (or at least something beneficial to the company as a whole).

2. my team has been divided into product lines, but mine is on hold. (Which explains the point above), so any parallelisms between me and my fellow teammates are nonexistent. Which gives me the feeling of not belonging.

3. it's a very hierarchical company (whether they accept it or not is a different question), and my role was positioned internally as a junior one so I only get blockers and push back (in terms of the ideas that I come up with).

I know what you want. I've had this service before, but it was paid for me, so I have no idea how much it should cost.

In the end, my coach actually helped me realise that quitting was the right thing to do and I am a million times happier, more satisfied and better paid. If I hadn't had that sounding board (and to be honest, a coach who offered an opinion rather than just nodding sympathetically), I might still be in that role.

I've done a bit of googling (and also looked up my original coach) and it doesn't seem to be very clear what you should be looking for to make sure you've picked the right coach, what they're supposed to be called, and if there's a universal set of qualifications they should hold. So, I cannot tell you how to check this one is the real deal, only tell you that she might be, because some are.

I would imagine any coach would be happy to have a call with you to understand if you are a good fit, though? Sometimes it doesn't work out and it's entirely personality-based rather than a coach being bad. I'd definitely want a call before committing to such a huge sum!

You say you've worked a while - do you have any peers or old bosses from previous jobs who you trust enough to ask for a bit of advice? Sometimes a sounding board from someone within the same line of work can be super helpful (and free).

Yes you get exactly what I need :)

There's my very old boss who I really really admire she's a VP now, but she was my boss around 8 years ago, I don't necessarily know if she'll remember me, but she's probably the best shout. Colleagues from that time stayed stagnant, so I don't know if I'll come across as entitled.

There was another lady who could potentially help me (she helped me realise I needed to quit my previous role) but we had that conversation like two months ago, I don't want to come across as unstable to her.

I'd be happy to pay on a PAYG basis, it's just that I can't commit to £2400, not now and probably never.

Hmm. It sounds to me that you're considering dropping £2,400 because you're too embarrassed to reach out to someone you know has the tools to help you. Sit with that thought for a moment!

If someone I had managed 8 years ago messaged me and asked if they could take me out for a coffee to pick my brain and give some career advice, I'd do it in a heartbeat. And, in fact, I have done similar before. Women supporting women is such a lovely thing to be part of, and most senior people are delighted to be asked.

Park the expensive career coach until you've exhausted your network of professionals you know who might be prepared to offer you the perspective you need.

How much of this work could you do yourself, just by thinking analytically and problem solving, using mind maps to come up with new solutions?

Imagine an ideal coach, what she'd ask, what she'd expect from you, what she'd push you to face, improve, target, plan, execute, achieve. Then do it anyway (and spend 2,400 on a lovely holiday or gorgeous new clothes and haircut for an interview for a better paying job.)

I think a lot of the time we are paying for permission to act on what we already know to be valid.

Check their qualifications before parting with any money.
You want them to hold a postgraduate qualification in career development/guidance and ideally registered with a relevant professional body.
Anyone can call themselves a career coach.

I think that's the case with a lot of coaches, yes. But with the one I used, she helped push me in a direction I don't think I would have chosen, and it was 100% the right thing to do.

There are some coaches who just listen to you and validate what you are saying. There are others who listen to you, reflect on what you've said, get to know how you tick and offer an impartial perspective of what any rational person would do in that scenario...

I think the latter kind are so much harder to find. I think there's a really fine line between helping someone work out what they should do and unreasonably influencing them into doing things that would be right for the coach in that scenario but are wrong for the coachee.