Successful use of career coaching?

[MavisTheMonkey]

Like many on this board I'm debating a big career change. I'm 42 and am in the position where I can - take some time out to study and retrain but I'm not 100% sure what I want to do. It's such a big decision and I can't afford to choose incorrectly- the thought of spending 3 years retraining for something and then hating it is leaving me frozen!
I'm thinking that career coaching would be a good idea, and then once I've narrowed it down a bit to do some shadowing / volunteering to road test? Does anyone have good experience of using a careers coach?

I do a lot of career coaching but you may not need it: really good place to start if you're thinking about career change is with Herminia Ibarra's book, "Working Identity" - it's full of good ideas and strategies that may give you enough ideas and tools to get going yourself without the need for a coach.

If you do decide you'd still like a coach, meet a few and go with the one that you feel comfortable with. Ask around for recommendations. Almost all coaches do a free taster session and it's very usual to meet a few and be open about what you're doing.

Coaching isn't regulated, so it's worth checking that they're certified or accredited (i.e., they've been trained properly!), and have regular supervision themselves. Most coaches are very good eggs who want to do the right thing (there are, obviously, exceptions that prove the rule), and they won't mind being asked about it.

Good luck!

I had an appointment with a careers advisor at a not-dissimilar point, although in my mid thirties after maternity leave. She worked at a university but did independent work alongside. I had been job-hunting for a while (with a toddler to consider) and perhaps become a bit discouraged.

We did some useful exercises and it was productive, mainly in terms of helping me ‘let go’ of my previous sector and see that I could present my skills in a different way. Also to consider the opportunities presented by specific masters degrees. I didn’t end up pursuing the angle she had suggested but happened to find my perfect job a couple of months later - I stayed for nearly seven years.

However, what I would say is that, with the best will in the world, people still do tend to see things through the lens of their own professional experience. So bear that in mind when picking someone.

I've had good and bad. One turned my life around, the other achieved nothing, it was really micky mouse stuff.

Early 90s (so perhaps too long ago to be helpful) I had a good experience using a careers service in, I think, Barnes. I had to attend for several days over a two week period (iirc). Very structured process, beginning with personality tests etc, and chats and interviews and researching various careers. This was maybe a couple of years after I’d graduated and was havering over whether to actually take the step into a particular profession.

Since the overarching result of the two weeks confirmed that I was suited to that profession it’s arguable that I could have reached that conclusion without paying a moderate fortune. But the process did help me to identify my strengths and weaknesses - alerting me to areas I needed to improve on or avoid, and arming me with pointers for interviews.

On the whole I would definitely recommend seeking some structured, focused guidance if you’re at all unsure of the right path. Not least because, with all the options available it’s easy to misunderstand how and where you fit.