From Job Hopper to Success Story: How to Pick the Perfect Coach for Your Career Journey
Thinking about hiring a coach to help you with the job change process?
Choosing the right one can be daunting, especially if you've never done it before and don't want to waste money. Here's how to make sure the coach you choose has the right expertise to support your needs.
Experience matters.
It's important to choose someone who's deeply knowledgeable in the entire hiring process. Be sure that the person you're working with hasn't just sourced resumes, coordinated recruiting or written resumes. You're looking for someone who has actually been a hiring authority, working end to end through the hiring process.
Why? A coach who brings end to end experience working with and hiring candidates has seen a wide variety of resumes and met with a great deal of candidates from diverse backgrounds. They know who gets hired and how much they make. The best coaches have worked across many types of roles at all levels of a hierarchy, in a variety of industries. As a rule of thumb, 10+ years of experience is ideal, but no less than 3 years in an actual hiring capacity is imperative to ensure they know what it takes to make it to the offer stage.
They know a good resume when they see one.
A coach who has experience in a hiring role means they have sifted through thousands of resumes to hand select candidates who appear to align on paper. After reviewing such a large sample of resumes, they are up to date on modern resume versions and formatting. They know what styles work well for easy identification of key skills. Given resumes only garner about 6 seconds of attention at first pass, time is literally money! A great coach can correctly advise you on the best style that will get you noticed.
Interviewing is easy for them.
They have conducted many hundreds of interviews both virtually and in person. They are adept at identifying red flags quickly, and can help you avoid making those same mistakes. They are skilled in learning about a candidate holistically by asking questions that require critical thinking skills to reveal a candidate's abilities and aptitude, rather than just relying on what's written on paper. They know how to help you practice your messaging so that you can deliver concise examples of your skills confidently. And, they'll help make sure your approach is engaging and compelling.
They hire the right people.
They have not only hired people, but have a track record of building successful teams. They have honed the selection process by combining interview techniques with hiring strategies and applying synergies found throughout the interviewing process to select the right people for the right roles. Why is this important? Hiring a coach who was previously a recruiter is valuable because they know how to get hired, but hiring a coach who has built strong teams brings a huge advantage because they know what it takes to put the right people together to deliver successful outcomes. They can help you present yourself as someone who performs.
Entry level to C-Suite - they got you.
Coaches who have worked across all levels of seniority, hiring people for startups to enterprise organizations have learned what it takes to win offers, regardless of company size or hierarchy of role. Whether you're a COO looking to leave corporate for the exciting (and sometimes tumultuous) world of a startup, or a college grad who's eager to choose a great company that will foster the most growth, working with a coach who has seen all types of scenarios means you'll get advice tailored to your specific needs.
They are nimble negotiators.
They have extended offers and negotiated compensation packages for all salary levels - and they know what people make for each type of role. They can help you make sure you don't leave money on the table by asking for too little up front. And, when you receive an offer, they can help you diplomatically negotiate for the highest possible compensation for the role. Negotiating doesn't have to be scary and it's not complex. There are no "secrets" but there are some proven processes, and a good coach can walk you through them step by step.
Ultimately, there's a great coach out there for you - someone who genuinely cares about your career, your needs and your happiness at work. We'd love to be the coaches you choose now or down the road. Either way, we want you to feel informed if/when you need to find the right coach for you.
What we’re reading and listening to:
In China, young people are quitting their white collar jobs in favor of more predictable manual labor, as reported in the New York Times.
Extroverts tend to be happier with their salaries and have a higher overall career satisfaction, according to a recent study.
Life Kit unlocks the secret to acing the job interview and battling interview anxiety
