Anyone have experience with a career/life coach?

I came across the concept about a year ago. I have been in a rut for about 3 years now. I definately know I need to get some things accomplished in the next 5 years tops and supposedly qualified career coaches can help me get there. Anybody have any experience with these people?

 

I knew a woman who was a life coach. She said she made some wonderful changes in peoples lives. She was kind and thoughtful.

That is all I know.

 

This sounds like the kind of scam I need to get myself into.... I'd love to give people advice on their lives for $100+ an hour, and then up the ante on them as they come back addicted to more of my shopworn, pop-psych "wisdom" - when the real answers have been right under their own noses all along, should they care to look for themselves.

Mwll518? Do you want to be my first client? I'll give you a discount - only $75 an hour....

 

No first-hand experience but my sister has been working with a career/life coach. She says it has allowed to to examine her interests within the context of a career that would be more fulfilling in terms of profession and lifestyle.

If you feel your life is in a rut and you want to change your life for the better, maybe a career/life coach is the correct avenue to explore.

 

Could you then explain for me what exactly a life coach does?

 

Well, from what I've read they are strategists that help you get to your career goals. They don't necessarily tell you what you should or should not be doing, they only help you get there. I'm not looking for a therapist, and providing therapy is not what they do.

I have objectives I want to accomplish in the next 5 years and I played with the idea of someone helping me strategize to get there.

Thanks everyone for the comments.

 

When I was in a rut I used the Tony Robbin's Personal Power II audio program you see on those cheesy infomercials. I thought it was a really great program. He has a newer program now but I don't remember the name.

You can usually find a used copy of the program on ebay.

 

I am currently reading a book that I like quite a bit: SHAM: how the self-help movement made America helpless. There is a major section on coaching, which has lots of good information, but very little of it positive. Author: Steve Salerno.

 

coaching?

Dr. Bear,

I've heard about coaching as the sort of thing in which the coach hears you out on your goals and then not only helps strategize on how to reach them, but gives some measure of accountability regarding whether you're doing what you said you would do to be en route to one's own goals.

The fact that someone has come out against coaching as such in the context of the self-help movement is intriguing, especially as this is the first time I'm coming across a critique of this. COuld you give an idea what, in a nutshell, is Salerno's beef with coaching?

Peace,

Matt

 

I just skimmed that section, intending to read it later and so I shall, when I return home from Oregon at the end of December and I'll reply then.

 

"Bait and Switch" is a also a neat book where the author goes "undercover" as an unemployed white collar worker and hires a career coach to guide her. Interesting read.

 

Edowave;

I realize the correct answer is to probably go out, buy the book, and read it myself, but it's the holidays and I'm lazy. What was the gist of "Bait and Switch"? Not looking for a book report, just the general points raised.

Dave

 

The author pretends she is an unemployed white collar working looking for a job in PR. She does all things that the "experts" recommend like posting resumes on websites like monster and hotjobs, going to job fairs, applying through company websites, joining networking groups, etc. She also hires a couple of career coaches that give her advice on everything from how to write a resume, how to dress, interview, etc. Basically, the career coaches she hires charge outragous fees, gives conflicting advice, and don't help at all with finding her a job.

Personally I've always found a copy of "What color is your parachute" to work for me. I think that's the only thing she didn't do in the book.

 

What's considered outrageous fees? So far I've gotten quotes as little as $50 to 300 per month. One lady I spoke said she charged $135 per hour! I honestly have to hit some objectives next year and I don't mind the advice of someone who can help me get there. My only problem is making sure I choose the right "coach" with the right qualifications. Is there anyway to check their qualifications?

 

There are a lot of people in the psychotherapy business who have taken a look at "coaching." Basically, coaching is therapy for healthy people.
set your goals
assess your resources
make a plan
set deadlines
motivation
blah
blah
blah
I say,
buy a book
read it
follow the instructions
tell your friends to kick you in the ass if you don't do steps 1,2,3
(I also like edowave's suggestion to buy Robbins on ebay)
Jack

 

Thanks, Edowave. Mwll518, I'd go with Jack's advice as a first resort. Find someone you consider successful, get all of the free advice you can, and lean on your friends for motivation. Why pay someone to do what they can do for you?

Best of luck regardless of your decision.

Dave

 

Great reference, Edowave, the author of Bait & Switch is the great Barbara Ehrenreich, and it is the white collar follow-up to her Nickel & Dimed, one of my favorites.

In Illinois, my LCPC friends tell me a surprising portion of the Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor exam is on career counseling, and this can be billable for LCPC's and Certified Rehabilitation Counselors. But in general most life coaches are strictly private pay. I have a social worker friend who very much wants to get into it, although her emphasis is on coaching couples who want to start or run a business together and not get divorced in the attempt! I think highly targeted coaching from someone with unique qualifications might be worthwhile, or someone with very specific experience in a hard-to-crack ndustry. If it's just private-pay Therapy Lite, I doubt if it could possibly be worth it.

 

From the perspective of becoming a coach, the biggest question is one of "are there enough people in my area who might pay for my services if I bother to undertake the necessary training. I'm not trying to say that it's worthless. There clearly are people who will pay out of pocket for assistance in these matters. The question is, how many? and is this number sustainable through time? If you live in a place where the answer to question #1 (how many?) is 3, and there is reason to believe that this number might hold true year after year, then it might become a nice supplement to one's income. If you live in a place like Andy of Mayberry (like I do) then the prospects are looking pretty thin. This is where lots of Social Worker types fall short because they buy the course without thinking it through and then wind up with a nice skill set that no one wants to buy.
All dressed up and no place to go.
Jack

 

Take a look at the tagline of the FedEx ad on page 39 of the January 9, 2006 Forbes: "My life coach says I should ignore money and focus on hugs." (!!!) What are the odds of me seeing this just now in today's mail?!

 

FX CHANNEL ON CABLE SUR AMERICA

Way down here I have Cable TV. There is a channel called "FX" and there is a wonderful program called "PENN AND TELLER --BULLSHIT", it's really good (or at least for me it is).

Just so happens that this monday past, on PENN and TELLER they did a piece on "LIFE COACHES."

My Conclusion being in and around the medical field:

At least from the perspective they showed on TV ------ Life Coaches are a sham, fake, silly, and worthless. With that kind of flim - flam here they would be shot and beaten or worse; you could say they are offering counciling without a license, but it seems in the USA it's different.

But each and every person that was buying the service swore by it.

The stuff that can be bought and sold in NorthAmerica is amazing.