10 ways a job search coach can help you
Updated 2024-08-11. Originally published 2013-10-23 on VocationVillage.com
If the thought of job searching overwhelms you or you are experiencing less success than you would like as you hunt for a job, here are 10 ways a job search coach can help you:
1. Ensure that your career focus is sufficiently clear and specific enough. If you don't know what you want to do, it will be extremely hard to convince recruiters and hiring managers you are the best choice for a job!
2. Teach you how hiring managers and recruiters think.
3. Evaluate your personal marketing materials like cover letters, resumes, and your LinkedIn profile to determine how effective they are, and they can make specific suggestions if you need to improve them.
4. Recommend networking strategies that work with your strengths and personality to enable you to meet more people in your career field.
5. Practice with you what you will say when you are connecting with people who may know of job opportunities that would be a good fit for you.
6. Coach you to prepare for job interviews. It takes skill and practice to be confident and persuasive rather than passive/timid or aggressive/arrogant.
7. Support you emotionally when the job search takes longer than you would like it to take (which is very common, as hiring cycles can be long). A job search coach can help you with staying persistent and resilient if you are discouraged, and help you use effective time and energy management strategies.
8. Brainstorm ways to earn lifeboat income while you keep looking for the right job.
9. Assist you with salary negotiations.
10. Guide your decision-making process to choose between multiple job offers.
One way to find a good job search coach is to ask people you know for recommendations. If you don’t find someone that way, a second strategy is to follow the prospective job search coach’s online content to evaluate whether the coach’s style and advice work well for you. Sadly, I no longer recommend reading online reviews because these are too easily gamed to be reliable.
Has a job search coach helped you? If you would like to be featured in a success story, please reach out.
