Career coaching is in its infancy as an industry. When I began coaching in the 1990’s the term was brand new. Now there are so many coaches, it can cause confusion as to what any coach can do and what the client should expect from that coach. Coaches can fall into one or several of the four major areas of career services provision.

Career Planning Coaches
If you are just starting out in your career, you will want to identify a coach that supports Career Planning. Different from Career Advisors who are found within colleges and universities, this professional does not have something like more education to “sell” you. This is coach to visit BEFORE you decide on college of any level.

Career Planning Coaches work to identify your personal preferences, motivations and interests. You will also find other professionals in this area who can assess both your technical skills, IQ levels and recommend appropriate educational pursuits to meet those needs. Once you are aware of what you want to do and how well you are suited to do it, a Career Planning Coach will help you to create a complete career plan that will focus your efforts and actions to meet both your short and long-term career goals.

The results you should achieve with a coach from this area are:
• Identification of your motivations, interests and skills and how you will be affected by these traits and preferences
• Assessment and aptitude development of vocational skills and how you can be rewarded by these skills in your career
• Identification and documentation of a career plan and how successful you can be in your career
• Alignment with career choices for which you are best suited

Career Development Coaches
On your career path you may find a need to better position yourself in your career. This is where the Career Development Coach can help. Coaching professionals in this area can assist you in positioning your career “role” in your field of choice. Typically, you will learn to effectively network and create good communication habits both written and verbal that will promote and optimize your career value to others. If you are in need of learning how to better handle changes in your career, a Career Development Coach can help you to critique what needs to be changed in your career and possibly assist you in developing new skills that will facilitate greater flexibility in job or career changes.

The results you should achieve with a coach from this area are:
• Identification of your present role within your career and how you are affected by this role
• Assessment and development of written/verbal communication skills that contribute to the desired role that you wish to achieve and how you could be rewarded within this future role
• Exploration and development of resiliency skills that will facilitate the flexibility in your career and how you could experience greater success by considering other career possibilities
• Obstacles in the form of absent skills that can round out your career options

Career Management Coaches
At some point, most of us will need guidance in the area of Career Management. Coaches specializing in this area will help you to prioritize your choices as you juggle your career and home life, and may also assist you in making the difficult decisions required to create balance in these areas. Some Career Management Coaches also work with entrepreneurs to develop the holistic business skills necessary to create their own company or bring an entrepreneurial contribution to an employer. Finally, if you are mature in your career and have found that it is time to explore alternative career paths, another type of Career Management Coach can assist you in investigating avenues that will expand your fullest career potential while also identifying your purpose and values aligning to your new work choices.

The results you should achieve with a coach from this area are:
• Identification of your priorities and values as they apply to life/work balance, development of skills to better prioritize and organize work/home life, and how you are affected by making these adjustments
• Assessment of existing management skills, defining new skill development required in areas of business/entrepreneurial skills and how you are rewarded by developing new skills
• Exploration to define your preferred career purpose that promotes fullest career potential and how successful you can be within this
• Greater enjoyment within your career

Career Transition Coaches
Recently promoted, lost sight of your contribution in your present job or want to achieve new levels of career heights? Did you wake up one morning and realize that you are no longer able to find fulfillment in what you do? Or, did you find yourself at the end of one career road and ready to embark totally on another? Perhaps retirement may not be an option. Do you want to completely revamp your entire career direction, inclusive of a major lifestyle change? Choose a competent Career Transition Coach and your transition will be a smooth one!

The results you should achieve with a coach from this area are:
• Identification and clarification of your relationship to your work, your peers, your supervisors, et al and how you are affected by it
• Assessment of your present contribution within the workplace and what you are receiving from it (your impact) and how satisfied you are in your present job.
• Exploration and documentation of a completely new career plan that transitions your existing career to a brand new role and further defines how successful you can be within it
• Fulfillment in the next stage of your career