The one thing career coaches should not do
Have you ever heard of a SWOT analysis? SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Though I don't have a 'BLISSS' program yet, BLISSS is an acronym. The 'I' stands for: Identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and competition. So instead of a SWOT analysis, I have my clients do a SWOC analysis. Your competition is not a threat. They can help you learn.
I teach my clients to research their competition. I encourage them to look at people who currently have the job they want (if it's filled) or who have similar jobs. LinkedIn is a great tool for this exercise. The point is not to compare yourself but to gather information to create the best possible job application. For example, what types of skills does your competition list on LinkedIn? Do you have the same skills on your resume? Your LinkedIn profile? But I digress.
I apply the SWOC analysis to my own business. I look at what other career coaches are doing. I'm not going to copy them; I do my own thing. I examine my competition to remain current and relevant, and I want to see how they present their material.
Examining my competition
Recently, I listened to a live webinar given by a career coach whom I'll call Stacy. Overall, the presentation was fantastic. I agreed with every point she made during the webinar, and I teach the same techniques and skills to my clients. Stacy covered many of the subjects I include in my VIP package: resumes, interviews, LinkedIn, etc. Like me, she stressed her program worked best for people who know what they want to do. The price point seemed fair given the amount of value she offered. I was impressed until Stacy conducted a Q & A session near the end. Here were the broad questions she received:
Will this work for me if I don't have a degree?
Will this work for me if I'm older? Like over the age of 50?
Will this work for me if I'm in X industry?
Will this work for me if I don't have much job experience?
Will this work for me if I live outside the United States?
Her answer to all of those questions was, "Yes, of course, it will!"
I almost fell off my chair. What?!? That's crazy. The answers to those questions are dependent on WHAT type of job the person wants; WHAT experience, education, and skills they possess, and WHO they are.
For many professions, a four-year degree is mandatory. I've helped clients navigate around this issue, but it's never easy. If my clients are a few classes/semesters shy of getting their degrees, I encourage them to do it if it will help their careers.
Age discrimination exists and it's worse in some parts of the country. If you're a woman over the age of 40 in Los Angeles you might as well be dead, especially in the entertainment industry.
Every industry is different. Some industries are becoming obsolete. Did you know that approximately 1.3 – 1.7 million heavy truck drivers will lose their jobs due to automation? I don't care how good of a career coach you are if the person's career no longer exists, your program will not help them. They need to reinvent themselves.
At some point, we all had little job experience. But if you want to become Director of Operations, and you've only worked for a few years, it's difficult to go from low-level employee to upper management without paying your dues. Unless the owner of the company is your father. Nepotism works.
If you live outside the United States, there are many other issues involved. What is the economy like in your country? Does the job you want even exist? What languages are necessary? Once, I had a client who lived in Spain. I was surprised when he reached out to me, but after learning more about him, I knew he would be successful. His goals were 100-percent realistic.
He was an American citizen who had lived in Spain for 25 years.
He wanted to return to the U.S. and live in a warm climate preferably Florida or Texas.
He spoke fluent Spanish; plus, he had retained his American accent.
He had extensive experience in sales. If you are a great salesperson, your skills are highly transferable because you can sell anything.
Result: Within six months of working with me (and this was years before I offered my VIP program which produces faster results), he obtained a job as a financial advisor at a Wells Fargo located in Southern Georgia — not quite Florida but he got the climate he wanted.
But I never guaranteed he would succeed. I believed he would if he did everything I taught him, but I never guaranteed it. It's ludicrous to guarantee results for every person > at any age > in any industry > in any part of the world > no matter what their experience, education, or skill set is. That's like Sisyphus pushing the boulder uphill only to watch it fall down again. You may be building up someone's hopes and setting them up for failure. You can't overpromise and then underdeliver. You have to underpromise and overdeliver.
When a potential client asks me if I can guarantee results, I say of course not. I can teach you everything I know; I will be your biggest cheerleader; I will support you in any way I can, but I cannot guarantee results. I have a line in my contract that reads, "Though she wishes she could, the coach cannot provide a genie and grant the client three wishes that make all their dreams come true."
Why I don't guarantee results
I am not with my clients 24/7. After our time together ends, I have no idea if they will continue doing what they need to do to achieve their goal. In fact, I have had clients who didn't listen to me when we worked together.
One client emailed me weeks after we finished to tell me she finally began tailoring her resume — the way I taught her. Result: she began getting interviews.
Another client refused to work in Beverly Hills because the commute was too far from her house even though her best shot at her dream job was in ... (yep, you guessed it) Beverly Hills. After sending me an obnoxious email saying her resume wasn't working and blaming me for being unable to find work, she applied for a job in Beverly Hills. Result: she obtained a job with the highest salary of her career.
Every person's situation is different (a challenge that I love!). I vet my clients carefully.
I want to make sure I can help them.
I want to make sure their expectations are realistic for what they want.
If I cannot help them, I won't accept them as a client.
If their expectations are unrealistic, I will not take them on as a client.
I don't want to waste their time and I don't want to waste my time.
I have had many clients who came to me after working with a career coach (or resume writer) who guaranteed results that didn't manifest. They were disappointed. I don't blame them. Unfortunately, some people become so disappointed they never trust a career coach again.
There are no guarantees in life except death and taxes. (Though some people get away without paying taxes!) If you're going to work with a career coach, don't expect a guarantee. I would be hesitant of any career coach who offers a guarantee.
I'm in the process of hiring a high-level consultant for my business. I've vetted several business coaches. They vetted me as well. That's a good sign. They don't want me as a client unless they believe I will succeed. My two favorites do not offer guarantees. Their testimonial pages with clients who have experienced incredible results include a disclaimer that not every client reaches that level of success. They stress you must do the work. You must give your business the time, energy, blood, sweat, and tears it needs to grow. I like that they have high expectations of their clients. I'm wired the same way: I have high expectations of my clients, too.
Tips for hiring a career coach
Every career coach should provide testimonials either on social media or on their website showing clients who got results.
Every career coach should have a written contract. I didn't use contracts as a freelancer. Huge mistake. To this day, I still tweak my contracts because I'll find I left something out.
Every career coach should provide details on what they will teach you (features), what you can expect to learn from them (benefits), and how you can apply your new knowledge toward your goals. I am clear with my clients about the modules I teach, what they will learn, and how they can use the information to find their dream jobs.
Every career coach should come from a place of service. A great coach provides both compassion and expertise. They want you to be successful! Think about it: when you succeed, they succeed.
Tips for being a coaching client
You need to show up on time and be prepared to learn.
You need to do the work to see results.
You need to take action even if you're scared.
You need to be coachable. You hired an expert — listen to them.
Whenever a client argues with me over the littlest detail, I want to ask, "If you're the expert, why did you hire me?"
One time, a client became so uncoachable, I planned to fire him. We were more than halfway through the project. He had paid a 50-percent deposit, so I felt it was fair to stop where we were. He had more than gotten his money's worth. I knew he could continue with another coach with the material I had created for him. I didn't want the remaining 50-percent he owed me. I was done. He was stunned when I told him the news. I explained our relationship wasn't working. He didn't seem to trust me. He was making it impossible for me to do my job. I felt he would be more comfortable with someone else. Guess what? He apologized. He had no idea how difficult he was being. From that point forward, we worked well together. The best part is we still keep in touch.
A great coach, no matter what their niche is, will vet their clients. Trust me, we want dependable, responsible, determined clients who are ready to learn and take action. In the past year, I've discovered I prefer some clients over others. When I broke down the variables, I realized it came down to how my clients interacted with me and how they approached their goals.
The best clients showed up on time. If they had to reschedule, they had a true emergency and stuck to the cancellation policy in my contract.
The best clients did the work I assigned them. ALL of the work. Yeah, I give a lot of homework.
The best clients took action while we were working together. If fear prevented them from taking action, they did it anyway.
The best clients wanted to learn everything I had to offer. They realized I possessed the knowledge and experience they wanted and needed. They may have pushed back occasionally, but they didn't argue with my expertise. They trusted me to guide them in the right direction. (Why would I steer them the wrong way?)
Hiring a career coach is a big step for many people. Coaches vary in what they offer and how they present their material. You have to find a coach that is right for you. The coach-client relationship has to be a good fit. Before I officially opened my business, I did coaching with other service providers under a barter agreement. It was good practice for them and it was good practice for me.
However, I can think of one person with whom it wasn't the best fit. I think we both thought it would be because we liked each other as people. However, I did not like her as a coach. (I'm using the term coach to protect her identity. She provides another service.) She was dogmatic. There was only one way to do things. Her way. When I expressed my frustration, she became adamant. I knew lots of other teachers in her field with more experience giving private sessions (v. group classes). Since I was her business coach, I suggested with one-on-one clients she might consider a more personalized approach. She balked. There was only ONE way to do what she was teaching me. Seriously? Rarely in life is there only one way to do anything.
On the flip side, we did not outline her goals for our time together. I blame myself. Our sessions went from career coaching to more relationship coaching. She didn't know how to market her business, but at the same time, she had horrible taste in men. She was attracting the wrong types of men. She didn't understand why and asked my advice. Bottom line: I learned a lot from the experience.
I do not barter anymore. My expertise is too valuable and I would rather be paid. And I would rather pay someone. There's a different element when dollars are exchanged, even if it's an equal amount of money between two people who might otherwise barter.
I hesitate to work with friends. Some of my earliest clients were close friends, but I wasn't charging for my services at that time. (Money changes everything.) They helped me figure out how good I am at what I do. Later though, I had a few friends who became paying clients, and they were the most difficult clients I have ever had. I fired one friend before we started working together because 1) she missed a deadline I gave her, and 2) her expectations were unrealistic. She didn't want a new job, she wanted her old life — a stay-at-home mom who didn't need to work because her husband made over $100K — back. She never said those words to me, but she was grieving the loss of her marriage and still reeling from her divorce. She didn't need me; she needed a therapist.
I help my clients create SMART goals. The first 'S' in BLISSS stands for Structure SMART Goals. If someone buys my 12-week coaching package, the first thing I ask is what outcome would they like by the end of the 12 weeks. We develop Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic/Relevant, Timely goals that will meet that outcome. Actionable is the keyword. SMART goals are useless without action (v. attainable, achievable).
I trust my gut. I can feel when I'm a good fit with someone. I don't have to meet them. I can tell over the phone. Again, I do not promise a guarantee, but if the client and I are the right fit for each other, I know I can help them get where they need to go as long as they do the work.
Wow! This post became longer than I intended it to be. Just remember: there are no guarantees in life. Except for death. We all die.
If a career coach guarantees you more interviews, job offers, etc., you may want to find someone who will be honest with you. There's no quick fix. There's no easy out. So you want your dream job? Be prepared to work your ass off for it.
