How do I choose the right career coach?

Finding an experienced career coach can be a big challenge. The coaching culture is at the nascent stage in India and many parts of the world. Most professionals are not aware of the advantages of having a coach to help them improve their decision making, career upliftment strategies and skill development. A career coach with his experience and expertise can help you to transform your professional life.

The question is how will you know which coach will be the best fit for you. Here are 5 simple yet effective tips to help you choose the best career coach for you.

1) Proven track record: While finding a career coach, you might stumble upon a lot of self-proclaimed "Best Coaches". How will you know they can really deliver for you? Look for their past clients, experience in helping professionals complex career challenges and case studies. If you find them satisfactory, schedule an interview for more understanding.

2) Ask specific questions: Make sure you persuade your career coach for an introductory consultancy call. It will help you to know your future coach better and assess his experience and expertise. In that introductory call, you must ask them specific questions about your career and other professional challenges. More specific your questions are, the better will be your chances of understanding your future coach.

3) Find the resonance: To be honest, you have to look for the right coach and not the best coach. What I want to stress upon here is that, there might be many pro career coaches but you have to find who is going to be the best fit for you. The most important factor in choosing a coach is a feeling of connection. Coaches work on a very personal level. You will likely be discussing intimate details of your personal and professional life. So make sure you two are well connected and close for a better future.

On top of that, I will also recommend speaking with their past clients to understand specific scenarios, his coaching style and changes of success. But getting onto a consultancy call is absolutely mandatory to choose the best coach for you. Only then you will be able to understand his track record, experience and domain knowledge. May you find the best coach for you to improve your career.