A career coach is that GPS which helps you navigate your career options without much hassle. There comes a point in everyone’s lives when they fail to understand what they are supposed to do next. Out of those thousands of options, finding the right one that will be your career for life, you need expert advice. This is where career counselling experts come in the picture. A career counsellor, career coach, career advisor, or career consultant, is a professional who helps you in finding the right career path without regretting your decisions and pulls you out of career confusion maze.

If you’ve searched for how to choose a career coach, let’s skip the merry-go-round and get straight to the point. In this blog, we’ll explore the key things you need to consider when choosing the right career coach.

Here’s what your journey to finding the ideal career counsellor will look like.

1. Define Your Career Goals
Before you start searching for the right career coach, you need to be clear about your goal. Understanding your objective for seeking professional guidance will help you shortlist your options and choose the right coach.

So, when you begin your search for a career counsellor, first identify your objective, for example:

Whether you are looking for selecting the right stream after 10th
Whether you need assistance for your entrance exams after 12th
Whether you require guidance in picking the right course or college
Whether you want assistance for job hunting
Knowing what your objective of career counselling is, really makes it easier for you to find the right career coach. This also eliminates the wastage of time and efforts, and you can find the right coach with relevant skills and experience in the field you need assistance in.

2. Check Credentials and Background
Once you have shortlisted your objectives and you have made the research to find the right career coach for yourself, it is time for you to do the background checks. With your search of “right career coach online,” you will come across thousands of options. Some of these might be fraudulent websites too; hence, you have to be attentive while making your search. This is why you must make a thorough research and check for certified professional career counsellors.

Even though career coaching is not a widely recognised industry in India, yet there are some certificated that increases the credibility of career coaches. When you are making your search, before finalising on one coach, ensure to run a background check as well. Ensure to check things like how many students they have helped or what’s their experience. By checking the social media accounts, you can find the credibility of a career coach.

3. Schedule a Discovery Call
The first call or the introductory call is usually free in career counselling industry. You must use this opportunity to completely evaluate the career counsellor. No matter which career counsellor you may pick, you will be paying them, and they will be assisting you for a certain period. When you are making an investment, it is crucial you make it count. Hence, when you take the first discovery call, use this opportunity to assess:

The communication style of the counsellor
How well does the counsellor listen to you
Whether they understand your challenges or not
What is their level of professionalism
Whether you feel comfortable opening up to them or not
Finding answers to these questions will really help you in identifying the right career coach who will eventually help you in setting a clear career path in life.

4. Understand their Methodology
While talking to the career counsellors, you are also required to understand their methodology. Every career counsellor may use a different counselling style, and while some suit you the best, other may seem abrupt to you. There are career counselling experts who also give a free demo session of what your career counselling journey may look like. Hence, you must use the opportunity to the fullest to understand the methodology of a certain career counsellor. A good career counsellor will have a clear career counselling process that includes;

Career assessment through a psychometric test
Profile evaluation and career exploration
Goal setting and career planning
Skill-gap analysis and upskilling advice
Constant support
If your chosen career counsellors are providing you with all these benefits only then they are the right fit for you.

5. Evaluate their Pricing
The last step of your journey of finding the right career coach for you is to check the pricing value. What is the point of having a career counsellor and paying thousands to them for counselling that you could have done yourself. Hence, when you are checking for career counsellors, analyse how much they cost. While some may charge a couple thousand some may go higher than that depending on the coach’s experience, number of sessions, and services included. Furthermore, while comparing the coaching, don’t only choose based on the cost alone, consider these factors as well;