Life Coach

[Alpacalia]

Has anyone had any experience with hiring a life coach and what has their experience been like?

I have a guidance counselor for College but I am trying to decide what direction to take post graduation.

[preraph]

Life coaches don't have to be qualified or certified, so I don't know that I would spend any money on one. College counselors can sometimes be misleading because they're representing the college and the college is trying to make money off you. Sometimes they make it sound like if you take a certain path, that your success is assured, and that is never the case. Sometimes academics have only workef in academia and not in the real world.

 

Are you needing academic advice and job guidance or are you needing relationship advice or mental health advice?

 

You might get better job guidance from just someone who has been in the workforce for 15 or 20 years and done decently well. Could be an uncle or something like that.

[Alpacalia]

26 minutes ago, preraph said:

Life coaches don't have to be qualified or certified, so I don't know that I would spend any money on one. College counselors can sometimes be misleading because they're representing the college and the college is trying to make money off you. Sometimes they make it sound like if you take a certain path, that your success is assured, and that is never the case. Sometimes academics have only workef in academia and not in the real world.

 

Are you needing academic advice and job guidance or are you needing relationship advice or mental health advice?

 

You might get better job guidance from just someone who has been in the workforce for 15 or 20 years and done decently well. Could be an uncle or something like that.

True.

It would mainly be to help stay organized and I also have some personal goals I need help with.

I already know which career path I'd like to pursue, I have a family member that worked in a similar field, so that's always a plus.

 

[preraph]

That is a big plus! I just don't know if I would hire a life coach without having a recommendation from someone. It would just be a crapshoot trying to find one. 

 

Since you know what field you want to go into, maybe just consider some other alternatives such as doing an intern or apprenticeship in that field.  You might also ask your counselor at school if they have anyone they can refer you to for that. 

 

If you are talking about job search organization or something like that, there are books you can get on that that might be helpful.

[Alpacalia]

11 minutes ago, preraph said:

That is a big plus! I just don't know if I would hire a life coach without having a recommendation from someone. It would just be a crapshoot trying to find one. 

 

Since you know what field you want to go into, maybe just consider some other alternatives such as doing an intern or apprenticeship in that field.  You might also ask your counselor at school if they have anyone they can refer you to for that. 

 

If you are talking about job search organization or something like that, there are books you can get on that that might be helpful.

I agree. 

Hiring a reputable Life Coach is important.   I'm checking Facebook Groups and LinkedIn, I just kind of wanted to put the feelers out to see if anyone had any experience with one. 

Figured an advice board might be a good place to ask (ha ha).

 

 

 

 

[preraph]

Well you might start a topic on here just asking, but I guess the problem is they wouldn't likely be located the same place as you, but maybe you could do video conferencing. it would be nicer to have one who was local and knew your area and its needs and employment opportunities though. because what would work in New York City and what would work anywhere else are two different things. So best to find a local referral if you can. 

 

You might see if you can find a business group for whatever profession you're trying to go into that is local. 

[Alpacalia]

2 hours ago, preraph said:

Well you might start a topic on here just asking, but I guess the problem is they wouldn't likely be located the same place as you, but maybe you could do video conferencing. it would be nicer to have one who was local and knew your area and its needs and employment opportunities though. because what would work in New York City and what would work anywhere else are two different things. So best to find a local referral if you can. 

 

You might see if you can find a business group for whatever profession you're trying to go into that is local. 

Thanks preraph! 

Yes, I don't anticipate meeting in person with one anytime soon so phone or Zoom would be the way to go.

[Watercolors]

6 hours ago, Alpaca said:

True.

It would mainly be to help stay organized and I also have some personal goals I need help with.

I already know which career path I'd like to pursue, I have a family member that worked in a similar field, so that's always a plus.

 

Do not waste your money hiring a life coach since you already know what career path you want to pursue. What you need is a mentor in that field to mentor you. THAT is who you need to invest your time seeking: a mentor who is already established in the career field you want to enter. They will guide you and facilitate learning opportunities for you on-the-job. Stay away from silly life coaches. Basically, to become a life coach you get a "certificate" after you take some psychology and sales and marketing courses, that is proof that you can organize someone's closet and tell them what to do with their life. Pfft. I know a few life coaches who are bilking money out of naive people, who just lack self-confidence. 

[Alpacalia]

1 hour ago, Watercolors said:

Do not waste your money hiring a life coach since you already know what career path you want to pursue. What you need is a mentor in that field to mentor you. THAT is who you need to invest your time seeking: a mentor who is already established in the career field you want to enter. They will guide you and facilitate learning opportunities for you on-the-job. Stay away from silly life coaches. Basically, to become a life coach you get a "certificate" after you take some psychology and sales and marketing courses, that is proof that you can organize someone's closet and tell them what to do with their life. Pfft. I know a few life coaches who are bilking money out of naive people, who just lack self-confidence. 

Thank you for the advice.

From the studies I've read they have been found to be pretty effective.   But finding a good Life Coach is important.

I like the idea of a career mentor but I'm also interested in achieving a good work-life balance so that's something I thought a Life Coach could help with.

[Watercolors]

10 hours ago, Alpaca said:

Thank you for the advice.

From the studies I've read they have been found to be pretty effective.   But finding a good Life Coach is important.

I like the idea of a career mentor but I'm also interested in achieving a good work-life balance so that's something I thought a Life Coach could help with.

Well just be forewarned that life coaches charge an exorbitant amount of money to give you their "opinion." Self-improvement has been turned into a self-help industry and there's a lot of schemers out there. Just be sensible. 

[Lotsgoingon]

I worked with a life coach wants (in addition to tons of therapists).

Depends on your goals: what do you want to work on with the life coach?

[Alpacalia]

4 hours ago, Lotsgoingon said:

I worked with a life coach wants (in addition to tons of therapists).

Depends on your goals: what do you want to work on with the life coach?

Did you find that it was helpful?  What was your experience like?

Main goals would be school and placement in the field I am pursuing (once I graduate) but also like I mentioned above (maintaining a healthy work-life balance). 

Correct me if I am wrong but from my general understanding of what a Life Coach does is that they help identify goals and work with you on developing an action plan.

Another area would be time-management and productivity which ties into "work-life balance".  Or, maybe that falls under a Productivity Coach?

Edited May 24, 2020 by Alpaca

[Lotsgoingon]

My life coach was for overall organization, including managing my time and making my job easier, less chaotic. I have ADHD, and my coach had a special interest in ADHD, though Lord knows she was incredibly organized and together and definitely not ADHD.  

I met her at an ADHD support group meeting ... she was the invited speaker one night. At one point, she starts naming patterns of people with ADHD, and we were cracking up at how accurate her stories were. She was describing patterns that none of us had said out loud or told anyone about. 

She stood around afterwards and asked us to send her a note identifying five of our strengths. Her view was that if you have ADHD, you absolutely have to maximize your strengths if you want to reach your goals in the world. 

I later contacted her and she cut a discount deal for me ... and we talked over the phone: 30 minutes a week for 8 weeks. She was excellent. I'm still applying tips she gave me nearly ten years ago. 

The key thing is that the coach is good and that you REALLY like the coach. You should be able to tell if they're good by the second meeting or so. If you struggle with time management say, then a good step to take--in order to take advantage of the coaching--is to start nailing down what a frustrating day looks like to you. Specifically ... hour to hour ... track where you lose time ... A good coach will ask you lots of questions about your struggles in order to identify where you stumble. 

My coach suggested a shortcut on a work assignment I was in the middle of--an assignment that typically overwhelmed me. And I thought, "no I can't do that. People at the job won't go for it." Well ultimately I took that short cut and the job loved it. I was blown away by how much help she was. Frankly, just the one tip she gave me for shortening a major work task was worth the full 8 weeks, even had she charged me her full price. I have built on the thinking behind that one tip and applied that thinking to other parts of my job and life. 

Now the advantage I had is that I met her in person and really liked her on first impression. So ... you might want to consult with multiple coaches. I think they typically will allow for a free consult ... ask about that ... and see who you have chemistry with. You'll know when you've hit gold. Just keep going til you find someone you really like. Like as in as a human being and like as in you like the way they thinking. Just my theory: because I really liked this woman, I could hear suggestions and consider implementing suggestions that had someone I didn't like offered ... I would have ignored. 

Hope that helps. I have a friend who just recently retired as an executive coach. I'm buddies mainly with his wife. I saw him and his wife not long ago ... and he went into coaching mode with me ... he is excellent!

 

[Alpacalia]

@Lotsgoingon Wow, thank you! That is really insightful.

I'm really nervous with school (it's a new career path that I am pursuing) so I think it might be worth the investment.  Plus, I want to be able to still do things I enjoy doing without getting burned out.

This makes me feel really hopeful.  Thanks again!