In a day and time where everyone is talking about life coaches, their applicability and all the benefits they bring to the lives of those they touch, there is another professional who is definitely worth your consideration when it comes to ensuring happiness and stability in the other area of life-your career.
A career coach is a professional that is dedicated to helping individuals effectively execute their career searches.
For those who are already in a position, career coaches also provide assistance by helping ensure needs and expectations remain realistic and obtainable.
If you are in a job search and are finding it difficult to locate exactly what you are looking for in a company or feel as though your job search keeps coming up empty, it might very well be your search process, the way you are representing yourself in the marketplace, or even misdirected efforts.
With the help of a career coach, you will be better able to identify your goals, remain focused on the right things, receive a partner who can help you with interviewing skills and maintain motivation.
Identifying Goals One of the most important things to know about yourself before embarking on a job search are the goals which you expect to accomplish in the search and in the career.
Job searching can be so time intensive, confusing and frustrating, that it is often easier to post a resume to a general site and hope the right organization finds you.
But it's not that easy.
If you expect happiness and longevity in your future, then you must have clearly defined goals.
For example, as a marketing manager, you would like for your next position to offer you more responsibility when it comes to managing events; or maybe as a Vice President for the past ten years, you are really hoping to make the next step up to Senior VP.
A career coach can help you identify your goals.
He or she asks probing questions to help you both explore exactly what you desire to accomplish in your new position and where you expect it to lead you in the future.
By completing this process, especially if you have never done something similar, you will probably find out more about your direction and drive than you previously knew.
Additionally, by uncovering this information, you may even find that the job searches which you have been performing to that point have been futile-searching for positions, companies, or opportunities that in no way could help you accomplish your goals.
Maintaining Focus The majority of those searching for new jobs abide by the following process:

1. Sign onto a career search engine
2. Use the standard or saved search criteria
3. Apply for everything that qualifies against the criteria using a cover letter that is slightly modified (i.
   e.
   different company name/interviewer name)
4. Cross fingers and wait

While some may strike it rich using these steps, more often than not candidates are paired with positions that do not match their skills, qualifications, needs, or goals for the future because the right screening process is not in place.
What you need to understand is that while mass applications assures your information is in the marketplace, it doesn't mean that it is landing in the right place and it also opens you up to a lot of non-specific jobs, which more often than not aren't matches.
You will find much more benefit as well as increased "perfect job match" potential if you have clear cut path to follow.
Even though the time involvement increases, so does the potential for greater happiness and long-term stability in a job that you were very specifically targeting as the "one" you wanted to land.
Having covered your goals with you and having gained an understanding of where you want to be in your career, the coach has the upper hand in being able to provide you with tips that can help decide on which postings or opportunities should focus.
Practice, practice, practice As a recruiter, we often talk about how important it is to practice your interview skills, whether it is with another person or using a videotape technique.
However, a career coach can come in very handy when it comes to practicing for the "big" day.
With a video, you lack the ability to really speak directly to someone (other than the camera) and don't have the benefit of feedback.
With family or friends, you may not get the right kind of feedback.
Using a career coach, you will have the benefit of a knowledgeable professional who knows how to ask the questions, coach you on your responses, help you improve upon your delivery, and provide you with constructive feedback.
Finding Motivation Because the search process can be time intensive, confusing and frustrating, it is often a career coach's ability to motivate that can be the most beneficial aspect of such a relationship.
Rejection will come as part of the process, but many can find it very discouraging and hard to continue on with the possibility that more will continue to come (and it will).
And that is where a career coach comes in.
According to Andrea Howard, an employment counselor with the New York State Department of Labor "The job search process can be tough on the self-esteem.
Repeated rejections can be discouraging.
Coaches support, motivate, and provide encouragement.
" Worth it in the End Once you know what it is that you are looking for and need to find in order to live a more fulfilled life, then the job search will not be so mundane and trivial; it will, in fact, be easier to look at the process as the stepping stone to a better life and a better you.
The services of a career coach can help you get there.