If you are the type of person who wants to help make a difference in other people’s lives through professional coaching, then, becoming a career coach from home would be the perfect choice for you.
While most of us get to figure out what we want and how to make it happen, others may have a hard time figuring them out.
Unfortunately, some people are sometimes torn with life — especially when they’re handed with so many options or in other cases when they feel like they do not have a choice.
Good thing, these people can seek professional help — and that is where a career coach comes into the picture.
Career coaching is challenging and rewarding at the same time. It is challenging in the sense that you have to invest time, money, and effort to become one, plus handling client situations can sometimes become emotionally and mentally dragging.
Meanwhile, it is rewarding because you get to help someone out in figuring what career to pursue and how to do it. Needless to say, it also provides financial satisfaction — which is a factor that makes it all worth it.
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Career coaching is a huge industry. In fact, according to data published online by IBIS World, the market size of the job training and career counseling (the category where career counseling belongs) in the United States this 2020 has reached $16.2 billion. The industry is projected to increase by 4% this year.
As you can see, there is indeed a great opportunity in this industry if you wish to pursue becoming a career coach. The numbers basically show that there is a huge market that needs professional career coaches’ help.
So, are you thinking about pursuing this career?
If your answer is yes, well, we got you!
In the next few sections, we are going to provide you essential information on how to become a career coach and more.
In particular, we are going to answer questions to the following most commonly asked questions regarding this job:
- What is career coaching?
- What does a career coach do?
- Who qualifies to become a career coach?
- How much does a career coach make?
- How to become a career coach from home?
- Where to find career coach jobs online?
WHAT IS CAREER COACHING?
First of all, let’s define what career coaching is. By doing so, this will help you learn and understand what this job is all about. It will also help you gauge if it’s the right career path for you.
Career coaching, also known as career counseling is a type of advice-giving as well as support that is provided by professional career counselors to their clients so that their clients learn to manage their journey not only through career changes but life in general, too.
The main purpose of career coaching is to empower professionals by helping them make informed decisions. Generally, career coaching follows a solution-based approach when it comes to making career decisions.
From a professional career coach’s point of view, here’s a video by Hans Schumann. In the video, he shares the reasons why people hire him as a career coach, and how the process helps his clients.
Career coaching is a growing industry. Over the years, more and more individuals are pursuing this career path, which is not surprising because with the increasing number of working individuals, and people who are struggling in making informed career decisions, the more that career coaches are becoming in-demand.
Unlike other coaching niches, career coaches focus on results, as well as actions, and accountability. They start fixing what needs to be fixed right where their clients are at the moment.
While some career coaches may offer their services on a face-to-face set up, in most cases, especially these days, career coaching is done online or via phone calls.
WHAT DOES A CAREER COACH DO?
So, now you already know what career coaching is all about. In this section, we are going to move on to sharing with you what exactly does a career coach does.
As a career coach, there are several different ways out there that you can help your client depending on the career coaching he or she needs — although in general, it’s all about reaching career goals.
It is your job as a career coach to guide your client, as well as to give advice on their career trajectories. More so, it is also part of your job to help your clients identify their respective career goals and the different steps they need in order to achieve them.
The main purpose of a career coach is to help people develop themselves, at the same time, help them reach their goals.
By the way, listening plays a very important role in your job. As a career coach, you need to listen to your client for you to be able to come up with solutions or ways on how they can reach their career goals.
It is not your job to dictate, rather, to encourage. As a career coach, it is not part of your job to push your client to do something you thought is right for them, rather, you help them realize what exactly it is that they want to pursue.
WHO QUALIFIES TO BECOME A CAREER COACH?
Learning the qualifications to become a career coach is important as this will help you see if you are fit for the job or not.
Contrary to what other people believed in, becoming a career coach does not require you to earn a particular degree or certification. While having a degree in Human Resource or Psychology would be an advantage, it is not necessary.
As mentioned, no certifications are required for you to become a career coach. However, if you want to really hone your craft and become more competitive and credible, there are online training sessions or workshops, or even short courses out there that you may want to check out.
Career coaching is a competitive industry. Thus, having worked as a career counselor, a recruiter, or in human resource would be an advantage.
Also, if you are someone who successfully achieved your career goals despite and in spite of everything you’ve gone through, your experiences will surely be a great ticket to becoming a career coach. After all, the experience is the best teacher, right? Having experienced how it becomes successful will surely make you a credible source of inspiration and career guidance.
Furthermore, if you are interested in pursuing a career coaching job, you must also have or develop these particular important skills:
- Communication – As a career coach, your job requires you to communicate a lot with your clients. Thus, being an excellent communicator would be very important. Otherwise, you won’t be able to send your message across — your client will not understand.
- Listening – As we have mentioned earlier, career coaching requires you to listen. You have to be an excellent listener for you to be able to understand what your client’s problems are, and how you can help the person in finding solutions, and eventually, in achieving his or her career goals.
In addition, to be an effective career coach, you must also be someone who:
- Ask Questions – While listening skills is important, asking questions is just as important as well. By asking questions to your clients, you get to help them find answers, and essentially, help them find ways to achieve their career goals.
- Encourages – Encouraging the person is very important, too. It helps build a person’s confidence. As a career coach, you have to be that someone who pushes the person, who encourages him or her that he or she can do it and that he or she can achieve his or her career goals.
- Trustworthy – As a career coach, your client may share with you some personal information or experiences, which should not be divulged to anyone unless you have the permission to do so. Being trustworthy is important to gain clients’ trust and confidence.
- Patient – Not all people are the same. As part of your work, you will encounter a lot of different people with different personalities. Some may be easy to go along with, while others may be tough. Thus, the need for patience.
HOW MUCH DOES A CAREER COACH MAKE?
Asking how much a career coach earns is valid. It is a totally valid question.
Generally, how much you make as a career coach depends on certain factors like your years of experience as a career coach, and your expertise (including training or certifications if you have).
However, to give you an idea, according to Glassdoor, currently, the average base pay of career coaches in the United States is $40,089 per year. The salary rate can go as low as $27,000 or as high as $63,000 per year.
As we have said earlier, career coaching can be financially rewarding. But, in order for you to be able to reach that point, you have to really work hard.
HOW TO BECOME A CAREER COACH FROM HOME?
In this section, we are going to share with you how exactly it is to become a successful career coach.
Don’t worry, you can easily become one by following these simple steps:
STEP 1: Gain Practical Experience
The best way to start as a career coach is to gain practical experience. Having practical experience will help you understand better what the job entails.
It will also help you practice your draft and learn how to exactly do the job right.
There are several ways for you to get practical experience.
One, you can start with a friend or a family member who needs career coaching. Of course, the person has to be willing to accept your services.
By the way, in this stage, it is okay to offer free services. After all, you are just gaining experience to help you become ready once you finally decide to offer professional career coaching to other people.
Anyway, another way is to get an entry-level job in career services or a workforce development setting. By doing so, it will help you widen your knowledge and understanding of the career coaching industry. Working in these sectors will help you gain more practical experience in an actual setting.
STEP 2: Pursue Professional Development
If you really want to take this profession seriously, and you want to establish your credibility and reputation as a career coach, the best way to do that of course is by pursuing professional development.
Although, as we mentioned earlier, becoming a career coach does not really require any certifications, there are actually organizations that provide one if you really want to step up your game, more so, gain the right knowledge about this career path.
However, keep in mind that earning certifications may cost you a lot. But then again, it’s a good investment especially if you want to pursue a professional career in this field.
Furthermore, professional development may also be earned by joining career development organizations or career coaches associations. This is a great way for you to learn about recent trends in career coaching and is also a great avenue to build up your network.
Doing research on emerging trends, attending career coaching-related workshops and webinars, participating in training sessions, as well as reading related articles are also great ways of gaining more knowledge about career coaching.
STEP 3: Find Your Career Coaching Niche
There are a lot of career coaching niches out there to choose from. To help you figure out what niche you want to pursue, you may consider asking yourself the following questions:
Who is your ideal client? As a career coach, you have the option to either worth it with individuals or with a company. Also, you need to think about the type of client you are willing to work with. Are you focusing on working particularly with women, executives, minorities, etc.?
What type of career coaching do you want to do? Do you see yourself helping clients figure out and achieve their career goals, or would you rather focus on helping clients with writing an effective resume to land them a job?
By asking yourself these questions, these will certainly help you find your niche, and then you can focus on that.
STEP 4: Determine Your Rates
Once you have already gathered experience, pursue professional development, and have found your niche, it’s time to work on determining your rates.
For you to be able to determine your rate as a career coach, you have to consider your qualifications. You may also check other career coaches ’ rates for reference.
Also, the price model that you choose will also be of great help. Just so you know, you can set your prices on an hourly or monthly rate, or you may also opt to rate on a per-package basis (e.g. a month-long or a 3-month long coaching package — depends on you, really).
Based on these pricing models, you should be able to determine your rate depending on what works best for you.
STEP 5: Market Your Career Coaching Business
Once you’re done with steps one to four, it’s time to work on your marketing strategies.
Since you are going to work from home, the best marketing strategy is online. Well, technically speaking, it really is the most efficient not only because it’s easily accessible, but also because it provides you with a wide platform to make your business known.
You have lots of options to market your career coaching business. Some of them are:
- Joining or creating your own career coaching Facebook Group
- Using Facebook, Instagram, and other social media channels to market your business
- Placing an online ad particularly on popular social media platforms
- Creating your own website (this is probably the most ideal as it will also help build your reputation and credibility as a career coach)
- Word of mouth through family and friends (nothing beats the old school way of marketing a product or service)
Once you are done with the five steps, you are certainly on the road to building a successful coaching career from home.
WHERE TO FIND CAREER COACH JOBS ONLINE?
To start earning money as a career coach, you have to work on finding your first clients.
While you can rely on referrals through your family and friends, as well as through your network, eventually, you have to go out of your zone and look for clients or opportunities.
One way to do that is by finding career coaching opportunities through online listing sites like FlexJobs, Upwork, Indeed, and LinkedIn.
Companies like RiseSmart and Robbins Research International are also great choices if you want to land a career coaching job from home.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON BECOMING A CAREER COACH
Overall, career coaching is a fulfilling job. Yes, it may be a little challenging when you are just starting, but once you are already at it, it will surely flow smoothly, and essentially, you will enjoy the ride.
What we particularly like about this work from home opportunity apart from it being a remote job is that it allows you to help make a difference in someone else’s career life.
While it is financially rewarding, it is also emotionally fulfilling knowing that you are able to help someone figure out the right career path for him or her.
So, if you are looking for a job that will help you put into action your passion for guiding people particularly in their career life, then career coaching is perfect for you.
Are you ready to say yes to this kind of opportunity?
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