Coaching is partnership that offers you new ways of looking at your current situation, creative brainstorming and someone who you can honestly talk to and cares about your success in life. Hesitation, procrastination and uncertainty can hold you back from taking the necessary steps forward in making your dreams become a reality. Coaching will help you move past the obstacles and compassionately holds you accountable for taking personal responsibility and action at an optimum level. Coaching celebrates successes, acknowledges the uniqueness of each individual and increases learning at all levels.

Some reasons why you would choose to work with a career coach include, but not limited to the following:

• You have a lack of clarity concerning your future and your available career opportunities.
• You are looking for more in your career than just a paycheck.
• You want to transition into a new career or field.
• You have gone through a major change and want to align your work and your life together in a more congruent way.
• You are having a difficult time identifying your strengths and accomplishments and how to best leverage them into your next position.
• You have gone through a series of layoffs and are feeling discouraged.
• You are not getting the response you want from your current job search strategies.
• You are getting interviews, but not job offers.
• You are unsure on how to get the kind of job you want in today’s world.
• You want some professional insight and support during your career transition.
• You need assistance creating resumes, cover letters and marketing material.
• You want to know the basic, intermediate and advanced job search techniques of today.
• You are not sure how to negotiate the top dollar with a perspective employer.
• You want to practice your job search skills with a professional so that you will be more prepared for actual interviews.
• You want to know how to target key companies that you are interested in.
• You feel burnt out in your career and don’t know what to do.
• You know what you should be doing, but seem to procrastinate actually doing the necessary actions.
• You have become unorganized and lost in your job search process and need clarity.
• You have a desire to achieve a greater degree of success in your career.
• You are feeling a lack of confidence in your work and/or your life.
• It has become necessary to improve your communication skills in order to be successful in your career and life.
• You feel stuck in a rut and want to learn how to creatively think outside the box.
  
  

Coaching is geared toward manifesting a specific action or manifestation of potential while experiencing a fulfilling life. In coaching the focus is action based toward a future outcome whereas therapy looks at the issues of the past and offers an opportunity to gain understanding and clarity. Our coaching relationship draws a line between issues that are more therapy oriented rather action oriented. Examples can include emotional/behavioral problems or dysfunctional behaviors that are causing disruptive and unproductive situations. Through the coaching process an awareness of specific issues from your past may come up and you may find that there is a connection with the choices you are making today. If that occurs, clients may choose to work with a coach and a therapist as two different members of their personal team in order to provide the best partnership for success.

A Career Coach usually has business expertise and has training in a multitude of other fields including coaching, personal development and organizational understanding. Outplacement agencies usually provide more in the way of services for the Design area of the job transition and are often used by large corporations for layoffs. However, their programs can be costly for an individual and they may not be able to personalize their program for your specific needs. Recruiters are paid by companies to locate talent for various open positions, in all cases they are paid by the company and may not have the time to coach individuals on the finer points of a career search. Counselors provide some of the same services as a coach though they may rely heavily on assessment tools as their method of helping individual’s pick a career. They are often found in college or school settings but some may lack business expertise or real world knowledge.

Turning Point Coaching and Consulting offers full service career coaching for all phases of your career transition. The initial stage is the Discovery Stage and is based on a seven-step wholistic model that focuses on understanding how your skills, values, interests and mission are intricately tied to various career choices that can be financially rewarding and emotionally fulfilling. It provides you with clarity, tools and a logical plan that allow you to move confidently into the next phase of Design.

The next stage is the Design Stage and it covers all specific aspects of a job search including resumes, interviewing, salary negotiation, job search strategies and personal and professional preparation.

The Development Stage is for individuals that are already employed, but want more from their careers. They are committed to growth and want assistance in refining their communication and presentation skills, increasing their self-confidence, setting goals and increasing their creativity.

Each of these phases are continually reinforced with the unique elements of Personal Foundation program that address the areas of emotional intelligence and necessary skill sets to be successful in each of the three stages.

• Coaching experience, number of individuals coached, years of experience, types of situations, why they chose to be a coach.
• Specific coach training, skills, experience, certifications, additional training and ongoing learning.
• Coaching specialties or type of clients they work with.
• General philosophy and style of coaching.
• The coach’s ability to listen to the underlying story and address in a variety of ways to meet your learning style.
• The manner is which they create a plan of action that will help you get to your desired outcome.
• Their coaching model, assessments they use and or process that will guide you through the process. Look for specific answers not vague generalities.
• Request coaching success stories, specific examples of individuals who have done well and examples of how they added value to their clients.
• Assess their ability to listen and ask thought provoking questions that make you think and may even make you uncomfortable.
• Watch for the manner in which they hold congruency in their life. Do they walk their talk-how do they follow through, what is the “extra they provide”.
• Ask what professional resources and materials that they could include networking and research resources.
• Ask for references of other clients they worked with, listen to what others say regarding their reputation.
• Look for stylistic similarities and differences between the coach and you and how they might support your growth as an individual or the growth of your business.
• Discuss your goals for coaching within the context of the coach’s specialty or the coach’s preferred way of working with an individual or team.
• Have a personal interview with one or more coaches to determine “what feels right” in terms of the chemistry.
• Find out what how the sessions are conducted, the frequency and cost.
• Talk with the coach about what to do if you ever feel things are not going well; make some agreements up front on how to handle questions or problems
• Remember that coaching is a partnership; so be assertive about talking with the coach about anything that is of concern at any time.

The first session will be an hour and a half to two hours and is an opportunity to identify the areas you would like the coaching to focus on, an overview of your life and specific challenges that you might be facing. From that session, we will create a plan that includes very specific action items to implement that are directly related to what you want to accomplish. You will then make a decision as to how you would like our coaching relationship to be structured. Many of my clients have utilized our services for years and it is important that we have a relationship that works and offers you the services and style of coaching that works best for you.

Most sessions are done in person, though some clients prefer tele-coaching because of the flexibility in their busy schedules and the opportunity for people outside Southern California area to have the opportunity to access a Certified Career Coach. Additional resources in the form of relevant articles, checklists, assessments, and models will be utilized to support the client’s thinking, actions and growth.

Sessions are done in one hour or hour and a half increments, with more intensive sessions lasting 2 hours. The number of sessions is very individualized but will usually begin with 5 to 20 sessions and is based on your coaching needs. Program recommendation will be made at our first meeting and you can make the decision as to how you want to proceed.

Clients will meet with me every week or every other week depending on their urgency in moving forward, schedule and financial abilities. The duration of the coaching relationship varies depending on your personal needs, preferences and desire of achievement level.

Future sessions will include a “check in”, follow-up on action items, acknowledging successes, discussion of new issues that came up and focusing on the next steps in the plan. Specific modules or exercises may be used in each of the sessions for additional learning opportunities

Entering into a coaching agreement is very important step to take in your life and offers great potential both professionally and personally. Below you will find a sampling of the specific ways that I can help you.

In between sessions you are responsible for anywhere from 5-7 action items that you will be working on, call it “homework” if you would like. These are very important in moving forward toward your desired success and can range from Personal Foundation, Discovery, Design and/or Development items.

Email and brief phone contact in between sessions is welcome with any specific questions or wins the client may have.

The cost of coaching is always customized to your own individual situation and needs. The average cost of coaching can run anywhere from $600 to $3000 depending on the program that you choose. It is an investment in you and your future. If you get a job one month faster by using a coach or the promotion you want, you will have more than paid for the cost of the coaching, plus you will have received a lifetime of benefits in the process.

Call 949-643-5505 or email Heather at heather@aturningpoint.com to set up your initial consultation.