Career Coach Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a career coach. You can use our job description template in this article to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a career coach.
Who is a Career Coach?
Career coaching is a sort of personal coaching that helps people discover greater fulfillment in their careers by setting professional goals, developing a strategy, and overcoming any obstacle that might surface along the way. A career coach is an expert in career coaching who either focuses on a particular profession or the whole employment and recruitment process. A career coach can assist people in researching potential careers and looking for job openings that match their career interests. They can work in educational institutions, colleges, governmental organizations, or private practices. To empower professionals, career coaches assist them in making decisions regarding their future.
Career coaches place a strong emphasis on outcomes, activities, and accountability. The career coaching responsibility begins exactly where the client is at the moment to where the client aspires to be. Career coaches communicate with their clients more often via the phone or over Skype, which broadens the audience they may address. A professional can receive career coaching at any time throughout their working career. Finding a student position at the start of your career, creating a new résumé, negotiating certain terms, assisting you in choosing your next professional move or transition, or even retiring, are all examples of what career coaching might include. You may find your right fit, or the available chances, your strengths, and what you want out of life, with the help of career coaching, which can equip you with the approach and perspective to make wise professional decisions.
People can get assistance from career coaches for a variety of career-related objectives and issues. Some people seek career coaching because they are trapped in a position that has no meaning or purpose for them, while others struggle to strike a balance between their personal and professional life. Some customers have a clear idea of what they want to achieve with their lives but require assistance developing and carrying out a strategy to get there, while others have struggled to identify their true purpose in life. All of these issues and more are resolved via career coaching.
Career coaches determine a person’s suitability for various jobs and assist in their preparation for such jobs. Employers typically look for candidates with an undergraduate degree, work experience in a related sector, and strong organizational, communication, and analytical skills. High school students, college students, and other people can receive professional development advice from career coaches. They provide direct consulting to clients to assist in identifying and achieving career goals. Career coaches are employed by numerous secondary and post-secondary institutions as well as several enterprises and organizations; another option for this profession is self-employment. While some career coaches have certifications in the profession, most have bachelor’s degrees.
Professional coaches help their clients set personal objectives, hone leadership skills, and plan career moves. Helping clients find new career prospects, giving input on resumes or cover letters, and planning for a successful job interview are just a few examples of daily responsibilities. To actively promote job opportunities, they also host workshops, network, and sustain relationships. Depending on a client’s needs, an appointment with them may last from one week to several years. Clients may include the unemployed, those with physical disabilities, students, and recent graduates in addition to those who want to change or advance in their careers.
Career Coach Job Description
Below are the career coach job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
Career coaches are responsible for a range of tasks including:
- Assist clients in identifying their interests and career aspirations in life.
- Help clients in boosting their leadership abilities and make strategic career decisions.
- Discover new work opportunities for clients.
- Review and give feedback on the cover letters and resumes of clients.
- Practice job interview strategies with customers and provide guidance.
- Hold lectures and workshops to inform people looking for the best job route.
- Assist clients who want a shift in a career in achieving so.
- Conduct client personality and skill evaluations.
- Administer aptitude tests to assist identify the interests and skills of your clientele.
- Take the clients’ education and experience into account when advising them on the line career path.
- Advise customers to pursue extra education to help them reach their job goals.
- Assist clients with creating resumes and cover letters for potential employers.
- Help customers with job search techniques, interaction with potential companies, and application completion.
- Give your clients advice on how to improve their areas of weakness.
- Conduct a thorough investigation of careers and related topics.
- Make blogs and write articles that are helpful to job seekers.
- Provide clients with options including employment postings, networking chances, educational opportunities, and training courses
- Teach clients self-promotion techniques.
- Assist clients with interview preparation.
- Analyze the knowledge, interests, and experience of a client.
- Haggle over job offers on behalf of clients.
- Conduct ongoing outreach initiatives, such as workshops, sessions, and presentations to students at events, conferences, or other venues.
- Assist students in finding funding sources to cover the cost of their education and other training courses.
- Conduct research, analyze, and update online resources for a range of profession-related topics, academic specializations, and career domains.
- Help customers break bad habits that hold them back from career success.
- Respond to inquiries from clients seeking information on various professions.
- Give pupils advice on what classes to take in high school and college to get ready for a specific career.
- Help students select the colleges that will best suit their career aspirations.
- Assist students in locating financial aid and other sources of money for their education.
- Create long-term career plans with customers, which should include goal-setting and action-plan creation.
- Advising people on making career decisions, such as selecting a degree or a job, is common.
- Offer counseling services to people who are going through personal struggles that might be affecting how well they do at work.
- Create job search methods and teach people how to create cover letters and resumes.
- Create personalized career growth plans based on the client’s interests, abilities, and talents.
- Determine the best job options for the client by evaluating their existing skill set, interests, personality type, values, and motivations.
- Stay in touch with clients to check on their progress toward their goals throughout the coaching engagement.
- Meet with clients to talk about problems with work-life balance, performance concerns, or workplace conflict.
- Make modifications to work schedules or settings to boost efficiency or lower stress.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Counseling, sociology, or a related discipline.
- A Master’s degree in Counseling with a concentration in career counseling is advantageous.
- State-required licensure.
- Internship and training in the field.
- Previous experience as a career coach, counselor, or similar role.
- Must opt for continuing education to keep up with developments in the field.
- Must pass criminal background investigation and drug test, especially when working in schools with students who are minors.
- Center for Credentialing and Education certification.
- Strong computer skills.
- Knowledge of designing spreadsheets and maintaining databases is a plus.
- Knowledge of human resources and recruitment strategies.
- Certification by the International Coach Federation (ICF)
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Effective problem-solving and decision-making skills.
- Multi-tasking and time management skills
- Active listening skills.
Essential Skills
- Active listening: The capacity to listen effectively to what a client is saying and show that you understand them is known as active listening skills. Active listening is a skill used often by career coaches to assist clients in understanding their strengths and shortcomings, creating realistic goals, and learning how to deal with obstacles in their careers.
- Empathy: Understanding another person’s thoughts and feelings is known as empathy. Empathy is a valuable tool that career coaches usually utilize to counsel their clients about the issues they are facing in the workplace. To help clients realize why they might not be a good fit for a given position, a career coach would have to employ empathy while dealing with them.
- Research skills: Research is a common approach used by career coaches to assist their clients in making wise career decisions. For instance, a career coach might advise a client to enroll in an online data analysis course if they wish to advance in their current position. The career coach would subsequently research the many programs that are offered and decide which is best for the client’s requirements. Research skill enables career coach to give their client precise information and direction.
- Communication and interpersonal skills: Communication with clients by phone, email, video call, and in-person meetings is a common task for career coaches. Therefore, career coaches must have excellent communication skills to interact across all media. This includes having the skills necessary to compose and send formal emails, conduct in-depth phone conversations, and conduct engaging in-person meetings. Career coaches need to be able to explain complex concepts understandably and establish a rapport with their clients so that they feel comfortable disclosing private information. You may work with clients who have poor social or communication skills, therefore it’s essential to improve these abilities early in your coaching career. You’ll need to be able to bring out the best in them and assist them in securing employment that meets their specific requirements.
- Problem-solving skills: Career coaches typically work with their clients to create action plans for achieving their objectives. This entails recognizing obstacles and coming up with methods to go through them. For instance, a career coach might assist a client in determining the skills required for advancement in their present job and then assist them in determining how to acquire those skills.
- Crisis intervention skills: A career coach must be able to support clients in difficult circumstances. When a customer is having trouble balancing work and life or is dealing with a family member’s illness, they might need to offer support. A career coach who is skilled in crisis intervention can guide clients through these difficulties and help them advance in their careers.
- Knowledge of human behavior: Career coaches must know the fundamentals of human motivation and behavior to understand their client’s decision-making processes and the factors that influence them. Career coaches who are familiar with these ideas can give their clients more effective goal-setting advice. Understanding how people make decisions based on their motivations is easily achieved with knowledge of needs and the self-determination hypothesis.
- Time management skills: A single session or a series of sessions are common durations of time for career coaches to work with clients. To provide their clients with the attention they require, career coaches must be able to efficiently manage their time. Additionally, career coaches typically work with multiple clients at once, so they must have the ability to manage their time effectively to guarantee that each client receives the attention they require.
How to Become a Career Coach
Step 1. Obtain a degree
A bachelor’s degree in a related discipline, such as psychology, sociology, or business administration, is often required for a career coach. This area of study offers a solid basis for understanding human motivation and behavior that can be used in career coaching. Consider taking courses in statistics, research methods, psychology, and communications as you work toward your college degree. These courses will aid in the development of your job-related research and data analysis abilities. A master’s degree in career counseling or a closely related discipline is also obtained by many career coaches. Students who earn a master’s degree in career counseling are equipped with the knowledge and skills to help clients make accurate career choices.
Step 2. Gain work experience
Gaining experience in the industry you want to work in is important before pursuing a career as a coach. Consider working in human resources or management before enrolling in coaching programs, for instance, if your goal is to become a corporate career coach. Working in a comparable position can help you acquire the information and abilities required for your future profession as a coach. Additionally, it can help you understand the different coaching approaches that your clients prefer as well as how they react to them. The majority of the time, employers give their career coaches on-the-job training. As part of this training, you can observe an active career coach in action or gain inspiration from a superior. Furthermore, some career coaches could do an internship to gain experience. A career coach can learn more about the industry and the duties of a career coach through an internship.
Step 3. Obtain certifications
Obtaining certifications might increase job chances for those aspiring to become career coaches. After completing your schooling, you can work toward obtaining a coaching certification to assist you to enter the industry. A three-tier coaching certification program, consisting of foundational, professional, and master coach certifications, is offered by the International Coach Federation (ICF). The completion of the ICF Foundational Coaching Certification Program is the first step in this program. You will learn about coaching concepts, ethics, boundaries, communication skills, listening techniques, and other crucial ideas in this program. After that, you must succeed on an exam covering these subjects to earn your fundamental certification. You must finish the ICF’s Professional Development Program to proceed further in the coaching certification program. This program focuses on advanced coaching abilities, including dispute resolution, goal setting, motivation, and accountability. You must also pass an exam to earn your professional certification after completing this program.
Step 4. Join professional organizations
Become a member of professional organizations such as the International Coach Federation (ICF). The ICF is an organization that offers training and certification to coaches in various fields. Being a member of the ICF can help you land coaching jobs and contracts, as many employers prefer to hire professionals who are members of this association. Becoming a member of the ICF also allows you to network with other career coaches and gain access to continuing education programs. Through the ICF, you can also earn a professional coach certification through a three-tier system.
Where to Work as a Career Coach
A Career coach can work in a variety of places, such as colleges, universities, career centers, human resource departments, talent management units, and private establishments. Some of them are self-employed, and they work with individuals, groups, or organizations on contract. They may also need to work with clients over the phone or online. Career coaches typically work full time, and some may work evenings and weekends to accommodate their clients’ schedules and meet deadlines. They may also travel to meet with their clients or to attend conferences and seminars.
Career Coach Salary Scale
The salary scale of a career coach can widely vary depending on different factors such as level of education, years of experience, location of the workplace, and the type of clients they work with. The average salary of a Career Coach in the United States is $47,622 per year. The salary range typically falls between $42,732 and $53,662 per year.
Career coaches in the United Kingdom earn over £26,000 per year. Their salary is usually between £24,000 and £36,288 per year. A career coach in Canada earns about $52,650 per year. The salary usually ranges between $43,739 and $65,019 per year. The salary of a career coach in Nigeria is an average of 3,850,000 NGN per year. Between 1,645,000 NGN and 6,085,000 NGN per year is the salary scale.