Hiring a career coach is not the same as hiring any other service professional out there. As there is no official licensing agency that you can consult, expect a lot to claim that they are experts. This is why you have to be very diligent when choosing a career coach to hire.

 

The International Coaches Federation has about 4000 certified coaches as of now.  Another organization that provides certification is the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches (PARCC), where you can also find a coach. Both ICF and PARCC offer free coach search facilities on their websites. Just remember though that certifications do not serve as guarantees, and many good coaches out there are not certified.

 

Personal references may seem like the best route to find a good coach, but not all the time. The corporate training is a very personal job, and what works for a friend or colleague may not necessarily work for you too. Instead, you can try searching the web by typing in "career coach" + any areas of interest you might have. This way, you have a bigger chance of finding a coach who truly matches your personality.

 

 

You may find a lot of useful information on a coach's website. However, what you might find more useful are the things you read about the coach in other parts of the web. Do you see them in other websites? How often are they quoted? In other words, how much influence do they have? In what areas are they considered experts, and what are their clients saying about them? This kind of information is certainly more valuable compared to that which they themselves edit and publish on their websites.

 

Think of hiring a career coach as similar to hiring a sports coach. You'd like to know their track record. How are their previous clients now doing? Of course, you'd also want to hire someone who has been successful in their own career. If you're eyeing a particular coach, ask him about his own career path. You want someone who has real experience, not just in the field of career coaching but everywhere else as well. 

 

Note that in most cases, coaching today happens over the phone. There are coaches who don't book face-to-face meetings, whether or not they are in the same city as their clients. This is to ensure an even playing field for coaches and clients, and that there won't be any judgments about appearances. Of course, this also works to widen the horizon for those who are looking for a coach, as there will be no geographical limits of any kind.

 

By the time you've trimmed down your search, you'd like to interview your main prospects. Inquire about fees, which will likely range from $50 - $300/hour. Note that some coaches will require you to book a certain minimum number of hours. On average, a coach-client relationship will probably go for about six months to a year.

 

Finally, finding the right coach may all be a matter of chemistry. Because you will be sharing very personal information with your coach, you would at least like this person to be completely trustworthy and comfortable to be around. If you want to read more, the post at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Career can give you more tips on how to hire ac career coach.