Would you like to know how to become a career coach?
It’s a big responsibility, but nothing is more fulfilling than helping clients regain their confidence and happiness while achieving goals they never thought possible.
If you want to become a successful career coach, follow these steps.
- 1. Understand the Necessary Skills
- 2. Choose Your Training and Certification Program
- 3. Develop Your Unique Coaching Vision
- 4. Start Coaching
- 5. Start Your New Business
- 6. Build Your Website
- How Much Does a Career Coach Make?
1. Understand the Necessary Skills
You need to become well-acquainted with the skills you possess and those you’re going to need. Understanding these will help you figure out what kind of coach you want to be.
Are you a born researcher? Then you might be a great educational career coach or exploratory coach that helps people locate new opportunities and go after them.
Are you a people person? Maybe you should specialize in networking and interviewing skills.
Maybe you’re not very well-versed on social media or entrepreneurship.
These are concepts that you’re going to have to master, so make sure to keep your weaknesses in mind when choosing a certification.
Speaking of that…
2. Choose Your Training and Certification Program
You need to get certified and rack up plenty of experience before you hope to take on clients.
We’ve recommended some great certifications above, but don’t limit yourself.
Do your research and find a program that has a sterling reputation and covers the information you need most.
Even after you earn a certification, you should never stop learning.
The best coaches have multiple certifications and are always seeking new knowledge to help their clients and advance their careers.
Related: How Much Does It Cost To Become A Life Coach?
3. Develop Your Unique Coaching Vision
So, you’re certified and ready to roll… or are you?
You still haven’t figured out the most important part of your coaching method: your vision.
You can read books and theory all day, but it’s your unique style and personality that will inspire your clients and skyrocket your business.
So, what is special about you? What do you do that the other coaches don’t? What is your outlook on coaching, and how can you instill that into a marketable and actionable strategy?
If you don’t have it down yet, don’t worry. This is something that comes with time, but you should always be honing your skills and staying mindful of your unique style.
NOTE: Assessment is super important for your clients, but it may be even more important for you. No one can tell you more about your vision and coaching style than your clients.
4. Start Coaching
It’s time to dive in. Put your feelers out there and find a few clients. Set your price a bit lower than the competition to attract some clients and generate some stellar reviews.
Before you know it, you’ll be getting calls and scheduling sessions months in advance.
5. Start Your New Business
Remember that there’s a lot more to coaching than just helping people. Being a career coach is your business, and you have to operate it responsibly and competitively if you want to succeed.
Here are some things you’ll need to cover:
- Get your company registered and your tax information settled
- Start a website
- Get a dedicated email address and phone line
- Build social media pages for your business
- Think about advertising
- Offer promotions
If these things make you nervous, don’t worry. Just as counselors are suggested to go to counseling themselves, new career coaches can do with a bit of help from more experienced coaches.
You could look for Coach Jobs before you start with your own business.
Schedule a session to learn about what works and what doesn’t before you pour too much money into your new business strategy.
How To Become a Career Coach – 6. Build Your Website
Whether you’re operation online, in person, or both, your website will be your most powerful tool. Your website is the place where you’ll direct all of your potential clients to learn more about you, your services, and coaching in general.
Here are the essential parts of a website that you need:
- Homepage: Obviously, you need a home page. But make sure that it clearly states your message and benefits. Also, it should be easy to navigate.
- About page: Tell visitors what makes you different and why you are the best choice in career coaches.
- Contact page: Visitors should be able to send you a message directly from this page.
- FAQ: The acronym for Frequently Asked Questions, an FAQ page is an easy place for readers to find answers to their most common questions.
- Blog: A blog will keep your readers engaged and help to grow your business by generating traffic.
That’s about it. Feel free to add some things to your site to make it special, but don’t go crazy. Too many tabs and headings will make your site cluttered and difficult to navigate.
How Much does a Career Coach Make?
According to glassdoor.com, a career coach in the USA makes about $45,000 per year.
Less experienced coaches will likely make less, though many successful coaches make over 70k annually.
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