Career coaching provides support to help individuals identify career choices that match their personality, interests, and skills. Coaches work with clients using psychometric assessments to determine the career path most likely to provide long-term satisfaction. Career coaching helps clients discover their strengths and overcome barriers to progress by developing a career plan and setting SMART goals. The coaching process equips clients with skills to independently evaluate future career options without needing additional coaching. Rather than questioning if they can afford coaching, people should consider if they can afford not to use career coaching services.

1. What is Career Coaching?
In any field of activity, although success might be achieved unassisted, it is usually achieved more
efficiently and quickly by following the advice of individuals qualified to provide support in that
field. Unassisted, individuals can waste valuable time, money and effort and end up making poor
choices. Consider the difficulties caused to people and organisations in terms of stress, demotivation
and lost productivity as a result of these decisions or the anxiety caused to undergraduates who think
that they may have made the wrong course choice. How many athletes or sporting teams prepare for a
competition without the support and expertise of a qualified coach?
Career coaching services are designed to provide people with the skills, techniques and support
necessary to identify the career choice that most closely matches their personality, interests, skills and
values. Coaches work with clients, usually utilising the results of psychometric assessments, either in
groups, but more usually individually, to determine the career path most likely to provide long term
job satisfaction and development potential.
It has long been recognised that an individual’s job satisfaction is very closely dependent on them
using their motivated skills, those skills that they are good at and which they like using, and their
primary interests, as much as possible during the course of the working day. How many of us have
found ourselves in the situation where our work involves us using skills that, while we might be good
at, we really dislike using. Because we have demonstrated a capability in the task, we find that we are
continuously asked by our managers to carry out the role, even though we are unhappy in that role.
There are too many square pegs in round holes in employment terms, leading to resentment,
disinterest, stress and lost productivity.
People rarely take the time to evaluate where they are, in career terms, where they want to be and how
they will get there. It is probably fair to say that we spend more time planning a family event such as a
party or holiday, events that are transitory, than we do our career, a decision that has far more long
term consequences.
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2. Career coaching can be very enriching as clients discover hidden strengths and are coached through
various techniques to overcome potential barriers to progress. Clients are encouraged to take
responsibility for their career plan and work with the coach to critically evaluate career options and
entry routes to their chosen career. Having fully researched their primary career choice, clients are
then assisted in the recording of SMART career goals, and encouraged to take action to bring these
goals to fruition.
Having engaged in a career coaching process, clients possess the skills and techniques that will enable
them to critically evaluate future career choices, ideally without the need of further coaching.
Rather than asking themselves whether they can afford to use a career coaching service, people should
consider whether they can afford not to.
Andrew Mulligan
Qualified Career Coach and founder of Irish Career Resolutions Ltd.
Reg. No. 515942 Reg Office - 88 Lower Leeson St. Dublin 2
Tel: 00 353 87 286 2009 Email: muland@eircom.net
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