It does not take much strength to do things, but it requires great strength to decide on what to do.
~ Elbert Hubbard

Statistics from the Department of Labor show that the average person changes their career 6-8 times during their lifetime. That means you could start out a secretary to work your way through college, become a financial analyst, go into sales, leave that for writing, become a career advisor/job search trainer and end up a coach. (I know this path; it was mine.)

If you haven’t had a change of career thus far, you are batting against the odds. If you have, then you realize that it’s more than simply applying for a different job especially in today’s economy. Not only do you need something to live for, you also need something to live on.

Many people fall into their career through happenstance, or cling to the first job they can find and try to make a career of that. Or perhaps they follow the career chosen by someone else, their parents or their spouse. There are times when these methods produce a satisfying and fulfilling life. Or not.

Being in the wrong career is like wearing someone else’s clothes. Things just don’t fit. You’re only comfortable if you make certain concessions, or lean in a different direction. And the color is all wrong.

Or it could be that you’ve pursed a career that was right for you in the beginning, but you have reached the point where it’s no longer satisfying. The thrill of leaping out of bed in the morning to get to work has turned into dreading Mondays. It could be the work, it could be the politics, or it could be that circumstances have changed around you. You’ve done the same thing a hundred times. You don’t have 10 years experience; it’s 1 year experience 10 times.

Today isn't any other day, you know.
~Lewis Carroll

Who Hires a Career Coach?

Career coaching will help you determine a new focus for your life and target the career you want. By examining your deepest values and the dreams of your life, you begin to recognize what brings you joy. Where there is joy, there is success.

If you can be moderately successful doing something you don’t like, imagine what it would be like to focus your energy and time on something that ignites your passion!

There are several different paths people follow to career coaching. Some appear at predictable times in your life. For example:

Career coaching helps the recent graduate answer these questions:

Career coaching helps people who are dissatisfied with their career and have no idea what to do.

There are also those who are in satisfying careers that simply want career coaching on how to get ahead. They want to know: