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Is Career Coaching for me?
The word 'coach' originates from the Hungarian word 'kocsi' (in German "Kutsche") which means a horse-cart. The purpose of such horse-cart is to help passengers to get their destination as fast, as conveniently, and as safely as possible.
 We consider this kind of coach a very appropriate metaphor for how we see coaching. The main purpose is to assist our clients in getting to where they want to be in a way that is as fast, as safe, and as effective as possible.
Career Coaching can typically be divided into three main phases:
1) Identifying your ideal career goal
2) Achieving your ideal career goal
3) Being successful in your ideal career
 1) Identifying Your Ideal Career Goal
We noticed that clients considering a career transition usually are motivated by certain deficiencies they perceive in their current career, position or company. As a result, they tend to strive for a new career goal where these deficiencies would no longer be an issue.
While many people are successful in achieving exactly that, they often overlook other important aspects of their life that are in order before the transition. Since these aspects tend to be taken for granted, not much attention is given to them and as a result some of these aspects might worsen significantly after the career change.
Also, we frequently notice that clients who consider a career change have only a few ideas on the optimal new career which are closely related to their current or past career.
Progress-U's career coaching approach ensures through the use of effective tools that
- Any new career goal leads to a holistic improvement of all relevant and important aspects of life
- Any new career goal is chosen from an extensive list of possibilities that go beyond what clients initially consider
- Any new career goal is clearly aligned with the personality of the person and as such is likely to ignite a strong passion in the client to pursue it
 2) Achieving Your Ideal Career Goal
Whether you consider to achieve your ideal career goal within your current organization or externally, it will be necessary to go about it in a strategic way. You will need to
- Identify your unique strengths that you can leverage on
- Know your 'transferrable' skills that are useful in the targeted position
- Develop a plan how to get there, including, but not limited to which resources will be needed, which channels need to be addressed, what needs to be done to 'groom' yourself for the position, etc.
Progress-U may even assist with its own network of clients to help a career coaching client to be placed in the optimal career.
Further activities during Phase 2 may include
- Updating & editing of CV and cover letter
- Practice networking skills
- Practice interviewing skills
 3) Being Successful in Your Ideal Career
The first 100 days in any new position tend to be critical whether or not a person will be successful in the longer run and can make it through the probation period.
During that phase, we typically work on any of the following topics
- Identifying the corporate culture and politics of the new employer and how to adjust to it
- Achieving 'early wins' to gain credibility
- Major pitfalls and how to avoid them
- Strategy to ensure expectations of employer are matched or exceeded
- Dealing with critical players who may or may not be in favor of you
 Entrepreneurial Coaching
Some former employees consider self-employment. Progress-U's coaches may assist them in
- Identifying suitability to be an entrepreneur
- Identifying optimal areas to get started as entrepreneur
- Planning the transition
- Avoiding major pitfalls
- Sharing resources to get started
For Progress-U’s Coaching & Training Standards – click here
For Progress-U’s Career Coaches – click here
For a Selection of Clients we have worked with – click here
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