Career Assessments and Coaches - A Powerful Combination For a Midlife Career Transition

Assessment is essential. Gathering solid, dependable data about your midlife career client is the most efficient road to career coaching success. Midlife is said to commence when one ceases to measure one's life in terms of time that has elapsed since birth, and gradually switches to a more interior evaluation of how much time is left. This gigantic shift generally occurs somewhere in one's 40s (the actual advent of midlife is naturally influenced by many factors). Midlife can send psychological 'shock waves' through the client; some clients enter what we blithely call 'mid-career crisis' a frightening period of uncertainty.

Midlife is said to end when one commences retirement (although this maker is also open to contest as well). In any event, midlife opens with a flush of self-life confusion, evidenced by an avalanche of the "big" questions of life: "Where am I going?" How have I done so far in my life?" "Is my life on track?" "Is this what I genuinely want from life?" "Am I in an authentic career for me?" These, and other questions swirl in an almost unending vortex in the hearts and minds of the midlife career seeker.

The midlife career client presents to the career coach carrying all this internal confusion that screams for clarification and reason, direction and priority, as well as organization and the need to "make meaning" of it all. What's a good career coach to do?

The Need for Good Career Assessment

There exists compelling evidence that assessments produce better insights, better decisions, and better outcomes for both career clients and career coaches. Everyday, we career coaches help our clients make life-changing decisions; decisions that we hope will lead to positive outcomes. Quality assessments can immeasurably help support our coaching evaluations and shape the direction of our coaching efforts. The overall benefits of career assessments are no more compelling than in coaching the midlife career client.

Quality assessments, ones that are valid, reliable, cost effective, efficient of time, and where training in their use is readily available, are indispensable for the midlife career client. Assessments have immense benefits because they can produce dramatic results.

Benefits of Assessment

o Allows clients to understand themselves better

o Promotes a more 'scientific' coaching orientation

o Lends clarity to confusion

o Provides hard data evidence

o Enhances deeper self-exploration

o Promotes quality outcomes

o Offers data to help make accurate and more reliable decisions

o Identifies personal strengths

o Enhances client motivation

o Activates time efficiency

o Jumpstarts changing client deficit behaviors

o Gives structure and order without stricture

o Increases coach confidence

Career Assessment: Development Across the Lifespan

The primary goal of career assessments is not to discover deficits, rather it's to identify internal strengths, to deepen the conversation between you and your client, and to help you formulate more powerful questions that can not only motivate your clients but even inspire them. Career assessments motivate your clients in the most personal, practical, and relevant ways possible, to advance their ongoing career/life search across the lifespan.

Quality career assessments have helped literally thousands of individuals grow toward a much clearer understanding of the meaning and purpose of their life. The results give you clear directions for continued growth toward appreciating your client's authentic 'work.' Quality assessments give you added relevance to your coaching profession when they are coupled with educational experiences designed to further personalize and extend the learning that occurred with the assessment itself.

The results of quality assessments give you the coach invaluable information about your client; information you could gain nowhere else. Quality assessments generate a personal report that allows you to dramatically advance on your path toward helping your midlife career clients in ways unavailable to you without them. The information given in assessments enables you to move forward in your work with vastly increased confidence and motivation.

Dr. Johnson is the co-founder of ReCareer, Inc., a coach training organization dedicated to helping midlife career changers find meaningful and purpose-driven careers in the second half of life. He is a nationally recognized spokesperson in the field of retirement, career transition and adult development, having written and lectured extensively in those fields. His fresh ideas and enthusiasm for the wholistic aspects of adult development and maturation have inspired scores of maturing adults to follow their hearts and live more abundant lives. He is a dynamic, engaging, and compassionate teacher who delights in seeing his students grow in body, mind, and spirit. Dr. Johnson is the former president of the American Association for Adult Development and Aging. He is the creator of the ReCareer Success Inventory©, the Retirement Success Profile©, the LifeOptions Profile ©, and the Retirement Options © program, developed from over 20 years of retirement research and dedicated to helping people lead enriched and fulfilling lives in their second half of life.

Career Counselors vs Recruiters, Coaches Offer Hands-On Approach

Career Counselors

"Understand that career counselors and recruiters offer two different services"

Career counselors / coaches offer one on one session's. They help answer the clients many questions of "How to make a successful career transition." When you have been networking, answering ads, meeting with support groups but are not getting results than you might think about seeing a career counselor / coach. They can help you identify why or what pieces you are missing to get lasting results. Typically recruiters look for the degree and the list of your skills in order to get you in front of the decision maker for an interview. However recruiters often don't have the skills to help clients transition into new or different careers, ace and prep you for the interview, or negotiate the best offer. I've listed more below about what to look for when you use a recruiter. Here are four clear differences that career counselors / coaches provide that typically recruiters do not.

1. Career counselors provide a holistic approach to measure the correct career fit

2. Career counselors provide a systematic / step by step career approach.

3. Career counselors partner and walk through each stage of the career transition together

4. Career counselors manage the client's emotional swings with long career campaigns

Recruiters can be valuable allies for those seeking to advance their careers. But they're not career counselors / coaches. If you choose to work with recruiters be aware of the following five guidelines..

Cheryl made a big mistake when she lost her job during a severe industry tailspin. Because she had no connections in other industries, she thought, "I'll talk to a couple of recruiters. They've come through in the past, and soon I'll have a great job." She contacted several recruiters and waited. Several (very expensive) months later, Cheryl was still waiting.

She was baffled. She'd been a top performer. Finally, in exasperation, she asked one recruiter why he wasn't presenting her. She was shocked when he said his clients demanded same-industry experience, and he would lose professional credibility by presenting her.

Cheryl learned the hard way that it is critical to be savvy when using recruiters but not to rely on them as if they were career counselors.

Understand their incentives

It pays to remember that recruiters don't make money by providing career counseling (although, hopefully, that is a result of their work). They make money by finding suitable candidates for client companies. Job hunters are not the customer; they are the product.

Make sure you are a viable candidate

Companies won't pay big fees to recruiters -- unless there's a good reason:

1. The candidate they want can't be found by a help-wanted ad.

2. They want someone who has many years of experience in their specific industry (not career changers).

3. They want to raid a competitor.

4. They have high-turnover positions, and they want a fresh stream of bodies.

If you skills are rare and in demand, you have substantial experience in your field, or you want to work for a competitor--then recruiters can be helpful. Otherwise, they can get in your way and you may want to consider a career counselor.

Use your network to find good recruiters

Ask friends and colleagues if they have used recruiters in the past, either to find their own job or to hire someone else, and get their recommendations.

Know the types of recruiters

RETAINED RECRUITERS are hired as the employer's exclusive agent to find the desired candidate, generally for higher-level positions. Because the employer has already committed to pay the recruiter's fee, working with a retained recruiter will not make you more expensive.

CONTINGENCY RECRUITERS get paid only if they present the candidate the company hires. These recruiters can be useful allies in finding positions and reaching companies you might not find on your own. They can also be an obstacle to being hired because using these recruiters adds a middleman to the hiring process -- and thousands of dollars to the employer's hiring budget. This could cost you the job or handcuff you in salary negotiations.

Clearly communicate with contingency recruiters about the connections you have made on your own, so you won't have an extra fee attached to you unnecessarily.

Be proactive and in control

Whether you're employed or not, maintain visibility in your field. The things that get you hired also get recruiters to notice you. Be active in your professional association, keep your network vital and participate in committees.

Some job hunters find it soooo tempting to take "the easy way" when job hunting by letting the recruiters do all the work. Talk to recruiters, but be proactive and maintain control of your search. Only 5%-15% of people find jobs through recruiters. Do all you can on your own to uncover other opportunities so that:

1) If the recruiters don't come through, you're not sitting around waiting.

2) You're not limited to what a recruiter offers. Through your own efforts and the help of a career counselor you can uncover more -- and perhaps better -- options, and have more choice about your next position. Visit http://www.activ8careers.com to take a free career assessments that will help identify if your in career pain.

David Hults author of the book "From Cornered To Corner Office" Overcoming the most unexpected obstacles that stand between you and your career dreams http://www.fromcorneredtocorneroffice.com

Career Coaches

Are you having difficulties in your workplace? Do you feel under appreciated or undervalued in your current position? Are you bored or otherwise unsatisfied with your role? Career coaches can help you overcome problems with your job and workplace by helping you identify and achieve your ultimate career goals. Your job takes up a significant portion of your time, and when you are not fully satisfied with your career, it is difficult to be fully satisfied with your life. Indeed, time invested with a coach can not only shape the course of your career but can change the course of your life as well.

Most people are not born knowing what they want to do with their life. We spend years seeking an ultimate career goal and many of us change careers multiple times in our life. In order to find the ideal career path, a career coach uses a variety of techniques borrowed from psychology, mentoring, counselling, and career planning to help you learn how your personality and skill set influence your job satisfaction. Furthermore, career coaches do not necessarily define "career" as the job you hold. Instead, all your working experiences from student and volunteer to employee and citizen are considered in order to ensure that you develop a career that fulfills you on the deepest level.

The career coach will introduce a range of innovative and interesting tools and techniques to help you gain a more clear idea of your goals and how to reach them. Self awareness is an important aspect of achieving your career goals - if you don't know what you want to do, or even what you are best suited to do, how can you find a rewarding and satisfying career? Career coaches will spend time with you to help you identify your passions while highlighting your values, needs, skills, and personal attributes. Your career, after all, is an extension of who you are.

After you career coach has helped you develop a clear picture of the kinds of careers that fit for you, he or she will help you research and gather information about a variety of careers to help you focus your decision. Not only is career coaching designed to help you realize your own potential, but it should be based in reality and should consider reliable labour market research and tangible facts about potential careers. You may dream of being an astronaut, and you may even have some skills and personal qualities that match you to this position, but if you're a 45 year old holding an English Literature degree, it is not very feasible to pursue such a position.

Ultimately, career coaches provide an external point of view combined with a variety of tested techniques and tools to help you develop a clearer picture of where you want your career to go. This could mean making major career changes or simply altering workplace relationships. Regardless of your goal, career coaches know it is not only possible, but very likely that you can find a career that challenges and fulfills you.

You can find many career coaches in largest directory of life coaches - Noomi.com