As today’s recent graduates and young professionals set out to build their careers in today’s competitive job market, they face a number of challenges. Many suggest, for example, that universities aren’t doing enough to prepare graduates today with the skills they need to secure steady and meaningful employment (Rana, 2016) and only four in 10 millennials and three in 10 working Gen Z believe they have the skills and knowledge they’ll need to thrive (Kuhn, 2018).
Even those who are equipped with the right set of skills may find themselves at a loss when trying to find a career that meets their particular expectations. Today’s young professionals are looking for more than just a steady paycheque, and values like flexibility, autonomy, and a healthy and happy workplace culture are essential considerations when choosing a job (Sackin, 2018).
Fortunately, professionals with life coach training can help young job-seekers, offering invaluable guidance and support in the process of building a meaningful and rewarding career. If you are interested in becoming a life coach, continue reading to discover some of the ways you can support young professionals.
Life Coaches Can Help Young Professionals Define Their Career Ambitions
A reported 47% of Canadian professionals are unhappy with their current position (Canadian HR Reporter, 2016), and among Canadian workers aged 18 to 34, 55% want to leave their job, either to change careers, go back to school, or start their own business (ADP Canada, 2016). With statistics like these, the importance and challenge of finding meaningful and fulfilling work is clear.
One of the first tasks that trained life coaches might help recent graduates and young professionals with is defining their career ambitions. For some young people transitioning into the workforce, it can seem overwhelming to try and self-assess strengths, weaknesses, and interests, and commit to a long-term career path. Others might have some vague idea of their ultimate career goal, but lack the specificity required to build a concrete plan for how to achieve it.
This is where the training of a life coach can be particularly useful, as they can use their employment counselling skills to help individuals choose a career well-suited to their specific skills, needs, and passions (Rhodes, n.d.).
Use Life Coach Training to Help Recent Graduates Set Goals
Once a client has clarified their ultimate aspirations, life coaches can also provide support by helping them choose and commit to a set of professional goals. Goal-setting is important for young people beginning their career, as it can break down a long-term aspiration into a series of realistic and achievable goals (Uttley, 2010).
By keeping goals realistic and achievable, graduates of life coaching school can keep clients from becoming discouraged, as they receive positive feedback with the completion of each goal (Uttley, 2010). Combining long-term career ambitions with specific intermediate goals like these can also be highly effective in motivating clients to succeed, as research in the field of goal-setting theory has shown that individuals who focus on both specific, concrete goals as well more abstract, long-term ones are more successful than those focusing on either one or the other (Höchli, Brügger, & Messner, 2018).
Life coaches can help recent graduates and young professionals set concrete career goals
Boosting Clients’ Self-Esteem Can Improve Their Career Options
In addition to helping clients with goal setting, life coaches can also help recent graduates and young professionals develop the skills and qualities they’ll need to thrive in their careers.
Low-self-esteem, for example, can be a serious impediment for anyone hoping to advance in their career. Individuals with low self-esteem might lose out on career opportunities by being less likely to ask for or receive promotions, raises, and even jobs. Low self-esteem might also be interpreted as a sign of apathy or incompetence by bosses and coworkers, and can ultimately affect one’s earnings, with white-collar employees with high self-confidence earning, on average, substantially more than those with low self-confidence (Alton, 2017). For this reason, self-esteem building is a valuable element of the support that professionals with life coach training can offer to recent graduates and young professionals.
Professionals with life coach training can improve clients’ career prospects by boosting their self-esteem
Are you interested in training for a career as a life coach?
Contact Rhodes Wellness College to learn more about becoming a life coach.
Works Cited
ADP Canada (2016 Feb 11). More than half of Millenial workers plan to make a career change in 2016. Retrieved from https://www.adp.ca/en-ca/press-room/media-releases/2016/career-change-in-2016.aspx
Alton, L (2017 Nov 15). Why self-esteem may be hurting you at work. NBC News. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/better/business/why-low-self-esteem-may-be-hurting-your-career-ncna814156
Canadian HR Reporter (2016, May 2). One-half of working population unhappy in job: Survey. Retrieved from https://www.hrreporter.com/article/27461-one-half-of-working-population-unhappy-in-job-survey/
Höchli, B., Brügger, A., & Messner, C. (2018). How Focusing on Superordinate Goals Motivates Broad, Long-Term Goal Pursuit: A Theoretical Perspective. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 1879. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01879
Kuhl, J. (2018 Jul 23). What Do Millenials Want in Their Careers? Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/joankuhl/2018/07/23/what-do-millennials-want-in-their-career/#36dcc50bfcb1
Rana, K. (2016 Sep 2). Graduates face an unwelcoming job market when they get out of school. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/graduates-face-an-unwelcoming-job-market-when-they-get-out-of-school/article31703528/
Rhodes Wellness College (n.d.). Employment Counselling Training Courses. Retrieved from https://www.rhodescollege.ca/courses/employment-counselling/
Sackin, S. (2018 Aug 28). What Gen Z Wants In A Career (And How To Give It To Them). Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/08/28/what-gen-z-wants-in-a-career-and-how-to-give-it-to-them/#744b0b5f7a4a
Uttley, C. (2010 Jul 14). How to Set Career Goals. How Stuff Works. Retrieved from https://money.howstuffworks.com/business/professional-development/how-to-set-career-goals.htm
