Do I Need a Career Coach?
JoHoward Howard 
Lost? Overwhelmed? Directionless? Enter, the career change coach.
So you’ve been thinking about getting out of teaching for a while now, but you just don’t know how to take that first step or where to go next in your career. You’ll find all sorts of advice out there about how to go about it and it is so easy to…
Be tempted to stick with the status quo and remain in a career even though you’re no longer happy
Feel stuck endlessly browsing different jobs vacancies, not knowing if any are right for you
Get lost in the abyss of open online groups and overwhelmed by the conflicting stories and information
Enter the career change coach.
A career change coach will help you figure out what’s right for YOU.
More than a mentor, working with a career change coach means exploring specific goals and sharing your timelines to help you transition out of one unfulfilling career and into a more satisfying one.
Let’s delve a little deeper into what a career change coach is and isn’t:
What Can A Career Change Coach Do For You?
Help you to move on from one career and into another, providing practical advice for each step of the way.
Listen to your questions, doubts, ideas and dreams, exploring new career options and opportunities with you.
Assist you in job searching by deeply understanding your values, interests, skills and experience, suggesting job titles and keywords to help narrow down your search.
Guide you to come up with a strategic career change plan, mapping out your career ‘next steps’.
Help you to achieve a better work-life balance by setting boundaries and exploring your priorities.
Advise you on company research and networking opportunities.
Specialise in crafting CVs, application materials and building your personal brand on social media pages, such as LinkedIn.
Offer preparation and support to help you feel ‘interview ready’.
Boost your confidence and help you settle into a new role.
A Career Change Coach Won’t …
Tell you what to do. Your coach is there to advise and to present all the options that align with your needs and skillset, but a good coach won’t push you into one path or hold you back from making your own decisions.
Do it all for you. Your coach can write your CV with you, but they won’t do it for you. Your coach is there to empower you with all the knowledge, confidence and tools that you need to career change successfully … all of which you can take forward and use, again and again.
What Are The Signs That You Might Be Ready For a Career Change Coach?
Not sure if career change coaching is for you? Here are five signs that you might be likely to benefit from working with one of the career change coaches on our Adventures After Teaching team:
You want to transition to a brand new industry - If you’re here reading this blog, this one likely applies to you. Moving out of teaching and into the corporate world can feel like a whole new ballgame. Believe me, your skills are hugely valuable outside of teaching but it can be hard to ‘sell’ these when teaching is all you’ve ever known. The coaching team at Adventures After Teaching can help you re-position your skills and experience, translate corporate-speak and successfully transition into a new career.
You feel overwhelmed and stuck, with a lack of clarity around what to do next - I hear you! Career change can feel like a lot. The possibilities for your next adventure are endless … and whilst on the one hand that’s fantastic, on the other hand it can feel like too much to cope with at times. We can work with you to find a new direction that aligns with your values and experience, and take you through the career change process one step at a time.
You want a better work-life balance or to improve your overall well-being - If your mental health and well-being is suffering as a result of the career you’re in now, take it as a sign that it’s time to move on. When you’re exhausted and burnt out, it can be so difficult to find the time and energy to look and apply for new jobs. The coaches at Adventures After Teaching can help you find that confidence again, provide you with burnout recovery tools and tips and carve out a new career with a better balance.
You feel stagnant or unfulfilled, with a desire for a new challenge - Maybe teaching was once for you, your dream job and your passion … but it’s not anymore. THAT’S OKAY. Let’s help you reassess what you want and what you love doing … there’s a new challenge and a new adventure waiting out there for you.
You’ve got obstacles to overcome - Maybe you’ve tried to leave teaching before and it hasn’t worked out. Maybe you’ve already browsed hundreds of jobs and started applying. Perhaps it just feels like you’re getting nowhere and that self-doubt is starting to creep in and make you question your abilities. You are not alone in these feelings. We can provide support, encouragement, practical tools and inspirational stories to remind you of your awesomeness and get you started on your next adventure.
3 Ways In Which The Adventures After Teaching Academy Coaches Can Help You Find A New Direction:
The Adventures After Teaching Academy is packed with heaps of support and resources to help you exit the classroom and thrive in a new role. But, what if you have no idea what to do next? Here are three ways that we can work with you to explore new career options and help you nail down a new direction: ghb
Your 1:1 onboarding call
Complete a skills audit together with your coach and reflect on your career to date, as well as your transferable skills. Your coach will be able to point you to our training and resources around values, guide you to different job roles that might be suitable for you and different sectors that you might like to explore.
2. Weekly group Saturday calls
Learn from members that are a bit further ahead on their journey - hear about their applications, interviews and even jobs that they’ve already started! These calls are a chance to sit back and listen, or to ask questions, as you begin exploring different paths and refining the one you want to take.
3. CV and LinkedIn clinic calls
A chance to bring along job descriptions for roles that you’re interested in, translate some of the corporate language and relate the person specification to your own teaching experience. Our coaches can help you pin down if the role is something you want to do and if it’s going to be comfortable and challenging enough for you.
The first stage of the Adventures After Teaching Academy is all about guiding you to reflect on your values and what you can learn from your previous career experiences. Our fantastic coaches can help you to work out what it is you want to do next and what roles could be right for you personally … there are bound to be avenues that you haven’t even thought about yet!
Spaces for the next Academy cohort are now available for a limited time only, so come and join us … we can’t wait for your next adventure to begin!