Being a personal career coach may seem simple, but the stakes are high. You can help your client determine their true calling, or you can set them up for a life of unhappiness. No pressure there. Here are three straightforward steps that a career coach can follow to keep your client on the right course and keep themselves in business.

First, Realize that Your Client’s Career Is Your Client’s Life

When we are talking careers, we are talking more than just a series of jobs that take up the span of one’s years. The easy thing for a personal career coach is to look for skills and match them to the job market. And while skills and job openings need to be addressed, they are only small parts of the puzzle. This is something much more. Some say it is their passion. Some say it is their calling. Think of it as the difference between “Office Space” and “Top Gun”.

Second, Help Your Client Come to Terms with Their Purpose and Passion

Notice that I did not say “discover their purpose and passion.” That is because I believe that if we can just quiet our minds and listen, we will soon discover our purpose, and with it our true passion. The challenge for the vast majority of people is to come to terms with their true purpose. Just like Jonah, we run away from our call to greatness out of fear of the responsibility that it entails.

If perfect faith can literally move mountains, then perfect alignment of purpose and action can change the world. This is a frightening thought for your client – and for you. As the personal career coach, it is your task to help your client to come to embrace the power that comes with the responsibility that comes with the calling.

The Personal Career Coach Must Expand the Possibilities

As their coach with this grander view, you must help them crystallize their goals, and then help them see their lives as a series of projects – sometimes jobs, sometimes entrepreneurial ventures – that will support the realization of their life’s purpose.

Dave Iuppa
JTS Advisors Strategy and Accountability Coach