Career coaching has traditionally been a bit of a mishmash when it comes to training and certification options. It is not a hard and fast science, and as such, many career coaches are not adequately trained or prepared to help potential clients
Career coaching has traditionally been a bit of a mishmash when it comes to training and certification options. It is not a hard and fast science, and as such, many career coaches are not adequately prepared or trained to help potential clients.
In recognition of this, HR and career development consulting firm Worklife has developed a comprehensive three-day Career Coach Certification Program to prepare and equip potential career coaching consultants and in-house HR professionals for helping individuals identify and land their ideal job.
Established in Australia in 1979, Worklife started out providing structured, supportive career development services to individuals and career practitioners. Since that time, Worklife’s purpose and services have expanded to focus on providing training and consulting solutions, and its Career Coach Certification Program is the most comprehensive and well-researched on the market today.
A successful career coach guides a client through a structured decision-making process that can positively impact their life forever, and this program provides participants with everything they need to become a catalyst and facilitator of career development. The beauty of this program is that it takes all the possible useful information available about career coaching today and combines it into one focused, practical and comprehensive program.
In 10 learning modules, the program takes participants through a structured process that develops career coaching skills to connect employees or clients with their passion, purpose, values and other critical aspects of their life and work. The program is designed to provide participants with the skills and knowledge needed to define the role of the career coach, prepare the coaching environment and establish coaching expectations. Once the boundaries of the career coaching process are set, participants then learn how to guide clients/employees through the process, understand and link their career preferences to their current work reality and plan career moves via a variety of practical implementation techniques.
Each module is broken down into a number of steps. The sixth module, for example, focuses on implementation. This module covers all the necessary processes and steps that clients/employees need to take in order to put their career plan into action. It provides participants with a number of techniques for establishing the mentor relationship and assist clients/employees with interviewing skills, networking, personal presentation, résumé writing and engaging others on fulfilling the career-planning journey.
Each of these steps is further broken down into comprehensive detail. In networking, for example, participants learn 20 tips for successful networking for clients/employees, such as be proactive and visible, being helpful to others even if there’s no direct personal benefit, sitting with strangers at events rather than alone or with colleagues, and learning and following the basic rules of business etiquette. This section also stresses the importance of the career coach not becoming a pseudo-network coordinator.
Worklife’s Career Coach Certification Program is big on ethics. Healthy boundaries of a career coach/client relationship are outlined in each module, and establishing these boundaries avoids any potential complications around unrealistic expectations that clients/employees may have about their career journey.
This program is the most comprehensive available to career coaches today, and participants receive a complete resource kit to back up the implementation of new skills and client support.
This program is suitable for a wide range of participants including career practitioners, in-company career coaches, workplace mentors, HR managers, organisation development specialists as well as L&D professionals. For those seriously involved in career coaching at any level, or looking to break into career coaching, Worklife’s Career Coach Certification Program is one of the best programs available today.
Reviewed by Craig Donaldson. For more information, call Worklife on (02) 9431 7333, email [email protected] or visit www.worklifeint.com.
