Free Career and Job Search Advice

[bubba]

I have some goals to reach not sure if I can make it on my own. I have been looking for a sales related job for 6 months here in Dallas.

life coaching worth $500 per month ? or is it too much

I was thinking of hiring a career/life coaching and see what they are worth.

I have these goals and want to turn them into reality.

Setting great goals, and making them come true.

These goals are important to me, but I do not have a plan this is where a life coaching will be worth it. Maybe s/he can set up with a good plan ?

I have enquired and a life coach is worth around $500 a month.

Is this what a life coaching is worth ?

[Cameron]

Hi Bubba,

The return on investment (ROI) of life coaching can be substantial. For most people, because they're ready for it when they go for it, it can be life-changing. That's worth $500 a month, in my view, and in theirs too. Coaching works because, and when, the client works.

Change is not easy. In addition to coming to know yourself well enough to define a plan of action for change -- something coaches can facilitate and greatly speed up -- there's the difficult work of taking action and maintaining the change over time, until it becomes locked in. Without one or more key allies or partners of some kind, preparing for, taking, and maintaining change can be very difficult, and often can result in relapse. Sometimes the lack of a good ally can just mean change (or a goal) takes longer. Sometimes it means the change is never made, and the goal never reached, at all.

The power of coaching is in shepherding this change. And I can tell you that it happens. The testimonials and client emails tell me that every day, and I can also see it: this person is more fearless, takes more action, than before; that person has a better relationship with an ex because he's set boundaries she finally realizes she must respect; this guy finally realizes to what extent his ideas about career (and money, security, and status) were driven by his parents and not by his own values, and he discovers what he really wants to do with his life. It's a privilege to be a part of it.

My answer also depends on what you're getting for $500 a month. How many sessions? How long are the sessions? What access to the coach would you have between sessions in order to keep your goals top of mind -- and to use your coach as the chief of staff (to your CEO) that a coach should be? What's the coach's background and success rate? I can see where $500 could be a bargain -- or a rip-off.

My firm happens to run a very tight operation, and we're able to keep our marketing expenses and overhead low, so most of my coaches charge substantially less than $500 a month for 4 monthly sessions of 45 minutes (or even 60) with IM and email access between sessions. That's one benchmark for you.

For a closer look, see my firm's pages on life coaching, http://www.ferocecoaching.com/life-coaching.html, and the ROI of coaching in general, http://www.ferocecoaching.com/coaching-financial-roi.html.

I offer free consultations for the curious. You'd think we'd be deluged with requests, but the fact is that most people are not ready to commit themselves even to stepping a toe on the path. About half those we talk to are serious and go forward, and the other half leave with a lot more information about coaching and its fit for them than when they began.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes,

Cameron

[kathybrandon0517]

Hi there,

Life Coaching does not always have to cost $500.00 per month. There are a wide variety of coaches that work off of a sliding fee scale to bring Life Coaching to people regardless of income level.

Contact me offline and we can discuss options and your needs.

Kathy Brandon
Founder
Ready for Happiness Group
www.readyforhappiness.com
214-527-7391

[Randy]

With all due respect, why in the hell do you think you need one someone to tell you how to live your life? This is YOUR life, YOUR dreams, YOUR time, energy, and effort. The current crop of "life coaches" remind me way too much of that parent who is damned determined to make "junior" play football simply because he, the dad, never had the chance. You don't need a "go-team-go cheering section" in your corner.

Your choices in life are two, and very simple:

The pursuit of career and money and all that goes with it, or "life" and all that goes with that. The "grand design" makes damned sure you ain't gonna have it all and anyone who tells you otherwise IS lying to you and IS literally selling you something.

Choose wisely.

[yanna]

maybe career coaching, job search coaching, private education coaching...but life coaching? Meaning living someone else's life? I don't think so!!!
Also...it's about your being totally responsible for the steps and choices you make in life. You have some goals? Well, that's great. What prevents you from running towards achieving them? If you need information, get informed, if you need advice, ask for a piece of advice.

http://www.cvtips.com/career_coach_select.html

[kathybrandon0517]

Hi there,

It sounds like there are some misunderstandings on this board about what life coaching truly is. As a life coach, at no time does a coach "tell, suggest, or even recommend" their clients DO anything. A Life Coach <regardless of the person's specialty> provides a safe and supportive place for individuals to "explore and experiment" with what choices and actions they want to take. I'm sorry if some of you have had an personal experience with a LLife Coaching who "told you" what you should do, or maybe you have "seen" or have a "perception" of someone "telling you what you should do". We all have enough of those folks in our lives...<grin> Let's be very clear about what the role of a Life Coach is...<whether you call them a job/career coach, a sales coach, a family or relationships coach is all Life Coaching> is to help someone figure out their own unique and perfect action to take or plan to create. The only person who knows the unique perfection for any individual is THAT individual. No one else has that intimate knowledge and a great coach is only there to help you uncover and put into action YOUR dreams.

Please feel free to ask any questions you might want to about this topic. I am a Life Coach who specializes in relationships, family and finance and am more than happy to answer any questions or concerns you might have about this profession and how it is contributing to lives each and every day.

Kathy Brandon

[sweet_life]

Yes, some people just need someone else to suggest them what to do at some point in time. I mean let's say I have a really thug decision to make. I know what what to do actually, but I want to be 100% sure that is the correct thing and I want to be given arguments that thing is correct. Other arguments than my own or the same, but given by a person whom I know has the necessary experience.
That's life coaching. It's not like a life coach stands by you every minute of your life...making you "living his life".

However, I know people who have become life coaching addictive and that's not good either.



http://www.cvtips.com/career_building.html

[kathybrandon0517]

I agree with you, some people DO need the extra validation that their thoughts aren't "crazy" or "whacked out" and a Life Coach is definately a great "sounding board". A Life Coach or at the least the standard and ethics outlined by the International Coach Federation, which is the governing body for all Coaches, state a Life Coach should not at any time offer suggestion or solution, as we come from the believe that only YOU know what is truly right for you. Coaching is simply someone asking powerful questions to open the client up to getting clear on the best DECISION or ACTION for THEM. Coaches also work with individuals on daily habits that can limit the creation of our dreams, such as procrastination. A coach can add accountability to new habit, giving the client a partner, not a crutch, to living a life that is in alignment with the life they truly want. Many people believe we just have to accept what we are given, when each of us actually have full power to create any life we want, if we are willing to take the action to create it. On a side note, as with everything, coaching services are not for everyone, and most good coaches know that and appreciate it, as we might not be able to service the entire universe at this time, as the profession it's self is still very young...

[Randy]

Oh, it's a modern way to say "devil's advocate"? Hell, I've been doing that for years. I'm surely my own worst enemy, no doubt about that, but guiding and helping others is a breeze.

You mean I could get paid for this?

Damn, how cool is that?

[mphcoach]

...for me to share my two-cents worth, I feel.

I have had a lot of coaching clients in my career, some of them business clients and some of them life clients. Not all of them have made the shifts they wanted. I don't want to work with anyone that is not up for it and is going to have fun along the way - so I don't.

Some of them went in quite different directions. Some went nowhere at all. Several made changes to their lives of such enormous proportions that they couldn't put a value on it.

I feel that in Randy's case, his incredulity that this is necessary is a good valid point, for him. Many of my clients, and me, myself, find there is a lot of value in having someone facilitating the thinking and designing actions.

Many people finding that if they have someone to discuss their week with, how it fits their goals and helping them shape - and deliver - each phase of their development is worth the money.

People are all different and need careful support and challenge.

And it needs their total commitment and trust too. One of my favorite clients took 3 sessions, $350 and needed no more. I hear no more from here except a Christmas card which tells me what she's been doing and how she's progressing.

Another client took 3 months to go nowhere, when I decided it was not working for her - I feel she believes that the coaching was poor. And maybe it was. It would have been more likely to succeed if she had realized that the energy for significant change had to come from within and not without. This is not a free ride - work has to be done.

Personally, I have phases where I find value in my coach and then times where I need a breather to catch up with myself.

What to pay? $100 a month is a waste of your money if it gets you nowhere. $500 might be good value if it works well and leads you to new opportunities.

Choose a coach you are comfortable with, as long as they have an edge which is going to challenge you. Work with someone who knows what they are doing. ICF accreditation is a start, though there are poor ICF qualified coaches, just as there are good ones with no accreditation.

More than delighted to have a chat about this, even if it's just to hear what you are thinking and help you with that - and, there is no charge! The number is one the website below.

Regards

Martin Haworth (ACC - ICF)
http://www.HowToLandYourDreamJob.com