Despite the rising popularity, there are many people who don't understand the concept of what career coaching is or how to pick a career coach who will best serve them. Similar to a life coach who assists with progressive advice to move on in life, a career coach takes a developmental approach to guide you in your career. If you're considering hiring a career coach, here are a few things you need to be aware of beforehand. What Exactly Is A Career Coach? A career coach is a certified professional who provides objective feedback for people to move on in their career path more efficiently and strategically while aligning to their goals. A good coach can add value to every part of a career process from job hunting, breaking a career plateau to even a mid-life career change. Why Do You Need One? The primary reason to hire a career coach is to improve your chances of landing your dream job and succeeding in it by creating a synergy between passion and work. According to a  global poll conducted by Gallup, it was reported that out of the world’s one billion full-time workers, only 15% of people are engaged at work, which makes an astronomical 85% of people unsatisfied with their jobs. It was also reported that average 75 percent of the global work population feel stuck professionally because (a) they don't have growth opportunities to progress their career and (b) they are too overwhelmed to make any changes.  Career coaching is fundamentally aimed at addressing these issues. Besides these, difficulties in finding a job, inability to stand out from the crowd or prove your competency, job frustration, career anxiety, toxic workplace, and facing financial disadvantages in a dream career are some other reasons that indicate you need a career coach. What Can You Expect? According to the ICF Global Coaching Client Study, 99% of individuals who hire a coach are satisfied with their results and are more likely to repeat the process. A good career coach will help you set career objectives upfront, develop a strategic and practical plan accordingly and guide you on how to execute it and achieve your goals. It's important to remember that there are no cookie-cutter solutions that are designed to progress in a specific career or within an industry. Everyone is different and the way one should approach their career and its goals are heavily influenced by personal factors like personality, values, attitude and mindset. Through a career coach, you can expect to make tailor-made changes to your life that will support your career and related decision makings in all areas of concern. Apart from this, here are some other things you can expect through career coaching,

• Gain life long skills
• Build professional networks effectively
• Make informed decisions about the evolution of your career
• Build a powerful and relevant resume
• Build confidence and define your value proposition
• Learn critical skills required for your career path

Factors To Consider When Hiring? Word of mouth and referrals are two crucial factors to consider when hiring a career coach. Once you find one, make sure to ask questions that’ll help you understand if they are a good fit for you. Try to get answers on factors such as qualifications, experience, specialisation (specific jobs or industries), charges, approaches taken, and client selection criteria. Most importantly make sure that you're able to be comfortable, trust and build a good rapport with the coach, as they are key factors that'll decide how effective your session will be.