One need look no further than professional sports to see the competitive advantage attached to good coaching. The best coaches generally deliver superior results, and are subsequently highly sought after and incredibly well-compensated.
Coaching on a personal level offers many of the same benefits. We often turn to fitness coaches to help us get in shape, for example. Yet when it comes to navigating our careers, we too often go without much experienced guidance at all.
And that’s a big missed opportunity. The right career guidance can make a serious difference in the investment banking field.
Given that importance, let’s review some of the key benefits of employing a career coach.
A career coach can help translate your ambition into practical action
Most of us have big career dreams — yet we’re not always 100-percent sure how to make these ambitions reality. A career coach can help you formulate an actionable plan to realize your career goals. Career coaches can also help motivate you when you’re in need of an extra confidence boost.
Career coaches offer an important perspective
Occasionally we need someone to offer us an objective, clear-eyed, third-party evaluation of our strengths and weaknesses as a job candidate. A career coach can do exactly that. While feedback from friends, family and colleagues is useful, it’s no replacement for constructive criticism from a career professional dedicated to your success.
Career coaches can turbocharge your job hunt
Wouldn’t it be nice if you had an expert on hand to help you build an incredibly well crafted, targeted resume? Or someone who could teach you everything you need to know about networking or interviewing? If you hire a career coach, those are just a few of the benefits to which you’ll have access.
Career coaches can help you forge valuable connections
Those who possess the ability to leverage their personal and professional networks have a considerable advantage over those who can’t or won’t. A career coach can teach you how to do this, and may also be able to offer you useful recommendations, references or introductions.
Career coaches can make you more marketable
What kind of value do you bring to an investment bank? What’s the narrative of your career thus far? What separates you from the huge pool of applicants seeking the same job? Career coaches can help you perfect your answers to critical questions such as these. By being able to clearly articulate this kind of relevant information, you can do a better job selling yourself during the interview process.
Career coaches can help you build a blueprint for your career
Knowing when and where to make a move is one of the keys to a successful, long-term career. A career coach can help you design and implement a long-range plan, while also helping you determine the most opportune moments to take the next step forward.
Career coaches are an invaluable source of advice and guidance
Over the course of our careers, almost all of us will encounter a difficult decision where no single path seems obvious. Having someone available to offer informed career advice is often the difference between making the right decision — and living with regrets about “what might have been.”
The takeaway
Few things are more important to our health and happiness than a fulfilling, financially-rewarding career. Yet too few of us take the opportunity to seek the kind of expert guidance and coaching that makes career success more likely.
By partnering with a career coach, you can improve your odds of landing the position you seek — and creating a thriving, long-term career path.
