Career Coaching vs. Life Coaching
I’ve now been a career coaching and life coaching client. Though I knew it in theory, now I’m experiencing the distinct benefits between the two.
I first met my Life Coach, Linda Black, during her EFT free briefing. I liked her immediately. I proceeded to take her full-day course on EFT. It was great! A very simple, useful tool developed by Dr. Roger Callahan, a Stanford graduate. EFT involves simple tapping on certain points of the body (similar to accupressure). There’s an art involved in the practice, which is zooming in into physical or emotional points for tapping. (Perhaps, unconsciously, what made me like her is her background, similar to mine, trained in Psychology and NLP. Also, her approach resonates with my principles in client engagement. Empowering. Incisive and intuitive).
I came across my career coach in the internet. I didn’t really dig into the background, I just decided on the spot by gut feel when I met them (partners) , to just ‘go for it’. I was right in that, my career coach supports me with sustained structure and focus, whilst my life coach supports me with maintaining authenticity.
Anyone going through a transition in life and thinks of engaging a career coach, I recommend starting with a life coach first. Life coach addresses deeper issues: what you truly want, what you value, what’s blocking you — mainly internal resources. It works on the premise — which I believe strongly — that we are complete, we have all the resources internally, to move towards where we truly want to be. Of course not all counsellors, therapists nor coaches subscribe to that premise, hence it’s useful to do some homework.
A career coach, on the other hand, is more externally focused, equipping you with the tools to go out there in the world, and engage the resources you need to establish yourself in the position that you want to be. With the help of a career coach, you might end up successful in any career you consciously decided on, whilst something deeper, your unconscious/spirit/etc., maybe left ignored in the process and thus still end up feeling something’s missing. (Note: My career coaching is a very conscious driven process, some career coaches may actually be more wholistic). Hence career and life coaching usefully complement each other. An integrated career and life coaching is even better. Perhaps it’s available out there, just haven’t come across any yet.
On a side note, having been an editor with Asian Association of Career Management Professionals, I am quite aware that there are career coaches who are wholistic and focused on facilitating one’s passions at work. However, one of the missing links we noticed is integration with financial planning. It would be great to incorporate financial planning with career planning or life coaching. After all, you may have the map (career plan), and the authentically-driven goal, but no “gas” for the vehicle. This maybe a great opportunity for coaches out there.
