Making your next career move can be challenging. And if you’re one of the people struggling with the change, or maybe you’re a manager or a business executive and desire to be more confident as a leader, coaching is a great investment to look into.

The difference between the various coaches out there and understanding the type of coach you need is essential. The one thing you need to do is have a thorough understanding of the choices available. After all, you’re investing in yourself, and you don’t want to make rash decisions without the necessary information at hand. In this post, we’re going to look into coaching and explain the difference between a career coach and an executive career coach.

What is Coaching?

The first thing we all need to understand is that a coach may be knowledgeable and intuitive, however, it is the client who forms the subject matter expert. Now, it is also important that we unpack what coaching is and what it isn’t. There are some people who look at coaching as therapy, however it isn’t, but it can be therapeutic. The goal with therapy is to try and restore healing from past traumas. On the other hand, some see coaching as consulting, and again, there’s a difference here. Consultants make assessments and diagnose a situation and then propose a solution or recommend the best way to get to a solution.  Coaching, however, is a partnership with individuals through thought-provoking methods to inspire people to reach their personal or professional potential. A coach brings to light, clarifies, and positions what an individual wants to achieve. They also encourage self-discovery, draw out solutions and strategies from clients, and hold you responsible and make them accountable.

So, what’s the best coach to get for you, career or executive?

Career Coach

A career coach is beneficial in helping you in sorting out extremely salient points relating to your professional career. When you’re at a crossroad or at a decision point, particularly when you need to make your next career move, ‘should I’s’ you need to consider, should I stay here or look elsewhere for a job? Or, should I obtain a certification or further my education|?

A career coach can help you deal with what is known as “generational” questions, which involves transitioning from college to your professional phase, or returning to school for another degree. In other cases, a career coach can assist you when you’re ready to leave where you are and pursue entrepreneurship. They’ll be able to guide you in formatting and correcting your resumé.  Luckily, there’s also technology and social media spaces like LinkedIn that a career coach can help you with in terms of creating a professional profile.

Executive Coach

On the other hand, there are executive career coaches. Executive coaches’ main priority is to enhance leadership performances at levels typically relating to company offices, most commonly referred to as ‘C-Suite’. The executive coach, oftentimes, is an emerging leader preparing to take office. They are also the ones called to take on major decisions for the business associated with their scope of responsibility. An executive career coach can assist executives in navigating different relationships.

Choosing a Coach

For some people, this isn’t a difficult decision to make, purely because they know what they want and have probably sent out their paths. However, whether you’re looking for guidance or a particular career path, or you’re in need of leadership development, having a clear look on what will pay off at the end for you is essential.

Make sure that when you’re looking into coaches you find out what his or her level of experience is and in which areas, career or executive. Also ask for success stories, especially those they’ve worked with or on. This isn’t a cut-and-dry situation, there isn’t much guarantee for success, but it is the best conversation that will help you decide whether you want to hire a particular coach.

At Randstad Risesmart, we provide professional executive career coaching services. Our years of experience in various industries has given us the insights that make our business the go-to for executive career coaches. Get in touch with us about your needs today!