This article is part of the “Job search tips” series.
A few months ago I was speaking at a Stepstone career event organized by college students in London. There were 3 other presenters including someone talking about working with recruitment agencies and personal branding. I was talking about successful interviewing and after my presentation I’ve also reviewed several CVs and gave career/interview advice to several participants.
During one of my conversations, I was asked this question:
There are so many career coaches out there, how do I know which one to hire? Is it even worth it?
Your Job Search is Like Running a Business
I know you’ve heard this before. But let’s get real with it. When a business hires a consultant, it is viewed as an investment not a cost.
ROI is determined. Need is greater than cost. And a decision is made. (plus consultants are tax deductable)
I find it very alarming that job seekers don’t see their career coaches as a similar investment. Instead most people make the mistake of only looking at the price tag. And that is bad business.
After all, your career or interview coach may be able to shave months off of your job search.
Determining Your Investment
First, think about how much you used to earn. Let’s say that is £3,000 per month.
Therefore, the opportunity cost of not having a job is £3,000 per month minus unemployment benefits (if you have any).
You lose £3,000 every month.
A good interview/career coach or some kind of job search program will cost you between £200 and £1500 in total. An interview coaching session will cost you £150-£250.
I can’t tell you how many clients I’ve seen who have been out of work for months (in one case 2 years!) and who got a job within several weeks (sometimes within a week!) of working with me. The same clients who thought spending £200 on getting some support was ‘too expensive’ ended up losing out on £10k, £20, £50k by not getting the support they needed and wasting months on unsuccessful interviewing.
What Questions Should I Ask?
When deciding on a career/interview coach or job seeking program, you only really need to know if they can help you get a result. So ask them:
• What is the average number of months your clients take to get a job?
• How many job interviews do you think you can help me get per week?
• What is your success rate?
• What is your recruitment/interviewing experience? (There are a lot of consultants out there who’ve never worked in recruitment, they probably can’t find jobs themselves and so they pretend to help others find employment)
Where to Start
If you don’t know what you want to do or want a complete career change, you really need to see a career change expert. Someone who can help you with self-assessments and personality matching. I don’t specialize in career change myself but I could recommend someone if you were interested.
If you happen to like my advice and think that I can shave some months off of your job search, you might be interested in my Job Search Programmes.
And if you’ve not seen my ‘You’re HIRED!’ FREE video course yet, you can get access here: http://www.YouAreHiredVideoCourse.com
Remember, never think of a consultant, coach or training program as a cost. Think of it as an investment. Calculate the benefits of that investment intelligently. And you could be back to work or in a new, great job sooner that you think.
Great article Margaret. Your comment and calculations about suggesting that career and interview coaching are an investment not a cost is spot on.
When faced with the cost, I always amazed by how many clients are so reluctant and actually do not take up the opportunity to work with a professional to increase their own chances in returning to work quicker.
Hi Lynn, thanks so much for your comments! Glad I am not the only one who thinks that way:-)
I agree with your broad argument on judging the value of a coach. however I think anyone comparing coaches should ask; what the coach considers as there differentiation is from other coaches, what is the coaches way of working, what do you expect to teach me which I cannot discover from elsewhere
Hi Paul – absolutely. There are so many coaches out there, some excellent, some average at best. The reason I’ve chosen my current business mentor (whom I’ve been following online for a year) is that I really like her way of working and style of teaching, and I knew she was getting results she was after. Personal ‘chemistry’ with your coach and feeling you are on the same wavelenght is as important as their qualifications, I think. Thanks for commenting!
Definitely not a waste of money Margaret. Speaking to you gave me so much more confidence and the techniques to perform really well in interviews.
Thanks Pete, happy to hear that and I’ve loved working with you! Good luck at your review in 2 weeks! Margaret
This is a great topic for discussion. Everybody is right that there a lots of coaches out there. All of them offer same services and it’s really hard to choose who is the right person for you or the right person who can help you the best. Give weight to the credibility of the coach and feedback from other people. Definitely it is not a waste of money.