How can a career coach help my child?
By Karen Lomas
As a parent of young adult daughters, I always checked the suitability of pretty much anyone they came into contact with. Whether it was a ballet teacher, a kinder, school, tutor, sporting club — as a parent you cannot be too careful. I’ve supported my daughters throughout their years from babies, to toddlers to primary, secondary and tertiary education, as well as with their employment. What I always looked for was longevity in the professional space, the appropriate and relevant qualifications, trustworthiness and credentials.
Your child is your most precious creation and we do not want to take risks with their wellbeing, safety and education. With this in mind, we always do our due diligence, don’t we? With your choice of career coach, it is the same. For this very reason, the Federal Government has created the National Careers Institute to ensure that best career development practice is adhered to for young adults and youth groups.
So many people have asked how a career coach help them or their child and what makes a good career coach.
What to look for in a career coach for your child
Traits of a great career coach
A great career coach will:
Engage – Build rapport, develop trust and learn about you, your child and your story
Support – Provide positive encouragement and gentle guidance
Teach, train and coach – One-on-one skills development, expert review and interpretation of career assessments; guide through processes such as application platforms
Mentor – Maintain contact over time to encourage, to congratulate
A good career coach will be impartial
You want a career coach that will not:
give any value judgement
give directives and tell you what to do
favour any one school or school system and curriculum framework
show any preference to any one higher education institution.
Engage the best professional career coach for optimal support. Your child’s future matters, so trust in best-practice career confidence methodology.
Karen is a career coach specialising in early career exploration with school-aged students. This article was republished with permission from the author.
