The ups and downs of navigating the workforce can be difficult. More so if you are on the hunt for that dream job when you feel completely stuck by your current position and are unsure where to start. We all have these questions at some point in our careers. When to move on? Is this company the right fit for me? How can I find meaning in what I do every day?

Many professional women share similar feelings at various points in their lives and could find themselves benefiting from working with someone who can help them find those answers. We asked 6 experienced career coaches who are participating in our upcoming Take The Lead Connects networking event in NYC about how a career coach can help you at any stage of your life.

Leslie Grossman

CEO Chair/Coach, Vistage International CEO Advisory Boards

Q. What exactly is a career coach?
A. Career coach serves people launching a career, changing a career, reentering the workforce, or people who have left their positions. Career coaches people who are unhappy at work or people who are looking to move into new positions in their present companies or move to another.
Q. What can a person expect to get from working with a career coach.
A. Career Coaches do many different things to help their clients achieve their goals. Before working with one, you need to ask them specifically what kind of guidance, advice and tools they will provide. Not all Career Coaches are alike. Most help their clients to help themselves by giving them the tools to move into action; asking powerful questions that enable the person to make their own choices, giving advice on communication techniques and holding them accountable so that make progress. Some will help you with negotiation skills, interviews and building a referral network.

Alisa Cohn CEO, Alisa Cohn & Associates, Inc.

Q. What are two reasons why career coaches can help women in their career?
A. To help women think more strategically about their career and take high leverage actions. Women in particular have limited time because we are often pulled in so many directions; it’s critical to take the most efficient path in doing things to advance your career. The other is to help women think broader and bigger and to help them get out of their comfort zone.
Q. What do you love about being a coach?
A. Gosh, what don’t I love? I get to make a difference for people every day. I get to hear people’s stories every day and I learn about what makes people tick – both intellectually and emotionally. I love to see people make progress and to see their feeling of enormous accomplishment when they do something they didn’t think they could do.

Robyn Hatcher

Founder and Principal, SpeakEtc.

Q. Tell us what you love about being a coach?
A. I love meeting people from so many different walks of life and learning about their industries and their challenges. I learn a lot from my clients. But I especially love sitting across from someone I’m coaching and seeing how their shoulders relax and their breathing gets easier once they “get” that things can be different than they are. And when I see and hear how their relationships and experiences shift based on using some of my techniques, I get goosebumps. There’s nothing else like it.

Q. What are some typical career situations that a coach can help with?
A. Since my area of coaching expertise is all around communication, the career situation communication coaching helps with is developing more confidence and skill around workplace communication. Communication coaching is helpful for people who feel under-recognized, stuck, underappreciated and/or uncomfortable expressing themselves. I help clients get taken more seriously; understand and communicate with difficult people and in difficult situations; and become engaging, confident presenters. I help them learn how to discover and articulate their strengths and their value which for women is often a challenge. In addition, because non-verbal communication accounts for 80-90% of communication, I help people see how their body-language and vocal tone can be getting in the way of how they are being perceived and I give them exercises, brain science and skills to help them create a presence that exudes confidence and authenticity.

Dana Balicki

Transformational Coach & Engagement Strategist, Move The Crowd

Q. What are two reasons why career coaches can help women in their career?
A. Sometimes we don’t know what we want. Or we do know and we aren’t at all sure how to get there. And sometimes we need help getting out of our own way, to break old patterns of doubt and limit. A good coach will help you see your patterns, and make empowered decisions — one that stretches you beyond what you thought was possible for yourself and the world, one that expands your vision in all areas of your life (not just work.)

Q. What are some typical career situations that a coach can help with?
A. The possibilities are limitless! In my experience working with mindset, skillset, knowledge gap and support system is the key to success. If a client wants to expand their business, there may be work to be done in all areas. Focusing on the doing and the be-ing is critical. More specifically, if someone wants to expand their business and earn more money but deep down they don’t believe in the value they bring — then we go to work on mindset. That same person may be grounded in their value but problems in building authentic working relationships or managing a team — then we go to work on support system.

Bonnie Marcus, M.Ed, CEC

President, Women’s Success Coaching

Q. What do you love about being a career coach?
A. I love helping women realize their value and to get their promotions

Q. What are some typical career situations that a coach can help with?
A. The most obvious one is career transition, choices, being stuck and the necessity to get unstuck. The one I help most with is understanding the complexities of the workplace and how to navigate to get ahead.

Audrey S. Lee

Executive Coach, Global Leadership Strategist and Co-Author of Flex: the New Playbook for Managing Across Differences

Q. What is a career coach?
A. Career coaches help professionals who are facing work transitions and give them guidance on the best ways to leverage their strengths to move their careers beyond just going to work every day from 9-5. They can help an individual to be more effective in leadership roles, identify and overcome barriers, and find their authentic voice.

Q. At what point in a career should someone meet with a coach?
A. In situations when someone feels like they might be ready for something new and looking for a change. That is when a coach can help a client to look around and see what resources they have, who can help them and what kind of things they need to do in order to open themselves up to for whatever is next. Another great time to think about working with a coach would be when a person feels stuck in their career or are feeling like they have insurmountable barriers they are having trouble facing. A coach can help them to identify future goals and get an action plan in place.

If you are in New York, there is still time for you to get a ticket for our Take The Lead Connects event next week.

About the Author

TAKE THE LEAD prepares, develops, inspires and propels women to take their fair and equal share of leadership positions across all sectors by 2025. It’s today’s women’s movement — a unique catalyst for women to embrace power and reach leadership parity.

Getting Yourself Unstuck

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