What happens in a career coaching session?
A career coaching session lasts for one hour, and it’s an hour focusing solely on you. As a coach, I use a technique called Pure Coaching. This is where the conversation is ‘client-led’. That means the client - you - is the focus of the conversation, and the coach (me) guides but doesn’t lead the direction in which the discussion goes.
In Pure Coaching, the session is based around the concept of GROW. This stands for Goal - Reality - Outcomes - Way Forward.
We begin with a goal for the session, then we look at how things are right now for you, we move into talking about the possible choices you could make and then focus on a way forward, setting some actions for you to complete.
At the beginning of a session, I’ll ask you what you want to focus on for the hour. I’ll also ask you how you want to feel at the end, and also if there is anything tangible you want to be able to action as we finish the session.
For example, you might have a clear idea that by the end of a session you want to have chosen whether to resign or not. That’s quite extreme - you might also want to decide whether to apply for a particular job, or to pledge to be more active on social media for your small business.
A session goal can also be a feeling. For example, you might say you want to have more clarity around a work situation by the end of a session, or that you want to feel in control of something that’s happening that you don’t feel in control of.
It’s all about you: As a coach, I’ll never suggest what the session should be about.
Some clients start the session with a brain dump. You offload all the things you’ve been storing up in your mind. Then we take a moment, before we focus in on that goal.
Coaching is very different to mentoring. In mentoring, the ‘coach’ might ask questions that help the client move towards clarity, using their expertise, training and own experiences.
In a coaching session, I’ll always turn things back towards you as the client. If you ever ask me what I think, I won’t say. That’s not the point of coaching! Instead, I might ask you what you think. Or perhaps just leave a small pause, in which you might then reflect and go ahead with a bit more brain dumping.
Part of a coach’s training is to make sure they curate a session which sticks to the time frame and guides you through the process. At different points during the hour, I’ll check in and remind you of the goal you set and ask how that’s feeling, how close we might be to the outcome.
A coaching session is a safe space. It’s confidential, and that’s the magic of it. It’s a place where you can say things you might never say to friends, family or colleagues. It’s a place for you to explore and offload, to dig deep into your feelings around a work topic and really poke around to find answers that will work for you.
I offer the chance for clients to stay in touch between sessions - that might be to update me, or to show me something. For example, if they decide to create a moodboard as part of their coaching, they might send me a picture of it.
Some clients will tag me in a social media or LinkedIn post between sessions if they want to share an action or show that they’ve put themselves out there.
If you have any questions about a coaching session with me, please do get in touch. The best way to find out more is to set up a ‘discovery call’ where we chat informally, and you can get a sense for me as a person on the other end of the Zoom call, and to decide if coaching with me is right for YOU.
