Hiring A Life Coach

You are thinking about making significant changes in your life, you might consider hiring a life coach to aid the transition. Many people shy away from hiring a life coach though, as they fear that it will be an expensive waste of money. Life coaches can cover a wide range of areas from advising and assisting with career changes to increasing self-esteem and general self-confidence. Some will specialize in certain areas, but many life coaches are much more general in the range of services that they can offer. What should you be looking for when hiring a life coach?

Your Requirements

Firstly, you need to weigh up exactly what you require from a life coach. For example, if you are seeking professional help and support to help you overcome confidence issues, it is advisable to look for a life coach that has experience and qualifications in this area.

Are you looking for a life coach that will meet with you on a face-to-face basis, or are you happy to take part in telephone consultations instead? Many people opt for telephone consultations as they are less expensive and more convenient. Life coaches are often based in a specific area, which will not necessarily be easily accessible to you. This makes telephone consultations particularly attractive.

Experience and Qualifications

Generally speaking, previous experience in the relevant areas should inspire confidence. If the life coach in question has several years of experience, this should be sufficient as it will usually mean that he or she has dealt with a good number of clients.

Professional qualifications are often a good indication that a life coach knows what he or she is talking about. When searching for a life coach, check to see if he or she is accredited by a professional body or have gained certification from a professional school. Many people who are marketing themselves as professional life coaches do not have this, which means that they are relying solely on their own life experience as a means of coaching their clients. In the vast majority of cases, this is not enough to provide clients with the specific coaching that they will need. In terms of professional certification, there is a handful of schools that are accredited by the International Coach Federation (ICF), which will ensure that life coaches that graduate from these schools will have the necessary training and ethics.