Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

The holidays are a time to celebrate family, reflect on the year’s accomplishments and count our blessings. As we look toward 2015, the Bama At Work team is eager to help you accomplish your professional goals. Whether you’re looking for the right training, the perfect conference, or a brand new career, we are dedicated to providing you with the resources you need to succeed.

From our family to yours, we wish you a very happy holiday season, and look forward to serving you in the coming year.

7 Questions to ask Your Career Coach in Online Training.

We often see the term “coach” and think about athletics or using a trainer at the gym to help us fit into our summer clothes.  Yet we rarely think about a career coach to help guide us through our pursuit of a better life at work. Let’s face it: as jobseekers, we only have so much knowledge of how to polish our resumes, put the perfect cover letter together to get the attention of a hiring manager, and find different ways to network. This is why having an experienced career coach who focuses on your success will help so much once you finish your education or certification program.

Many schools or universities offer “career coaching” as a part of their enrollment processes, but what is a career coach exactly, and what should you be looking for in a coach?  The bottom line is a career coach should help you assess your professional situation with a good amount of honesty, curiosity, empathy and compassion. With the normal amount of anxiety that comes with the job search, your career coach should help you feel comfortable and inspire you to keep going. The largest part of a career coach’s job is to bring you out of your shell and help you understand that just submitting your resume to online job search engines will not give you the kind of return you want. Career coaching is extremely personal so make sure you do your research before you commit.

Here are a few questions you should ask during your research:

1. Just like with a sports coach, you want to know a career coach’s win/loss record. If you are talking to a school or university, ask what their career services statistics are and get them to show you the following: their student graduation rate, success in passing certification exams, and their career statistics. If you want to learn more, look up Gainful Employment Regulations.
2. Find out their career path. You want to make sure that the person who is coaching you had both coaching experience and real world experience as well.
3. Geographic location is another option for you to consider. Technology like Skype gives you the opportunity to choose a coach from anywhere in the world. This is your own preference so make sure you are comfortable with your choice.
4. Interview your top two or three picks. Ask about the following: fees, rates (they may vary from $50 to $300 per hour), how often you will meet, and for how long. Most coach-client relationships last from six months to a year.
5. Whether it is a school or a career coach, you need to ask what is included in his or her “experience.” It should include some of the following: goal setting, time management, study skills, and your motivation to advance.
6. If you are working with your school or university, then there are also a few important questions you should ask and have answered. Will they help you build a solid resume? If there are certification requirements involved, ask them how they can help you. Are there hands-on job experience opportunities they can help you with such as externships or internships? Will they teach you how to market yourself and network? Also, find out if they will set up mock interview sessions with you to prepare you for that job interview.
7. More than anything chemistry and connection with your coach should be top on your list. You will have to be comfortable with sharing intimate details of your life with your coach, so it’s important that you like and see him or her as an equal.

Bama At Work and our partner World Education.net will assign our students a dedicated career coach from Day 1 who will assist them with a success plan from training to a fulfilling career. We offer our graduates career development assistance up to 1 year after course completion to make sure they are on track to find that dream job!

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google + , LinkedIn or visit our website for more info and news about Professional Development, Online Training and how to improve your professional profile.

Article by Kelly Fuhlman, Director of Social Media  for World Education , and is personally involved in helping others make a better life for themselves through education. World Education is one of the main partner of The University of Alabama for Online Certificate Programs.

 

Happy Halloween!

There’s nothing spookier than a workforce in need of training…

Fear not, Bama At Work is here to help you and your organization meet all of your professional development goals!

There’s no need to be afraid of the competition when you have strong leadership, sharp skills and fine-tuned processes.  Our wide variety of certificate programs can help you meet your educational objectives, improve proficiency, and advance in your career.  They can even be customized and provided on-site for companies with specific needs.

Are you terrified of not meeting your CEU requirements? Our conferences are vast in scope and well-known for their rich content, atmosphere and networking opportunities.  If you’re frightened of starting a new career, our online programs are available for you to start anytime, anywhere, at your own pace.

 Experience hair-raising, spine-chilling success in every position and profession by taking advantage of what Bama At Work has to offer. Go ahead and give us a ring at 205-348-6222 or explore our website, if you dare! Happy Halloween!