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!

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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.

 

Why Coaching is Important to the Business World.

 

Since the 90s coaching has been gaining in popularity. Originally, executives hired their own coach to become even more successful. However, in recent years, coaching has become more widely known in all levels of management. Coaches are hired to assist with training employees to become more effective leaders, enhance their management skills, communication skills, and to improve conflict resolution abilities.

The coaching relationship is a collaborative relationship based upon mutual trust and respect. It focuses on what clients want in their career future and it is a very results-oriented process. The client is seen as whole, competent, and resourceful, not someone who has to be fixed or healed. The purpose of coaching is to empower clients to find their own answers, to deepen their self-awareness and their learning. This is accomplished through the process of what is called appreciative inquiry, or the coach asking thoughtful, open-ended questions. Through the power of the coaching relationship, clients create a vision of what they want; they explore options or increase their possibilities to resolve a particular situation. They then implement a plan to achieve their goals. One of the best benefits of coaching is that it provides an accountability partner. The client is responsible for setting the agenda for the coaching sessions, doing the work and taking the actions necessary to achieve wanted goals.

During this whole process, the coach provides support for the client and “holds on to” the client’s agenda. In some instances, the coach believes in the clients more than the clients believe in themselves. Another great benefit of coaching is that the coach listens deeply to the client. In this way, the client is empowered by the coach to have more confidence, value themselves more, and gain a new perspective on a situation. What I tell my clients is the old adage, “Two heads are better than one.” The power of the collaborative relationship assists clients in reaching their ultimate future goals, one step at a time

The International Coach Federation (ICF) has provided some recent statistics on the benefits of coaching. The ICF found that coaching brings a number of benefits. “Professional coaching maximizes potential, and therefore unlocks latent sources of productivity.” Persons surveyed stated that 70% experienced improved work performance, 61% improved business management, 57% improved time management, and 51% improved team effectiveness.

Individuals using a coach enjoy an 80% improvement in self-confidence, 73% have improved relationships, 72% have improved communication skills, and 67% have improved life/work balance. According to the ICF, the vast majority of companies say they have at least made their investment back (86%). Furthermore, 99% of people surveyed who hired a coach are somewhat or very satisfied with their experience. A total of 96% of people would repeat the process.

Bama At Work is proud to offer the  Workplace Coaching Academy, a program designed to maximize the potential of leaders to deliver results in a constantly changing workplace. In this program participants will learn to influence at greater levels within their organization through the use of coaching. For more information about the Workplace Coaching Academy, professional development and career improvement please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google + , LinkedIn or visit our website .

Article by Linda Levin, Professional Certified  Coach and instructor for the Workplace Coaching Academy at The University of Alabama, Bama At Work.  Linda works with with leaders, partners and groups to accomplish their professional and personal goals. Her years of experience have taught her that the key to lasting and authentic change lies in the relationship between core personal values and inherent strengths .

The True Value of Project Management for your Business

‘Tis the season for football, and the pundits have started talking about teams’ prospects for the championship games at the start of 2015. For companies, it’s also the season for planning their activities for 2015. Most strategic plans will call for projects to improve organizations’ capabilities. Alignment of the projects and strategy will be key to successful strategy implementation. One way firms can ensure that alignment is by equipping leaders and project managers with project management skills and knowledge. Firms need to build a foundation for project management. Employees need to understand quality-driven philosophies and tools that contribute to enhancing a project team’s participation and productivity. Such a foundation provides employees the strategic, organizational, and tactical viewpoint that leads to tight alignment of business objectives and project plans. Project management is a team effort, so a project management foundation also includes understanding the various roles and responsibilities of the project teams and understanding the characteristics of an effective project manager. The project management process as well as techniques and tools for project planning and execution also form one of the elements of a sound project management foundation.

Firms also need to develop deeper project management skills to advance project teams’ effectiveness in key areas like initiation, planning, execution, control, and closure. One way to give teams advanced skills is through training in scenarios provided in challenging simulations. Such simulations put employees in situations during the planning and execution phases of projects and challenge them to make timely decisions that can affect the outcome of the project. Simulations are safe environments where employees can practice their skills before using them in real situations. Firms can master the project management discipline by institutionalizing it. Sound and repeatable practices to make project management an efficient discipline need to be part of an organization’s DNA. That DNA shows up as the habit of identifying, documenting, and applying best practices to improve current and future project performance. Developing that habit can institutionalize project management best practices throughout an organization as employees develop a best practice methodology tailored to their organization. Institutionalizing best practices also requires insight into organizational culture in order to champion project management best practices in the organization.

Using project management software can be a way to harness those deeper project management skills and make the practice of project management a systematic discipline. Project managers, project team members, and other employees need to plan and track projects and most likely will use the well-known Microsoft Project in the overall project management process. Microsoft Project is a powerful, flexible tool designed to help teams manage a full range of projects and is widely available in the Microsoft Office suite. Project management software gives project teams the power and flexibility to plan and track projects and meet business needs. The software is a tool that helps teams build a project plan and get started by creating a work schedule. Teams can manage a project and easily review and analyze its progress as well as communicate project information to members of the team. Firms also have people who are not project managers but still need some level of skill to ensure project success. That’s because not all employees are project managers, but all employees eventually take part in projects. They don’t have prior knowledge of project management, but they need to get up to speed quickly. Getting up to speed includes the essential vocabulary and concepts of project management as well as the basic tools and techniques employees can start using immediately. Such a focus enables organizations to quickly develop a pool of employees with foundational knowledge of project management.

Firms may want some employees to be professionally certified. For example, government contracts may call for evidence a contractor has mastered all of the critical project management skills and has command of the project management processes. The distinctive certification of Project Management Professional (PMP®) from The Project Management Institute (PMI) is that kind of evidence.  In order to achieve certification, individuals must demonstrate they have mastered all of the skills and techniques and have gained the knowledge to set them and their organizations apart from the pack. The PMP credential tends to be a top credential in demand by employers, and can provide organizations with a cadre of experts. Be sure to include the building of project management capability in your organizational plan for next year. People are key to turning strategy into action and action into results; a sequenced program that enables them to master the project management discipline will translate into employees who can save money and increase revenues.

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Article by Leroy Hurt, Associate Dean, Professional Development and Community Engagement, The University of Alabama,

Leroy Hurt, Associate Dean, Bama At Work