Following this quote, some people decide to take charge of their professional life by assessing what they are good or not good at, what they like to do, what motivates them and what brings sense to their professional life. Therefore, as explained in the previous posts, career coaching is an efficient tool for “ready to work” people or “already working” people.  In this post, I want to highlight the main differences between the two above-mentioned categories of candidates towards their career coaching, in order to draw some recommendations for working people.

The first difference is TIME. Working people often struggle with time management as their schedule is often impacted by unwanted changes in the planning. => They have to bear in mind that a career coaching needs some time and that regularity in the process is also key to remain on track and focused.  

The second one is the SENSE of URGENCY, higher for people looking for professional opportunities. If well managed, this sense of urgency helps to quicker move forwards and to take more risk, by exploring various ideas and getting off the beaten tracks => Working people will facilitate their process by taking some risk in exploring areas, which really motivate them.

The third one is the SENSE of LOSS. Working people often face an ambiguous feeling, as moving forward in their career coaching might lead them on a different professional path. They have to emotionally separate from their current position. They have to make the mourning of their former professional career, and it might take time. Working people have to be aware of the difficult separation they have to undergo.However, what working and non-working people share is a SENSE of OWNERSHIP. The career coaching roll out might evolve differently and trigger different feelings, according to personal and professional history, but candidates generally use their career coaching as a passport to a newly defined working identity.

If you would like to find out more about how we've helped people fine-tune their working identity, please contact us or send an email to consultingThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

A. Beneton

“When work is a pleasure, life is a joy. When work is a duty, life is slavery” Maxim Gorky