If you are a teacher or education professional, then you may feel career advice is more for your students than for you. However, there are times in everyone’s career, teachers too, when career support from a professional career coach can be invaluable.
Here are some of the reasons why career coaching could be right for you too.
Professional Development: Career coaches provide an objective sounding board to help you clarify your professional goals, explore your options and develop your capabilities. They will provide a frank but safe space for you to identify your strengths and weaknesses and work with you to help you develop your capabilities and confidence.
Career Advancement: If you are looking to progress your career, whether by seeking a leadership position or transitioning to a different educational role, a career coach can help you plot your path and secure a new position. This includes helping you developing the professional competences needed as well as preparing for internal interviews or writing external applications. They will make sure you are applying for the right roles for you and present as an ideal candidate.
Overcoming Challenges: Teachers face various challenges in their careers, such as managing upwards, handling conflict, dealing with internal politics or coping with burnout. A career coach helps ensure you are fully equipped and confident to overcome these hurdles now and in the future.
Personal fulfilment: What we want in life and from our career will change over time and with different circumstances. If your teaching career is no longer in sync with your values, passions and needs, then a career coach can help you work out what needs to be different, whether it is changes within your current role, a new environment or a bigger career change.
Transitioning into a new role: A new role may have a very different set of expectations which require you to develop new skills, manage relationships in a different way, or to present with impact and more personal confidence. A career coach can help you orientate yourself to the demands of the new position, providing advice and a sounding board to help you quickly perform at your best.
Career Change: Teachers who are unhappy in their current role, often wonder whether there are career paths outside of teaching which would suit them better. This may be the case but equally it may be that a smaller career shift, perhaps to a different type of educator role or a new school, could make all the difference. A career coach will help you look objectively at your situation, identify your transferable skills and explore your options so that you can make a realistic and informed choice about your next career move. For those who do decide to leave teaching, your career coach can also support you with the practicalities of changing career including navigating the wider job market.
Work-Life Balance: Teachers often struggle with work-life balance due to the demands of their profession. Career coaches can help teachers develop strategies to manage stress, set boundaries, and maintain a healthier work-life balance.
Building Confidence: Confidence can be a crucial factor in effective teaching. Career coaches can work with teachers to build their self-confidence and help them believe in their abilities, which can have a positive impact on both their teaching effectiveness and on perceptions at work.
Networking: Career coaches can guide teachers in how to build a professional network within and outside the education sector. This helps build a positive reputation wider than their School, can open up career opportunities and is valuable for staying updated on educational trends, finding mentorship opportunities, and exploring new career paths.
Accountability: A career coach will help you create a career action plan, provide advice on how to achieve your goals and keep your motivation high with regular progress reviews.
In summary, working with a career coach can be highly beneficial for teachers looking to enhance their professional development, overcome challenges, and achieve their career goals. It provides a structured and personalized approach to career growth and can lead to improved job satisfaction and success.
If you’re considering a career change, exploring your options or need effective job search support, Eteach recommends Personal Career Management, who offer Eteach subscribers free career review to find out how career coaching can help you. Click here to book.
About the author
Corinne Mills
Corinne Mills is Managing Director of Personal Career Management, an outplacement and career coaching company who are the official Career Management partners for Eteach.