Where are the coaching jobs?

Are you looking for coaching jobs and finding none for the taking?  If you are a business coach, or someone with a specific skill set, you may have it easier.  Its fairly simple to put a price tag on your expertise, and – chances are – there’s a company out there who could use that expertise.

If you are a Life Coach, however, who do you approach?  That’s a tougher one.  Who is giving out coaching jobs there days?  It makes you wonder . . . but why? its in the nature of the beast itself.

You see, as a “life” coach you are a bit of an anachronism.  On one hand you are supposed to be good at helping folks define and achieve specific goals.  On the other hand, you as a life coach should be good at . . . well, LIFE.  Right? I mean, would you hire yourself as a life coach??

It may be unfortunate, but most people still don’t have an answer to that question, so herein lies the problem.  In order to sell yourself to a potential employer, you must have an answer to “what’s in it for them.” Otherwise, there is no sale!

David Wright is the author of Get a Job (2006, W3 Group, LLC) and offers his general opinion on the matter of getting a job in a recent blog post:

“It boils down to a choice – are you going to drift along your career like a jellyfish in the ocean, hoping you’ll end up someplace nice, and hoping that your boss will “give” you a raise? Or are you going to be proactive and take charge of your career path, and both start earning what you are worth and make yourself worth more and more (and earn more and more) each year?”

If you already have a job with a company – coaching or otherwise – you are most likely there because your specific business knowledge gives that company a leg up and helps their bottom line.  But why would a company hire you as a life coach unless they are very large and have a big self-help budget to spend on employees?  If you find one, congratulations!  These are rare birds, so give thanks and pass the butter beans!

But let’s assume for the moment that you’ve looked and can’t find such a company. Is it time to despair? No. You just need to hunker down a bit and do more homework.

Finding a coaching job requires a specialized search that must match your expertise with the specific needs of the company you are wanting to work for.  You will have to know everything about this company . . . and be knowledgeable enough to sell yourself based on the measurable benefits you bring to them.  Knowing who to speak to also helps!  In a big company it will not be the CEO, so find out who your contact is and start stalking him or her (in a nice way, of course!).

The good thing about applying for coaching jobs is that you usually only have to sell one person.  The bad thing about applying for coaching jobs is that its till only a “job.”  More than one entrepreneur I know describes this as “Just Over Broke.”

So what’s the real attraction to coaching jobs anyway?  Just because you were told in school to “get a good education and a good job” does not mean that jobs are necessarily the way to go! If you have expertise that a company is willing to pay for, you know you have something that’s in demand.  You can also be assured that your knowledge is worth much more in the open market since, after all, companies have to make a profit.  Whey would they pay you more than you’re worth?  They wouldn’t.

Instead of coaching jobs, consider owning your own company.  Then get out there and start selling your services!  By making your own job, you can actually “drop out” of the recession and slow job market!  Its easy – all you need is a registered company name or DBA, some business cards and a phone and website.  If you’re a Life Coach, you may also want to get some business tips, such as my free report called “The 7 Biggest Mistakes Life Coaches Make in Business, and How to Overcome Them.”   This will give you the tools you need to getting started, so Happy Self-Job Hunting!