A career coach works best when they are an outside third party that can truly assess a situation, ask the right questions and propose the best actions.

A career coach identifies exactly what it is an individual wants to achieve short-term and long-term in their career life.

Career coaching is an invaluable process that allows an individual to have one-on-one guidance and support with identifying and developing his/her career path. Many people may find that they look up to someone in their life such as an accomplished family member, friend or business associate, for career-related advice. The problem with turning to such a person is, more than likely, this type of person can not offer unbiased feedback that is within the best interest of the individual seeking the input. A career coach works best when they are an outside third party that can truly assess a situation, ask the right questions and propose the best actions.

Usually the first step in career coaching is to discover as much as possible about an individual's personality, skills and aptitude. There are a variety of assessments that have been developed for this purpose and are considered highly reliable such as the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator, Keirsey Temperament Sorter or the Gallup Strengths Finder, to name a few. Such assessments help a coach identify the strengths, weaknesses and emotional tendencies of an individual. Once a coach knows these qualities about an individual then they can more effectively help the individual realize the best ways to apply these qualities in a work environment to reach their full potential.

In addition, a career coach identifies exactly what it is an individual wants to achieve short-term and long-term in their career life. Once identified, the career coaching process will help the individual set realistic and clear objectives and goals. A coach can then help give the individual the proper support and guidance to turn their goals into achievements.

People often have trouble marketing themselves to companies and expressing their attributes confidently in a way that makes others see them as a must-have asset. Career coaches can help improve interviewing skills as well as develop better cover letter and resume writing skills. These skills combined with an understanding of one's own strengths and a clear set of goals can make a person very powerful in the business world.

Some find that they only need a career coach to help them through a major transition like moving from college graduate to the workforce or when making a complete career change. Others tend to keep a coach over a longer course of time to help them stay on track as they move up the corporate ladder. There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to effective career coaching and a good career coach will tailor their approach to each individual. Individuals can rest assured that by using a career coach they will gain useful objective feedback and insight and will be able to pursue their career goals more efficiently and strategically.