How to Find a Career Coach for Women (+ 5 Important Questions to Ask)

What’s the Difference Between a Career Coach and Life Coach or Executive Coach?

Great question!

A career coach is trained in helping clients clarify their career visions, build job search strategies, craft their personal brands, and prepare for interviews and negotiations. Your career coach can work with you throughout many stages of your career transition or to work through one particular job search pain point.

An executive coach is more focused on the job you already have and helping you become better at THAT job by overcoming professional development hurdles and honing your skills.

A life coach helps clients make progress in a range of areas of their lives by working on mindset, goal setting, and offering accountability.

Keep in mind there are different types of career coaches as well. Some focus almost exclusively on job search strategy, others focus their work on resume writing.

For me, my career coaching practice centers on career visioning and execution with the ultimate goal of finding more joy and fulfillment at work. Goal setting and accountability are a big part of that process along with building confidence alongside an effective strategy.

How do I Find a Career Coach for Women?

I mentioned that career coaches have specialties and it can be helpful to think about your specific needs when looking for a coach.

Do you want a resume writer with extensive experience in the finance industry?

Do you want a career coach who can help you practice consulting case interviews?

Do you want a career coach for women who will help you look at work and life holistically?

As a career coach for women (hey, hey Millennials, Gen Xers, and moms – you’re my people!) many of my clients are looking for someone who fits the bill in that last example. They are parents, professionals, and multifaceted women with different interests and needs, and they want someone who gets that when working through their career questions.

If that sounds like you, you’ve found me right here! But there are some other ways to find a career coach for women too and important questions to ask.

First: Identify Potential Coaches

Let’s start with ways to find a pool of potential coaches you would want to work with.

Google Search

Super simple – do a search for “career coach for women” or “career coach near me.” You’ll get a list to start from right away with that search.

Ask Your Network

You’re looking for the know, like, and trust factors when selecting a career coach, and who do you know, like, and trust better than your friends?

Ask people you respect if they know of a career coach they have worked with or they would recommend.

Join a Community

When looking for a career coach for women, think about who else would know someone who does that work and where they might be hanging out.

For example, Fairygodboss is a great platform for women professionals to seek out career advice and you can find career coaches there.

Local networks are great too. For example, Boston Business Women or Pepperlane both have fantastic Facebook groups to seek out advice or other professionals.