Posted on Mon, Oct. 19, 2009

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Career coach can help job-seekers move up

BY MARCIA HEROUX POUNDS

Sun Sentinel (South Florida)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. —After 14 months of looking for work, Mark Dean of Coral Springs, Fla., decided a career coach might be worth the expense.

A marketing executive, Dean has thought he was close to snagging a job three times, but lost out when the jobs were either frozen or filled internally. So he recently joined Miami career coach Jeannette Kraar's accelerated job search program.

"If something is not working from a messaging standpoint, you have to step back and take a look at it. I needed professional help," says Dean, a marketing executive.

Kraar has helped Dean narrow his job search from 30 states to four states including Florida where he and his wife want to live. She also has helped him better use Linked-In and other social media to find connections. Now, Dean says, "I have confidence I'm approaching this in the right way."

Who needs a career coach, and how do you find one? A career coach does more than help someone find a job. Often, a coach works with people who have jobs to help them reach the next level in their career. But these days, they're often working with people who are looking for jobs or trying to make a transition to a new career.

There is no regulation of the coaching industry, so it's important to check out a coach's experience and request references. And, as consumer advocates warn, never pay for services up front.

The more frequent and individual the coaching, the more it costs.

Kraar charges $750 a month for private coaching, which includes a detailed search plan and daily phone calls.

Her accelerated program for executives is three months of coaching for $1,750 a month. A less-expensive alternative is her group coaching through a six-hour boot camp for $179, including a workbook and materials.

Boca Raton, Fla., career coach Monique Betty worked in corporate positions for Coca-Cola, Kodak and Eli Lilly and Co. before launching her coaching business, CareerSync. Betty, who coaches on the telephone, charges about $350 a month for two sessions. She also offers less expensive group coaching sessions for $45 to $50 an hour.

Betty works with clients to identify their strengths and skills, then helps them align their vocations with what they see as their life purpose.

"Too many people are thinking, 'Let me just get a job and I'll worry about getting a good job later.' That's like shooting yourself in the foot," Kraar says.

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