The Ultimate Guide to Finding the Perfect Career Coach

Realizing your inner strengths can be a difficult process when you're early in your career. You can do it the hard way by struggling through years of crappy work until you find something you're good at, or you can find a career coach.

I've had career coaches throughout my life during times when I was feeling lost. J.T. O'Donnell was one of my earliest mentors and helped me find clarity when Brazen Careerist was first getting started. Another coach, Jenny Ferry, helped me become a better goal setter through the art of meditation. Whatever your need might be, there's a coach out there for you, but the good ones are hard to find.

On Wednesday, we're hosting another Speed Coaching event on Network Roulette to introduce you to a hand-selected group of coaches. In preparation, some of the coaches who will be attending have shared their best advice for young professionals when seeking out a coach.

Tracy Brisson
Look for a coach who is pragmatic AND believes that you can have the career you want. A good career coach will honor your big goals and help you detail every step you need to achieve them while providing innovative ideas.
Website: The Opportunities Project
Twitter: @oppsproject

Lynn Dessert
A coach helps you to understand who you are and how others might perceive you by identifying your “blind spots”. Successful coaching helps you to discover your passions, set attainable goals, maintain focus and learn life lessons within a trusted relationship.
Website: Elephants at Work
Twitter: @LynnDessert

Lauree Ostrofsky
Look for someone who has a fresh perspective. Your coach needs to listen and appreciate who you are, then challenge what you think is possible. If you're slightly scared, it's a good sign that big things can happen.
Website: Simply Leap
Twitter: @SimplyLeapCoach

Kat A. Lessin
A coach should be someone who helps provide accountability and doesn't allow you to play small in what you are creating with your actions. They should push you and challenge you just enough to help shift your perspective.
Website: Life by My Design
Twitter: @katlessin

ChaChanna Simpson
Ask yourself if you trust this person, do they match your level of energy, and if you enjoy speaking with them. Coaching is a relationship and if the chemistry is not there, this person is not the coach for you.
Website: Twentity.com
Twitter: @ChaChanna

Brett Kunsch
You will want to write out a list of things you want from a coaching relationship so you have a "map" for your search. When you see or hear those qualities, values, development approaches, etc. in a coach you meet, you can make your investment with more confidence. One core criteria: ask if the coach has successfully partnered with a person similar to you in the past.
Website: Kunbre Life Coaching
Twitter: @GenYCoach

Scott Asai
Chemistry. There's a lot of great coaches out there, but it comes down to "fit." You have to believe your coach can take you to the next level.
Website: Growing Forward
Twitter: @growingforward

Dana Leavy
It's important for young professionals to work with a coach who really understands the different dynamic, circumstances and challenges with which Gen Y enters into the modern job market today.
Website: Aspyre Solutions
Twitter: @danaleavy

Elise Foster
Young professional should look for a coach that is going to challenge them, not one who offers a quick fix. Identifying and securing the right career takes hard work and significant input from the person who will do the job, not the coach.
Website: Leadership Potential Consulting
Twitter: @elisefoster

Laurice Gajda
A good Coach match is someone you feel comfortable with, enough to open up about anything because everything is connected to your progress. Look for a Coach to offer tools, techniques or perspectives that are effective for you to assist you in finding out your own answers.

Barbara Healy
Look for someone you can build a supportive partnership with, where the focus is exclusively on you. Look for someone who holds a strong belief in your potential, someone who fosters self-management and self-responsibility in you and helps you consistently reach for more.
Website: Barbara Healy Associates
Twitter: @bbhealy

Tim Murphy
Young professionals seeking a coach, like anyone looking for a relationship, need a good active listener. A coach with tons of professional or personal success, who can't ask questions and listen to understand your particular needs and challenges, isn't going to help you.
Website: ApplyMate
Twitter: @ApplyMate

Rikk Hansen
Pay attention to how you feel after your first conversation with a potential coach. Do you feel more centered and confident in your own instincts & ability to navigate the changes?
Website: Rikk Hansen on LinkedIn
Twitter: @rikkhansen

Paul Basile
Your coach is your honest champion, someone who tells you the truth and cares about you, works on your side in your interest. Your coach ideally has a broad, even eclectic background enabling her/him to have seen and experienced a wide range of organizations, cultures, behaviors, trends.
Website: Matchpoint Careers
Twitter: @psbasile

Shawn MacDonell
Someone who has a ton of clients and no time for any of them is not a good coach. Look for someone who has dedication and has produced results-ask for testimonials.
Website: Creativision Coaching and Consulting
Twitter: @passiontoaction

Josh Ploch
When a young professional is looking for a coach, they should look for someone who they can connect to, and someone who genuinely wants you to succeed.
Website: WorkOfALifetime
Twitter: @joshploch

Michael Bruny
When looking for a coach, young professionals should test drive a couple before they buy. Focus on finding someone you have chemistry with and someone who focuses on your action as well as your learning. Lastly, look for someone who is going to challenge you.
Website: Run The Point
Twitter: @ambassadorbruny

Dana Dwyer
Know the outcomes you seek? When you know what you want, it will be much easier to identify the coach with the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to guide you in the direction you want to go.
Website: Working Miracles

Shawn Graham
Experience and fit. Does the coach possess a proven track record of success working with clients who have faced similar issues or concerns and does his or her style match with your coaching and interpersonal needs? If the answer is “no” to either or both questions, keep looking.
Website: Courting Your Career
Twitter: @ShawnGraham

Shannon Short
They want to look for a coach who will stretch them outside the comfort zone, the very thing that is likely making them stuck or unclear, to see different perspectives and new possibilities they weren't able to or willing to see on their own.
Website: Spark!
Twitter: @girlsgetreal

Nailah Blades
You should always talk with them before signing up. Make sure you feel a good connection with them and that their style lines up with your needs. If you work with someone you like and respect, you'll get much better results!
Website: Polka Dot Coaching
Twitter: @nailahblades

What did our coaches miss? Think about the following questions and leave some of your own ideas in the comments section below.

• What coach-seeking tip do you absolutely agree with?
• What coach-seeking tip do you disagree with?
• What's missing? Share your own tip below.

Don't forget to sign up for Wednesday night's Speed Coaching event and get one hour of free advice from our expert coaches. Sign up >>