How to Hire a Personal Coach

What is coaching? Depending on whom you ask you will get various different answers. And so, when you hire a coach how do you know what to expect?

There are many different types of coaching and many different types of coaches. There are no legal regulations for the coaching profession. Anyone can call themselves a Life, Personal, Business, Executive or Relationship Coach. A coach’s background will vary considerably, and it is a good idea to check out what kind of training the coach that you are considering hiring has, how long they have been coaching and what they did before they became a coach.

Here are a few examples of the diversified backgrounds of coaches.

1. A homemaker who feels that she/he has been giving advice her/his whole life and would like to get paid for it.
2. A corporate consultant who finds that being an executive/business coach is both more interesting and more lucrative.
3. A psychotherapist who enjoys the cognitive/behavioral style of working without dealing with managed care (here in the states).

My point being that it is important to know the background of the coach that you are hiring, who they are, where they are coming from.

If you are looking for a coach, a good starting place is The International Coaching Federation (ICF).

ICF offers credentials for Coaches. Credentials are presently the only forms of accountability available to you, the public. If a coach has proven that she/he has considerable experience coaching, attended coaching classes and has been mentored by a senior coach for a given period of time, then the coach is eligible to apply for one of the many different credentials. This is a good starting place for finding a coach.