Finding a Life Coach: The Easy Route

When I started out in coaching, I genuinely did get phone calls from people who were looking for transport for a day trip to Margate.  Thankfully these days people know a lot more about where this type of coach can take you, but many of those who'd like to hire a life coach aren't sure how to find the right one.

The FAQ section of my website explains the whole coaching fandango in detail, but let's say you've got to the point of deciding you want to find a coach - where do you go from there?  Do you just get googling and hope for the best?

Part of the problem when looking for a coach is that it can be a struggle to get recommendations from people you know.  I am very grateful to the contributors to my testimonials page, but they are in the minority as far as clients go - many people use their coach as a kind of secret weapon, and one which they don't neccessarily boast about.

So where to start looking for the right, the best coach for you?

• Get clear about exactly why you want to hire a coach.  What are you hoping will happen?
• Whatever you do, there is probably a coach who specialises in working with people in your profession.  We call it niching in the trade.  I specialise in coaching people in media and creative professions, but there are probably coaches covering every job, from aromatherapy to zookeeping (though maybe no zookeeping aromatherapists.  Now that really is a niche).  So try searching under life coach plus your job.
• Alternatively, think about what you'd like to achieve through coaching, and search under that.  Coaches sometimes specialise in particular outcomes, like raising confidence or dealing with stress.
• Ask your friends for recommendations.  Just because they haven't told you that they've had coaching, it doesn't mean they haven't.  Like I said, people tend to keep it close to their chests.
• Look at a listing site:  this site contains an independent list of coaches; these coaches are accredited by the International Coach Federation; and these are coaches trained by the Coaching Academy.
• Pick two or three coaches and call them up.  A decent coach will not do any kind of hard sell on you, but will be interested in whether they can help you.  It's all about the coaching relationship and that's a very individual thing.  Hire the coach who feels right to you and they will take you in the direction you want to go.