I’ve recently become quite partial to a hashtag; if you follow me on Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn (yes, they have made an appearance there), you may notice some of the “# “I use. One is Career Coach and the other is Return to Work Coach. Both phrases are common place in the world of personal development, but you may have been wondering, what is the different between return to work and career coaching?
First, to understand the difference between return to work and career coaching (and which of them you may need), we need to simply look at where you are in your life. You see, the different between the types is all linked to timing and a little bit of semantics.
You will access return to work coaching during a time in your life when you are looking to return to work (yes, it as simple as that) after your parental leave OR a longer career break. Career coaching can be at any time in your life.
When a parent returns to work after parental leave or career break, there is a very special and specific set of emotions and practical issues to manage. It is a new(er) transition within your life; from understanding the new role as a parent (to one, two or more children) and how that fits into your role as an employee, to building on your existing skills and experience to re-enter the job market, after a career break.
The coaching results for return to work coaching will be based on settling back into work or finding a new role to reignite your career; yet some of the themes, issues, tools and techniques used will overlap with the career coaching.
The timing for career coaching for parents tends to be wherever a Mum or Dad feels the need to take control of their career; from promotions, job searching, confidence to work-life balance, career coaching can be used at any time in a parent’s career journey.
In the world of The Balance Collective, I believe there are four universal areas that everyone needs to work on to create a career to enjoy, which are the basis of my coaching:
Confidence, Career, Cash and Calibration.
To build your self-esteem, focus your ambition, understand your value and create your version of work-life balance success.
As I have mentioned before, coaching can get a bad rap, and the way that us coaches describe ourselves can vary from person to person; dependent on the results that the client needs, I move between coach, mentor, consultant or trainer! So, I encourage you to look beyond the title of the coaching, and instead to consider what stage you are in your life, and the results that you want from the coaching. THIS is the way you can understand the difference between return to work and career coaching.
Want to find out more about how I work? Then join my FREE group, The Balance Collective with Clara Wilcox.
Clara Wilcox is a straight talking, practical and experienced coach helping clients navigate the tricky waters of returning to work, career changes and professional development. The Balance Collective is a social enterprise focused on improving the lives of parents, by working together to build inner confidence and promote a healthy work/life balance.
