3.1 Coaching and careers advice
Coaches use a range of techniques to support you in building your resilience (McFarlane, 2021), including:
- Listening to and observing clues – sometimes the words you use will indicate a lack of resilience, or it might be your inability to embrace change at work, or you might feel exhausted all the time. The coach will pick up on that.
- Maximising successful examples – you might dismiss your own resilience successes, so a coach can help you to see those differently. You looked at reframing in Week 5 – this is an effective coaching technique.
- Developing sustainable resilience – a coach will encourage you to see the benefits of attending to your wellbeing, learning to say no, etc.
- Recognising that resilience ebbs and flows – in Week 2, you looked at the resilience timeline, acknowledging that resilience changes over time. By helping you to look back and learn from times when you were thriving, the coach can support you in recognising your own resilience and drawing on it when you need to.
- Learning through action – a coach will encourage you to take regular small steps to build your resilience.
- Understanding that context is everything – a coach can help you to analyse your work context and see where the issues might be. For example, are you receiving enough support from your employer? How could those needs be met?
You’ve already explored many of these ideas throughout this course, but if you feel you need more direct support through the process of developing your career resilience – a coach or careers adviser can provide that accountability and give structure to your development.
If you are currently studying at the Open University or elsewhere, there may be careers provision within your institution. Most Higher Education institutions will have a careers centre with qualified career advisers/coaches/consultants who you can book an appointment with.
In a large organisation, your Human Resources team might include coaches, or there may be an affiliated service you can be referred to.
If you don’t have access to coaching or careers advice through an educational institution or employer, resources such as the Life Coach Career Directory can help you to search for someone in your local area (you can find a link to this resource in the Further Reading section).