How to Interview a Potential Life or Career Coach

If you’ve decided that you need the help a life coach or career coach to get your career or job search moving in the right direction, you’re not alone. Lots of people go to life/career coaches when they’re having trouble deciding what to do in their lives or careers. But there’s more to hiring a coach than just picking up a phone book. There are certain questions, tough questions, that have to be asked in order for a prospective client to know if a potential coach is a good fit or not.
Here’s a collection of the questions and advice that coaching experts and experienced professionals in other fields think you should ask when you’re interviewing a potential coach:

• “What is your area of expertise? (Hopefully the person has one area of expertise, otherwise he is a generalist).
• What is your experience? (Is he qualified and trained or did he just pick this “skill” out of a hat?)
• What type of results do your clients experience? (You want to find out if there is a match between the potential client’s challenges and what the coach can do.)
• Have you had previous clients with these concerns / issues / challenges (This question will help determine fit and whether or not the person has prior experience),”

recommends Rory Stern, a former therapist who now devotes his life to coaching.

“The best question to ask a coach is: What is the largest challenge he/she had to coach themselves through? Good coaches will describe how they approached a problem in a new way or found a novel way to overcome an obstacle,” said Dr. Richard Ackley, professor of psychology at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. “Their focus is on the present impacting the future, not the past impacting the present. An answer that emphasizes ‘psychological change’ or ‘personal development’ is not what a good coach emphasizes. Psychological change or personal development are what psychologists are trained to effect. Coaches in a 6 month certification process are not trained to do this. So ‘coaches’ who focuses on such matters are ill trained to do so and clients should avoid them. Good coaches will describe their work as personal effectiveness. The difference is in helping their clients achieve goals, rather than changing them.”
Sally Poette, who is a coach in training with a background in sociology and marriage and family therapy offers her top six questions to ask a potential coach:
1) Are you certified through the ICF (International Coach Federation)?
2) Where did you receive your training?
3) How many hours of training did you receive?
4) How did you get into coaching?
5) Can you provide me with some references?
6) What is your background?
Marketing for the International Coach Federation (ICF), Kristin Hogue’s list of questions would work well in conjunction with Poette’s:

• What is your coaching experience (number of individuals coached, years of experience, types of coaching situations)?
• What is your coach-specific training (enrolled in an ICF approved training program, other coach-specific training, etc.)?
• What is your coaching specialty or areas in which you most often work?
• What specialized skill or experience do you bring to your coaching?
• What is your philosophy about coaching?
• What is your specific process for coaching (how sessions are conducted, frequency, etc.)?
• What are some coaching success stories (specific examples of individuals who have succeeded as a result of coaching or how the coach has added value)?

AmyK Hutchens, founder of AKI, Inc., suggests asking the following:

• What do you consider a successful coaching session? (does this align with what you consider successful?)
• What’s your coaching philosophy? (finding a philosophical match can help increase progress)
• What’s your background? (is their background relevant to you?!)
• What don’t you coach on?/Who don’t you coach? (if the coach says they can coach on everything- they’re wrong, and you don’t need a generalist- you need an expert.)

It’s important to ask a lot of probing questions when you’re looking for a life/career coach because
1. It’s your hard earned cash you’re spending (or your parents’ or your spouse’s).
2. A bad life/career coach can do a lot of damage that might take several months or even years to fix.
3. You’re the employer and it’s an employer’s market out there. Make the most of it by asking questions that will help you ensure you’re working with someone who’s not only fully qualified and highly recommended, but who is also compatible with you and your way of doing things.
“Finding a coach who is right for you may require some legwork on your part. You should not necessarily settle for the first person with whom you speak. Rather, you may need to speak with several individuals whom you ask several questions that allow you to distinguish among them,” said Dr. Dawn Chandler, assistant professor of management at the Orfalea College of Business of California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, CA. “The following are several questions to ask any prospective coach:

1. “What is your educational background and highest degree attained?
2. Are you accredited? If so, through what organization/s? What were the accreditation requirements? Does the organization have renewal requirements? What are they and where are you currently in the process of meeting them?
3. For how long have you been a coach?
4. How many clients have you had?
5. What competencies, skills, and knowledge have you helped your clients’ attain?
6. Have you coaches others with my particular needs?
7. What is your coaching philosophy?
8. What should I expect in the way of frequency of meeting and the duration of our relationship in light of my needs?”

If you wouldn’t entrust your car to an unskilled mechanic, then don’t entrust your life choices, your career or your job search to an unqualified professional coach.

Originally posted by Candice A