Whilst many coaches want to create their own independent coaching business, others seek to take coaching into the workplace by becoming an internal coach.
But how do you find a job as a coach? How can you be employed rather than building your own client roster?
Finding coaching jobs as an independent coach
1. Capitalise on your skills
While many coaches work independently, on a freelance or part-time basis, you can also use your skills within your current role to expand or improve the impact you have and the way you work. Many new coaches combine coaching within their workplace with a small, independent practice built alongside. Coaching can dovetail well with leadership roles, management, HR, learning and development, teaching, and caring professions, for example.
2. Tap into your contacts
Sit down and write a list of everyone you know, including your friends, family, colleagues and associates. Of course, not everyone will become a client (and you don’t wouldn’t want to coach your friends or family!), but some people will refer you on to others who will.
3. Talk to new people
Chat with everyone you meet – your hairdresser, people while you’re waiting for the bus, even someone at the next table in the café. Be genuinely interested and curious about people and their stories. Some people you meet may need coaching or know someone who does.
4. Attend informal networking events
How do you like to spend your time? What subjects capture your attention? Sign up for things that interest you and talk to people while you’re there. At the moment these events will almost all take place in the virtual space, but rather than limit your options this likely opens up more opportunities to attend informal networking events. This might be a virtual summit or conference, a workshop, or even a virtual social. When in-person networking events resume it could be anything from a formal dinner to a business seminar or social event such as a picnic or BBQ.
5. Join a formal networking Group
Weekly and monthly structured networking groups are filled with potential clients and referrals. Business Networking International (BNI) is one of the largest organisations, but there are many others, such as Women in Business Network (WIBN), The Athena Network, or POP Connect. Generally, these have an annual fee, which includes a directory listing and other perks, then you pay a small fee for the monthly event (such as lunch). Most have a one industry seat rule, so if you get a spot you will be the only coach in the group. A Google search can help you find local chapters or stand-alone networking groups in your area. Currently many networking groups have pivoted to be able to operate in the virtual space so you can still benefit from these despite current challenges.
6. Start a local group
Creating a regular gathering related to your coaching speciality, such as mindset or leadership, can help you build a community of people who share your passions or want to pursue similar goals. You could use a platform such as Meetup.com or Eventbrite to organise it or tap into a local network, such as your local library. You can also effectively run these local groups in the online space too.
7. Advertise your services
Pay-per-click advertisements such as Google Ads and Facebook Ads can expand your reach but set yourself a realistic budget (start small at the outset) and choose your keywords and demographics carefully. Also, consider advertising in local print and online publications, and posting flyers in bookstores, coffee shops, leisure centres, libraries or anywhere else that people congregate locally.
8. Get listed in coaching directories
While word of mouth is often the best way to secure clients, coaching directories such as Animas directory can be useful to supplement your existing efforts. Many offer a free option or trial period so you can test their effectiveness before committing to fees or long-term contracts.
Finding coaching jobs within organisations
You may prefer to work as an internal coach within a company, have a role working within various workplaces, or be part of a coaching agency or consultancy as an associate coach. Having a niche will help, especially in executive coaching, career coaching, or when working within an industry speciality. So how do you find those jobs?
1. Use online job sites
Employers use these sites to list their coaching job opportunities. You upload your CV, search on specific criteria, and the relevant matches appear. Although there are numerous sites, one which you might not have tried is Jooble – a job search engine created for a single purpose: To help you find the job of your dreams! Jooble can save you time by pulling in postings from thousands of job boards, corporate, recruiter pages and newspapers. You can even have your searches emailed to you.
Jooble was created to save its users time and energy, enabling you to find your desired job from a single query. This works so well because of the way Jooble operates; in the same way as any other search engine operates, Jooble does not compile all the information in its own database, but searches it out and pulls all relevant job postings together in one easy to navigate space.
2. Reach out to companies
Contact companies directly, particularly large businesses or government organisations in your region, if there are those that you admire or feel aligned with. Some will employ coaches internally or on contract and you could be called upon to coach a team, support an executive in a new role, or train a manager to improve leadership skills.
3. Leverage your experience
Consider taking your coaching into an industry in which you already have experience and/or are working. For example, if you have managerial experience, you will have a head start over other coaches when applying for a job to coach managers. Similarly, a background as a nurse will help you stand out for work with a company within the health industry. What experiences do you have in common with those you want to serve?
4. Update your linkedIn profile
Employers and coaching agencies regularly use the platform to find suitable people to invite to apply for a position, especially when looking for career or executive coaches. Use your profile to showcase your background, qualifications, skills and relevant experience. Not sure how best to update your profile? Visit this article from LinkedIn’s blog for help if your profile needs an update.
5. Apply to coaching agencies and providers
Apply to coaching agencies and providers. Some companies may want to have coaching for their employees but do not have an internal resource to do this. That’s where you can help – by getting onto the books of a company that employs or contracts coaches and/or provides coaching services via a pool of associate coaches with whom they can match clients. The advantage of being an associate coach is that the agency will find your clients for you, however, it is important that you come from the right professional background. Many of these assignments require advanced coaching credentials, such as those offered by the International Coaching Federation (ICF).
Tip: Think Long term
Alongside your short-term strategies, it’s important to build long-term ones, to grow your audience and cultivate solid relationships with potential clients.
1. Create a website
We’ve included this in your long-term strategy because it’s not crucial to have one immediately – in fact, many coaches build solid businesses without having one! Consider it less a way to get clients (as they’re not likely to happen upon your web site unprompted) but more as a ‘calling card’ to help interested customers get to know you better. Squarespace and Wix are among the services that offer customisable website templates to help you get started without requiring programming skills or design expertise.
2. Grow your expert profile
Pick your niche and be loud and proud about your unique approach, process, or perspective. Write guest blogs, speak at local organisations, and offer to be a guest on relevant podcasts. You might even consider offering short, complimentary coaching sessions to interested contacts. Always include your web site address so people can find out more about you.
3. Build an email list
While social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram can help expand your reach, keep in mind that when you use these services, you don’t own your followers. So if platforms are disrupted (or disappear entirely!), all your hard work will be lost. In contrast, creating and growing an opt-in email list means you’ll have those subscribers for the long-term. One way is to offer something of value for free (also known as a lead magnet), such as a free mini-course or workbook, in exchange for a potential client’s email address. Services such as Mailerlite and ActiveCampaign combine email storage and advanced tools, such as subscription forms and landing pages (where people can sign up for your lead magnet).
We hope that this article gives you some more ideas around how you might find coaching jobs after qualifying as a coach. Thanks for reading and good luck!
