Justin Taberham - Global Environmental Careers

In general, ‘coaching’ tends to be a solution‐oriented approach, which involves working with clients to see what concrete steps they can take to achieve career objectives. ‘Counseling’, however, is more process driven – you look at whether there are any behavioral, emotional or psychological issues that could be impeding a person's desired career ambitions.

But the core virtue of career coaching is to help people assess their professional situations with a greater degree of honesty, curiosity, empathy and compassion.

Green coaches can help you to develop a career in the sector, but they differ in many ways, including

Approach

Some focus on your approach to life and your personality in order to help you develop a fruitful career. Others have a focus on directing you towards a green career through professional advice, training and linkages to main employers.

Clients

Their clients vary between graduates, career changers, senior executives and all levels of management.

Sectors Covered

Can be highly focused such as conservation only, or can cover corporate sustainability, or the entire green careers sector.

Location

Normally country‐based – many focussing on the UK or USA but can be online and/or global.

Backgrounds vary for career coaches. Many have university careers services backgrounds or professional experience in the environment sector. Some are psychologists or councillors.

Services from coaches can include:

Packages of training

Careers advice

Subscriptions to ongoing newsletters

One‐on‐one coaching interviews

Events and webinars

Helping with professional network listings, resume development and cover letter advice

Interview skills

Salary negotiation

Offering professional link ups (connecting people)

Job search skills

Careers advice for universities and developing internship programmes for companies as well as being corporate recruiters

Some coaches offer a bespoke service that includes adventure‐based trips and inspirational travel.

There are many different types of career coaching certifications. The main thing is to ensure that the career coach has a certification which requires them to adhere to a strict code of professional conduct for the career coaching profession. However, some companies offer a career advisor service from a professional standpoint, so they are more likely to have professional sector qualifications rather than coaching qualifications.

If additional help is required beyond career coaching (for example, mental health counselling), it is important to seek a Licensed Professional Counsellor (or equivalent) which requires a master’s degree (e.g. in Careers Counselling) with additional training.

Listed below are a number of the career coach, career counsellor and coach instructor credentials (but there are many others):

Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE)

www.cce‐global.org/credentialing

CCE – Global Career Development Facilitator

www.cce‐global.org/gcdf

National Association of Colleges and Employers

www.naceweb.org/professional‐development/coaching‐certification/

National Career Development Association (NCDA)

www.ncda.org/aws/NCDA/pt/sp/credentials

Association for Coaching

www.associationforcoaching.com/

Institute of Leadership and Management

www.i‐l‐m.com/learning‐and‐development/coaching‐and‐mentoring‐qualifications

Career Development Institute

www.thecdi.net/Getting‐Qualified/Masters‐and‐other‐courses

www.thecdi.net/Qualification‐in‐Career‐Development

A key issue is that career coaches are professionals and as such they charge fees, depending on the service given. This will preclude some people from considering using a coach to help them.

Career coaches have a wealth of information and experience and many have detailed insights into the organisations you may want to develop a career with. As in many issues, one needs to research the area and then decide based on affordability and need.

The table below lists some of the coaches available.

Careerfolk LLC

www.careerfolk.com

Careers for Social Impact

www.careersforimpact.com

Catriona Horey

www.withcatriona.com

www.linkedin.com/in/catrionahorey

Founder of The Climate Change Coaches

www.charlycox.com

Climate Change Coaches

www.climatechangecoaches.com/our‐team

Conservation Careers

www.conservation‐careers.com

Environmental Career Coach

www.theenvironmentalcareercoach.com

EnvironmentalCareer.com

www.environmentalcareer.com

www.environmentalcareer.com/coach

Green Career Advisor

www.greencareeradvisor.com

Green Career Tracks

www.greencareertracks.com

Green Growth Coaching

www.greengrowthcoaching.com

GreenMatterZA

www.greenmatterza.com

Janavi Da Silva

www.linkedin.com/in/janavi‐da‐silva‐pr‐sci‐nat‐a90409aa

Hamish Mackay‐Lewis

www.hamishmackaylewis.com

The Intelleto Advantage

Joanne Martens

joanne@theintelletoadvantage.com

Green 360 Career Catalyst

www.green360careercatalyst.net

Megan Fraser

www.meganfraser.org

New Lens Consulting

www.newlensconsulting.com

Nonprofit Career Coach

www.thenonprofitcareercoach.org

Sustainable Career Pathways

www.sustainablecareerpathways.com

Walk of Life Coaching

www.walkoflifecoaching.com

We Are All Wonder Women

www.weareallwonderwomen.com

Zoe Greenwood

linkedin.com/in/zoegreenwood

1 Follow your heart. Focus on environmental issues you are passionate about.

2 Build relevant experience on these issue areas through internships, volunteer work, project work, etc. It's not enough to only have book smarts. Employers will not hire you unless you demonstrate real‐world experience.

3 Never stop learning. Learn new skills that will make you valuable in your field, read what your competitors are doing well, keep up on new technological developments and career trends and join professional associations.

4 Build strong relationships with people in your field. People always remember how you made them feel.