Coaching Tips

Eleven Tips to Help You Develop a Successful Coaching Relationship with Young Adults:

1. Develop a passion for working with your young adult. This can be an incredibly rewarding experience for both of you. This is also a great opportunity for you to give back to your profession and to the community.
2. Set the right expectation. Don’t sugarcoat the advice that you give to them. You are not interviewing them for a job; therefore, your advice should be straightforward and honest. Give them candid advice helping them to be well prepared for job interviews and a successful career. The young adult should also recognize that they can never have a second chance to make a first impression.
3. Work to change the mindset of the young adult from looking for a job to building a career.
4. Your meetings with young adults should be conducted in a public place such as a library, church, restaurant or office. If they are under the age of 18, it may also be wise to invite them to bring a parent to the meetings.
5. Get to know your young adult. What are their career interests and concerns? Share with them your own career story and the rewards and challenges of your occupation.
6. Identify which of our resources are most applicable to the young adult’s progress and then develop a plan for reviewing those resources with them.
7. Plan to meet with your young adult monthly for at least five meetings if you are in the formal coaching program with them. If you are completing an informational interview with him or her, you only need to meet with them once. You are welcome to continue meeting with your young adult for as long as you both believe it is helpful.
8. We provide at the beginning of each section in the guidebook, Discussion Questions for Young Professionals and Career Coaches. These questions are intended to help you initiate a meaningful discussion with the young adult about the information contained within that section.
9. Help them to develop their professional resume so that it looks appropriate for the career that they are seeking.
10. Conduct mock interviews with them. Help them to understand that in order to stand out in an interview, they must first thoroughly research the industry, the company, and the position for which he or she is applying. It is also helpful for the young adult to review the biography of the interviewer, if available, so that they may understand areas of common interest with the interviewer. The biography is often available on the professional’s company website or on their LinkedIn profile.
11. When you believe that the young adult is ready, introduce them to your professional network for the purpose of conducting an informational interview with these professionals. These informational interviews are very important and key for them in exploring or jumpstarting their career. We can’t overstate enough the importance of the young adult conducting informational interviews. Not only will it help jumpstart their career, but it will also give them valuable opportunities to improve their interviewing skills. Note that it is the young adult’s responsibility to schedule the informational interview with the professional after your introduction to them.
    We hope that you find these hints helpful in working with your young adult.