The ideal job coach. Be the boost, not the barrier for your clients
The ideal job coach. Be the boost, not the barrier for your clients
Before you can coach your clients towards positive employment outcomes, you need to ensure you’ve got the right mindset and leave any judgement at the door before you start. You also need to believe in yourself and your ability to help every client, even in the most challenging cases.
As a job coach, you need to be aware of how we perceive our clients and what we project onto them because this could mean you’re part of the problem, not the solution.
Your perception of yourself as a job coach plays a critical role.
Ask yourself:
- What do you believe about yourself and your ability to help all of your clients?
- Do you think you have the right skills?
- Do you enjoy your job?
- Can you see potential and possibility in every client?
Perceptions & Projections
Here are some key beliefs you need to develop:
- Your clients have the tools and resources within themselves to make change; they just need your support and guidance to realise this.
- You need to bring positive energy and confidence to all of your meetings with your clients. If you can hold certainty for a positive outcome, it will make all the difference
- You need to build trust with your clients; you can only do this if you leave your judgement behind and see potential in them.
How we perceive people can significantly impact how we work with them. As a job coach, you must develop a deep level of awareness around your perception of your clients and their ability to find work.
If you look at a client and think ‘they’ll never find a job’, that perception will form a filter or a lens which we will continue to see them through. This leads to us communicating and interacting with them in a way that will continue to limit their ability to find a job.
Research conducted in 1966 by Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson found that teachers’ expectations can influence student performance. This research has become known as the Pygmalion Effect. It’s described by the researchers as “When we expect certain behaviours of others, we are likely to act in ways that make the expected behaviour more likely to occur.”
When you think of your clients, what are your expectations of them? Are you limiting them by your low expectations? There is a big difference between an actual lack of ability (e.g. skill and experience) and a lack of belief in their ability.
When we think about our clients and how our expectations can improve them or impede them, we begin to see the importance of self-awareness and reflection as a job coach.
So, ask yourself, “Am I the barrier to this client getting a job?”
Job Coach Certification
Our Job Coach Certification Course helps you to understand more about the beliefs we hold about ourselves and how they can impact our ability to coach our clients towards better employment outcomes. Find out more about becoming a certified Bounce Job Coach.
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