FAQ's

What is coaching?
Coaching is like a synthesis of a mentor (to believe in you and help you set bigger goals for yourself), and a manager (to break down the goals into 'do-able bits'). A personal trainer that will keep you moving along your path and give you feedback to help improve your game.

A coach works one-to-one over an extended period of time. This way the work is targeted and focused to the client's need, and the coach is able to make sure you really develop new skills and habits.

Worklife Solutions Coaching Institutes’ coaches work with clients within a proprietary 3-month coaching period, usually for one hour a week, or within a time frame that meets the clients time demands and goals.

Over this time the coach helps the client set goals, provides feedback, perspective, encouragement and new ways of tackling situations. It's like having someone "running alongside you" in life, giving you the extra input and insights that can really make a difference to your success.

What is a career coach?
A career coach is simply someone who guides others through job and career changes, helps individuals experience fulfillment in their work, and facilitates the match between employee and job function within a company to optimise his/her contribution and satisfaction.

The career coach's primary role is to serve as a catalyst for transformation and change in the client's work life. Whether the client is at a crossroads of identity and purpose, or just seeking to enrich his/her current work experience, career coaches serve as a guide to the next step in the individual's professional development.

Using a respectful, compassionate, yet results-oriented approach, the coach helps his/her clients identify what they most love to do. The next step is to facilitate the client's process in creating that job, career or business. The coach's toolbox includes probing questions, testing of assumptions, standardised assessments, feedback, and other powerful tools as appropriate to the client's unique needs.

What is a life coach?
Life coaching is not the same as therapy or counselling. You don’t need to have a problem to seek the services of a life coach, although some people do. Life coaching is about helping individuals find their own solutions, their own path to goal achievement. Life coaching takes your clients on a journey of self-discovery – it helps them to make sense of their past experiences and gives them clarity for the future. Life coaching differs from career coaching in that it takes a broad and holistic view of life goals, whether these be to improve their relationships, finances, health, self-esteem or just to find time to rekindle a hobby or something they’ve always been passionate about.

How will I know if I will make a good coach?

The best coaches are those that are able to help their clients discover their own answers. After all that is what coaching is about. If you have a genuine desire to help others and possess the core personal attributes necessary to create positive relationships, such as empathy, trustworthiness, genuineness, honesty, sound listening skills and the ability and willingness to learn, then you have the core foundation skills.

Completing our training will further enhance these skills and provide you with the technical tools and techniques to successfully assist your clients through their career explorations and life transitions.

Plus – experiential learning is a big part of our training. As part of your certification you’ll get to coach “real’ clients and put your new skills into practice, prior to graduating. This will help you gain experience as well as gain some good feedback from your success stories.

We’re good at what we do and love doing it. Together we will help you attain professional excellence.

Does your training work?

Here’s the feedback that one of our recent graduates has received:

“How can I thank Robyn, who has taken me from hopelessness and despair to peace and fulfillment. My life is forever changed and I will never be the same again!!!”

Incredibly satisfying feedback and evidence of not only how good our training is but also the incredible amount of satisfaction that comes from doing something so powerful for others.

Can you really learn the skills in a short time?

We don't believe in dragging out our training with loads of theory and irrelevant academic waffling! We're interested in helping you learn fast and effectively. Here’s what a recent student had to say:

"I loved the emphasis on gaining practical skills. I learnt more in this course in 3 days than I did in a whole year of training at AIT." - Rose Flavall, Workwise coach

Many people worry that they won’t be able to learn all the skills required in such an amazingly short period of time. Wrong! Here’s what Roger – a practicing career consultant and regional Manager of a career centre, with over 25 years experience had to say about one of recent students:

“Clients have made real progress with her and report strong satisfaction with the outcome. I give my full support to her aims and regard her as a very suitable person to practice as a life and career coach”

Don’t I need to sort my own life out first?

Nobody is perfect - unless you have major unresolved issues - a passion for helping others and a commitment to your own personal development are the key requirements.

Our screening process will help you identify whether you have what it takes to be a successful coach. Plus, because you will be applying the coaching process and tools to your own life your own self-development is a natural result of this course.

What are the advantages of being certified?
There are at least 4 advantages to certification:

Competitive advantage: up to 80 % of people calling themselves coaches are not certified – certification sets you apart!
Demonstrates professional commitment: becoming a Certified Career Coach shows your clients you are committed to being the best and staying on the cutting edge
Access to network of other CCC’s: you can share strategies and resources that work for you and get input on tough client issues, as well as stay up with the latest trends in the field
Opportunity to license WLSCCI’s course content: as a CCC, you may license our course content to instruct corporate or other client groups, creating turnkey training programs to build your business.

Will I be able to train to be a coach if I am working full-time?
This is a concern expressed by many people, especially those who are new to study or are juggling many life roles. The majority of coaches in training are working full-time and successfully manage to combine work and training. The majority of these people are dissatisfied in their current roles and find training for a new career as a career coach, or developing new skills that allows them to help others, gives them renewed energy and enthusiasm.

On average most people spend a minimum of six hours per week focusing on their training – effectively one hour per day! This time includes the one hour per week training either in person, or tele-class, two-three hours completing course work, and at least two hours putting the theory into practise by coaching others.

When are your classes held?
Our basic course can be completed in your home using the audio lectures on CD and workbooks. If you elect the weekly tele-class support option ongoing sessions are held at both day and evening times. Once you enrol, you will be provided with the telephone bridge numbers for each call. Details are provided to you when you enrol.

In Wellington we hold group sessions approximately once a week for the duration of the course.

Can I make a good living as a coach?
The short answer is "yes"! It won’t happen overnight but with good planning, a solid business and marketing plan, and confidence, it will happen! Our “Grow Your Business” class is designed to help you build a successful practice. Some career coaches make upwards of NZD$100,000 per year; many make less than that. And the number of hours they work, as well as the kinds of clients with whom they work, impacts their gross revenues substantially.

Work doesn’t have to be a full-time thing and other coaches do a “career combo” - combing coaching with other paid employment. In this way they are able to successfully supplement their income by $500-$4,000 per month depending on the hours and clients they are working with.

Many students start coaching for fees prior to competing their course, in this way recovering the course costs sooner rather than later.

Most coaches charge between $50-250 per one hour of coaching.

Is coaching like counselling?
Coaching is present centred. Coaching is not about how you came to be who you are; it is about helping your clients get from where they are now to a specific point in the future. Counselling tends to be more problem focused, whereas coaching has a more solutions focused approach from the outset. It is 100% focused on clients achieving their goals as quickly and easily as possible. Some clients may present with much deeper issues and would benefit best from working with a counsellor.

At the same time however, there are similarities between coaching and counselling and the process works similarly as both work one-to-one over a period of time. The skills are also similar, as both require advanced questioning, listening and other communications skills. However, to practise as a counsellor you need a tertiary qualification in counselling.

Is career coaching like life coaching?
While career coaches tend to focus more narrowly on career specific issues, there are many similarities with the skills required of a life coach. Many clients who are seeking help with their work also report having low self-esteem, feelings of low confidence, relationship and financial issues.

The core coaching skills and training which forms the basis of our training is transferable across both career and life contexts. A good career coach is often a great life coach, but it is harder for a good life coach to be a good career coach without more specific training in careers.

Can I transfer my training from one programme to the other?
IF you have commenced either your career coaching or life coaching training you may wish to specialise in one of the other areas. Cross credit your training and receiving certification in both programmes will require completion of 12 further modules to cover areas your training may have missed. Please confirm costing with us if you find yourself in this situation.

When can I start my training?
You can start the level 1 at any time if you are wanting to take the correspondence option. But for the person-to-person option the dates are set.

As a career coach in training how do I progress through the different stages?
The foundation course (Worklife Certified Career Coach) is compulsory before going to level 2, Worklife Professional Career Coach. The fees are separate and payable at time of commencement i.e. Level 1 fees are payable and then the Level 2 fee is an additional fee etc.

How recognised is your training and training materials by other professionals?
The Worklife Solutions career coach training programme has been adopted and used successfully by a nationally based NZ Employee Assistance Programme provider. We consistently receive good feedback re the quality of our workbooks and Worklife’s founder, Cassandra Gaisford, is regularly invited to present the Worklife Solutions approach at career, life planning and HR conferences. She recently presented the Passion Driven Work model at the ICADC conference in have San Francisco - the largest conference of career practitioners and life planners in the world. Plus, our programmes are NZ developed and designed - unique in this regard.

Here’s what Roger – a practicing career consultant and regional Manager of a career centre, with over 25 years experience had to say about one of our recent students: