Support for a successful and fulfilling career

What is coaching?

International Coaching Federation (ICF) definition: Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.

What is career coaching?

Coaching provides personalized guidance, insightful advice, and actionable strategies to help you achieve your professional goals. Potential topics to discuss in career coaching include career exploration, career and professional development goals, skill building for current or future potential role, career transitions, and techniques for an effective job search.

What should I expect from my coaching session?

• Coaching sessions are driven by you, the client or “coachee”.
• Your coach will ask questions to help you identify the goals you want to set for your session.
• If you know of a goal you want to work toward, or a current challenge you want to work through, come prepared to describe it to your coach and answer questions about it.
• If you do not have a particular goal or challenge in mind, come prepared to answer questions until you can identify something.

How is coaching different from counseling, training, mentoring, etc.?

The main way that coaching differs from mentoring, counseling, therapy, training, consulting, teaching, or other forms of helping is that the coach is not the expert in your sessions – you are. Coaching is a partnership for which you set the agenda.

To make the most of your coaching session, consider:

• Reflecting on your goal for the session
• Writing down notes about your career aspirations
• Locating your current resume
• Gathering relevant job descriptions
   

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Learning and Development and Human Resources is committed to supporting staff career growth, highlighted as an opportunity on the 2022 UC Davis Staff Experience Survey and the 2023 UC Davis Health CommUNITY Feedback Survey.