Are you the type of person who loves doing social work? Do you find joy in giving advice to friends or pushing and motivating random individuals towards their life goals? If so, then you must be interested in becoming a life coach.
In this article, we’ll discuss what a life coach is, including the qualifications you need to become one. Also, if you’re keen on pursuing this role, feel free to save this in your Pinterest boards for safe keeping.
A life coach helps people deal with their problems as well as plan for their future. When you become a life coach, your main responsibility is to meet with people, listen to and discuss their problems and goals, and help plan out the steps and strategies to solve and/or achieve them.
Life coaches help their clients realise their full potential, identify objectives and blockages, figure out solutions and how to be successful in various aspects of their life. Rather than focusing on past issues, life coaches help people look into the future by focusing on the present and by living a hopeful and positive life.
While money might not be the motivation behind you wanting to help people, as per PayScale Australia, life coaches in Australia make an average of AU$46,000 per year and which is certainly a good amount.
Once you’ve realized that you really want to pursue this career, you might start wondering, do I need qualifications to become a life coach?
Well, anyone can be a life coach. While there are no specific qualifications required, a number of life coaches have completed online courses in universities, gained degrees, or have earned a Certificate in Life Coaching. Having any of these credentials would give you an advantage when looking for an employer or building your client base as a self-employed life coach.
In addition to acquiring the required academic qualifications, life coaches must also possess several skills and qualities. You must be a patient listener and a good communicator. Be prepared, as you’ll surely deal with complicated and frustrating stories. You must know how to encourage and motivate someone when he’s feeling hopeless in his situation. Speak life always. Being a visionary would also be ideal, as it would allow me to think creatively and plan the best path for my client’s future.
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Now that we’ve defined the qualifications to be a life coach, the next question you need to ask is how to become a life coach.
If you have the qualifications and skills discussed above, then you can easily apply to become a life coach in Australia or anywhere else in the world. But to become “successful” in this role, you need more than just the qualifications.
Many life coaches work independently, whether full-time or a part-time job. This can be challenging for some in the beginning as you need to learn how to build connections and market yourself. A great opportunity to do this is through social media and other online platforms. You can also apply for a membership at the International Coaching Federation to gain more credibility. In addition, promotion routes such as word of mouth, promotions, and paid advertisements in magazines may also increase your popularity and your client base.
But before that, the first thing you need to do is to choose a niche you want to coach about. Do you prefer to advise people about business, relationships, lifestyles, religion, family life, or sporting activities? As life coaches are expected to be excellent in what they do, you will also need to excel in whatever niche you’ll pursue.
As we’ve mentioned above, being a certified life coach can help you establish your credibility as an expert and eventually gain a long list of clients. Having said that, we recommend that you study an online life coaching course to get started.
Such a course will help you learn advanced counselling, stress management, and coaching techniques for different types of individuals. Another advantage is that you can learn and develop these strategies in the comfort of your own home at any time of the day since the study method is online.
Now that you know exactly what it takes to become a life coach, what else are you waiting for? If you’re passionate about helping other people get over their problems and achieve their hopes and dreams, start working towards your career as a life coach today. The skills gained through life coaching are not only applicable to personal development but can also be transformative in blue collar jobs, where strong interpersonal and motivational skills can enhance job performance and workplace morale. Please don’t hesitate to ask us about our online life coaching courses.
Have a successful career ahead!