Coaching is commonly understood in the context of sports. Growing up, you might’ve had a softball coach or a track and field coach — someone who supported you from the sidelines and gave you helpful guidance to improve so you could get better at your sport.

Having a coach in your personal and professional life is not that different. Think of a coach as someone who works with you to help you grow or achieve something. Instead of preparing to excel on the field or at the track meet, you’re preparing to excel in your life and work.

Working with a coach is a highly collaborative process, where your coach uses various techniques alongside their expertise to help you maximize your potential and reach your goals. A coach won’t lecture you, do your work for you, or tell you what to think. Instead, they’ll drive active conversations with you, asking thoughtful questions to get you thinking, spark your curiosity, and inspire you to progress in the direction you want to go — all within a safe and supportive space.

Reflect: Impactful coaching often comes down to the questions a coach asks — questions that make you pause, reflect, and then make a conscious choice about something. A skilled coach’s power is guiding their client toward self-discovery, self-motivation, action and decision-making, through helpful prompts.

At Guild, there are two kinds of coaches to help support you on your journey to upskilling, opportunity, and career growth — Growth Coaches and Career Coaches.* There is a difference between these two types of Guild coaches:

A Growth Coach partners with you to set personal and professional goals, helps you manage your time and energy while in school, and guides you toward personal and professional growth as you achieve the goals you set.

A Career Coach provides career-specific guidance and resources on interviewing, networking, and more as you navigate opportunities and take specific steps toward advancing your career.

Many benefits of working with a Growth Coach or Career Coach are the same. Both are certified, trained professionals who are in your corner to help you unlock opportunity — from the point of enrolling in school up through interviewing for a job. Think of a Growth Coach or Career Coach a dedicated person on your side who can:

• Guide and support you through goal setting, planning, and making progress toward your goals

• Suggest tools and strategies to overcome barriers that come between you and your goals

• Be a sounding board as you evaluate decisions, like whether to learn a new skill or go after a promotion

• Listen and help you work through the ups and downs of what you’re feeling as you navigate your way toward growth and opportunity

Reflect: What’s a goal that’s been top of mind for you lately? What if you decided to increase focus on this goal? Now, imagine you carved out 30 minutes each month to check in with a coach. How do you think having a coach would help with your goal?

How to make the most of a coaching session

When you make an appointment with a coach, you’re scheduling a session. Coaching sessions can happen in various formats; at Guild, they primarily take place over the phone at a time that’s convenient for you and your coach. Consider your sessions with your coach as an investment of time and energy toward your future and goals. Knowing how to make the most of your time together is helpful.

1. Come prepared. Give yourself time before your session to think about areas where you’d like to improve or places you just feel stuck. Find a quiet place, free from distractions. Your coach will call you at your scheduled time. Take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy the session.

2. Be an active participant. The more you engage in the conversations with your coach, reflect on your sessions together, or try a new tool or strategy that came from your sessions, the more you’ll notice the positive impact coaching can have.

3. Keep your goals in mind. Make your coach aware of what you want to accomplish. Tell them where you see yourself in the future and what skills or traits you’d like to acquire. This information will help your coach to best understand you and support your efforts. Tip: Learn more about career mapping to set professional goals.

4. Be ready to make a change. Though change can be uncomfortable, it can also be exciting. When working with a coach, remember that growth often comes from openness to trying new approaches or routines, shifting your mindset, or exploring unexpected avenues for learning.

Reflect: Close your eyes and picture yourself in one year. What do you hope to have accomplished? Who do you hope to be? What steps do you need to take to make this possible? Now, what if you had a personal coach working with you each step of the way to get there?

What our learners say about coaching:

Madelyn T., Bellevue University

“Every step of the way, Guild coaches have been there with me. That's one thing I can say has been such a help — no matter what time of the day, no matter what is going on, they have been there for me. … This support is overwhelming. I'm so thankful. I don't know what I would've done without them. I don't know if I would still have been on this path.”

Sara O., University of Minnesota

“When I was preparing for a career fair, [my Career Coach] suggested that I needed help with interviewing and [my] resume. That's when she reached out to me and completely transformed my resume a hundred percent. She taught me what an elevator pitch was. She’s teaching me the basics, like interviewing. I'm just so grateful.”

Jose O., UMass Global

“When I started working with a Career Coach, I applied for one position and I reapplied for another store, the intern coach position. And I submitted the resume that [my Career Coach] helped me come up with and my cover letter. She helped me with my strategy of reaching out to people. I got the interview. I went to the interview; it went great. I got the job, and I started in June.”

For many of those who use coaching, the results are tangible outcomes — and enriched experiences along the way. In fact, 73% of surveyed learners who worked with a coach say Guild coaches were contributors to their academic success.³ And, overall, Guild coaches receive a satisfaction rating of 95 out of 100 from surveyed learners.⁴

Guild coaches show up excited to nurture potential and help learners achieve great things, which can be seen in the results. What might you experience if you partnered with a Growth Coach or a Career Coach through Guild?

Interested in setting up a session with a coach? Guild members and learners should log into the Guild portal and schedule time with a coach.*

*Guild coaching is only available to Guild members and learners whose employer includes Guild coaching within their benefit. If you are eligible for Guild but don’t have an account, this is your chance to create one.