A foundational principle in career coaching is the belief that the client is whole, capable, and resourceful. News flash, this is not always true. Sadly, some clients make excuses, blame others, and drain you with their endless poor me stories. Their lives are filled with drama and repeated patterns of poor judgment.
 
If you don’t screen these folks out early, you will be in for a painful and potentially expensive ride. Here is my foolproof method for sending them packing.
 
Step One: Install a scheduling link on your career coaching website offering a free 15-minute consultation. Listen carefully as the prospective client explains their situation. Are they complaining? Do they become defensive when you ask pointed questions? If so, establish clearly that career transitions are hard work. Clarify that you will not do the work for them.
 
Step Two: Offer a 90-minute initial session for $90. It gives you a substantial amount of time to hear red flags. Clarify what career coaching is and is not. Explain that 80% of progress is made between sessions by the client. Add that you or the client can end the coaching relationship at any time, giving you a way out.
 
Step Three: Be honest and kind. If you are convinced this client is a dependent personality who will make little or no progress, offer your observations. Give them examples of behaviors they have shared that will impair their ability to make a successful transition.
 
Setting these kinds of boundaries is tough. A person stuck in the victim mentality may lash out at you, resenting the fact that you are not going to save them from their self-made plight. Yet, over time, they may look back at you as the one person who had the backbone to tell them the truth.
 
This kind of guidance is the hallmark of the Career Coach Entrepreneur Academy. We are enrolling for the next cohort starting January 7, 2025. If you are interested, please visit the Academy website and schedule a call with me to get your questions answered.
 
BTW, the Academy is an ICF-accredited Level One school. It's the first step towards achieving your ICF coaching credentials.