Hi everyone, I need to get out of consulting because the travel is killing my relationship and I can't let that happen. I really want to get out of consulting and transaction services (where I am now) because I am sick of chasing numbers and writing slides but I don't know what to do and where to even look for new roles. Does anyone know of a career coach that can be trusted and actually add a bit of value to help me work this out? Mentor schemes perhaps? Thanks, Rob

Rob,Aside from consulting as part of transaction services what are your skill sets, qualification levels, years of experience, industry expertise etc...Are you clear about what you want? A career coach can help you define that but it is not clear whether you are looking for guidance on how to do rather than what to do.What is the main issue with your current situation - is it the workload and travel impact on your relationship or is it the number chasing/ slides writing.

I have used 2 career coaches in the last 5 -6 years: Peter Stokes peter.stokes@csgconsult.comPhil Reed http://thecompassioncourse.comPeter is a specialist careers coach and Phil is a magic bloke who will also fit the bill.

Can you shed some more light on how you used them? Or how they helped you?

Peter Stokes is a "specialist" career coach, with CIDP etc qualifications and an NLP coach. I used him to really get to the bottom of where my talents and abilities lie and how these match up with what I want to do for a living. He is exceptionally good at forcing you to be objective about where you are, where you want to be and how to get there. Paradoxically, he is a very soft character.Phil Reed has several specialisms, with a lot of soft skills coaching and counselling and a 20-year background as a copper. I used him as an "executive coach", prior to meeting Peter, to really concentrate on how to get the most out of myself and my work opportunities. He is one of those people you don't meet very often, with exceptional interpersonal and rapport skills who is extraordinarily resourceful and imaginative.I know there'll be a lot of people who are sceptical about using any sort of coach (and my descriptions of them) - and I'm sure they're right, for themselves. I got a lot out of it and still find it amazing how another person's (structured) prompts can help me

Re: the NLP thing, is this all about hypnosis?

so what does a career coach charge?

I tried that email address for Peter and got a "could not be delivered" error message.

I got that too, which is a shame as I really felt even a man of his many talents could benefit from the m@le SURG1c@l enh@nceM3NT or M@G1ck Blu P1lls I have on offer

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My bad.The correct email address is:develop@csgconsult.comCharging - varies from coach to coach and between companies. £50 per hour? Almost all coaches offer a free introduction to ensure there is a fit, so this is well worth pursuing.NLP is not particularly about hypnosis. It is notoriously difficult to describe - perhaps because some of its roots are in counselling and that is also hard to define. Overall, I would say it is a way of thinking or a series of techniques which are tailored for how the individual understands themselves and the world around them. For example, I heard a famous (non crying) footballer once saying that when he was having a bad day it was difficult to concentrate on controlling the ball when he could hear a voice in his head criticising his every move. An NLP technique helped isolate the cause for this by taking him at his word when he said he could "hear" the voice - different to sensing disapproval or seeing bad consequences in his mind's eye.The best known NLP technique is about spelling. Simplistically, research has shown that those who visualise words, spell better than those who don't. Those who rely on the sounds they make spell well in Italian - a phonic language, but fare badly in English. By teaching those who spell less well to visualise words, their spelling can be improved markedly.Cue the impressively spelled spam posts!

Postman, You have hit the nail right on the head; i don't know what I want, predominately because I don't know where I could go with my skillset and/or what I would excel at besides my current role. I have been quite fortunate to have been promoted quickly at two Big 4 firms in both Transaction Services and Consulting, and am a Senior Manager at 28. I'm also a qualified accountant.What I really want to do is to put my cv in front of someone independent and for them to help me assess what I've done, what I enjoy and am good at and then help me work out what direction I should go in next. I can't see myself staying on the hamster wheel at a Big 4; I have no ambition to become a Partner at my current firm, reviewing slide decks all day and flogging the same work.I was hoping someone might know of a mentor scheme out there whereby I could get some impartial advice and a 'career coach' for want of a better phrase. My friends have them in New York and Sydney and I wondered if anyone knew of anything similar in London?Cheers, Rob

I emailed the address (develop@csgconsult.com) but have had no response. I guess the guy doesn't need the business!