Career coaching is emerging as a powerful tool for supporting the well-being of teens and young adults as they prepare for, enter, and adapt to the workforce. For educators and youth-serving professionals, understanding the value of career coaching can expand your toolkit, helping you guide young people toward greater resilience, confidence, and engagement in work.
This post explores why career coaching matters at every stage of personal and professional development, with evidence-based strategies and practical advice you can use to empower the next generation.
Work well-being is much more than job satisfaction. It encompasses economic stability, personal growth, and a sense of belonging and purpose. For young people at the threshold of their careers, establishing a foundation for work well-being influences not only their performance but also their lifelong mental health and engagement.
Career coaching is not one-size-fits-all. It is a flexible support system that can be tailored to:
Coaches help individuals explore which type of work suits them best, whether it’s a job for financial support, a skilled trade, or a career built over years through education, experience, and advancement.
Career coaches address a wide range of topics, each linked directly to work well-being and future success:
Building strategies to balance school, work, and personal life, avoiding burnout before it begins.
Recognizing signs of languishing, overwhelm, or burnout and developing coping mechanisms.
Exploring new opportunities, planning pivots, or seeking advancement.
Developing effective resumes, practicing interview techniques, and marketing oneself as a strong candidate.
Communication, time management, organization, networking, collaboration, independent decision-making, managing up, and leadership.
Tackling imposter syndrome, building self-esteem, and increasing motivation.
Strengthening focus, enhancing engagement, and improving workplace relationships.
These targeted interventions equip young people with the personal resources needed to manage the demands and expectations of the modern workplace.
Work provides more than just a paycheck. It offers vital opportunities for personal and social development:
Earning income to support aspirations and essentials.
Seeking learning, purpose, mastery, and meaning.
Building relationships, finding belonging, giving and receiving respect, and developing supportive networks.
A holistic approach to career coaching recognizes these layers, helping young people find vocations that align with their innate drives.
Understanding the nature of different work options allows young people to make informed choices:
Any paid work, often meeting immediate financial needs.
An occupation requiring specific skills training, often outside a traditional four-year degree path.
A long-term professional trajectory built through ongoing education and advancement.
Career coaching helps clients uncover which of these paths aligns with their goals, talents, and circumstances.
Work engagement is far more than job satisfaction. According to organizational psychologists Schaufeli and Bakker (2010), work engagement is “a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption.” This definition highlights that engagement is an active, dynamic experience, not just a passive sense of happiness at work.
Recent research paints a sobering picture:
The story is similar, if not more pronounced, in the UK and China. Most employees are not engaged, leading to widespread stress, absenteeism, and turnover.
Why does this matter for teens and young adults? Early experiences and attitudes toward work often set lifelong patterns for well-being and engagement. Career coaching can interrupt these trends by equipping youth with strategies to maintain motivation and well-being.
When young people learn how to foster engagement early, they’re better prepared to thrive in any professional environment.
Career coaches guide youth through reflection, helping them move from states of languishing toward flourishing by fostering resilience and personal growth.
Coaching is a strong fit for youth or adults experiencing mild to moderate stress or disengagement.
Engaged employees take pride in their work, find purpose, and go the extra mile.
Disengaged employees feel disconnected, do the bare minimum, and risk burnout.
Research (Mazzetti et al, 2023) highlights several predictors and protective factors:
Career coaching empowers clients to identify supportive environments and advocate for resources, or to develop coping skills when these are lacking.
Help youth distinguish between work and personal life, managing time and energy wisely.
Encourage continual growth and adaptability.
Teach young people assertive communication, networking, and feedback.
Challenge negative self-perceptions and support self-advocacy.
Guide clients to connect their work to larger personal and social goals.
Helping young people thrive at work is about much more than securing a job. It’s about equipping them with the inner resources, skills, and mindset to sustain engagement, meaning, and resilience throughout their careers.
Ask yourself:
How could career coaching transform your workforce or job readiness program, career counseling office, or youth program?
What impact could you make by supporting work well-being for the next generation?
If you want to learn more about effective career coaching interventions and enhance your professional skills, explore our ICF-certified coach training programs. Empower youth to flourish and become champions of their own success.
