Firstly, it doesn’t really matter what you call yourself and what matters more is whether your are being helped in your career. And to be honest, I don’t mind either title as long as you’re helping someone reach their career potential.

A career coach is a trusted advisor who can help with direction, finding your passion, achieving goals and all of that. A career catalyst provides the spark and initiates the reaction in someone’s career that would not have otherwise happened. A good career coach should be a career catalyst. And my most important reason for separating the two is to spark the need for people to take control of their careers. Realizing that they do not have to settle for what they are doing right now, and can continue to learn, grow and get to the next step.  A career catalyst: Challenges people on their assumptions and limiting beliefs. Broadens their horizons and thinking. Exposes them to what they didn’t know they needed to know. And could quite possibly be closer to the motivational speaker side of the spectrum. Once they take control and realize that change is possible, then we can get to the coaching part.

A career catalyst is most useful for those that are comfortable and at the same time are not happy. If you are happy, then great! But if you’re just going through the motions or are too busy to learn, grow and can’t finding meeting in the work you do then a career catalyst would be helpful to get you unstuck. Now really anyone could benefit from a career catalyst since even high performing individuals could have their eyes opened to something even better.

A career catalyst can be useful for everyone.

For those that are still in school, the catalyst helps overcome the blinders that many students have in terms of tunnel vision for getting grades or that one dream job to have them consider that the point of their degree is to get a job or that there are many other options than their singular job choice.

A catalyst can help a new grad who has a job especially if they realize the job they though isn’t exactly what they wanted.

A catalyst can help an experienced professional who wants to find the next chapter in their life. Some find a good job and get comfortable, not realizing they can do more. If they are happy, there may not be a reason to do more. If they are not, then also realizing that they can change their circumstances if they wanted to.

Find a mentor! The guidance and advice a mentor provides inevitably catalyzes people in their careers. Are all mentors career catalysts? Yes, but not all of the time. A good mentor does all of the things a mentor

Of course you could find a self proclaimed specialized catalyst like myself, but that’s not self serving at all 😉 j/k

So regardless what I call myself, I like the perspective the word catalyst provides. So find your own career catalyst, be it a mentor, a friend, a colleague, or me 🙂 And take control of your career!  Good luck!