Being online is easy – working online is a whole different story. It is definitely not as easy as putting up a webpage. Taking time for all the pertinent considerations for non-traditional conversations with clients is ethically necessary. Pausing and reflecting are skills that are well-suited to electronic conversations and will uplift your services in the helping profession. ~ Melanie Reinersman, editor@careerdevelopmentalliance.com
FOCUS ON: Effective Coaching/Counseling Can be Electronic
Contextual cues and professional development can assist the counselor in functioning in non-traditional mediums, such as email, phone, e-chat, texting, or online video. The key is to use technology that is appropriate for each client, be comfortable and flexible with the platforms, and continually research and practice. Read more from Life Strategies.
FOR PRACTITIONERS: Offering Better Webinars When E-Coaching
Simple changes to the typical format of your webinars that you present to clients can make them more constructive. First make it a two-way communication and second integrate the topic into the lives of the audience. Read details from this creative learning blog.
What Other Career Development Professionals Are Saying About E-Coaching
You need a strategy for electronically marketing your private practice, says Jim Peacock, Principal of Peak-Careers Consulting and presenter of online seminars for career professionals. While e-coaches are working online, what they have online (i.e., social media) should be working for them. Read more from Jim Peacock.
JOB SEARCHING: Support Via Text Messages
Would it help the job seeker to receive weekly short text messages of encouragement and inspiration? A start-up called Shine began offering this service a year ago in beta test mode (note, the webpage does not reveal if it made it beyond beta testing). In the future, Shine plans to offer personal coaching via texting, so users can get advice on work, school and life. Read more from Tech Crunch.
TOP TEN: Things to Know Before Engaging Online Services
While only seven are actually listed here, it raises the point of what counselors and clients need to work on before starting online counseling. Obviously counselor licensing and privacy are important considerations, but what about backup and training? Read more from USNews.
QUOTES
“It was one thing to use computers as a tool, quite another to let them do your thinking for you.” - Tom Clancy
“Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after.” - Anne Morrow Lindbergh
“Technology is a queer thing. It brings you gifts with one hand, and stabs you in the back with the other.” - C.P. Snow