❗4 REASONS WHY CAREER COACHING IS CRITICAL FOR STARTUP TALENTS❗

Since I joined the startup scene in 2014, I have provided career coaching sessions for tens of talents (especially since the pandemic) and there is a very sad pattern that hasn’t changed for almost a decade now!

The dynamic pace & overall changing nature of startups has lead some of the top talents in the entrepreneurial ecosystem with MASSIVE POTENTIALS to lose clarity in the progression of their career path.

In other words, when I go to an event like RiseUp I hear the same story all over again from talents in the top tech startups in Egypt:

“I joined this startup 2 years ago, I helped them build their team, I contributed a lot to their traction, my team’s effort really helped the startup in raising this past round of investment…but right now I feel stuck…I’m not learning anymore, I’m burned out, & the worst part, they’re hiring talents with corporate experience to replace me for the new phase….WHAT SHOULD I DO?”

If you relate to this, you’re not alone. If anything, many talents who joined a startup early in its journey hate to feel they can be replaced after all they did for the place.

For talents, it feels like a lack of appreciation for their time and efforts that helped build the place.

Founders on the other hand have a whole different side of the story!

For founders, it feels like of all people, the “founding members” should understand that every phase brings new challenges and needs new faces who will help the startup cross it.

They think that the talents who joined very early should not act entitled and that the same way they supported the startup by giving endless time and effort in the beginning, they should support it in the new stages by being more flexible and agile in changing their roles and adapting fast to the new talents hired.

Honestly, after being in both positions as a founder once and as a senior talent in a tech scaleup in another; all I can is that “it’s complicated”!

I’m empathetic with both sides, but this article is dedicated for the talents, not the founders.

So, Why do Startups don’t have the capacity to help you plan your career?

What I realized with time is that the founders have so much on their plates, for them raising fund = survival, so working with each talent on their career plans sounds like an impossible plan!

I also learned that IF there is an HR team in the startup, it’s probably more focused on talent acquisition than on career succession! (They are usually pressured by the founders who are in turn pressured by the investors to fulfill their hiring plans)

This is when Career Coaching can be a really good option to consider in order to help these talents navigate their way!

Here are 4 things you can get out of your career coaching journey: (providing that you chose an experienced career coach — who as a “plus” understands the nature of startups)

1. Understanding your skills, values & workstyle that you probably never had the time to explore!

As a startup talent you probably work 10–12 hours a day which makes it so hard to find time to reflect on what skills you’re good at, what you need to learn, what makes work enjoyable, what burns you out and what are some of your values that aren’t fulfilled!

Career Coaches usually take you on an assessment phase where they help you discover your career values, your motivated skills and your burned out skills; all of which can be great input for planning your next milestone!

2. Creating your tailored personal development plan that your line manager doesn’t have the capacity to work on!

As I mentioned, no one has time for you or your development in a startup, it’s all on the go!

This is why a career coach can help you spot what you need to progress in your career by asking you many questions and probing until you’re able to create your own development plan and proactively share it with your line managers who might appreciate not just your effort but also that you were autonomous in leading your growth instead of waiting for being spoon-fed by them!

3. Exploring career options that might not be top of mind especially if you can’t see yourself working outside of the startup scene!

When you’re deep in the startup game, you don’t necessarily have enough visibility on what are the other options out there that could potentially be matching for you. Whether it’s a corporate job, another startup journey, a freelancing nomad life or even starting your own business; we as humans get so involved in our day to day that we don’t realize that we might be missing out on many great opportunities just because we’re waiting for THAT PROMOTION or whatever promise is keeping you hooked to the startup you’re working for!

4. Making career decisions that your anxiety has been paralyzing you from doing anything about!

Working for a startup causes us enough anxiety; I doubt you need that extra anxiety from making major career decisions! An experienced career coach will not tell you WHAT TO DO, but will help you in having a healthy methodical approach in taking major career decisions. Career coaches help you untangle your thoughts so that you’re able to formulate an informed decision!

We’re at a time where layoffs happen in startups a lot, so if you’re proactive enough to start your career coaching journey today, you might figure out your next move without being forced to make one because you lost your job.

I know this is a very painful reality, but then again, nothing about entrepreneurship isn’t painful to be bluntly honest!