What’s the difference between a career mentor and a career coach?
As a manager, I know there’s a clear difference between when I want to be a mentor by passing on specific knowledge, and when I want to coach someone to find their own solutions.
But I also know the most important thing is to give the right support to help someone move forward.
So whatever you call it, at Now Teach we’ll give you the career switching advice that is most useful to you.
We understand the needs of career changers
You could make this career change on your own, but as our Now Teachers will testify it is much easier having Now Teach in your corner. Catherine Sampson, English teacher and former journalist, described it like this: "Now Teach helped simplify a complex process - one which I might have decided was too bothersome to tackle on my own.
"They understand the needs and concerns of career changers, and work with them, rather than forcing them into the standard template.
"Finally, it's nice to be reassured that you are not utterly crazy to be doing this late in life - and having a cohort of like-minded similarly aged student teachers really helps."
The right thing at the right time
So how do we do it? We have a team of Career Change Specialists who will share their knowledge, skills and experience to help you take the amazing step into teaching. You'll be matched with one Specialist who will provide that 1-1 guidance to help you achieve your goal of becoming a teacher and creating a brand new career in the classroom.
Our Specialists combine career change coaching and mentoring at the right moments. I would love to come up with snappy new word for them but I don’t think ‘centors’ or ‘moaches’ are going into the dictionary any time soon.
So I prefer to call them Rachael, Wendy, Helen and Keziah.
They are former teachers, recruiters, or teacher trainers who’ll be there on the sidelines giving you career change advice: guiding, mentoring, coaching, supporting, and cheering you every step of the way.
Career change mentor: the knowledge we’ll give you
So here are some examples of the information, insight and knowledge that we’ll share with you to help you make a confident decision about becoming a teacher and to prepare effectively.
- How to choose a training provider and school
- Career change CV advice and writing your personal statement
- Interview preparation and lesson planning
- How to find out which subject fits your experience
- How to prepare for training
- What formal checks and admin you’ll need to do
Coaching for career change: the stuff you’ll need to consider
These are also the things that you’ll need to reflect on – it is your career change after all. Our job is to facilitate your decision-making and make sure you are confident. We’ll be here to offer input, empower you with insight and gently challenge your thinking.
- Is it the right time for me to move into teacher training?
- What’s the impact of career changes on family and financial obligations?
- What are your fears or anxieties around teaching? A common example is behaviour management.
- Building interview confidence. Some career changers haven’t been to an interview for a few years.
So join the hundreds of other career changers who are also applying their knowledge, skills, and experience in the classroom.
Now Teach is a charity founded to support people like you transition into teaching and in doing so bring your years of professional experience into the classroom.
