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Struggling with High Turnover? Here’s Why and How to Fix It

Posted on by by Nataliya Melnyk, Marketer at Amy

Employee turnover rates are on the rise globally. If a company ignores workforce retention, the result could be expensive replacements down the line. 

McKinsey suggests that the cost of replacing employees ranges from one-half to two times their annual salary. Gallup’s research estimates that replacing leaders and managers can cost up to 200% of their salary, while replacing technical professionals costs around 80%, and replacing frontline employees costs about 40% of their salary. Gallup also states that 42% of employee turnover is preventable but often ignored. 

How can you spot turnover issues and, most importantly, address them? Here’s an overview of the reasons, impacts, and solutions to consider.

Why are many talented employees leaving?

While some industries face challenges related to unmanageable workloads, others struggle with a lack of professional growth opportunities. 

Among the common causes of high turnover are:

  • Uncompetitive salary and benefits. Competitive compensation and benefits packages are core not only for attracting but also for retaining top talent. If employees feel underpaid or undervalued, they will be more likely to accept offers from competitors.
  • Lack of work-life balance. Organizations that fail to support employee well-being and offer flexible work arrangements struggle to keep high performers.
  • Limited or missing growth opportunities. Employees crave professional development. If they feel stuck in their roles, with few or no opportunities for advancement, they look for a clearer career path. 
  • Lack of engagement. Employee engagement is another driver of retention. Disengaged employees are less committed to their work. They show reduced productivity, which oftentimes pushes them to seek opportunities elsewhere.
  • Poor management. In turn, strong leadership is crucial for employee engagement. Ineffective managers can create a toxic work environment, blocking growth initiatives and pushing top talent out the door. 85% of employees who leave cite poor management as a factor. Leadership plays a pivotal role in retention per SHRM. Effective leadership promotes trust, supports development, and encourages employees to remain engaged and loyal. 
  • Toxic work culture. A negative work environment characterized by a lack of respect can quickly drive employees away.

Tackling turnover early by boosting employee engagement, offering career growth, and strengthening leadership makes your workforce resilient and more satisfied with a job, which lowers employee departures. Let’s explore this further.

visual representing employee turnover

How can HR Managers reduce high turnover rates?

1. Fair compensation and work-life balance

According to SHRM’s State of the Workplace Study 2023-2024, nearly 9 in 10 U.S. workers (87%) believe fair compensation for current employees should be the top priority. Organizations that prioritize competitive salaries in addition to supporting work-life balance have a better chance of retaining the workforce. To help your employees maintain healthy boundaries and balance work with personal time, check out the articles Hey, I Miss You. Yours Truly, Work-Life Balance and 5 Time Management Techniques to Handle Work and Personal Responsibilities Effectively.

2. Recognizing employee efforts

Recognition works best when it’s timely and specific. Generic praise falls flat—call out real contributions that make an impact. A public shoutout, peer-to-peer recognition including bonuses, or a small reward can go a long way. And it’s not just about promotions or pay. Flex time, extra days off, or wellness perks show employees their efforts matter while supporting work-life balance. 

When recognition programs are part of the culture, employees feel appreciated and are far less likely to leave. Investing in their career development is another form of care and recognition.

3. Employee career development and upskilling

Organizations must broaden employee growth beyond promotions. Even those content in their roles seek to evolve. Cross-training, mentorships, or lateral development expand skills and open new career paths—all without leaving the current position. Career development opportunities, such as continuous learning and advancement programs, keep employees engaged and committed. Organizations with a strong learning culture have 30-50% higher retention, as per Deloitte and Work Institute’s 2024 Retention Report. 

More companies now use online assessments to pinpoint skill gaps and offer personalized training. Amy human potential platform can help you identify employee skill gaps and development needs, ensuring alignment with the organization’s goals.

4. Workplace flexibility and workloads

Flexible work options, like remote or hybrid models, are critical to reducing turnover. Employees now expect flexibility to be a non-negotiable part of their roles, and organizations that provide it are more successful in retaining talent. However, flexibility alone isn’t enough. 

Unmanageable workloads can overwhelm employees, even with flexible options in place. Without adequate support, the pressure builds up, leading to burnout and eventual departure. Balancing both flexibility and workload is key. 

5. Building a strong organizational culture and supporting well-being 

A strong organizational culture builds trust and clarity, aligning employees with the company’s mission. When culture prioritizes inclusivity and transparency, people engage more deeply and stay longer. Supporting well-being is essential to this—offering mental health resources, stress management, and flexibility shows employees they matter beyond their output. And when employees feel supported in all aspects, they perform better. 

Communicate your company values, celebrate employees’ achievements, and nurture a sense of community to increase morale and productivity in your workforce.

6. Improving leadership and managerial support

All the points mentioned above are challenging to reach without effective leadership. By understanding each person’s purpose, goals, and career aspirations, managers lay the foundation for growth. This insight allows for tailored career plans that meet individual needs. While employees are responsible for their career paths, strong leadership provides the support and direction necessary to guide them forward.

Managers must also adapt to remote work challenges and maintain a work-life balance for themselves and their teams. Cultivating cohesive, accountable teams and ensuring clear communication are vital for organizational goals. 

Yet, managers often balance their leadership duties with individual contributor work without the support of training or development programs. While some training exists, it is often passive, like watching videos or reading materials. To address this, focus on developing key management skills with coaching, microlearning, or other proactive methods. With Amy human potential platform, your C-level executives or mid-level managers can engage in 1:1 coaching sessions with experts to enhance organizational culture and strengthen employee relationships.

Say goodbye to continuous turnover with Amy

Retention is a long-term investment, not a quick fix. The strategies in this article, backed by recent research, target the areas of compensation, career development, recognition, flexibility, workload management, culture, well-being, and leadership to tackle high turnover. 

Focusing on employee engagement, growth, and well-being, you are building loyal, high-performing teams that drive your organization’s success. Amy human potential is created for professionals like you to ease the process of employee development. Try Amy and start decreasing turnover today!

What Are Healthy Employee Turnover and Employee Retention Rates? 

Posted on by by Mariia Shevchenko, CEO at Amy

The retention rate complements the turnover rate, offering a fuller picture of employee movement. While often confused, they are opposites—employee retention tracks those who stay, while employee turnover measures those who leave. We will take a closer look at both and how they impact a company.

What is the cost of a high turnover rate or a low retention rate?

  • Productivity. High turnover throws work off balance. When people leave, the workload piles up on those who stay. They take on additional responsibilities, burnout rises, and productivity drops sharply. New hires need time to get up to speed. When turnover is high, teams are stuck in an endless cycle of training instead of making real progress.
  • Organizational culture and services. Constant turnover weakens company knowledge, making it tough to keep projects steady and customer service smooth. Not to mention the impact on company culture. High turnover creates instability, lowers morale, and weakens trust in leadership. When employees see continuous departures, doubts about job security and the company’s future grow. This uncertainty breeds disengagement, drops motivation, and pushes rates even higher.
  • Budget. Low retention rates increase hiring and training costs, draining resources that could be better spent on business innovation. It also harms employer branding, making it harder to attract top talent who value stability and a positive workplace culture.

Employee turnover meaning

Employee turnover is the rate at which people quit or are let go from their jobs over a certain period of time. High turnover means a lot of employees are leaving, while low turnover means most employees stay.

Attrition vs. turnover

Both attrition and turnover refer to workers stepping away—but the why and how make all the difference.

  • Turnover is when employees leave, and the company intends to replace them. Dismissals, resignations, and bad job fits fall into this category. High turnover points to disengagement, lack of growth, or management issues.
  • Attrition is when employees leave, but the role isn’t refilled right away (or at all). Unlike turnover, attrition is gradual and can even be strategic. It’s often due to retirements or restructuring.

Turnover disrupts teams and drives up hiring costs. Smart attrition, on the other hand, helps companies refine roles and allocate resources wisely. The goal is to retain the right people and create teams that last.

How to calculate the employee turnover rate? 

The basic formula for calculating turnover: {Employees who left in a year / [(Beginning number of employees + Ending number of employees) / 2]} x 100 = Annual employee turnover rate. 

For example, a company had 500 employees at the beginning of the year and 420 employees at the end of the year. 120 employees left the company. {120 / [(500 + 420) / 2]} x 100 = 28.57%. This means the employee turnover rate for the year was about 28.57%. 

What is a healthy employee turnover rate?

Turnover rates vary by industry, company size, and location. Though excessive turnover usually exceeds 20%, industries with high-demand, low-barrier jobs, such as retail and hospitality, tend to have higher turnover rates, while more stable sectors like healthcare and technology usually aim for lower rates. Eurostat provides statistics per industry and location you can refer to. 

Plus, not all turnover is bad, or more precisely, attrition. Some employees leave as a natural step in their careers, while others retire after years of service. Layoffs and terminations happen, too. But the real problem? Losing top talent because they are unhappy. When high performers walk out due to burnout, lack of growth, or feeling undervalued, it’s a red flag. The focus isn’t to stop turnover entirely—it’s to keep the kind you can’t afford to lose at a minimum.

Employee retention rate meaning 

Employee retention is the percentage of employees who stay with a company over a set period. A high retention rate indicates a stable, long-term workforce, while a low rate suggests frequent turnover.

How to calculate the employee retention rate?

The basic formula for calculating retention of employees: (Number of employees at the end of period − Number of new hires) / (Number of employees at the beginning of period) × 100 = Employee retention rate. The period can be monthly, quarterly, or annually. Let’s measure the annual retention rate. 

For example, a company had 230 employees at the beginning of the year. Over the year, they hired 40 new employees, and by the end of the year, the total number of employees was 250. Employee Retention Rate = (250−40) / (230) × 100=91.3%. This means the employee turnover rate for the year was about 91.3%.

What is a good employee retention rate? 

According to Gallup, 52% of employees globally are watching for or actively seeking a new job. There is no one-size-fits-all number when it comes to healthy retention rates, according to SHRM research. A retail chain won’t have the same retention patterns (average of 63%) as an insurance company (average of 84%). A tech startup might see more turnover than a law firm. The key is to benchmark against your industry and look at why people stay or leave. A high retention rate can signal stability, but if employees stay out of a lack of options rather than engagement, it’s not quite a win. 

Improve your turnover rates and retention rates with Amy

What matters most is the reasons behind the numbers. Retention should mean commitment, not just longevity. Similarly, some turnover is natural if it clears room for new talent and fresh ideas. 

As a result, the focus should be on industry benchmarks, tracking trends over time, and keeping the right people engaged. This is where Amy human potential platform can assist you. We support employees’ well-being and growth, directly impacting retention. Your employees take actionable self-assessments and gain valuable insights through 1:1 coaching. You monitor their progress, analyze the patterns, and reduce turnover.

Leadership, Executive, and Management Coaching: A Guide for Organizational Growth

Posted on by by Nataliya Melnyk, Marketer at Amy

Many experienced professionals rely on mentors or coaches in their careers. The greatest musicians look to instructors to hone their craft. Whether mastering a complex piece or performing in harmony with an orchestra, guidance helps them fine-tune their skills and connect with their audience more deeply. Similarly, leaders in organizations benefit from leadership, executive, and management coaching to sharpen their expertise and build stronger connections within their teams.

Leaders at any level can cultivate skills with leadership development programs and coaching sessions. Such initiatives guide managers to overcome challenges and advance in their careers. But the difference? We will review the types of career growth coaching and the benefits they bring to a company. A mid-level manager who is to climb the corporate ladder, an executive improving the leadership style, or an HR and L&D manager seeking effective coaching programs—this guide has you covered.

What is what? Choosing the right coaching format

the difference between leadership, executive, and management coaching

Why is leadership, executive, and management coaching so important?

Today’s leaders need not only strategies, goals, and strong managerial skills but also interpersonal skills, like empathy and resilience, to motivate collaboration. They need to approach leadership in a way that enhances the productivity and growth of their people. 

Take the micromanagement problem. Coaching and regular check-ins support managers in delegating work and encouraging team independence.

Leadership coaching creates a supportive workplace culture. By addressing individual and team development, the program ensures leaders are prepared to nurture overall success.

6 benefits of leadership, executive, and management coaching

Despite having distinct focuses, three types of coaching share advantages.

Happier leaders

  1. Dynamic professional growth. Leaders excel in their careers when they practice self-reflection and take on new challenges. Coaching highlights their strong sides and areas for improvement. It provides fresh approaches and strategies, helping a manager or executive leader see beyond the blind spots in their daily routine. Executive leadership coaching focuses on strategic thinking and experimenting with different viewpoints.
  2. Improved leadership skills. Equipping leaders with the mindset and tools for upskilling helps them grow professionally, find their leadership style, and align teams with company goals. Leadership coaching specifically strengthens decision-making and problem-solving skills.
  3. Enhanced motivation. Leaders feel valued and supported through the organization’s development initiatives and commit more to their role. Because if a manager is disengaged, it leads to low morale within the team.

Happier teams

  1. Reductions in stress and absenteeism. Strong leadership is about a resilient workforce. When leaders show empathy and prioritize employee well-being, it reduces stress levels. Employees feel more engaged in their roles, leading to fewer absences. This, in turn, improves overall team productivity and morale, as employees are better equipped to handle workplace pressures. Strong leadership also encourages a culture of open communication, which allows issues to be addressed before they lead to burnout or disengagement.
  2. Increased team performance. Leaders who embrace coaching strategies create productive teams. Through coaching, an executive can handle work in silos for departments and improve teams cross-functional collaboration. This directly enhances organizational effectiveness and ROI. 
  3. Better employee engagement and goal achievement. 69% of employees say leadership impacts their engagement, per Gallup. Skilled leaders promote an environment where individuals feel valued, heard, and motivated to contribute. When they recognize achievements and offer opportunities for growth, employees are more likely to take ownership of their work and feel connected to the company’s goals. This leads to higher levels of enthusiasm, commitment, and productivity. Plus, coaching brings clarity to set actionable steps for short-term and long-term goals and keeps a leader on track for measurable results. 

And when leaders and teams are happier, organizations thrive, and careers advance. 

How to measure leadership, executive, and management coaching effectiveness?

Coaching’s impact doesn’t fit neatly into the usual format of skills-based learning programs. Still, while coaching engagements can be complex, the effectiveness of leadership coaching is measurable. Return on investment (ROI) doesn’t always have to be financial. The measurement depends on the goals of the coaching program. 

What might the results be?

  • Positive changes in behaviors and attitudes of those directly or indirectly impacted by the coaching process
  • Leadership and management development by specific KPIs
  • Higher team engagement, retention, and appreciation from stakeholders and customers
  • Increase in revenue, income generation, and profitability

With data?

Yes, data-driven insights are worth going over in more detail. Organizations want proof of their investment. Performance analytics help track progress, highlight areas for improvement, and tie coaching strategies directly to business performance. With this data, companies can adjust their coaching programs to be more impactful, aligned with goals, and focused on real behavior change. This shift moves coaching from being solely about individual growth to a strategic tool. It strengthens leaders and their teams, builds skills, and tackles challenges to bring cultural transformation and company success. 

At Amy, we offer tracking tools that give data-driven analytics on team engagement. The analytics results from self-assessments and personalized coaching. By combining smart tech with human expertise, we are helping companies build environments where employees actually want to grow. This is to shape decision-making, insights, and strategies.

Introducing coaching initiatives in organizations with Amy

For HR and L&D managers, leadership and executive coaching programs can greatly contribute to organizational progress. Here are three steps to roll out:

  1. Define needs and areas where coaching can provide the most value.
    Using Amy human potential platform: Amy team works with you to set clear goals, KPIs, milestones, and expectations. We customize assessments to your company goals. 
  2. Partner with professionals experienced in leadership, executive, and management coaching.
    Using Amy human potential platform: You can enroll your employees for tailored self-assessment tools and personalized 1:1 coaching. Amy guides them with steps to address work challenges and identify growth opportunities.
  3. Track progress by metrics depending on your defined goals to measure coaching effectiveness. Encourage ongoing development and create opportunities for employees to apply their coaching experiences.
    Using Amy human potential platform: Amy team and you can track progress through regular reports and 1:1 check-ins to ensure employees are on track and happy. What’s inside the app? Dashboards, data analysis, and feedback to adjust goals and improve outcomes.

Make leadership growth strategic

Without the right personal growth initiatives, leaders are left behind, and the organization risks stagnation. Career growth requires a clear strategy, self-awareness, and continuous learning. Leadership, executive, and management coaching offer proven tools to help leaders overcome challenges, unlock their full potential, and reach long-term success. 

Imagine an executive facing a challenge like organizational supply chain disruptions. They might feel overwhelmed by competing priorities. Through leadership coaching, they learn to break down the problem, weigh trade-offs, and implement a clear action plan. As a result, they build stronger relationships with suppliers.

By embracing coaching, leaders make more balanced and thoughtful choices because they have the talent and skills to consider different perspectives. Make coaching an essential part of your development plan, especially to strengthen your leadership pipeline and invest in your future.

Upskilling: How to Improve Career Development in Your Organization as an L&D Manager and HR

Posted on by by Mariia Shevchenko, CEO at Amy

Career advancement is driven by skills development. Employees build their expertise, take on new responsibilities, and stay engaged in their roles. Regular learning and upskilling is a win-win for individual growth and organizational success:

  • Employees with the right skills feel confident to face challenges, pursue leadership opportunities, and contribute more effectively to their team. They have a clear path forward.
  • For organizations, promoting a skills development culture boosts employee satisfaction, productivity, and long-term retention. By integrating career development into the company’s learning and development strategy, businesses prepare workers for today’s and tomorrow’s demands. 

This guide will give you actionable strategies to enhance employee career development and focus on how skill improvement can impact employee satisfaction and company success.

Why are career development initiatives so important?

Career advancement is a key motivator for employees, and the absence of growth opportunities is one of the primary reasons people switch jobs. Employees remain loyal to their current employers if provided with learning and development support. 

To retain top talent and build a thriving workforce, companies must empower employees to take control of their career growth, actively act on their feedback, and offer clear, structured roadmaps for career advancement. Well-defined career development within your organization is a strategic necessity in a competitive business environment. Career development translates to:

  • Higher retention rates
  • Increased productivity
  • More engaged teams for organizations 

As an HR or Learning & Development manager, you are central to shaping these opportunities with upskilling programs.

What does upskilling mean?

Upskilling is about learning additional skills to enhance job performance and be ready for new challenges. Upskilling equips employees with the mastery needed for the organization’s current and future success, bridging the gap between existing capabilities and organizational demands. 

Benefits of upskilling programs

  • Career progression. Employees advance within their current roles or explore new positions within the organization when they unlock their full potential and have the right skills. They aim for career growth and personal development. Cultivating a culture of continuous learning helps employees see the company’s commitment to growth, and they are more likely to take the initiative in their development, driving innovation.
  • Ability to adapt to change. As industries change, the workforce needs to keep up to stay relevant in a world that is getting more automated. Teams that constantly build new skills can adapt better when the market shifts. Companies with skilled, flexible employees are ready to handle unexpected challenges, remaining strong and competitive. This says that upskilling isn’t just about making employees more experienced at their jobs. A solid upskilling program helps create a workforce that quickly adjusts to trends, reducing the impact of sudden industry changes.
  • Increased job satisfaction. With better skills, employees can tackle tougher tasks, make the most of cutting-edge technologies, and simply feel happy by trying something new. This not only allows them to perform better but also brings big benefits to organization development, such as enhanced retention and employer brand strengthening. 

Upskilling helps companies adapt to changing market conditions, retain top talent, and build a more resilient workforce. By prioritizing and investing in employee learning and development, companies set the stage for long-term success.

Common mistakes of upskilling programs

Upskilling programs sometimes fail to meet expectations. Recognizing common barriers can lead to more effective HR strategies and L&D strategies that drive employee growth. 

  • Upskilling shouldn’t stand alone. It must connect with performance management and career development. When aligned, employees see how new skills advance their careers and fit organizational goals. Disconnected efforts leave them uncertain about their growth path. Poor integration with daily work, lack of personalized learning plans, and inadequate tracking can slow down or cause upskilling programs to fail. Addressing these issues ensures that initiatives achieve their goals.
    Amy human potential platform ties employee needs to business ones with customized self-assessments, ensuring every L&D investment delivers measurable returns.
  • Upskilling requires regular feedback. Without follow-up, employees might not fully integrate new knowledge, leading to weak outcomes. They might lose interest. Strong support from a manager reinforces learning and ensures development program success. Our platform helps you track progress through regular reports and check-ins to ensure employees are staying on course. With dashboards, data analysis, and ongoing feedback, we adjust goals and improve results.
  • Upskilling works better with support. Ongoing coaching is crucial for the process of defining and gaining skills. Amy human potential platform offers 1:1 coaching with experts based on your needs to support employees on their way. 

Overcoming these challenges requires a strategic approach. Upskilling should be integrated with business goals, supported by mentorship, and involve regular feedback. Personalized learning paths and real-time assessments are essential. As a result, companies can build skilled, motivated, and adaptable teams. Investing in upskilling is investing in your company’s future.

employee sitting at the table and upskilling

How organizations can upskill employees to enhance career development

  1. Assess skill gaps and priorities. Identify the critical skills your organization needs by conducting a skill gap analysis. Evaluate current abilities and future demands to ensure your upskilling efforts address focus areas. Set KPIs to measure the success of the upskilling program.
    Help your employees assess their skills if they are stuck. Use career coaching tools like the ones Amy offers—the Skill Development Plan and Skills Gap Analysis self-assessments to create a skills development plan, define gaps, and bridge them through courses and training programs.
  2. Create personalized development plans. Map skills to an employee’s career plan and develop training initiatives that target the specific skill gaps identified. Understand your employees’ career goals and align them with company objectives through tailored development plans. This ensures resources are directed effectively and supports individual growth. To provide a well-rounded perspective, incorporate various learning methods, including online courses, mentorship opportunities, or in-house workshops.
    Lengthy training programs without clear milestones can leave employees feeling frustrated. Companies should establish a clear progression path with defined performance metrics to prevent this. Employees can better understand their development journey if you outline the required competencies for various job levels.
  3. Provide resources, like access to training materials and software. While coaching is an impactful way to close skill gaps, boost confidence, and unlock potential, it’s just one of many valuable strategies and methods: e-learning, on-the-job learning, instructor-led training, gamification, and others.
    Use microlearning bite-sized modules to fit knowledge building into a busy schedule. Offer mentoring or internal subject matter experts for support. Create career opportunities for employees to work on projects outside their roles. Promote internal mobility to fill temporary roles. Looking at different areas of the business helps employees develop a broader skill set and understand how various functions work together.
  4. Allocate time for learning. Dedicate work hours to skill development, making it easier for employees to focus on learning without intruding on personal time. Dynamic learning options, like microlearning, can enhance engagement and flexibility.
  5. Provide regular feedback and career conversations. Train managers to have ongoing career development discussions. Use performance reviews to set development goals (skills including) and review progress. Regular feedback helps employees understand their strengths and areas for improvement.
  6. Measure the progress and adjust the process. Track employee development, gather feedback, and assess how upskilling initiatives enhance individual performance and overall organizational success. Regularly adjust your upskilling strategy based on feedback and shifting business priorities. Keep a pulse on emerging skills and trends to ensure your organization remains flexible and well-prepared for market changes. 

ROI, or how to measure career development initiatives

To measure upskilling program outcomes, here are some metrics to track:

  1. Employee retention rates. Monitor whether employees stay longer after implementing development programs.
  2. Promotion rates. Track the number of promotions as a result of skill development initiatives.
  3. Employee satisfaction scores. Use surveys to rate employee satisfaction with career development opportunities.
  4. Business performance metrics. Assess whether improved skills lead to better business outcomes, such as increased sales or customer satisfaction.

Upskilling delivers a strong return on investment (ROI) by creating a culture focused on constant improvement and building an agile and resilient workforce. While the costs in time and resources may seem steep at first, the long-term benefits—improved performance and higher retention—far exceed these initial investments. In the end, upskilling isn’t just an expense. It’s a contribution to the future success. 

Invest in your people with Amy

Companies that prioritize employee development see productivity increases, higher engagement, and lower turnover. This means that improving career development in your organization will pay off in employee loyalty and performance. Plus, retaining talent cuts recruitment costs as the cost of upskilling is smaller than the cost of hiring new people, shortens onboarding, and builds stronger teams. By nurturing a culture of development, you equip your employees with the tools they need to grow—and your organization with the agility to thrive in a competitive market. 

Amy can assist you on your way to defining KPIs, establishing goals for team members, monitoring progress, and supporting development initiatives that align with overall business objectives. Start working toward employees’ career development today. 

How Skills Development Can Help Your Career Growth

Posted on by by Nataliya Melnyk, Marketer at Amy

Skills power your career. They are what keep you moving forward to new opportunities. Think of skills as the fuel that runs the engine of career goals, driving you along the career path. Without them, you can’t get far. And the better you build skills, the further you can go. Keeping your skills sharp is essential to get promoted or stay relevant in a field. 

This guide will explain why skills matter and how to develop them effectively. 

Why skills matter

Today, professionals and leaders must adopt a growth mindset—an open, proactive approach to learning and evolving. This means consistently improving your skills and staying on top of industry trends. By committing to upskilling, you are not just keeping up but staying ahead. Without the right skills, you might find yourself stuck or moving slowly. With the right skills, you are accelerating in:

  1. Adaptability. The job market is constantly shifting, and so are the priorities of employers. More than ever, companies seek candidates with specialized skills tailored to their unique needs. The days when general skills could catch an employer’s eye are fading. By mastering the sought-after, industry-specific skills, you stand out as the best fit for your current or desired role.
  2. Value as a professional. To give yourself a competitive edge, identify what is in demand. Then, invest your time and energy in developing those areas. By focusing on the skills that matter most, you will not only enhance your career prospects but also position yourself as a valuable asset in an organization or in the labor market.
  3. Career advancement. Skills are the cornerstone of a successful career. They help you perform your job efficiently. But the real magic happens when you grow your skills—it can lead to a better salary, a leadership position, or the chance to take on thrilling projects. Skills development prepares you for future roles and opens doors to career opportunities you might not have considered. 

Consider the example of a mid-level software developer who had been stuck in their role for three years. Recognizing that many higher positions required knowledge of cloud computing, they decided to enroll in a cloud computing course, complete several projects, and earn a certification. Within four months, this proactive effort led to a promotion to a senior developer role with a significant pay raise.

Difference between upskilling, reskilling, and skills development

  • Upskilling means improving existing skills within your current role or industry to strengthen your expertise or take on new responsibilities with targeted training. An example is a UI/UX designer mastering a new advanced AI prototyping tool to work on more complex projects within their company.
  • Reskilling takes more radical action. It’s about building a new skill set for a role that entirely differs from your previous roles. Take an administrative assistant who becomes a project coordinator after training in project management methodologies. Another example can be an HR specialist transitioning into a Learning & Development (L&D) role by acquiring new skills in instructional design and e-learning technologies.
  • Skills development is a general, broader process of gaining new skills and improving existing ones. This approach refers to continuous learning and a wider range of skills across various areas. Imagine a marketing professional learning coding and data visualization to better analyze campaign performance and create interactive reports. While their primary role doesn’t require these technical skills, gaining them allows for more effective communication of data-driven insights. Another example for a marketer could be taking a project management course to deepen their organizational skills that serve well in various work environments. 

Transferable skills as a basis for expanding expertise

Transferable skills are the abilities and talents you can carry from one role to another, regardless of the industry. They are not limited to a single job but come in handy across different sectors. Basically, these are skills you can take with you wherever you go. Common examples are problem-solving, teamwork, communication, and time management skills, which are soft skills. Hard skills can apply as well. They make you adaptable to changes in case a career shift happens. 

How to identify your transferable skills?

  • Review past or current roles: what skills did you use or do you use that could apply to other roles?
  • Self-assessment tools: try career coaching services like the Amy human potential platform to help identify your core transferable skills.
  • Consider non-work experiences: skills gained from volunteering or hobbies can also be transferable.

Let’s review the success story of transferable skills—an English teacher transitioning to a tech writer. A teacher showcased their skills in English language, lesson planning, and mentoring. In addition, the ability to explain complex concepts clearly made them a perfect fit for a new role. 

Transferable skills can make you a strong candidate for promotions or new roles that require a broader skill set. Skills like tech skills—basic coding, data analysis, and digital marketing—are becoming valuable across many fields.

To sum up, seeking extra training in areas that complement your mastery can accelerate your path to career success. But how to figure out skill gaps?

employees upskilling

How to identify the right skills and map them to your career plan?

Before you start developing new skills, identify the ones that will have an impact on your career:

  1. Assess your current skills. Start by taking a good look at your hard and soft skills. Hard skills are the technical abilities you have picked up, while soft skills are things like teamwork and communication. The trick is finding out how these skills match the field you aim for. Ask yourself reflective questions. What skills do you use daily? Which ones are you comfortable with, and which ones need improvement? 
    Career coaching tools can be a big help here. For example, Amy Skill Development Plan and Skills Gap Analysis self-assessments can guide you in pinpointing what skills you have, what you are missing, and how to fill those gaps with courses or training programs.
  2. Look at job descriptions and industry trends to better define gaps in your skill set. If you have a specific role or promotion in mind, review the job descriptions for that position. What skills are repeatedly mentioned? What skills are you missing?
    Industry trends also support upskilling. Are there emerging skills or technologies becoming essential in your field?
    At this stage, don’t forget your transferable skills. By clearly connecting your experience—whether in a new domain or not—to your desired role, you can then focus on acquiring the additional skills needed.
  3. Seek feedback. Your colleagues or mentors might highlight talents you haven’t considered. You can ask a manager for a planned evaluation to spot skills together and map them to your career plan.
  4. Outline your upskilling strategy for learning. Look at various education and training opportunities to fill in your gaps. Once you have pinpointed the knowledge gaps, design a learning path to address them or ask your company’s HR or L&D specialist to assist. Decide which skills to tackle first, what will come next, and the best resources or platforms to acquire these skills.
  5. Map skills to a career plan. Summarize skill gaps for upskilling or reskilling by mapping them to your short-term and long-term career goals. Specify resources based on learning strategy and timing. Add educational and training options to close gaps. Outline a structured curriculum and expected results. Some companies provide access to career development programs or upskilling platforms. Ask your HR representative or your manager about any available offerings.

How to develop the skills mapped?

Skills for career development require actions. Here is how to build your skills:

  1. Follow your career plan and goals. Work towards your defined goals and measure your progress accordingly.
  2. Take professional development courses. Online platforms offer courses on many skills. Look for ones with good reviews and credible instructors. In addition, benefit from company training. Many companies have experts in different fields who train on specialized skill sets. Check with your manager about what your company offers and which courses fit best for your professional growth.
  3. Practice regularly. Skills are best built with practice. If you are learning a new tool, use it daily. If it’s public speaking, find opportunities to present at work. If you are someone who thrives with hands-on practice, dive into a project that lets you work on the skills you aim to develop. This can be an existing project at work or an initiative outside the office. This way, you will gradually build a portfolio showcasing your growing expertise.
  4. Find a mentor. A mentor can provide guidance as you look for relevant resources, share their experiences as they may already have the skills you are working on, and help you navigate challenges as you build new skills.
  5. Be active with networking. Networking with others in your field can expose you to new ideas and solutions.
  6. Analyze and improve. Reflect on what went well and what could be done differently for better results. 

Keep learning, keep growing—with Amy by your side

Your career is closely tied to your skills. By continuously improving them, you grow in your field, as enhanced skills make you a strong candidate for promotions and leadership positions. If you want to switch roles, learning the required skills for a new initiative can make the transition smoother.

Use Amy human potential platform to identify the skills that matter, commit to learning, and watch the career opportunities unfold. 

What is a Career Plan and How to Create One?

Posted on by by Nataliya Melnyk, Marketer at Amy

Have you ever had a goal that you were excited about but somehow never reached? We have all been there. Setting goals is the easy part. Achieving them? That is where many get stuck. The reason might not be a lack of effort but a lack of planning. Without a clear plan, goals often stay just like that: ideas in our heads. With a plan, you get structure by breaking big goals into small, actionable steps. You stay focused and resistant to distractions. You tackle challenges. 

If struggling with procrastination and missed chances seems familiar, think of a career plan. Yet another argument to create one is when you regularly underestimate what it takes to succeed. In the article, we will find out how to achieve a desired career path as an employee. As a manager, learn about your part in the article’s final section.

What is a career plan?

A career plan is a roadmap that outlines your professional goals with the steps to achieve them. To move forward with goals, you define a timeline and build up the right skills along the way. With a career plan, you know where to start, stay on track, and measure progress. 

Why a career plan is so important?

Mapped-out targets bring clarity, drive growth, and motivate by uncovering opportunities and skills needed down the line. Here, purpose and achievements are not only in mind, but they are visible.

5 steps to create a career plan

Reflections on current status and future career

1. Self-assessment

Asking yourself questions is present at every stage of creating a career plan, but the following are essential to begin with:

  • What are my life and work values, interests, and aspirations? What work format do I prefer? 
    Recommended assessment on the Amy human potential platform: Your Work Values and Your Life Values to go through core groups.
  • What are my strengths and weaknesses?
    Recommended assessment on the Amy human potential platform: Personal SWOT Analysis to clarify your talents and growth areas in addition to opportunities and threats for your role.

2. Goals

Set SMART career goals. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound:

  • Short-term: Learn a new tool relevant to your job in 2 months.  
  • Long-term: Transition to a managerial role within 5 years.  

The questions for you to outline aims are:

  • Where do I see myself in half a year or 1 year for short-term goals? In 5 years for long-term goals?
    Recommended assessment on the Amy human potential platform: Career Pathway Reflections to define a clear picture of where you want to be in 5 or 10 years from a career perspective. 
  • What resources do I need to achieve these goals?  

3. Research

Take a closer look at potential roles, projects, or industries that appeal to you and fit your goals. Dive into the specifics of various fields, discover emerging trends, and consider how different roles or projects can help you grow professionally. The more you explore, the clearer your career path will become. 

4. Skill development

Consider your expertise and identify skill gaps. 

  • What skills do I use most of all?
  • What skills do I wish to use more? What to gain? 
  • What skills do my desired roles require?  
  • How do my current skills compare?  
    Recommended assessment on the Amy human potential platform: Skills Gap Analysis and Skills Development Plan to review what capabilities you already own and what you expect. 
A picture of working on a career plan

Action plan

5. Mapping a career path

Mapping a career path is the final step in crafting a career plan and means not just knowing where you want to go but also understanding how to get there. You create a framework for action and long-term growth.

Sample of a career plan

Let’s take Mike, a software engineer, as an example of how goals can be divided into steps that fit aspirations.

  1. Break goals into actionable steps. Instead of aiming broadly for a senior role or a management position, focus on smaller, specific tasks that will lead you there.

Mike aims to become a senior software engineer, that’s why manageable pieces for his goal are:

  • Contribute to more complex projects within the team.
  • Mentor junior developers to build leadership capabilities.
  • Learn advanced skills like designing scalable systems.

For these steps, Mike needs to add:

  • Resources: Access to online courses on Coursera. Websites like LeetCode and Codewars for practicing coding challenges. Development environment: PyCharm, Git, and AWS. Guidance from a career coach, senior developers, or mentors to gain insights on skills improvement and career progression. 
  • Success criteria: Completing courses. Moving into a more senior role. Receiving positive feedback from managers on improved performance and leadership.
  • Barriers (if any): Balancing work and upskilling.
  1. Incorporate strengths, skills, and opportunities. Revisit the skills and opportunities you identified earlier. This is where you connect what you have with what you need. Focusing on building your skills while actively seeking opportunities ensures you are applying your learning.
  • List the skills you already have: Mike is proficient in Python and Celery.
  • Identify gaps: His target role requires cloud computing knowledge and leadership experience, so Mike makes those areas a priority.
  • Align your learning with real-world opportunities: Mike should enroll in an AWS certification program to build cloud expertise and volunteer to lead a small project within his current team.
  1. Create a timeline for your milestones. A timeline adds structure to your plan and helps you stay on track. Start by listing your goals and assigning realistic deadlines to each milestone. Review and update your plan when you face unexpected challenges and progress.

Mike’s timeline looks as follows:

  • Month 1–2: Learn FastAPI and build a small personal project.
  • Month 3–6: Contribute to an open-source project using FastAPI.
  • Month 7–12: Lead a small team project to showcase leadership skills.
  • Year 2: Apply for senior roles while continuing to grow in cloud computing knowledge.
A picture of career plan drafting

Evaluation to make your plan work for you

  • Use career mapping tools like progress charts to visualize your career path.
  • Share your plan with a manager, mentor, or a close person to hold you accountable.
  • Schedule regular check-ins to evaluate your progress.  
  • Be ready to tweak your plan as new opportunities arise.
  • Recognize your wins, big or small, to stay motivated. 

Common challenges and how to overcome them 

  • Lack of clarity: Use self-assessment tools or career coach guidance to sharpen your direction. Career coaching empowers you to get started on the right foot and gain confidence. With a career coach, you can create a solid career roadmap and overcome obstacles when hesitant. 
  • Fear of change: Start small with manageable steps, as big ones may feel overwhelming.
  • Balancing work and goals: Use time management techniques, such as blocking dedicated time for self-development.  
  • Stagnation: Seek new challenges or roles within your organization.  

How an HR and L&D manager can assist

  1. Use self-assessment surveys and platforms for employees, like the Amy human potential platform, to identify their career drivers.  
  2. Prepare Individual Development Plans (IDPs) that include short-term and long-term goals your employees target. Align employee’s goals with organizational objectives in the plan. 
  3. Map out career pathways and career ladders within departments based on employees’ desired roles and skills. Provide resources such as role transition guides, job shadowing, and rotational programs.
  4. Promote cross-departmental collaborations. Create mentoring programs and peer learning initiatives. Offer internal training programs and online courses. An L&D team might launch leadership training for mid-level managers aiming for executive roles.   
    Nearly 59% of employees claim they had no workplace training and that most of their skills were self-taught. 85% of employees want to choose training times that fit their schedule. That’s exactly what Amy offers—customized programs that cover microlearning for flexibility, tailored assessments for diverse needs, and on-demand support for teams.
  5. Schedule regular check-ins and annual career discussions. Use performance reviews to adjust career plans. Give constructive feedback to guide employees toward their goals. 
A picture of managers and career planning

If you face low employee engagement in career planning, you can introduce microlearning and career planning tools to boost participation. As an L&D manager, you might use data from learning platforms like Amy to suggest personalized learning paths for employees.

Turn goals into reality with Amy

Goals need structure to come to life. Otherwise, they often stay out of reach or in the ‘maybe someday’ pile. A defined, thorough career plan benefits both individuals and organizations. For employees, it provides clarity and purpose. For managers, it promotes a supportive environment where talent can thrive. While employees take ownership of their aspirations, HR and L&D managers give tools and resources to turn those aspirations into achievements.  

Start by reflecting on where you are now and where you want to be. The first step will set you on the path to big accomplishments. And Amy, as a human potential platform, is here for you to ease this path.

Career Types and Formats: From Nine-to-Five Jobs to Freelance Services

Posted on by by Nataliya Melnyk, Marketer at Amy

Careers vary in types, formats, and the lifestyle they support. A long-term role within one company, a job that spans different industries, or even a mix of two totally unrelated skills. Still, this is not the full list.

In a world with so many career paths, it is easy to get caught up in traditional routes and miss opportunities that could fit you better beyond the usual options. The career choices are limitless, and the article will guide you on paths, whether you are entering the job market or considering a career change.

Types: careers by professions and industries

By reviewing the core career types, you can uncover your true calling, avoid getting stuck in meaningless jobs, and ignite the spark of your interests.

  • Public sector careers with clear structures. These jobs stand for stable, secure environments like hospitals, schools, or governments with a path for progression that needs formal education and often years of experience to advance to senior levels. Traditional careers are fueled by commitment and human-focused impact, such as healthcare and social assistance that improve people’s lives, health, and well-being. 
  • Creative careers with the freedom to express yourself. These jobs, like writing or design, typically promote flexibility, original ventures, and fresh perspectives. 
  • Technology careers with fast-growing innovation, like data science and software development. Tech professionals are in demand in every industry because of digital advancement. These jobs offer secure, high salaries, remote schedules, and engaging tasks to tackle.
  • Academic and research careers with opportunities to contribute to specialized fields and be devoted to long-lasting learning. If you are driven by questions, exposed to discoveries, and pursue knowing more, you could take a closer look at research and academic roles.
  • Hands-on work, such as plumbing and mechanics, which is the best fit for specialists who prefer solving practical problems and working with their hands. Here, job availability depends on location. 
  • Mission-driven non-profit jobs that give a sense of purpose and align professional work with personal values. In addition to fulfillment, you get a supportive, people-oriented culture. 
  • Entrepreneur-based careers with independence and autonomy. Generally, business owners, freelancers, or consultants are self-motivated individuals with risk tolerance, focusing on managing their services to navigate market demands.
The example of career coaching process

Organization size: companies, firms, startups

Organization size determines responsibilities and the level of bureaucracy. A role in a corporation is shaped in other ways than a role in a small company. In most scenarios, large companies assign defined tasks around designated roles where you don’t need to cope with something outside your scope of work like legal or financial directions. For example, a marketing specialist in a corporation orients solely on content strategy, leaving a video production piece to a scriptwriter. Multiple layers of management take more time for decision-making, though. Still, they offer opportunities for promotions, performance reviews, and development programs linked to career growth over the long term.

Small companies prioritize a dynamic approach to adapt to changes quickly. Employees in small companies may deal with activities crossing into several departments. For example, a marketing specialist might handle content strategy, email campaigns, and social media. Startups are fast-paced environments with opportunities to scale up at lightning speed and take ownership, but sometimes, you may need to sacrifice supporting resources and time.

Formats: careers by direction

Some careers require niche skills tailored through experience in a particular area. Other careers—a broader range of skills applied in multiple contexts throughout industries. Mastering operational and leadership roles simultaneously is also a possible career scenario. What about career growth in these cases? Let’s figure out what vertical and horizontal careers are and if blending projects, as well as unrelated directions, can be within your reach. 

Vertical career growth

The vertical direction of career development means moving up a career ladder and a single field of expertise. You get promoted within one organization. Picture a consultant junior specialist in retail taking the role of project manager in retail in 4 years. 

Best fit for: A professional who sticks to a stable, clear path to advance their career, get a higher salary, and make linear progress. For those who aspire to leadership roles.

Horizontal career growth

The horizontal career growth does not always lead to a promotion or pay raise. A position grows in level, responsibility, or role over time, progressing from junior to middle, then senior. You move across fields. You deepen your skills and experience. Imagine a writer expanding their expertise from technical writing to copywriting. 

Best fit for: A professional who strives to broaden knowledge and flourish in various domains. For those valuing flexibility and cross-functional roles.

Unrelated career directions

Mixing different jobs builds a unique professional profile. You gain insights from many areas and cover your aspirations to the full extent. While embracing unrelated directions seems to be a rewarding experience, it takes effort to balance. 

If you have many interests and can’t imagine choosing between them, mixing careers might be the best way to be equally passionate about two or more. Take the example of an engineer at a mid-size company working as a project manager for a non-profit organization with initiatives that help create positive change.

Best fit for: A professional who craves variety and feels limited by a single focus. A person who is open to constant shifts and challenges. And, of course, who is proficient in time management. 

Lifestyle: careers by schedule and environment 

To piece together the final part of the puzzle, we will examine careers based on hours:

  • A full-time job, nine-to-five, has been a conventional career path for the last decades. You commit around 40 hours a week for long-term career development and consistent income. 
  • A part-time occupation or flexible hours can, on the contrary, support your secondary commitments or interests. Like freelance projects or gigs where hours can be customized. 
  • Speaking about the projects-based career path, you may be hired for short-term assignments with specific objectives, allowing for breaks or time off between involvements.

Working environment is another essential as weighing options between on-site, remote, or hybrid equals defining your style of living. 

  • On-site work is perfect if you thrive on routine and enjoy in-person engagement: you are more productive in a dedicated workspace, and you want a clear boundary between work and home. Certain careers strictly expect physical presence as part of hands-on work or direct interaction with machinery and customers.
  • If supported by a company, hybrid models present the sum of two: online and offline collaboration. With fewer days spent in the office, you save time on commuting but add a bit of personal connection as opposed to remote.
  • Remote jobs are common in tech and provide flexibility if you are comfortable working from home without needing a physical office. You handle tasks from a living room, a cafe, a coworking space, or even a different city without sacrificing job stability. 
The example of career coaching session

How to find the right career path with career coaching

Career self-coaching practices or, to be more precise, free available career instruments can help you understand which path is for you. No matter whether you are searching for a new job or changing career direction. You can become your own career coach. 

Self-coaching usually goes in the form of exercises to practice: you choose an exercise, take it while reflecting on your experience, and get the results. It’s like putting yourself in the driver’s seat and taking ownership of your path. The Amy career coaching platform has a library of exercises, like Personal SWOT Analysis and Skill Development Plan, each with the timing, ability to review answers, and progress tracking. 

In the case of finding the right career path, the career coaching practices will be to: 

  1. Self-reflect. Think over, realize, and evaluate your interests, needs, and experience. Analyze your current job format or your future one:
    • Do I value stability and structure, or do I prefer flexibility and independence?
    • Am I comfortable with the risks of working independently? 
    • Am I into continuous learning or mastering a skill and putting it into practice?
    • Do I prefer to shape my own journey or assume responsibilities in a traditional work environment?
  2. Take a closer look at preferable career paths. Follow companies’ websites and social media to learn about their culture and potential opportunities, or meet people in the industry to expand your network and simply communicate. This way, you will stay updated on organizational structures, vacancies, and other news. 
  3. Set actionable goals. Draft your career plan with goals and information from self-assessment. You include a goal, a timeline, and how you will measure success. 

Ask for help if you feel confused and uncertain

So many professionals struggle to find clarity and direction. This causes frustration and missed opportunities. A career counselor can support you in exploring paths you hadn’t considered, expand your view of what is possible, and create a tailored roadmap to bring those goals within reach. The benefits are personalized guidance in identifying strengths, setting realistic career goals, choosing a suitable career type and format, and creating steps to advance while addressing any blocks. Rediscover your worth as a professional with a personal career coach. 

What’s next?

Career coaching services can absolutely ease navigating the turns of your career path—current and future ones—and assist you with job searching and career transition to pave the way for new career opportunities. Try the Amy career coaching platform for more.

Your First Career Coaching Session: How to Prepare and What to Expect?

Posted on by by Mariia Shevchenko, CEO at Amy

Thinking about career coaching but are not sure where to start and what to expect? A new job seems like a leap into uncertainty, career transition poses financial risks, and meaningless tasks drag down your brilliance? Even if you aim just for a little guidance on your way, career coaching sessions can be very helpful.

Here’s a look at what the first career coaching session typically involves, steps to prepare, and what makes a top-notch coach stand out from the rest.

First things first, what is the career coach’s role in your career development?

Career coaches help you achieve your career goals, and if you don’t know what your career goals are, they help you define them. A career consultant reframes experience at your current work to create a better work environment or smoothly navigates a career change. 

Career coaches are proficient in enhancing resumes, job search processes, and job interview strategies. With an expert, you will craft your career plan, define your skills, and map a timeline for upskilling. 

The image of a career coach at Amy

“Working with a career coach is a collaborative, strategic experience where clients gain clarity, self-confidence, and actionable plans. The benefits include personalized guidance in identifying strengths, setting realistic and inspiring career goals, and creating steps to advance while also addressing any blocks. Clients often walk away with a fresh mindset, which is a critical part of moving forward successfully.”

Jane Klymenko, a career expert at Amy with 10+ years of coaching experience and the main area of expertise in Work-Life Balance

Success story at Amy: from feeling undervalued to feeling fulfilled

Background

Kate approached a career coach with an issue: she struggled to secure a leadership role within her organization, feeling consistently overlooked despite her technical expertise.

Our approach

Kate, along with a career coach, focused on three primary steps: 

  1. Assessing her current skill set and the perception of her role within the company
  2. Identifying and amplifying her leadership potential through targeted personal branding
  3. Enhancing her network within and outside the organization to support her ambitions

Challenges faced

Kate had difficulty breaking through the “technical-only” perception her colleagues held, felt unsure about networking, and struggled with imposter syndrome.

Results achieved

We overcame her struggles by:

  1. Reframing her approach to networking as relationship-building
  2. Encouraging her to take on mini-leadership roles in projects
  3. Coaching her in developing the leadership style to make a strong impression in professional environments

Eventually, Kate secured her leadership role, and her confidence in personal and professional interactions grew significantly.

The image of a career coaching session

What makes a good career coach?

What qualities to look for in a great career coach? How to spot a career coach who is truly a great fit for you? The answer is to define what is your goal plus the following common strengths and competencies:

  • Has expertise in your career objectives. There can be a background in recruitment or management or even your industry. Can be experience in the work-life balance area. 
  • Has a portfolio of success cases and a trusted reputation in the market.
  • An active listener and a strong communicator. Clear communication builds comfy relationships and promotes an open environment in which you can share career preferences and challenges—be your true self.
  • Focused on setting measurable goals and taking actionable steps. A professional career coach guides you to grow and progress with specific, tailored strategies rather than generic, one-size-fits-all advice.

What are the preps for the career coaching session?

Here’s how you can start and get the most out of your career coaching session:

The image of a career coach at Amy

“The most important prerequisite for the first session is an openness to self-reflection and a willingness to commit to the process. While some clients prepare by reflecting on their career history or even journaling about their goals and challenges, it’s not a strict requirement. If they’re inclined, they could try some self-awareness exercises, like the “Wheel of Life” or “Values Assessment,” to bring a clearer sense of their current situation and desired direction.”

Jane Klymenko, a career expert at Amy with 10+ years of coaching experience and the main area of expertise in Work-Life Balance

  1. Reflection. Spend some time thinking about your past, present, and future aspects of work. What do you want from your career now and for the long term? What holds you back from achieving your aspirations? What motivates you in your work? What are your core values? Take careful note of your challenges. For example, you may experience imposter syndrome, burnout, or frustration with monotonous, never-ending activities. If you cannot find answers to your questions or miss something, it’s okay. A career coach will guide you in the right direction during the session. 
  2. Materials. To help your career coach get to know you better, think about bringing along your resume, cover letter, any certifications you have, your performance reviews, or feedback notes. Having these materials ready gives a career coach a clearer picture of your work history, skills, and accomplishments. Which means they can offer more tailored advice that fits your needs.
  3. Questions. Prepare questions for your coach and be ready to clarify any possible confusion on the call. This ensures you cover essentials during your session.
  4. Feedback. Be open to constructive feedback, reflections, and changes. Your willingness to grow and flexible mindset will make improvements.

What to expect from a career coaching session?

The image of a career coach at Amy

“For me, career coaching is about empowering clients to see new possibilities and pathways in their professional lives, clarifying goals, and helping them take steps to achieve them. The biggest advantage is that it provides a structured approach to both personal and career growth, which can otherwise feel overwhelming. By having an objective perspective, clients can make intentional choices that align with their values and skills.”

Jane Klymenko, a career expert at Amy with 10+ years of coaching experience and the main area of expertise in Work-Life Balance

In the first career coaching session, you can expect to: 

  • Define objectives and assess your interests, needs, skills, values, background, or any other points
  • Discuss your current position
  • Outline any immediate concerns or challenges
The image of a career coaching process

The conversation sets the groundwork for the ongoing work to establish direction, identify focus areas, and outline initial action steps. You will get a sense of clarity, organize your thoughts, and solidify a starting point. So, the first session with a career coach is about laying the foundation. Regular check-ins or follow-up sessions are about tracking progress, addressing new challenges, and adjusting your plan.

Talk to a coach

Take your career to the next level with a personal career coach. Career coaching services will absolutely ease navigating the turns of your career path. With the right guidance, career coaching can unlock your potential and new opportunities, empowering you to achieve professional heights.

Lifestyle Coaching, Career Coaching, and Mentorship—What Are They All About?

Posted on by by Nataliya Melnyk, Marketer at Amy

In the process of seeking guidance to address life challenges or career challenges in particular, you may find yourself unsure about the best type of support to pursue. With many coaching options like lifestyle coaching, business coaching, relationship coaching, career coaching, or mentorship available, you need to determine which path will best serve your goals and circumstances. 

Any coaching nurtures self-development overall. Career coaching narrows down to career development questions. What is mentoring, then? One by one, we will clarify the most common types: lifestyle coaching, career coaching, and mentorship. 

Can lifestyle coaching cover all? 

Lifestyle coaching covers all aspects of life, from relationships, wellness, and leisure to careers. But speaking about the last one on the list, a life coach touches on the essentials of career guidance, while a career coach centers around your professional goals and practices to achieve them. 

The goal of a lifestyle coach is to help you enhance your quality of life:

  1. Do you live a fulfilling life? Can you balance its aspects, like work and self-care? What areas of personal growth would make a positive impact on your life?
  2. Do your habits, daily routine, and personal goals match your values? 
  3. What are habits or negative patterns holding you back from your desired lifestyle? 
  4. Do you have a good work-life balance?

For whom is lifestyle coaching?

For everyone who needs to: 

  • Address challenges in their life holistically and from a broader perspective, including relationships, personal development, health, career, and other parts
  • Set realistic personal goals
  • Achieve overall happiness

Is career coaching just about jobs, or does it also improve well-being?

Career coaching keeps the focus not only on finding a new job for you or following a career roadmap. In addition, a career development coach teams up with you to be satisfied with work-life balance, confident while negotiating salary and promotions, and able to set boundaries and say “no” when required. Since, in truth, careers take up a significant portion, about a third, of our lives.

Career consultants use career-focused techniques that contribute to personal well-being, like systemic coaching, positive psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy coaching, and gestalt psychology. This is how career coaching works.

The goal of a personal career coach is to help you with career building, transition, and advancement:

  1. What do you really want in your career right now? More purpose? A chance to grow? 
  2. How does the new role line up with your personal values and skills? 
  3. Does the company you work at have room for you to grow over time?

For whom is career coaching?

For everyone who needs to: 

  • Maintain professional growth and develop new skills
  • Smoothly change career direction without unpredictable risks
  • Get job search strategies, resume crafting, and interview preparation
  • Set career-related goals and create actionable career plans
The image of career coaching visualization

What sets mentorship apart from coaching?

Mentorship is when someone more experienced (mentor), a senior partner in your industry or a professional beyond, shares knowledge, insights, and advice to help you (mentee) navigate your career or personal development. 

Mentorship involves solving specific requests, situations, or tasks that a mentee faces. A mentor is a person who has walked a similar path and can now offer an informed perspective that reveals the bigger picture. This relationship provides both strategic insights and practical know-how.

For whom is mentoring?

For everyone who doesn’t require long-term relationships, who needs an expert for occasional support without a deep dive and to: 

  • Increase motivation
  • Have technical assistance tied to their profession or area of work
  • Feel a sense of connection and build a network

The common ground of lifestyle coaching, career coaching, and mentoring

Lifestyle and career coaching prioritize small steps you can take today toward your goals. Both coaching types expect you to follow the actionable plan, measure results, and define success indicators. The mentoring style is more form-free, often without a strict structure, but you can still define your goals. 

Lifestyle coaching, career coaching, and mentoring are centered on a personalized, unique approach. All three encourage you to step back and reflect on your experience.

Summary

The comparison of life coaching, career coaching, and mentoring

Can I check one right now? What about career guidance services?

You will surely benefit from any form of coaching and mentoring. Coaching is your elevator for better self-awareness, social connections, mental health, and balance in all aspects of life. 

If you aim for career goals and solutions, the Amy platform has a library of career self-coaching exercises and career coaches to reach out to, including professionals who offer the first free session to book. Take a step toward your career advancement. Find a career coach for yourself.

Self-Coaching or Guidance by a Career Coach—What Approach To Choose?

Posted on by by Mariia Shevchenko, CEO at Amy

Choosing between self-coaching and working with a career coach is like choosing to fly solo or stay under someone’s wing. The first way stands for autonomy and flexibility. The second one means relying on the experience and support of a professional, especially when you lack time for self-management. After all, you may combine the two to gain diverse insights. 

How can you know what works best for you? We will give tips in this article so you can pick your option. And we will start with a self-coaching approach. 

Becoming your own career coach

Career self-coaching exists to self-reflect on your career path and set goals with free instruments available. Self-coaching instruments usually go in in the form of exercises to practice.

To understand if career self-coaching is a good fit for you, ask yourself whether you can navigate self-reflection questions, goal setting, and motivation for changes on your own.

Benefits of career self-coaching 

Self-coaching empowers to:

  • Take full control over your career without external influence 
  • Strengthen your self-awareness to make decisions with confidence
  • Cultivate self-development while looking at the skills you wish to master and the expertise you wish to build

Key self-coaching practices 

You might hit a point in your career where you are not sure what is next and need strategies to manage the unknown. You aim to balance personal fulfillment with professional growth or decide which path aligns best with your long-term goals.

Picture Nick. Nick is in his 30s, leading a team in a software company. While he is in a position of authority, he craves more—more impact, more fulfillment, and more effective use of his time. Despite Nick’s management opportunities, he misses direct involvement in the product cycle and cannot change the situation within the company. Nick is a project manager, not a product manager. He’s not quite satisfied, but thoughts about a new job bring uncertainty. 

The image of a man sitting at a desk, as an example of the career coaching process

What if he makes the wrong decision and ends up struggling financially? Why isn’t he getting better results in a new job search? Why does he feel stuck and unsure of himself despite his accomplishments? 

Nick’s story echoes the experiences of other professionals worldwide. It may even be your case. So, where can you start?

Self-assessment: reflect, realize, and evaluate 

  1. Write down or type your interests, needs, and values. 
  2. Analyze your work format: what your perfect workday looks like, what you enjoy most about your current role or job, and what drains your energy. 
  3. Think about your skills, mainly strengths and weaknesses. SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) is a functional approach to explore your superpowers:
  • Strengths: What do you excel at? For Nick, it is technical knowledge.
  • Weaknesses: Where do you struggle? Nick needs strategic influence in his current position.
  • Opportunities: What external options could help? Are there leadership opportunities in other companies? What are the open vacancies Nick can apply for?
  • Threats: What challenges may happen? This could be fear of financial instability.

The most valuable insights come from understanding where you feel your impact is missing and what changes to your work environment could improve this.

Goal setting: draft your first career plan with goals and information from self-assessment

Define short-term and long-term goals to have a vision for today and the future. Include a goal, timeline, and how you will measure success. Break a goal into smaller and more manageable tasks for easier perception and to beat procrastination. 

In a new position, Nick can become more involved in strategic meetings or leading projects closely tied to a product’s core. Instead of generic intentions like “I want more impact,” Nick should aim for specific results. For example:

  1. Short-term goal: Start contributing to new projects that directly affect the product’s end result within the next six months. The success indicator: contributing to the monthly release of a product.
  2. Long-term goal: Fully transition into a career with more control over product strategy and development tasks within two years. The success indicator: taking the head of the product role.

Stepping out of your comfort zone: networking and extra activities

Engaging in new activities or meeting new people can take you out of your comfort zone and help you discover new sides of yourself. In Nicks’s situation, new activities may be around developing a growth mindset. Nick feels demotivated by difficulties, such as not landing a new job or failing to shift into a more impactful role immediately. Self-coaching will boost resilience through a growth mindset. This means viewing failures as learning opportunities rather than barriers.

An external feedback is usually a missing piece in self-coaching. If you can ask friends, family, or colleagues for feedback about your behavior, grab the opportunity. For example, conversations with industry leaders provide insights Nick might not learn on his own, specifically about career transition moves.

“In the absence of the ability to pull regular feedback, I would recommend tracking the progress of goals set up at the beginning of each week/month by identifying three categories: what goals were achieved, what was the key learning from working on the goal, review of mid-term goals and their relevance to potentially changed circumstances.”
Pasha Cherednychenko, a career expert at Amy, with two years of coaching experience and the main area of expertise in Work-Life Balance 

Being consistent: stick to the plan, measure results, and celebrate your success

Be consistent with your career plan and goals-related activities. Practice makes perfect. Acknowledge every achievement, small or big. These wins can provide a sense of accomplishment and encourage you to keep up with the pace, no matter how gradual the progress seems. As the cherry on top, treat yourself to a cherry cake, to celebrate.

When career coaching is more beneficial

While self-coaching offers autonomy, there are moments when working with a professional career coach is more beneficial. You may feel stuck and lack confidence in your job search strategy, like Nick.

In general, if you face any difficulties you cannot handle alone, try guidance from a career expert who will help you throughout the journey. 

“When I think of career coaching, acceleration and dynamic learning come to mind. In my experience,  regular and focused work with the coach creates a sense of urgency and accountability, which is much harder to achieve when you work by yourself.”
Pasha Cherednychenko, a career expert at Amy, with two years of coaching experience and the main area of expertise in Work-Life Balance 

Here’s when it makes sense to collaborate with a career coach:

The image of when it makes sense to collaborate with a career coach
  1. If self-doubt is overwhelming and you can’t cure imposter syndrome, a coach helps boost your confidence as they use evidence-based techniques. This is crucial for Nick as he feels he is underqualified for roles in his goals. A career coach will help him recognize and communicate his strong sides. 
  2. If you have assessed your skills and set your goals but still don’t know the next step, a career coach helps you gain clarity. They will ask questions that uncover recurring or hidden patterns in your experiences and provide insights for the future. Nick can’t see why his job search is ineffective. Together with a career coach, they will identify that he is applying for roles that don’t match his skillset and reveal fears holding him back.
  3. Motivation to follow your commitments affects the results. Successfully coaching yourself requires the discipline to confront problems on the way. Moreover, you may feel isolated. If you face a particularly tough challenge—like changing a career direction—having a career expert and personalized guidance can make the difference. In Nick’s example, a career coach will help him explore side gigs or transition gradually while maintaining income.
  4. We are often too hard on ourselves. We tend to abandon well-being and only focus on achievements, running faster and reaching more. Such an approach results in burnout over time. A career coach can help you escape the harmful, unhealthy cycle of self-criticism and overthinking. You will focus on small, actionable steps rather than jumping into huge tasks that can lead to further anxiety and frustration. By breaking down your goals into manageable parts, you can progress steadily toward your expected results. “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” they say.

The primary benefit of a career coach is the accountability they provide. A career coach ensures you stay on track by holding regular sessions and navigating you through challenges, specifically to revise and follow through with your strategy.

A hybrid approach: self-coaching with professional guidance

Self-coaching and professional coaching don’t have to work in isolation. You have a choice to begin with self-coaching, gain valuable insights through self-reflection, and then turn to a career coach when you hit a roadblock.

A hybrid approach could look like this:

  1. Self-coaching to reflect, set initial goals, and start making small changes at work.
  2. Collaborating with a career coach when challenges occur, such as financial fears or a lack of confidence in making a change.
  3. Returning to self-coaching techniques regularly while using a coach periodically for significant transitions.

Give it a go! Start with career self-coaching

A career coach can highlight what you may not notice, offer an objective view, or give you a hand at a difficult moment. Besides, you can first consider the library of free self-coaching exercises at Amy with timing and expected outcomes after completion. The good news is that we also save your progress on the platform. After all, if you feel confused about your career path, setting goals, and which strategies to implement from the number of resources, professional career coaches are here for you.