Career guidance · coaching conversations · Tallinn and online
Your people's next step may be inside your organisation.
Career guidance can clarify where an individual's strengths, aspirations and real opportunities in the organisation meet. Before recruiting externally for the next important role, it is worth having those conversations.
When can it help? ↓When can it help?
A career conversation is not another questionnaire or a list of training courses. A meaningful conversation helps someone make a decision with information they and their manager may not yet have.
CEO and People team
You need a better picture of internal capabilities, possible career paths and the barriers preventing people from growing within the business.
Team leader
You want to discuss someone's next step, even when it might take them to another team.
Employee or leader
Your role no longer offers the same growth, or your next direction is unclear. You need space to explore strengths and options.
How I approach it
Start with the actual question
Is the challenge role fit, career direction, internal mobility or a conversation a manager finds difficult?
Explore options and constraints
Look at strengths, interests and capabilities. In an organisation, connect them to real roles, responsibilities and work.
Identify one realistic next step
The purpose isn't to prescribe an answer. It is to arrive at a choice that can be explained, tested and developed.
Professional development
In 2025 I completed a four-month career counselling and career management development programme with Fontes Talent Advisory. This complements more than 20 years of work in HR. Fontes now calls its programme the Career Partnership Development Programme.
When career guidance isn't enough
Career counselling cannot repair poor management, unfair pay or excessive workload. When the problem is how work is organised, the organisation must change the work. Guidance helps people make choices, not conceal systemic issues.
Questions employers ask
What is the difference between career counselling and coaching?
Career counselling focuses on professional choices, strengths, opportunities and next steps. Coaching conversations support reflection and independent decision-making. They can complement each other but do not automatically imply a separate coaching accreditation.
Why involve a neutral conversation partner?
A direct manager reasonably wants to keep a strong employee in their team. Employees may hesitate to discuss wanting a different role. A neutral conversation helps separate the person's goals from a manager's immediate staffing needs.
How can leadership assess whether it helped?
Look beyond the number of sessions. Examine the quality of internal applications, use of capabilities, internal mobility and whether people have realistic next steps. Private counselling details don't need to be disclosed to managers.
Does career guidance guarantee employee retention?
No. The best next step for some people may lie outside the company. The objective is clearer decisions and fairer access to development, not retention at any price.
Shall we talk about career conversations in your organisation?
If these situations sound familiar, connect with me on LinkedIn. Start with the problem, not a predefined programme.
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