Hi there,
This is great thinking! A few thoughts:
- You can try to objectively determine the quality of a coach…it's their success rate
- The problem comes with different (and often subjective) measures
- To “level” or equalize #2, Ask the coach the following:
- Do you “filter” or reject candidates or do you take in anyone
- (Me: I accept all candidates)
- What is your success rate
- (Me: 95% get a job, 65-70% of those with an MBB interview get the MBB offer)
- What is your “cut-off” for what is considered a candidate
- (Me: An adequate timeline…at least 1-2 months. Enough coaching sessions…at least 3. They listen/work hard…actually implement my prep plan and go through my course)
- Have an intro call with the coach
- Ask to speak to their old candidates
- Ask what materials they have
- Different coaches are for different people - there is not 1 “best” coach (except me :P - kidding of course!)
- Trust your gut!
Message the coaches that catch your eye, ask them to talk through their approach/methodology, and pick the one that works best for you! Assess them based on how well they seem to understand the process (and what's needed), how prepared they are (supporting material + plan), and whether they seem like a good teacher based on your style of learning.
There was a prior Q&A with a bunch of great questions. Listed here:
Q: If so, is the recommendation rate then: # of people who gave feedback/ # of meeting?
It is actually the rating from the subset of those who provided reviews. So, if a coach has coached 100 people, and 50 provide reviews, it's based on their reviews. If 49 gave 5 stars, and 1 gave 4 stars, the coach would obviously have a very high rate!
Two caveats:
- Generally, candidates don't provide reviews unless they're a positive experience. We have a bit of an Amazon effect here
- More reviews for a coach doesn't necessarilly mean they're better - some explicitly ask/urge their candidates to give reviews while others don't)
Q: How do we know that anonymous reviewers are legit and not just some fake persona? (I compared the writing style of the comments and the "my approach" writing of one coach and it looks very similar; I don't know if it's a coincidence.)
A: They are definitely not fake! While I mentioned the Amazon effect, there is absolutely no way to purchase reviews here. They are all 100% genuine!
Free Q&A: How do I pick the right coach?
A: Ask them for a call :) Message a few that look promising, and ask them these same pointed questions you've asked here! (e.g. what is your coaching style, what resources do you have, what's your success rate, what's your plan for ME).
Good luck in your search!
https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-is-a-preplounge-coachs-recommendation-rate-computed-9671
(editiert)