So what are the benefits of <strong>career coaching online</strong>, and which kind of coaching would be best for you?

Traditional face to face coaching is usually recommended by most professional coaches as the most ideal form. The reason for this is because coaches, like counsellors, are trained to recognise body language signals and how to use these forms of communication to best help the client. This information is often something that the client is not even aware of.

Telephone coaching may not allow the use of body language, but because the coach is trained in active listening, they will still be able to pick up subliminal messages from tone of voice and pauses.

Both body language and tone of voice work two ways. Not only is the coach able to gather extra useful information, but he or she is able to use their own body language and tone of voice to put the client at ease and express positive encouragement to support their words.

With online coaching, the coach does not have these tools to go by, and therefore has to rely only on the written words the client uses. This means that the coach is at a slight disadvantage and may not always be able to pick up extra useful information. For this reason, online coaching (or e-coaching) is usually cheaper than traditional coaching.

However, if face-to-face or telephone coaching does not fit in with your budget or lifestyle, e-coaching can be an extremely useful alternative, and much can be achieved as long as the client remains honest and in full communication at all times.

Here are a few of the reasons why online coaching can be of benefit:

• It can be used as a testing ground to find out whether coaching is right for you before committing yourself to face-to-face coaching.
• If the idea of face-to-face coaching seems too confrontational to you, e-coaching is a very good alternative.
• E-coaching can be more flexible than traditional coaching because you can choose the times you make contact. This can work for you if you are on a very tight schedule and only have time to make contact late at night or early in the morning, for example.
• If your budget does not allow the expense of traditional coaching, e-coaching is a cheaper alternative.
• You are not limited to finding a coach in your area: you can choose the coach you want from anywhere in the world (provided they offer e-coaching!)

When you are coached by email, you will usually agree a set number of contacts that can make over the period of a week or a month. Each contact you make, with the coach's response will then count as one "session". The coachee may be given some questions to ponder on over the following few days, and probably some actions to take and goals to work on.

Coaching via instant messaging is more similar to telephone coaching, with a session lasting perhaps 45 minutes or an hour.

While online life coaching does not have all the benefits of face to face coaching, it is certainly a worth while alternative if your lifestyle or budget precludes you from traditional coaching.