How much coaching experience should the coach have, and is it important that the coach is a full-time coach?
Some coaches note that everyone has to start somewhere, so experience level should not necessarily be the determining factor in hiring a coach. Other coaches vary widely in their view of how much experience a coach needs, with Cahill prescribing at least a year and Harvey suggesting that, if not 10 years of explicit coaching experience, a coach should have 10 years of years of career development or management experience. When I started coaching school,” Marsala says, “what it took me 45 minutes to accomplish with a client takes me half that time four years later. So yes, experience does count, and it doesn’t end with graduation from coaching school. Coaches who are in it for the long haul continue to take classes.” As for the part-time versus full-time issue, Adamson notes, “a coach may provide other services than pure coaching, but dividing his or her time too much — say, holding a full-time outside job and maintaining a coaching practice on the side — could impact the effectiveness
