The profession is not regulated, and some people call themselves coaches of anything and everything. You can't fail to be vigilant, especially for teenagers or young adults who are easily influenced and sometimes lack lucidity and critical thinking.

Here is a humorist who has better understood and defined the problem than many journalists even specialized, I invite you to laugh (If you understand French, unless there is subtitles):

You want to choose a REAL professional coach?

You must, in a rigorous and thorough way, verify what you are told. It is not because it is a firm with many coaches or an organization with a certain notoriety that you will have the quality and the expected service.

From one day to the next, sites appear presenting coaches with years of experience, an activity as a teacher, trainer or coach in dozens of different schools... above all, look for tangible elements.

2 quick tips for independent coaches:

- Check the SIRET via company information sites to find out when the activity was created. (You will find my SIRET in the footer of my website)

- Check the WHOIS for the date of creation of the website of the coach or the service, if you do not find the SIRET it can enlighten you.

Beyond the story that is told to you :

- Check the coaching training followed and its content, the diplomas of the coach and their date of obtaining (some coaching trainings deliver a diploma after only a few hours)

- Check the coach's membership to an association, the only guarantee of control of his professionalism, deontology and ethics (because at the time of his admission, a file is required verifying many prerequisites).

Unfortunately, some coaches claim to belong to an association, but it is not true! Only a quick search in the directory of coaches of these associations via their website will allow you to be sure.)

Be vigilant, don't be fooled by the image/marketing/speech and the statements and slogans of all kinds. If you can't really verify what you are told...

Be careful, do not choose an individual coach or an organization, even a recognized one, offering academic or student coaching, in a hurry, the stakes are high so I insist once again, take the time to check.

To go further, notably by having more elements on the necessary verifications when it is about a big firm or an organization and to have an example of dangerous usurpation having deceived the vigilance of the journalists of the TV Show "Zone Interdite" on M6, I invite you to read my dedicated article : How to Choose a Professional Academic Coach ?