How to choose a career coach (and actually get value from coaching)

Coaching is a tool for decisions, not a substitute for confidence

Career coaching has a reputation problem because it is sold like therapy and delivered like motivation. Done well, it is neither. A good coach helps you make a specific decision, build a skill or change a pattern — in a defined number of sessions, with homework between them. If that description does not match what is being offered, you are probably buying something else.

What coaching can realistically do

• Pressure-test a decision (change careers, negotiate, go freelance, step into leadership).
• Help you articulate your strengths and story for interviews, pitches or reviews.
• Hold you accountable to the plan you keep avoiding.
• Give you an outside perspective on blind spots in how you present yourself.

What coaching cannot do

• Fix a toxic workplace or a salary problem on its own.
• Substitute for therapy when the issue is anxiety or burnout, not strategy.
• Hand you a network or a job. Coaches open doors in your thinking, not in companies.

Vet the coach before you pay

• Ask what their sessions change, not what they cost. A strong coach names outcomes: a decision made, an offer negotiated, a portfolio built. Vague promises of "unlocking potential" are a red flag.
• Check they have relevant experience. Career direction advice is most useful from someone who has navigated the same terrain — an industry, a function or a stage like founder or new manager.
• Ask for a structure. How many sessions, what happens between them, what you will have at the end. Coaching without a structure is a chat.
• Do a discovery call. The chemistry matters, but so does how the coach responds to a direct question. Someone who dodges specifics in the sales call will dodge them in sessions.

How to make the sessions pay off

• Come with a decision, not a feeling. "Help me figure out my career" invites generic advice. "I have two offers and I am stuck on which fits my five-year plan" gets you somewhere.
• Do the homework. The value lives in the actions between sessions, not the hour on the call.
• Set an end date. Agree how many sessions the work needs and review progress at the halfway point. The best coaching ends when the goal is reached — not when the package runs out.

A good coach does not give you answers; they make your answers sharper and hold you to acting on them. If a session leaves you feeling inspired but no closer to a decision, it was entertainment, not coaching.

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