Why You Need a Coach (And No, I'm Not One)

Let me get this out of the way immediately: I am not a career coach. I do not play one on television. I have no certification, no intake form, and no sliding scale pricing. What I have is a job search that has taught me, the hard way, that trying to navigate this alone is one of the more avoidable mistakes you can make.

So when I tell you that working with a coach changed how I approach this process, I'm telling you as someone who resisted it, questioned the cost, and eventually admitted I was wrong.

The Problem With Going It Alone

Here is what nobody warns you about when you get laid off: you lose your professional mirror.

At work, you had feedback loops. A manager who told you what was landing and what wasn't. Colleagues who could read the room with you. Even a bad boss gave you something to push against.

Gone.

Now you're writing resumes in a vacuum, practicing interview answers in the shower, and asking your spouse or your friends to evaluate your LinkedIn profile. Those people love you. That is the problem. They are not equipped to tell you that your summary sounds like it was written by a committee or that you answered that behavioral question by going so far off-topic that the interviewer forgot what they asked.

A coach is equipped to tell you exactly that.

What a Coach Actually Does

Not all coaches work the same way, and this is worth understanding before you start looking. Career coaching broadly falls into a few categories:

• Job search coaching: Resume, LinkedIn, application strategy, job targeting
• Interview coaching: Mock interviews, answer frameworks, feedback on delivery
• Career clarity coaching: Figuring out what you actually want before you go chase the wrong thing
• Executive or leadership coaching: More focused on trajectory, presence, and positioning at a senior level

You may need one of those. You may need a hybrid. What matters is that you know what problem you're trying to solve before you pay someone to help you solve it.

The Accountability Factor

This part does not get enough credit.

When you are unemployed, your calendar is either terrifyingly empty or filled with tasks you invented to feel productive. There is no external structure. No standup. No deadline that someone else set. Just you, your to-do list, and the ambient dread.

A coach creates a forcing function. You have a session on Thursday. You said you'd send out five applications. You said you'd rewrite your target company list. Now there is a person who is going to ask you about it.

That is not a small thing. For a lot of people, it's the difference between a consistent job search and one that runs in fits and starts based on mood.

The Real Talk on Cost

Coaching is not cheap. Depending on the coach, the format, and the level of engagement, you're looking at anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand for a structured engagement.

I know what your bank account looks like right now. I know the math is uncomfortable.

A few things worth knowing:

• Many coaches offer a free discovery call. Use it. Evaluate the fit. Ask direct questions about what you'll get and what it will cost.
• Some coaches work on a per-session basis rather than a package, which lowers the entry cost.
• If you received a severance package, consider whether a portion of it is an investment in shortening your search. A shorter search is not nothing.
• LinkedIn, your alumni network, and professional communities in your field sometimes surface coaches who work at reduced rates or offer group coaching options.

You are not obligated to spend money you don't have. But you should also not dismiss the option without actually looking at what's available.

How to Find Someone Worth Hiring

A quick framework:

Ask your network first. Someone you know has worked with a coach. Ask who, ask why, ask whether they'd do it again.

Check for specificity. A coach who works with "professionals in transition" is different from a coach who specifically works with technical sales, or mid-career engineers, or people pivoting out of healthcare. Specificity usually means better results.

Run from the hype. If the website is full of testimonials about "transformational" experiences and very short on specifics about what the engagement actually looks like, keep moving.

Ask for references. A legitimate coach will not hesitate to connect you with former clients. If there's resistance, take note.

One More Thing

You do not have to use a paid coach for every piece of this. Mentors exist. Communities of people in similar situations exist. Peer accountability partners exist. (We'll talk about all of those in future articles.)

But if you have access to a good coach and you're white-knuckling the job search because you can't figure out why you're not getting traction, stop white-knuckling and get help. There is no award for doing this the hard way.

I should know. I tried to win that award.