How to Find and Choose a Career Counselor or Coach

Updated on May 12, 2025

finding career coch

So, you have decided to hire a professional career coach and resume service to help you propel your career forward and make it even more successful.

Now what? Don’t use your phone book in any case, as career coach services may cost up to $80 per hour. You should strive to strike a balance between finding a great career or interview coach at a reasonable price. One of the best ways to select the right coach is by applying to a trustworthy service like RWL.

If you don’t know anyone who has hired a coach or can recommend one, you should choose the company that offers guarantees and provides a network of career coaches.

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Either way, consider the following valuable tips before searching for the most suitable career coach.

What Does a Career Coach Do?

A career coach will help you throughout all job searches or at the beginning. It depends on what you expect from this professional. The tasks and goals of the job coach are as follows:

  • They provide professional, personalized advice, recommendations, directions, and guidelines.
  • They answer all questions about job search, profession, and you as a future employee.
  • They help you understand which position to look for, where to find it, and what preparations are necessary.
  • They assist with all application documents, especially with resumes.
  • They create an image with a client, online, and in real life.
  • They prepare for the interview with a client.
  • They help a client to gain career confidence and inspiration.

In general, a career coach is someone who is “there for you.” If you have any difficulties, you can call him, set up a meeting, and solve them as you have paid for them.

Of course, you can surf the Internet and try to find answers there, but you will hardly find a personalized recommendation, as every situation differs.

For instance, you need to create a good developer resume but have no volunteer experience, workshops, or hands-on experience, no courses—you have nothing except education and a great desire to work as a developer.

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There are many articles about how to create a developer’s resume, but a career can help you write a document based on your tricky situation.

Job coaches benefit clients who want to try a new role or change their professional sphere. These are the main tasks of a good career coach.

A Coach Should Start with a Comprehensive Assessment

Any well-trained and experienced coach needs to start by conducting a comprehensive assessment and collecting the data to make a solid basis for starting the process.

This process can vary from coach to coach, but it should be present initially. Some career coaches may use a leadership Myers-Briggs type indicator, while others prefer to take an inventory of your whole life.

Some career coaches even go further and perform confidential assessments only with themselves and their friends, coworkers, superiors, and even family members. Whatever assessment your coach chooses, make sure they don’t skip the assessment step. If not, go ahead and continue your search.

A Coach Should Bill You Appropriately

career coach to choose

Finding a career coach can be challenging, especially the good ones, because many coaches require payment upfront. This is standard practice and very common in this industry.

However, if the career coach insists on getting a percentage of your income, get it clear since this type of financial arrangement can ruin your relationship with them. If you hire a career coach with a direct interest in the economic success of the customer, their motivation won’t be pure. Just like you state your salary requirements in the resume, be sure to clarify the pay of your potential coach beforehand.

A Coach Shouldn’t Practice Amateur Psychology

Of course, some experienced and well-paid career coaches have a psychology background. If you are lucky enough to find one, you can blend coaching with therapy and get even better results.

But if the coach you’ve found isn’t a specialist and only dwells on psychological issues, try to avoid such amateurs. Look for real professionals instead.

Also, if you ever wondered how to land a job on Facebook, check out our Facebook employment guide!

A Coach Should Maintain Certain Boundaries

A great career coach needs to have strict professional and personal boundaries. A relationship with a coach that is more than just an experience, even if it’s just a friendship, can become ineffective. This will indicate a lack of integrity on the part of the coach.

A Coach Should Be Comfortable Being With

Sometimes, you may find a great, well-qualified coach with lots of experience, but something doesn’t feel right. If you don’t feel comfortable with a coach, don’t give up; keep searching for one who will suit you.

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Written by Dua Khan
Dua is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Career Coach. Since 2019, she's dedicated her career to creating ATS-optimized job application materials for a diverse clientele, including Grammy-winning artists, and executives at Fortune 500 companies. Her expertise spans executive-level resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn content, and she holds a successful track record of supporting clients from prestigious organizations such as the CDC, NOAA, NHS, and Johns Hopkins University to achieve their career aspirations.