What does a career coach do? A session-by-session look at the work.
What happens before, during and between sessions, what is outside a coach's job, and how to get the most out of every hour you pay for.
A career coach helps you choose a target, tell your story for it, and run the search: they review your resume and LinkedIn, rehearse interviews with you, plan networking, help you weigh and negotiate offers, and keep you accountable between sessions. They do not apply for you, promise a job, or replace a therapist.
The five jobs a career coach does
| Job | In practice | You should leave with |
|---|---|---|
| Clarify the target | Questions about your strengths, values, constraints and options | One or two target roles you can name |
| Position your story | Feedback on resume, LinkedIn and how you describe your experience | A pitch and documents built for the target |
| Plan the search | Which companies, which channels, how much outreach each week | A weekly plan with numbers you control |
| Practice interviews | Mock questions, feedback on structure and examples | Five or six stories you can tell well |
| Navigate offers | Comparing offers, preparing the negotiation conversation | A number, a script and a walk-away point |
What a career coach doesn't do
Advice
- Apply to jobs on your behalf or send messages as you (some services do this; it is not coaching).
- Guarantee interviews, offers or a salary.
- Give legal, tax or immigration advice: those need licensed professionals.
- A career coach is not a therapist. If job-search stress is affecting your sleep, health or daily life, a licensed mental-health professional is the right first call; in the US you can call or text 988 any time.
How to get the most from your first session
Advice
- Write your goal in one sentence, even if it is 'I don't know what I want'.
- Bring your current resume and LinkedIn URL.
- List what you have tried in the last 90 days and what happened.
- Decide what success looks like in 3 months.
- Ask how the coach will measure progress and what happens between sessions.
The same five jobs, with free tools
Six questions, a published rule, no sign-up.
Open →Free toolATS resume checkerSee what an applicant tracking system reads in your resume.
Open →Free toolInterview prepPractice answers for the questions you are most likely to get.
Open →Free toolSalary negotiationScripts and numbers for the offer conversation.
Open →Free toolLinkedIn Profile StudioRewrite your headline and About section.
Open →Free templatesJob-search emailsFollow-ups, thank-yous and offer replies.
Open →Disclosure: TryHired makes HIRED, a paid job-search program, so we have a conflict of interest whenever we compare it with coaching or other products. We show free options first and tell you when you probably do not need to pay anyone.
Questions about coaching sessions
What does a career coach do?
What does a career coach not do?
How many sessions does career coaching take?
What happens in the first career coaching session?
How this page is built
Written by Maid Dizdarevic, a career coach and 8x LinkedIn Top Voice. Everything here is practical advice or a description of how coaching and services usually work; it is labelled as advice, not data. We do not publish success rates, prices we have not verified, or ratings.
- Whether a specific coach or service is good: only references, a trial session and your own judgement can tell you that.
- Your local market: hiring speed and pay vary by field, level and location.
- Outcomes: no coach, service or program can promise you a job, and you should be wary of any that does.
- TryHired editorial guidance, Nov 2, 2026.
- International Coaching Federation (coaching credential issuer): coachingfederation.org.
- National Career Development Association (career-services credentials): ncda.org.