The world has changed. When I was looking for a career coach—back in 1978—there were very few. The company I was working for went through five downsizings! Even then I couldn’t get career coaching, so I started The Five O’Clock Club to help myself and my friends with our careers.

Today, there are plenty of career coaches: in some states, virtually anyone can call himself a career coach. But how can you find a good one? And why do you need a career coach anyway?

Nobody owns a job, nobody owns a market,
nobody owns a product. Somebody out there
can always take it away from you.
Ronald E. Compton,
president/chairman, Aetna,
as quoted in The New York Times,
March 1, 1992

Why See a Career Coach?
 I have coached some of my clients for a dozen years. Ambitious people talk with a personal career coach once or twice a year for a "50,000-mile checkup"—the way people regularly see a dentist. They get help with:

· how they’re doing at work.
· managing the way their bosses view them (and most people have plenty of "bosses").
· getting along with their peers, subordinates and customers.
· upcoming performance reviews, so they can be proactive rather than reactive.
· playing the political game.
· whatever current situation bothers them, and
· developing a career plan and keeping it on track.
 

When job searching, however, the small group process is superior to individual sessions with a career coach. More about that later.

How Much Does a Coach Coast?
 Fees range from $70 an hour up to $200 per hour. The first session usually takes one and a half hours because the coach does not yet know you. Assessment (deciding what you want to do with your life) usually takes anywhere from three to five sessions.

Whatever they charge, do not work with a coach who charges a heavy up-front fee—typical of firms that sell to individuals. Instead, pay your coach on an hourly basis. The only exception to this may be a flat fee charged for a battery of tests (typically in the $500 range)—but you may not need that.

Do not ever sign a contract (e.g., for a package of 10 counseling sessions, fee paid in advance). Make sure you can stop seeing a coach when you no longer want to use that coach’s service.

"How much time does a typical person spend with a career coach?"
 People who don’t know what they want to do with their lives typically spend three to five sessions with a coach. After the "assessment," most people have a tentative career direction (a few fields or industries to research), a resume and perhaps a cover letter.

At this point, it is best to attend group coaching sessions, where attendees get individual coaching in a group format. Our research proves that those who regularly attend a job-search group headed up by a career coach get jobs faster and higher rates of pay than those who search on their own or even those who see a coach privately.

For your part, make sure you are willing to make the necessary commitment. If you work with a coach for only a one-hour session to help you handle an emergency, do not expect that coach to come to know very much about you. If you decide to meet with a coach for a number of sessions, you are likely to learn more about the wonderful person you are, so you can figure out how you fit into this changing world. You will have increased self-esteem and increased effectiveness.

"Where can I find career coaching help?"
 There are some free or almost free services available. These include free government career counseling services, low-cost services offered by some universities, free church and synagogue support groups, and the like.

Other fee-paid career counseling services are offered by traditional retail career counseling firms. These firms charge individuals large fees, say, $5000 to $7000 up front, or $1500 for a two-day seminar. They have to charge high prices because of their office space and advertising costs.

The Five O’Clock Club, one of the country’s top career counseling resources, has no advertising expense and spends very little on office space, so our fees are extremely low.

The optimal solution for most people who are looking for a new position is The Five O’Clock Club’s group career counseling process where individuals meet weekly with a senior Five O’Clock Club career consultant in a group of six or seven peers. For example, those who earn over $100,000 a year are in a group with others in the same salary range.

Research does prove that those who receive ongoing small group counseling get jobs faster and at higher rates of pay than those who search on their own or even those who see a career coach privately. That’s because attendees learn from and get advice from others in their group, cutting their searches considerably. In addition, the services are affordable. Attendees tend to pay only $500 to $700 grand total, compared with $5000 to $7000 through other services.