Shopping For A Career Coach?

Aug. 26, 2010— -- A Denver-based marketing executive I'll call "Neil" recently blew five figures on a career management firm that proved far longer on promises than results.

The firm promised to create a targeted job search plan for Neil and shop his resume around -- essentially, to network and job hunt on his behalf. Instead, all Neil got was a hole in his retirement account where $12,000 used to be.

"My return on my investment was six calls from recruiters and no meetings at all with any companies," a "horribly embarrassed" Neil said of the six months he worked with the career management firm. "Not a single, actual, live call with 'We have a job we need to fill' during that time. It's an expensive lesson, but it's one well-learned."

I've said it before, but it bears repeating: not all career coaches and career management firms are created equal. Although many are worth every penny their clients pay them, many others are incompetent, dishonest or -- worse -- a combination of both.

So how do you ensure the coach or coaching firm you choose isn't a dud? And what's the best way to work with a coach you do hire?

It's not enough to check how long a career coach you're thinking of hiring has been in business, what their former clients think of them and how they acquired their coaching experience (the job doesn't require a license or credentials, which means there are few barriers to entry). You also need to comparison shop.

If you're never worked with a career coach, speaking with at least three before hiring one is a must, said J.T. O'Donnell, a career strategist and workplace consultant based in North Hampton, N.H. Any coach worth his or her salt should be able to spare a few minutes to answer -- free of charge -- your preliminary questions about how their process works, when and how you should expect to communicate with them, what results you can expect and the type of clients they work with best.