Hot take: I paid $300 for a 'career coach' who just gave me generic advice I found online

I was stuck in my job hunt last year and hired a coach I found through an ad. We had three calls where he basically told me to 'network more' and 'tailor my resume', stuff you can read in any free blog post. He never looked at my actual resume or gave me specific steps. I'm out that money and still had to figure it out myself. Has anyone found a coach or service that actually gave you real, custom help?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai4632mo ago

Yeah, the "generic advice I found online" part is the worst. It feels like they just run the same script for everyone. I got burned once too. How do they sleep at night charging for that? You almost have to interview the coach harder than a job to find a good one.

victorross2mo ago

Ask for their specific plan before you pay.

riley86020d ago

kai nailed it about interviewing them harder than a job. I actually saw a thing on LinkedIn where this recruiter said most career coaches just recycle the same "optimize your LinkedIn" spiel from a script they bought online. Feels like finding a used car salesman who only talks about the paint job. You gotta ask them for a sample of what they'd actually change on your resume before you pay a cent, otherwise you're just funding their next coffee run.