What does a career coach actually do?

Less than people expect, and more useful because of it. A career coach does not write your resume or tell you what job to take — the work is on how you operate at work, week to week, with someone whose only job is to help you see the pattern you are too close to see yourself.

A typical session

You bring whatever is live that week — a conversation you are avoiding with your manager, a decision about whether to take a role, a pattern in how meetings go for you — and we work on that one thing properly rather than doing a general check-in. You leave with something specific to do before the next session, not a worksheet.

What it isn't

It is not resume writing, not interview drilling, not a personality test, and not a five-year plan built in one sitting. It is not mentorship either — a mentor tells you what worked for them; a career coach works with what is actually true for you, without a stake in the outcome beyond yours.

Who it is for

People who are good at their work and still stuck: the promotion that keeps not happening, the move that is always nearly the right time, a leadership role held without the support to hold it well, or the sense that the job itself is fine and something about how you are in it is not. It works whether you are an individual contributor or already managing people — the leadership side of it, structuring feedback, running a room, delegating, is part of the same work, not a separate track.

How long it takes

There is no fixed program. Some people come for a handful of sessions around one decision; others keep a standing weekly hour for months while they work through a bigger shift. You decide when you are done, and we will say plainly if we think you are done sooner than you think.