How long should a career coaching engagement be?
Most engagements are packaged over a defined period rather than open-ended, which suits the episodic nature of career transitions. A defined structure also makes the purchase easier to evaluate against a specific situation.
Most are packaged over a defined period rather than left open-ended, which suits the episodic nature of career transitions.
The right length depends on what the client is actually doing:
- A specific short need such as interview preparation or offer negotiation can be a few sessions over two or three weeks.
- A full transition, including clarifying direction, positioning, search and negotiation, typically runs over two to four months, because the market takes that long to respond regardless of how well prepared the candidate is.
- A more fundamental change, such as moving industries or into management, often needs longer, since it involves building evidence rather than just presenting it.
Two structural points. A defined period gives the client a decision boundary, which matters for someone worried about an unbounded commitment, particularly if they are out of work. And pacing matters, since job searches fail on consistency more than on strategy, so sessions spaced too far apart lose momentum.
Publishing the structure lets a prospective client match it against their own situation before contacting you.
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