One thing that many high-performing individuals have in common is that they have someone to coach them.
Bill Gates reiterated the importance of coaching when, back in 2018, he opened his Ted Talk by stating that “everyone needs a coach.”
And who can argue with that? Good coaches can help you substantially improve your skills in basically any field you can think of.
Similarly, career coaches can become your allies and mentors in the process of starting, fixing, developing, or reinventing your career.
So, are you considering hiring a career coach but have no idea who to choose and on what criteria to base your decision?
We’ve got your back! No matter your case, we are here to provide relevant information and help you make up your mind.
So let’s dive right in!
How We Made This List:
To create this list, we scoured the internet to find some of the most influential HR specialists out there. The criteria we used to evaluate them include:- Years of HR experience.
- Strong coaching methods.
- Strong web presence or social following.
- Quality reviews and testimonials.
16 Top Career Coaches in 2022
#1. Adunola Adeshola
Forbes contributor and career strategist, Adunola Adeshola specializes in helping high-achieving corporate professionals take their careers to the next level with new positions at companies they have their eyes on. Through her coaching program, careerREDEFINED, her clients have landed interviews at household names like Google, CBS, TikTok, and Spotify among others.
Moreover, Adunola’s career advice has been featured in prestigious publications such as The New York Times, Business Insider, Bloomberg, etc. Knowing first-hand what a stagnant career feels like, she aims to show professionals how to take control of their own careers and achieve their goals. You can find her free guide, where she shares 5 proven steps to help you land your dream job offer, here.
#2. Julia Toothacre
Julia Toothacre, a seasoned career coach with over a decade of experience, has dedicated her life to helping professionals find clarity, confidence, and success in their career journey.
Her coaching business is built on providing actionable resources for people to advance their careers on their terms. Julia is certified and trained in multiple assessments and has built her career programs from her years of working with professionals of all levels and partnering with recruiters and hiring managers.
Apart from the base structure, her programs are meant to be flexible toward the specific needs of her clients’ career goals. In addition to her coaching programs, Toothacre makes her strategies accessible to all by publishing her content on her podcast and social media platforms.
#3. Jason Treu
Jason Treu is a veteran career coach and author of Social Wealth, the #1 bestselling book on mastering business relationships. He also has the top team-building program and game, Cards Against Mundanity, that more than 100,000 employees use to skyrocket trust, teamwork, and communication.
Jason provides individual and group coaching sessions tailored for executives, managers, and HR leaders to help them to eliminate the patterns that hold them back and maximize their career potential. He has helped many executives during his career, including some well-known figures such as Steve Jobs and Mark Cuban.
You can hear him speak about forming meaningful and effective work professional relationships and becoming a great leader on podcasts, radio, and TV shows, or check out his website for more information on the variety of programs he offers. He also builds career coaching programs for organizations to help managers better develop and retain their employees.
#4. Jenny Logullo
Jenny Logullo is a Gen Z career coach who helps entry-level job seekers and creatives find their strengths and their workplace calling.
Her approach includes one-on-one conversations with her clients about personal branding and market needs, among others. That way, she helps them identify their core skills, conquer imposter syndrome that is often associated with entry-level roles, and develop a growth mindset when it comes to going after new opportunities. Most importantly, her signature program touches on sensitive topics such as mental health and workplace burnout.
Jenny is the founder of Workplace Worth Academy and a frequent speaker on topics such as personal branding, freelancing, first-generation wealth, etc.
#5. Andrea Martin
Andrea Martin has made it her life’s mission to find ambitious professionals who want to navigate conflict at work with courage, find balance and stand up for their worth.
By establishing the Success Blueprint Vault coaching membership, she created a place where people can learn the step-by-step process to increase their strategic mindset and some steps they can follow to ensure they are moving towards their goals.
The program offers access to Fortune 500 leaders and other like-minded individuals who can share their first-hand professional experience with clients.
#6. Ramit Sethi
Ramit Sethi, author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich, coaches professionals on how to turn their lives and careers around by taking charge and seizing what they want from life.
Ramit does not believe in saying no to the things you want. Instead, he focuses on teaching you how to build a fulfilling and thriving career that will allow you to achieve the exact type of lifestyle you want and deserve.
Check out his website - iwillteachyoutoberich.com - for free resources, various courses, and his podcast.
#7. Stephanie Heath
Experienced in talent acquisition, Stephanie Health built Soulwork & Six Figures over the course of 4 years, but is now helping thousand of underpaid and uninspired professionals transform their lives as a career coach and job search consultant.
Her goal is to teach you how to tap into your corporate worth, communicate your value proposition, and negotiate your salary. Her work has been featured as an expert voice on LinkedIn, The Muse, Mogul Millennial Online Magazine and HelloGiggles.
#8. Krista Demcher
The ACORN Method is Krista Demcher’s signature program. It’s also what brings hundreds of women from all backgrounds in an effort to master confidence, clarity, and communication skills.
For 8 weeks, Krista stands side to side with her clients and encourages them to tap into what makes them different, as well as teaches them how to create impactful messaging for their products, services or expertise.
ACORN method graduates credit the program for 10x business revenue and 50% of their salary increases.
#9. Domonique Worship
Domonique Worship established Domonique Worship Coaching & Consulting LLC in 2018 and has been tirelessly working with high-achieving women ever since. Domonique’s method supports women in creating and pursuing a personal and professional vision rooted in what matters most to them.
With her assistance, they create roadmaps to make their dreams a reality. Worship doesn’t follow a one-fits-all approach; instead, she tailors her programs on each client’s needs and desires, thus facilitating transformation, increasing their self-awareness, and helping them develop in-demand tools and techniques, once and for all.
#10. Melissa Carvalho
Melissa Carvalho has more than seven years of experience in Human Resources and Recruiting Management. Her background working with Fortune 500 companies and several start-ups allowed her to help people grow and lead within their careers.
For over four years now, Melissa has been working as a Career Coach, helping hundreds of job-seekers fix their LinkedIn profiles, reconstruct their resumes, and land their dream roles. All her mid-to-senior level clients receive complete transformation from her signature coaching program Confident Clear and Hired, which helps participants gain clarity in their careers and networking strategies, as well as learn how to negotiate their job offers to get paid for what they truly deserve.
#11. Kyle Elliott
Kyle Elliott is an award-winning job search and career coach specializing in preparing senior managers, executives, career changers, and members of the LGBTQ+ community for interviews with Silicon Valley firms and high tech giants like Google and Amazon.
His online interview coaching sessions are focused on thoroughly preparing clients for the most challenging interviews, helping them feel confident and relaxed, and giving them the tools to make the best first impressions during their interviews.
You can request a consultation with Kyle at CaffeinatedKyle.com.
#12. Pamella Pritchard
With over a decade in recruitment, HR, and sales, Pamela Pritchard is a career coach who co-founded CV Secrets, a coaching business that supports professionals going through a job or career change through growth and with ease.
Her career coaching program combines practical career mentoring and CV writing, salary negotiation skills, and interview preparation, with transformational life coaching techniques.
#13. Fabiana Leal
Fabiana Leal is a mid-career coach specializing in international expat women. She comes from a successful corporate career in Finance and in 2019 founded Career Lab at the 4th Industrial Revolution (CL4IR), an innovative digital space to develop strategic career plans and support people to succeed in the job market.
Through her flagship program, Fabiana teaches career strategies with a focus on women's empowerment by providing a clear blueprint of a successful job search, from goal setting to negotiating a job offer.
#14. Jackie Mitchell
Jackie Mitchell, founder of Jackie Mitchell Career Consulting, empowers clients to take control of their own careers by utilizing unique strategies and a framework to increase influence and impact while developing as a leader.
Focusing on mid-career women professionals committed to leveling up to more senior roles, Jackie advises her clients to “take responsibility for your career, believing that building confidence and sticking to your values can help anyone achieve their professional goals.
#15. Ken Whitters
Ken Whitters coaches individuals, teams, or even entire organizations in leadership, communication, team development, personal effectiveness, and more.
Ken employs an evidence-based approach drawn from psychology and neuroscience to help leaders and individuals realize their full potential and achieve their professional goals.
To arrange an in-person or online consultation with Ken, you can visit his Strategic Leadership website.
#16. Claire Wasserman
Claire Wasserman, founder and author of Ladies Get Paid, sees major benefits in reminding people they have more say in their life and career than what they may think and that keeping an open mind can bring them new opportunities.
Becoming a member of Ladies Get Paid, which has been featured in Bloomberg, Good Morning America, The Huffington Post, etc, gives women access to education, resources, and community support.
7+ Benefits of Hiring a Career Coach
There’s no doubt that hiring a career coach is a big (and costly) decision, which is exactly why you should be as informed as possible before making the big decision.
In case you’re still on the fence, here are the top 8 benefits of hiring a professional career coach:
- Learn in-demand skills. Job market needs are constantly changing. You might not always know what the most in-demand hard and soft skills in your industry are, but career coaches with years of experience in HR do and can lead you in the right direction.
- Create a relevant resume. Creating a job-winning resume takes more work than just listing your work and education, and for most people it’s a struggle. With the help of a career coach, however, you can create a resume that highlights your strengths and accomplishments.
- Build confidence. You might be a mid-level professional who has lost sight of their value or a recent graduate who hasn’t gained confidence yet. In any case, a career coach can give you a new perspective on your abilities.
- Make informed decisions about your career. Should you quit that job you hate now or after you have a new job lined up? Should you start your own company while still working part-time, or just straight-up quit?? A career coach can help you map out your career steps.
- Set goals that will lead you to your aim. You might know exactly where you want to go with your career, but chances are, you don’t know the exact steps you need to take to get there. Career coaches can help define these steps to your career destination and give you guidance on how to take them.
- Build connections. Most career coaches have vast networks of professionals which can really come in handy to your career in many ways. From building professional connections to finding potential business partners or investors, career coaches can really help you upgrade your network.
- Start a career in a new field. Whether you’re a recent-graduate or a senior professional looking for a change, getting into a new field can be intimidating. A career coach can help build your confidence, define your value and ace the job-searching process.
Do I Need a Career Coach?
At this point, you should have a solid idea of what career coaches do and what are the benefits of hiring one to guide you professionally.
And yet you might still be wondering: “Do I need a career coach?”
Ultimately, that is up to you to decide. After all, you know better than anyone where you are professional, what you want out of your career, and what your priorities are for the future.
That being said, some telling signs you’re ready for a career coach (and some that you aren’t) are as follows:
DO hire a career coach if:
- You’re experiencing job angst. If you’re increasingly feeling like you hate your job but aren’t sure whether it’s anst, burnout, or a time to quit, a career coach could help you sort it out.
- Your personal brand needs work. Your personal brand is a mixture of your professional identity, which includes your resume, cover letter, portfolio, and even how you present yourself in job interviews. If you feel those elements are not yet aligned, a career coach could be a good idea.
- You’re struggling to find a job. Have a degree, work experience, and qualifications but still no job? You might not know where to look, have low self-confidence, or barely do any networking. No matter the case, a career coach could help.
- Your career has stalled. If it’s been years since you felt challenged by your job or were promoted to a new position, your career might have stalled. Yet, it might be hard to make a change because you’re too used to your current situation, or you simply need the money. A career coach could help you gain a new angle on your career (or regain your passion).
- You find it hard to stand out from the crowd. It’s a big, big, market of job seekers out there, so it’s logical to want to stand out. If you’re finding it difficult to find your edge, however, a new pair of (professional) eyes doesn’t help.
- You’re not self-motivated. Many highly-capable people have difficulties motivating themselves to achieve their professional goals and it’s not all that surprising; it can be challenging work. A career coach can keep you accountable to your goals and help you set benchmarks to achieve them.
- You’re ambitious. If, on the other hand, you’re ambitious, with clear professional goals and objectives, then a career coach could really be what you need to accelerate your career. Their experience could be just what your drive needs.
DON’T hire a career coach if:
- You think they will magically have all the answers. If you hire a career coach thinking that a simple 3-step process will get you the job of your dreams, you might as well save your money. While coaching programs will teach you loads, you ultimately need to work on a daily basis to achieve your goals.
- You’re reluctant to work on yourself. Much of the “homework” career coaches give their clients involve personality tests, self-reflection or even some spare-time networking. You have slim chances for results if you aren’t willing to work on yourself.
- You have trouble opening up to others. For career coaching to work, you should be open to your coach. This includes being open to constructive criticism, feedback, probing questions, conversations, etc.
FAQs on Career Coaches
Have some of your questions on the topic gone unanswered?
Here are the most Frequently Asked Questions on career coaches:
Key Takeaways
That’s a wrap! By now, you should be able to decide whether hiring a career choice is a step in the right direction for you.
Here are the key points you should consider:
- Career coaches can help professionals with different experience levels reach (or adjust) their professional goals.
- Some of the top career coaches in 2022 are Fabiana Dantas Leal, Jackie Mitchell, and Claire Wasserman, among others.
- Some of the benefits of hiring a career coach include gaining in-demand skills, making informed decisions about your career, and successfully crafting your personal brand, among others.
- Don’t hire a career coach if you expect them to have all the answers or if you aren’t ready to work on yourself.
