Why is career coaching important?

Written By Antonia Bartels

1:1 Career Coaching is the Smartest Investment in Your Future. Here’s why.

5 min read

Career Coach is an investment not a cost

Coaching: It's not a cost, it's the compass for your journey.

1:1 Career Coaching is the Smartest Investment in Your Future. Here’s why.

The demands placed on professionals are growing exponentially, a reality you are likely all too familiar with.

According to The Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2024 report:

  • stress levels are high - 41% of employees report experiencing significant stress (daily) 

  • while only 23% of employees feel engaged at work

At the same time, expectations of what we want from our careers have also evolved. The pandemic prompted a significant re-evaluation of career priorities, with a survey by Indeed UK revealing that 92% of employees felt life was too short to remain in uninspiring roles.

Career coaching offers a proactive route forward if you recognise yourself in either of these scenarios. It provides clarity, confidence, and strategic direction in today’s increasingly complex and competitive talent landscape.

Whether you’re questioning your current path, contemplating a career shift, or striving to enhance balance and fulfilment, 1:1 career coaching offers bespoke support and pragmatic strategies tailored to your circumstances.

Table of Contents

Career coaching is a structured process designed to help you explore your professional aspirations and get curious about what is holding you back, so that you can make an impact with the support of an accredited coach.

Working with an accredited coach provides personalised guidance to navigate critical career decisions, map goals, and implement action plans tailored to your ambitions and your needs.

Unlike generic self-help content or well-meaning advice from peers, career coaching is bespoke to your professional context. It provides a confidential space to explore frustrations, aspirations, and fears guided by an objective professional trained to help you find clarity and direction.

Professionals seek career coaching for a wide range of reasons, including:

  • Actively seeking a new role, whether by necessity or choice.

  • Feeling directionless or disengaged, with a desire for renewed purpose.

  • Struggling with confidence, particularly when considering promotions or new responsibilities.

  • Conflicting advice from articles, friends, peers, and online content leaves them more uncertain than informed.

  • Seeking better work-life harmony while maintaining professional momentum.

  • Exploring career changes into new sectors or roles.

  • Preparing for senior promotions and leadership transitions.

  • Facing redundancy and wanting to reposition their skills for new opportunities.

Online career advice is abundant, a quick search for “career progression strategies” or “leadership promotion tips” delivers thousands of results.

The challenge? Much of this content is:

  • Generic and not tailored to your personal style, circumstance, career path, or expertise.

  • Contradictory, often offering conflicting opinions with little relevance to your actual situation.

  • Focused on surface-level tactics without addressing deeper personal or strategic considerations.

1:1 career coaching offers the opposite:

  • Personalised to your ambitions, strengths, and challenges.

  • Flexible and evolves alongside your career journey.

  • Delivered through a trusted partnership, providing continuity and ongoing support.

Clarity and Direction

If you’re questioning your professional future, you’re not alone.

Gallup research highlights that only 23% of employees globally feel engaged at work.

An experienced career coach helps cut through the noise. Through reflective exercises and structured dialogue, you gain:

  • A sharper understanding of your core values, strengths, and professional drivers.

  • A personal definition of success, whether that means executive progression, a career pivot, or optimising work-life integration.

  • Clear, actionable steps aligned with your professional and personal goals.

  • Ongoing accountability to maintain momentum as you pursue these goals.

2. Tailored Support for Your Unique Situation

Careers are rarely linear, and no two paths are identical.

With 1:1 coaching, your coach invests the time to fully understand your personality, working style, ambitions, concerns, and fears. They then work with you to develop a bespoke plan aligned to your needs whether you are:

  • Positioning yourself for promotion.

  • Re-entering the workforce after a career break, parental leave, or illness.

  • Exploring a complete career change.

  • Seeking a better balance between work demands and personal life.

  • Preparing for a step into leadership.

3. Building Confidence and Overcoming Self-Doubt

Even experienced professionals grapple with imposter syndrome.

A KPMG survey revealed that 75% of executives have experienced imposter syndrome at some point.

Career coaching helps you:

  • Identify and challenge negative thoughts or assumptions about yourself

  • Reframe unhelpful self-talk into more empowering narratives.

  • Recognise and own your strengths and achievements, and articulate them courageously. 

  • Develop practical techniques to manage self-doubt in high-stakes situations such as strategy presentations, pitches, board meetings, or salary negotiations.

4. Practical Tools and Real-World Strategies

Career coaching is practical, stretching, and results-focused.

You’ll gain tools and strategies you can apply immediately, including:

  • Values-aligned decision making 

  • Personal branding: CV and LinkedIn optimisation tailored to senior roles.

  • Interview coaching to refine your executive presence.

  • Networking techniques to unlock hidden opportunities at senior levels.

  • Boundary-setting tools to protect your energy.

  • Negotiation strategies to advocate for appropriate compensation.

5. Accountability and Consistent Progress

Setting goals is easy but maintaining progress is harder.

Your coach acts as a trusted accountability partner, ensuring you:

  • Maintain momentum through regular check-ins.

  • Tackle challenges with timely support.

  • Celebrate progress, both major milestones and smaller wins.

6. An Expert Thinking Partner

A career coach offers an objective, external perspective, invaluable for:

  • Identifying blind spots.

  • Challenging limiting assumptions.

  • Providing honest feedback without bias.

  • Managing rejection fatigue and maintaining confidence during transitions.

7. Work-Life Integration and Well-Being

Career success should enhance not compromise your quality of life.

Career coaching helps you:

  • Set healthy boundaries.

  • Work smarter, not longer.

  • Align your career with your values and lifestyle priorities.

Career coaching benefits:

  • Leaders navigating organisational changes or burnout.

  • Parents returning to work.

  • Mid-senior professionals seeking clarity or progression.

  • Independent consultants or entrepreneurs building sustainable businesses.

A PwC global survey found that individuals who invested in career coaching reported an average return on investment of 7x the cost.

I’m Antonia AKA Kooks, an ICF-accredited coach and founder of Coaching with Kooks. I partner with senior professionals and return to work parents across the UK and globally, helping them uncover purpose, build confidence, and create lasting impact.

Schedule your complimentary consultation to explore your goals and discuss how coaching can power your next career move.

What are you waiting for?

Antonia Bartels