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Most of my coaching clients didn’t show up when things were steady. 

They came when they were already drowning: laid off after 20 years in the same seat, burned out and ashamed to admit it, or two hundred applications deep with no callbacks and their confidence in tatters. 

By the time they landed in my inbox, panic was in the driver’s seat. 

Coaching in that state is possible, but it’s harder.

I used to think that was just the job, that career coaches existed for a crisis. 

But after two decades in this work, I can’t ignore the fact that we’ve let the culture sell our work as optional, something you reach for only when you’re broken. 

It’s costing people years of their lives.

That tidy ladder we were all taught to expect of climbing step by step and retiring with a gold watch doesn’t exist anymore. 

Careers zigzag.

People pivot industries or step out for caregiving or get reorganized out of jobs or start over after burnout. 

Entire industries collapse or transform overnight. 

And yet most people still behave like it’s 1980, waiting until something breaks before they ask for help. It’s like refusing annual checkups and only showing up at the ER.

Career coaching belongs in the same category as doctors, dentists, and trainers. It’s not luxury. 

It’s maintenance. It’s prevention. 

It’s healthcare. 

We all accept that we send kids to sports coaches to build skill before the big game, or that we see doctors for screenings and vaccines, not just when we’re bleeding.

But somehow career coaching still gets treated as a bandage for panic, instead of a normal, proactive part of professional life.

And waiting until crisis is too late. 

By the time a client has a layoff letter in hand, fear is already narrowing their vision. 

Urgency pushes them toward “anything with a paycheck,” not what actually fits. 

And the time it takes from building a solid strategy to securing interviews is almost always longer than the severance period allows. 

Yes, career coaching still helps. But the hill is steeper. 

Compare that to the client who comes in restless, sensing change is ahead. That’s where coaching shines because they have the room to explore and test ideas before it’s demanded of them.

I would love for career coaching to one day be normalized as a dental or healthcare.

Nothing else lasts longer in our lives than work. 

The average person will work about 90,000 hours over their lifetime, and research shows most people will hold around 12 different jobs across that span.

We treat that much time, nearly a third of our lives, as if it doesn’t need ongoing care. 

Imagine logging that many hours on a field or in a gym without a coach, or spending that much time in motion without a doctor’s checkups. It’s no wonder so many people end up burned out or blindsided.

That means telling stories about clients who worked with us before the crisis. 

It means naming the zigzags as normal, not shameful. 

It means positioning coaching as the first line of support, not the last resort. 

Every time we frame coaching as healthcare, not luxury, we chip away at the old story. 

Little by little, we give clients permission to engage us sooner, when the work is lighter and more transformative.

I know what it feels like when every client shows up in panic, begging for shortcuts. It’s draining.

But I also know what it feels like to walk beside someone before the zigzag hits and watch them step into transition with steadiness instead of fear. 

This idea has been on my mind for a while, and I wanted to share so I can how other career professionals feel about this.

So what do you think?

I would love to hear from you.

Talk soon,

Heather

The Coach for Career Coaches

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