Why Your Clients Keep Second-Guessing Their Career Moves

Ever had a potential client come to you in full-blown panic mode?

They need your help ASAP.

They demand a new résumé. They’re scrambling to update their LinkedIn. They’re desperate for interview prep.

It’s tempting to dive right in—after all, that’s what they’re asking for, right?

Or maybe it’s actually damaging their long-term career success.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned after coaching for over 20 years, it’s that clients without a clear sense of direction won’t move very far without a strong foundation.

There’s no quick fix to finding a fulfilling career.

You can hand them the world’s best résumé, but if they’re chasing jobs that don’t align, they’ll stay stuck in the same cycle of frustration, second-guessing, and career missteps.

This is one of the biggest traps career coaches fall into.

And it’s not just holding clients back—it’s making your job as a coach harder, too.

Let’s break down why this happens—and, most importantly, how to fix it.

The Mistake: Skipping the Foundation Work

It’s easy to assume that if a client comes to you, they already know what they want.

But most of them don’t.

They’re reacting to external pressure—feeling stuck, needing a change, or simply knowing they should be doing something different.

If we jump straight into tactics without helping them build a strong foundation, here’s what happens:

🚩 Clients feel stuck. They’re making career moves without a real sense of purpose or direction.
🚩 Misaligned effort. They’re tweaking résumés and networking endlessly but aren’t actually moving toward anything meaningful.
🚩 You become reactive instead of strategic. Instead of guiding them toward a career that truly fits, you’re constantly troubleshooting surface-level problems.

Why Coaches Skip This Step

So why do so many career coaches skip foundational work?

It usually comes down to one of three things:

💨 Client urgency. They want quick wins and focus on how (résumés, interviews) instead of why (career direction, values, fulfillment).
⏳ Coach pressure. Especially if you’re newer to coaching, you might feel like you need to deliver fast results to prove your value.
📊 It feels less tangible. It’s easier to show progress with a rewritten résumé than a clarified career vision. But guess which one actually leads to long-term success?

Clients don’t always come to us in a calm, reflective state—they come in crisis.

Maybe they’ve just been laid off, stuck in a toxic work environment, or struggling with underemployment, and they’re desperate for immediate change.

In those high-stress moments, it’s easy to feel pressured to jump straight into quick fixes, but skipping the foundational work only keeps them stuck in the same cycle.

How to Fix It (Without Losing Your Clients’ Buy-In)

I’ve learned that making foundational work non-negotiable is the key to helping clients move forward—but it has to feel like a natural part of the process, not a frustrating roadblock.

Clients come to us looking for quick fixes, but if we don’t help them build clarity first, they’ll stay stuck in the same cycle.

Here’s how I make sure clients stay engaged while doing the deeper work:

1. Revisit goals constantly.

Career clarity isn’t a one-and-done thing—it evolves. That’s why I never just set goals at the start and leave them there. I check in regularly: “Is this still the right direction for you?” If not, we adjust.

It’s normal for career aspirations to shift, and the best coaching supports that.

2. Ask powerful questions instead of giving answers.

Clients often come in looking for advice, but I’ve found that career clarity isn’t something I tell them—it’s something they discover.

Instead of “What job do you want next?” I ask:

➡ “What do you want your work to feel like?”
➡ “What kind of problems do you want to solve?”
➡ “What does success actually look like for you?”

These kinds of questions help clients move beyond surface-level decisions and tap into what they truly want.

3. Make sure every action ties back to the bigger picture.

Clients will often want to jump straight into networking, applying for jobs, or updating their résumé—but before we do anything, I ask why?

If they want to send out 50 applications, I challenge them: “Are these jobs actually aligned with your long-term vision?”

I’ve found that when clients stay connected to their deeper why, they’re far less likely to second-guess themselves later.

At the end of the day, this work is what makes the difference. If we skip the foundation, clients will keep making the same misaligned career moves over and over.

But when we slow down, ask the right questions, and keep them focused on what truly matters? That’s when real change happens.

Act as the Pace Car, Not the Pressure Cooker

Career changes take time and patience.

Although we, as career coaches, understand this, clients facing significant emotional and financial pressures can get discouraged when they feel like they should be moving faster.

That’s why the way we manage the client dynamic is so important.

I see our role as a pace car, keeping them moving forward at the right speed.

✅ If they stall out, we help them restart.
✅ If they start sprinting in the wrong direction, we help them slow down and recalibrate.

The goal is steady, sustainable progress—not panic-driven decisions.

Skipping foundational work might feel like the fastest way to help clients, but in reality, it’s what keeps them stuck.

Our job as coaches isn’t just to hand out quick fixes—it’s to help clients find clarity, confidence, and long-term career alignment.

So the next time a client asks for a résumé update or interview prep, take a step back.

Ask the bigger questions first.

Because when you get this part right, everything else falls into place.

See you next week!

Best,

Heather

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