There’s yet another trend out there and you have probably seen it in your LinkedIn feed already.
Someone vulnerable shares they’ve been laid off, or that they’ve been applying for months with nothing but ghosting or automated messages from companies. A few minutes later, their LinkedIn inbox is crawling with “career coaches” pitching their offers (ignoring completely the posts content: people asking for help as they do not have money to afford the basic expenses).
If you’ve ever felt like that makes coaches sound more like vampires than service providers, you’re right, that’s what these people are. The words I keep reading on several posts are: “predatory, insulting, enraging, just seeing people as prospects”.
I agree and that’s why I wrote “career coaches” between “”.
If you’re left with a few savings, burned out, and looking for support without spending money, a DM pitch for an expensive coaching package is the last thing you need.
But not all coaches are vampires (only those tone deaf and probably unqualified ones that chase people). And if you’re wondering how to separate the opportunists from the legit professionals, or whether coaching is even worth any investment, this article will help you see the difference and make your own decisions.
Let’s start with the obvious: there’s a lot of bad coaching out there.
If you’ve been on LinkedIn for more than a quick scroll, you’ve probably seen it:
It feels nonsensical. Chasing people vs allowing them to choose you as their coach, if and when they are ready.
When you’re lost in your job search, you’ll see 3 main types of “help”popping up in your feed:
AI is free, it feels private, safe, always available. But AI doesn’t really challenge you: it reflects back what you already believe (confirmation bias).
Real growth unfortunately doesn’t come from easy and obvious answers. It comes from the healthy friction, something you only get when someone listens deeply to what you’re saying and what you are NOT saying.
These precious insights are hidden in that longer silence, the sigh you didn’t even notice, the smile you got when you were talking about that opportunity, the tears when realising how much that toxic company changed you.
No chatbot can see that and especially no chatbot can really empathise with it, as it never felt the same way. Plus, AI doesn’t abide by any code of ethics, so who knows where those private conversations really go and how they’ll be used.
These are the ones people are angry about the most. The ones flooding your inboxes claiming they have all the solutions, when in reality they have:
>No coaching certifications,
>No prove they have any concrete coaching experience,
>Often times they never hired a soul in their life,
>No verified LinkedIn profile (watch for the icon!)
Real career coaches don’t just decide to brand themself as “coaches”. They invest years into professional training with recognized coaching schools such as Erickson Coaching International or the Co-Active Training Institute, 2 of the most respected names in the industry.
To earn their certification, they must be evaluated by governing bodies like the International Coaching Federation (ICF), which requires a rigorous process: completing a proper training program, logging a minimum of 100 hours of real coaching practice, and passing a demanding exam.
On top of that, every ICF coach pledges to a detailed Code of Ethics that safeguards clients’ privacy and data, something AI tools WON’T even guarantee. And earning the certificate is just the start: to maintain their qualification, coaches are required to continually invest time, money, and energy into further education, ensuring their methods remain effective, ethical, and aligned with global standards.
See? Not all coaches are the same.
People who go through all of this are more focused on working hard, then sending you unwanted DMs. They let you find them, they don’t push you to buy something you are not even ready to consider.
A certified coach, especially one who abides by the ICF Code of Ethics, is trained not just in techniques but in boundaries. We’re explicitly committed to:
When you work with a coach who has both certifications and real-world experience (in my case, nearly a decade hiring for global companies like Booking.com, TomTom and Atlassian), you’re not getting a bunch of hacks that you can find everywhere on the web.
You’re investing in understanding what you want for your career, and how to present yourself with renewed confidence, so you land the right role, not a lateral move boring and meaningless.
We are not talking about formatting bullet points to defeat a magical mytological creature also known as ATS system...We go deep into rediscovering what you value in your abilities and in a workplace, and we work hard together to translate it into the market (in a way recruiters can immediately recognize and understand).
And this is a pattern I see again and again with my clients:
These are tangible transformations: but they are only possible when the timing is right for you. All of these brilliant clients found me, I do not send cold messages and only respond with proposals to people flagging openly they are looking for a specific career coaching service.
Not all coaches are the same.
Let me say this again for the ones in the back, because it’s very important:
there are moments when hiring a coach is a waste of your energy and money:
❌ If you’ve just been laid off and you’re in shock (absorb the hit, then strategize when ready).
❌ If you’re in financial survival mode, worried about your next rent payment.
❌ If you’re looking for someone else to kinda fix your whole life without effort on your part.
If you opt for coaching it will feel like a waste of money, and it will definitely be.
You need to be ready to partner up with another human being, be vulnerable, energetically ready to work hard and face those needs you are suffocating because of external expectations, people pleasing, feelings you don’t want to face.
On the other hand, here’s when coaching becomes the ally you never knew you needed:
✔️ You’ve processed the shock of a layoff and you’re ready to react intentionally.
✔️ You know your career path needs a pivot, but you need to take a new perspective.
✔️ You’re getting interviews but not offers, and you need someone who understands how recruiters, hiring managers and cool companies actually think.
✔️ You’re ready to invest in yourself, not desperate: you got that to have different results, you need to take a new and different approach, and you don’t want to do this alone.
That’s when coaching IS transformative: concrete, with smart goals, fast results.
The right coach won’t tell you what to do (for that you already have the unsolicited advice from family, friends and society).
A coach helps you see what you’ve been avoiding, overthinking, or underestimating and then they help you turn it into a strategy to land the right role, because you deserve it (and you have way more skills and potential than you think).
Yes, it’s full of vultures out there, with DMs that are just predatory and insulting. But that’s not all coaching.
The difference is clear:
So before you dismiss all the coaching industry as a huge scam, can I ask you:
What if the right coach could help you not just by fixing your CV, but rediscovering your professional potential with a retrieved sense of self-esteem and hope?
What would be different in your life? What would you do for you and the people you want to impact?
When the timing is right, I'm here to help you land THAT meaningful role abroad.
I’m Roberta, an Italian expat, former Senior Recruiter, and 2x certified Career Coach. I lived in Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands, pivoted industries 6 times, reinvented my life in 7 cities and coached/ mentored over 100 expats, 24+ nationalities.
Book a 15 minute call with me if you want to know more about career coaching vs mentoring and the career support I can give you.
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