How Much Does Career Coaching Cost?

The short answer: Career coaching can cost nothing, or it can cost thousands. At Coach You 360, you can start free, use a $67 self-guided collection, book a Repositioning Session (currently $297), or ask about having your career documents built for $1,200. The right price depends on what’s actually stuck. And some of you shouldn’t pay anyone yet.

The pattern I keep seeing

Here’s what happens more often than you’d think.

Someone gets laid off, or they know it’s coming. They do what feels responsible. They pay someone to redo their résumé. It comes back looking sharp. They send it out, but the search still does not move the way they expected.

So they figure the résumé still isn’t good enough, and they start editing it again.

Sometimes the résumé was part of the problem. But it was not the only problem. The person still needed a clearer target and a stronger way to explain the value behind their experience.

That’s why “how much does coaching cost?” is a fair question, but it isn’t the first one. The first question is: what exactly is stuck?

What changes the cost of career coaching?

Before you compare prices, know what you’re comparing. Two coaches can charge very different amounts because they’re selling very different things. Here’s what moves the price:

• Session length. A 30-minute call and a two-hour working session are not the same product.
• One session or ongoing support. A single session costs less than weeks or months of regular meetings. Ongoing support also costs more in total, even when each meeting costs less.
• Whether written materials are included. Some coaching is talk only. Other coaching sends you home with documents you can use.
• Research and preparation. If the coach researches pay ranges, roles, or companies before or after you meet, that time is part of the price.
• Follow-up support. A check-in call or follow-up after the session adds value, and cost.
• Coaching or done-for-you. Coaching helps you figure out what to do. Done-for-you means someone writes your résumé, LinkedIn, or other documents for you. Writing takes more hours, so it usually costs more.

So when you see two prices, ask: how long, how many times, what do I walk away with, and who does the writing? Then compare.

Why the time matters, not just the price

Let me be careful here, because a lot of people online are calling this a collapse. The numbers don’t say that.

• In July 2026, there were 7.3 million job openings in the U.S. The government reported that openings, hires, and layoffs all changed little from the month before. (BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, released September 1, 2026)
• In August 2026, the unemployment rate was 4.1%, unchanged from July. But 1.9 million people had been out of work for 27 weeks or longer. That’s 27% of everyone who was unemployed. (BLS Employment Situation report, released September 4, 2026)

So jobs are out there. But more than one in four unemployed people have been looking for six months or more. When you’re thinking about cost, count the time too. For someone who is unemployed, a longer search can mean another month without a paycheck. For someone who is employed, it can mean more time, energy, and applications spent pursuing the wrong direction. The question isn’t only “can I afford help?” It’s also “what is guessing costing me?”

You can fact-check these numbers. Please do. The sources are at the bottom.

What each option costs, and who it’s for

Free: start here if you’re not sure what’s wrong yet

If you can’t name what’s stuck, don’t spend money yet. Use the free tools first.

• SEEN helps you see the skills you actually have, in words employers use. It’s good if you’ve done one job so long you can’t describe yourself outside of it. Try SEEN
• The Facts is free research on what I found out about cover letters, résumés, and the software that reads them first. It’s good if you want the facts before you make a move. The Facts — free download

I’m saying this plainly: if the free tools answer your question, you don’t need me. That’s a good outcome.

$67: The Original Design Collection

Four self-guided guides: The Reset, The Signal, The Truth, and The Build. They’re for people who aren’t in a crisis search right now but are asking bigger questions. Stay or go? What do I actually want? Am I building something of my own?

The guides use Human Design as an optional lens for reflection. I am trained in Human Design, and I use it in these guides as a reflective framework. But be clear about what it is and what it isn’t. It isn’t science. It isn’t medical guidance or a diagnosis. And it won’t make a decision for you. It gives you questions to think with. You stay the one who decides.

Pick this if: you want to think it through on your own time, and you’re not under deadline pressure. See The Original Design Collection

The Repositioning Session: currently $297

This option is for someone in an active search who needs help identifying the right target, explaining their value, and building a practical outreach plan. It’s designed for people who have been searching for three months or longer. That’s the pattern from the top of this article.

The Repositioning Session is currently $297 for the first four paid beta clients. The planned standard price after those four sessions is $597.

It’s 120 minutes on Google Meet. You fill out a short intake form ahead of time, so we don’t spend the session on background. You leave with:

1. A market-value brief. A researched compensation range for the roles and markets we identify, with the sources and assumptions explained.
2. A target-role map. Where to aim, and where to stop aiming.
3. A sixty-second professional story that covers the layoff or the gap without apologizing for it.
4. An outreach and ten-day action plan. This includes five relevant people we identify together, using your LinkedIn.
5. A day-ten follow-up call.

Pick this if: you’re actively searching, the search isn’t moving, and you don’t know why. Book the Repositioning Session

$1,200: The Repositioning Build

This is the done-for-you option. I build your career documents so they match each other and match your target:

• A targeted résumé
• LinkedIn headline, About section, and relevant experience copy
• An executive summary
• Interview talking points
• One handoff call
• One consolidated revision round

How it starts: The Build begins with an inquiry. After I confirm it’s a fit, I send you the payment options. You can pay $1,200 in full, or two $600 payments 14 days apart. Preparation can begin after the first payment. Drafting and production begin after full payment and after I have the information I need from you.

Pick this if: you already know your target, and you need the documents built right. If you don’t know your target yet, start with the Repositioning Session. Otherwise you may pay for a stronger version of the same unclear direction. Ask about the Repositioning Build

How to choose, fast

• “I don’t know what’s wrong.” → Start free. SEEN or The Facts.
• “I’m not searching yet, but I’m asking big questions.” → The Original Design Collection, $67.
• “I’ve been searching three months or more, and it isn’t moving.” → The Repositioning Session, currently $297.
• “I know my target. I need the documents done.” → The Repositioning Build, $1,200, starting with an inquiry.

A little about who’s writing this

I’m Tonia Emanuel. I’ve been a certified coach since 2015. I spent fifteen years in corporate client success. I’ve lived through corporate change, parenting, and reinvention, and I build this work from what I’ve seen up close.

Questions people ask

Is career coaching worth the money?
It’s worth it when you know what problem you’re paying to solve. It’s a waste when you’re paying someone to guess. That’s why the free tools come first.

Is the Repositioning Session the same as a résumé rewrite?
No. The session works out your market value, your target roles, your story, and your outreach plan. It doesn’t rewrite your résumé. The Build does that.

Can I start with the session and move to the Build later?
Yes. That can be the right order when your direction is not clear enough to begin drafting career materials. The session gives you the target. The Build writes to it.

Why is the session price going up?
The current $297 price is for the first four paid beta clients. After those four sessions, the planned standard price is $597.

Your next step

If you’ve been searching three months or more and it isn’t moving, book the Repositioning Session. We’ll find out what’s actually stuck.

Book the Repositioning Session — $297 Beta Rate

Not there yet? Start with SEEN. It’s free.

Sources

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary, July 2026 (released September 1, 2026). https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation Summary, August 2026 (released September 4, 2026). https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm