It takes about five months. Everything else on this page follows from that.

Weeks 1–3 · Working out what you want — The part everybody wants to skip and the part that decides everything after it. Most people arrive certain of the answer and leave these weeks with a different one
Weeks 3–6 · The CV and the profile — Rewritten once, properly, then left alone. A CV does not get you a job — it gets you not rejected, which is a much smaller and much more achievable target
Weeks 4–12 · Talking to people — Not applying. Twenty conversations with people already doing the thing, none of which are asking for a job. This is where roles actually come from and it is the part that feels least like progress
Weeks 8–16 · Applying, properly — Fewer applications, better targeted. Forty scattergun applications takes longer than eight considered ones and works less often
Weeks 12–20 · Interviews — Three rounds is normal now. Preparation is a skill rather than a personality trait, and it is the most coachable thing on this list
The last week · The offer — One conversation about money, usually badly handled, frequently worth more than everything above it put together

You pay me — Which means I work for you. That single fact is the difference between this and most of the other help you will be offered, and it is worth understanding before anything else
A recruiter is paid by the employer — Good ones are genuinely useful and none of them work for you. They are paid when you take a job — not when you take the right one — and that is not a criticism, it is arithmetic
I have no jobs to give you — None. If you are here hoping for introductions to vacancies, that is a recruiter and you should go and find several good ones
I don't take referral fees — Not from recruiters, not from CV services, not from anybody. Where somebody else is named on this page, no money moves
I will tell you to stay — Where staying is the right answer, which it is more often than a career coach's business model would prefer. That has happened four times this year
Outplacement is different — If your employer is paying, they are the client and you should assume the coach's loyalties are split. Ask outright — a straight answer is a good sign

When you need a fortnight off — Exhaustion and wanting a new job are very hard to tell apart from the inside. Take the leave first — a surprising number of people stop wanting to leave
When you haven't talked to your manager — Half of what people want from a new job is available in the current one and has never been asked for. That conversation is free and it is worth having first
When you know what to do and are avoiding it — Coaching helps with that, and so does telling one friend what you are going to do by Friday. Try the free version before the paid one
When the problem is money this month — Coaching is a five-month process. If the pressing thing is next month's rent, you need a job rather than a plan, and that is a recruiter and a wider net
When you're being pushed out — Get advice about your rights first, from somebody qualified to give it. This page is not that, and nothing here is legal advice — the order matters
What saying this costs — About one client in six who gets in touch. It is still the right way round

The free call comes first — Thirty minutes, no cost, and about a third of them end with a recommendation that isn't coaching. That is the call doing its job
Pausing is free and normal — Job changes stall for reasons that have nothing to do with you. A paused package waits, and it does not expire
Reduced rates exist — For anybody out of work and paying for this themselves. Ask — no proof is requested and the sessions are identical
No outcome is promised — Nobody can promise you a job, and a coach who implies one is describing something they do not control. What is sold here is the structure, the preparation and the questions

Do the money first — Before anything about careers. What you have, what is owed, and how many months it buys. Everything you decide afterwards is different depending on that number
Get advice on your rights — From somebody qualified — a union, a solicitor, or a free advice service. Nothing on this page is legal advice and a coach is the wrong person to ask about a settlement
Don't apply for anything in week one — The applications sent in the first week are almost always the ones people regret. There is no prize for speed and the market will still be there in a fortnight
It is not a verdict on you — Redundancy is a decision about a role. It rarely feels like that from inside and knowing it intellectually does not help much, which is normal
Tell more people than feels comfortable — Roles come from conversations, and the awkwardness of saying it out loud passes in about a week. This is the single highest-value thing in the first month
If your employer offered outplacement — Use it — it is paid for. Just remember who the client is, and use this page for the parts where you want somebody who works only for you