Create Your Lucky Break: How To Land a Job in the Health Coaching Industry
While many coaches describe their road to landing a health coach job as pure luck, unpacking their journey suggests there is a lot more to it!
“Now what do I do?” seems to be a common health coach lament as more and more coaches achieve board certification and enter a career market that has not caught up with its potential in terms of entrepreneurial sustainability, employment opportunities, and aligned compensation structures.
This week, I am shedding light on the process of finding a health coaching job from years of experience seeking and landing employment, onboarding new coaches in my previous T&D role, and also talking to coaches who can say with a mix of excitement and relief, “I did it! I’m starting a new job as a health coach!”
Spoiler alert! It has nothing to do with luck!
A Promising Vision
What got you started in health coaching?
Do you remember those early voices and images in your head that seemed to call you to become a “helper” in this unique way?
When I worked as a training and development manager with the primary responsibility of onboarding our newly hired coaches into busy workplace settings, one of the most enjoyable and inspirational parts of my job came on day-one when I was able to hear from coaches their “why” behind taking a leap into health and wellness coaching and, specifically, why they chose to work for our company.
There were many similarities in their stories and, you can imagine from your own, all were anchored in a passion for helping people reach higher levels of health and wellbeing, overcome their barriers and struggles, and enjoy more equitable health opportunities and outcomes, to name a few.
Choosing to work for a company versus striking out on their own also involved the appealing practicalities of working within the structure of a organization. That was a big draw for me after earning my national board certification. I knew I would benefit from a fast and furious immersion in the “real world” of coaching and a strategic look behind the scenes of a corporate health coaching company.
Several coaches who successfully landed remote jobs (our coaches were all onsite) told me the flexibility and convenience of remote coaching offered them the best of both worlds: a steady stream of coaching clients while supporting other personal priorities such as parenting or enjoying a predictable income as they built their own solo coaching practice.
My 5+ years working for a company was a net win for all those reasons. More so though, I benefitted from taking an “intrapreneurially” approach to my work. At the same time I was towing the company line, I was also pushing my own boulder up the hill, seizing opportunities to learn, grow, and develop as a coach and manager, and also crafting ways to be proactive with my own career trajectory.
A Happy Landing Can Feel Easier Said Then Done
There’s no doubt, the coveted health coaching jobs that open up for the taking can be sturdy stepping stones to greener pastures in the health coaching field.
Yet, as soon as jobs are posted, tens of hundreds apply, despite what we all agree are less than adequate compensation structures and recognition for the value we bring to these organizations and their outcome driven missions.
The application process can be an arduous marathon, sometimes requiring long writing assignments, video coaching demos, numerous interviews, and long wait times for news—both nay and yay.
I’ve taken the leap into these Everest-like expeditions to land a job and have failed to reach the summit in spite of an oxygen tank full of degrees, certifications, and experience. So, I can relate the the frustration of working hard to study, train, and invest in the preparation phase only to experience roadblocks to launching.
Cracking the code to health coach employment can feel like an unsolvable puzzle. Yet, skilled coaches like you and me unlock the solution every day. After talking with several of those happy landers, and taking a step back to look more closely at my own journey, you’ll be encouraged to hear the key to the success is an actionable blend of mindset, connection, and patient persistence.
First . . . Let’s Dispel the Myth of Luck
I’m always surprised how people describe a professional accomplishment such as getting a new job, earning a promotion, or being chosen for a project. Raise your hand if you’ve achieved a career milestone and used a phrase like, “I took a shot in the dark.” “It was pure luck.” “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
What’s up with that?
When I interviewed several coaches about how they landed steady employment, it sounded more like a story about a recent trip to Las Vegas than the culmination of who they are, how hard they’ve worked, and the unique strengths and qualities that earned them a coveted seat at the coaching table.
My landing story felt a little lucky too until I sat down and deconstructed the years of experience, personal investment in growth and learning, and proactive attention to building a strong network of high quality relationships that aligned at the right time to spark my “lucky break.”
Your happy landing is within reach too when you use these five actionable strategies that put luck on your side and YOU in the driver’s seat of your health coaching career.
5 Ways to Create Your Own Lucky Break
Flex Your Thinking
We often enter the health coaching field, and subsequently the job market, with a crystal clear vision of our dream role. With the advances in technology over the last several years, it seems possible we can have it all—meaningful and impactful work, a flexible and remote structure (work from the Bahamas anyone?) and compensation that recognizes the investment we’ve made to bring value to the table.
In reality, landing work for a company will likely involve tradeoffs around your expectations, and approaching the job search with a flexible mindset will increase your chances of creating your lucky break. Roles that don’t quite tick all the boxes in terms of coaching approach or responsibilities, onsite coaching or hybrid models, broader scheduling options like evenings and weekends, and yes, less that optimal compensation structures are all things to take into consideration when trying to get your foot in the door.
My first official role as a NBC-HWC looked like a step back in every way on paper and required a 3-hour round trip commute to a job site 2 days a week. (Thank goodness for Starbucks and podcasts!) However, since my number one goal was to sharpen my coaching skills, this position offered me unlimited access to 1400 employees for 20 hours a week and the experience of running my own solo practice. I learned how to juggle various hats such as engagement, programming, coaching, and the business of building professional relationships with decision makers. I honed my “coaching pitch” over hundreds of interactions and got over the fear of putting myself out there. It also led to an amazing collaborative relationship with a NBC-HWC who had more experience and hours under her belt (high quality mentoring at no charge!), and ultimately to a promotion into a training and development role that elevated my growth, development, and compensation. It was a leap of faith that turned into an effective career strategy.
Create Your Lucky Break! As you navigate the job search process, and often the tradeoffs you’ll need to make, take a moment to pull back the lens and revisit your bigger goals and broader career vision. In her book, Disrupt Yourself: Master Relentless Change and Speed Up Your Learning Curve, author, podcaster, and career innovator, Whitney Johnson, shares that stepping back, sideways, or down can “become a slingshot up your personal learning curve.” Of course, it will always be a gut check and personal decision around how and how much you are willing to flex. Remaining open, embracing possibility thinking, and keeping everything on the table as you seek employment puts lady luck on your side.
Find Lead Up Roles
How many times has that perky little LinkedIn job update popped up from a connection announcing they’ve accepted a new health coaching role? While it may seem like their happy landing materialized out of nowhere, missing from the image of those smiling balloons is often the arduous backstory, “After 10 long years of working in the trenches in a variety of good and not so good roles, I am excited to announce yada, yada, yada.”
Digging a little deeper into the LinkedIn profiles of NBC-HWCs working for the top digital health companies, I found each had traveled a unique path to that destination, yet with similarities such as early roles that were customer-facing and service-oriented, working within the health education or fitness and wellness space, coaching for lesser known companies, and many who were self-employed as a health coach. Here are a few examples of roads taken to health coach employment:
Health Coach Navigator—Gym Manager—Certified Personal Trainer—Health Coach for Company “A”—Health Coach for Company “B”
Virtual Instructor for a Nutrition Company—Cooking Instructor—Content Engagement Strategist—Self-Employed Coach—Health Coach for Company “A”
Health Coach for a Smaller Company—Self-Employed Health Coach—Self Employed Personal Trainer and Health Coach—Employee Wellness Coordinator—Health Coach for Company “B”
Health and Fitness Specialist—Account Manager—Wellbeing Coordinator—Health Coach for Company “A”
Create Your Own Lucky Break! Earning your national board certification is just the first stepping stone to landing employment in the field. Additionally, companies are seeking coaches with a track record of working with clients around engagement, behavior modification, goal setting, retention, navigating technology, health education, and accurate and secure data entry, to name a few key skills. Crafting your lucky break means being open to both part and full-time roles that might build your skillset, short-term projects that get your foot in the door, roles in the wellness field that require people interaction and the opportunity to sharpen your engagement skills—even launching your own coaching business (why not?) to get you coaching. All are valid ways to be ready when lightning strikes. Recently, I heard someone on a podcast offer a piece of career wisdom: we all wish our careers looked like a straight climb to the top of the career ladder. In reality, it looks and feels more like a big pile of spaghetti.
Foster Your Connections
Every coach looking for a job these days is working the line at the front door hoping someone will see their SEO aligned resume, polished cover letter, and spiffed up LinkedIn presence—and drop the red rope just for them. While your job search collateral and visibility on key platforms are important aspects of any successful job search, most coaches with happy landing stories told me they gained access through strategic side doors such as high quality, personal connections who knew they were actively looking for employment.
One coach shared “I’ve never been much of a networker, but have come to recognize how important it is.” Her approach was to make sure friends and acquaintances working in the digital space knew she was open to part-time work and had first hand knowledge of her skills and credentials. When a job opened up at one of their companies, her connection immediately flagged her resume to the hiring team before the job even made it to the public square. The coach was still required to complete the comprehensive hiring process (including a demo coaching session), but she was able to deliver the goods and found her new coaching home. Another coach shared a similar story that also highlighted the importance of expanding your network to new contacts and connections. Like so many of us, he shared he had experienced job search rejection many times through the normal hiring pipeline and finally found success through a connection who was familiar with his quality of work and specific career interests.
Create Your Own Lucky Break! Cultivating the side door approach means confidently stepping into your professional identity, owning your vision, and putting yourself courageously out into the marketplace in an authentic way. It requires working on flexible scripts and phrasing to clearly articulate what kind of support you need and the value you and your skillset would bring to a team. Start with close friends and colleagues like the story above, but know that you will most likely need to move out of your comfort zone to cultivate a wider range of connectivity. Try going further than the vague, laidback approach, “Hey, Meg, if you hear of any jobs, let me know.” Being more specific (and time-bound) like, “Hi Meg: I’m excited to have passed the boards and am looking for a health coaching job in a corporate setting. I see you worked for a company. Would you have 15 minutes to connect in the next week or two for me to learn more about your journey?” This signals the energy and tenacity sought after by companies and offers a timeframe that invites a sense of immediacy around your request. Most coaches I know are happy to help another coach out when they are clear about the ask. I love the work of Kristen Zavo, career coach and author of the best selling book, Job Joy: Your Guide to Success, Meaning and Happiness in Your Career. She nudges her workshop participants to embrace job search activities such as consistent, high quality networking, as “part of who you are.” As wellness professionals, it’s a relatable message as habits like brushing our teeth, getting to the gym, and eating healthy foods are just “who we are.” Ask yourself how you can become more comfortable, consistent, and confident in building your network of helpful connections to increase your chances one of them will lead to winning the jackpot.
Follow up
I learned the art and importance of the “follow up” from a freelance writing course I took. The instructor explained that failing to follow up after sending a query and not hearing back (because we are afraid to bother the editor, feared rejection, or suffered from imposter syndrome) leaves money and opportunity on the table. She explained that the sound of crickets is not personal, and most likely a sign of an overly busy editor who would appreciate a second nudge to remind them of your presence and article idea that might be the answer to their content needs. It is a good reminder that positions aren’t always filled by the most skilled or talented, but by the one who’s standing in front of them when there’s a need to be addressed.
Early in my career, when I was desperately lacking experience, I used the art of the follow up to land a job as the Director of Aerobics and Programming at an elite corporate wellness club despite not knowing how to teach aerobics! I answered an ad in the New York Times and not surprisingly, was rejected after an initial interview due to lack of experience. One month later, the job was still posted. So, I reached out again and convinced them to let me audition with the reasoning, “I am better than nothing!” When they agreed, I found two songs (probably Madonna in those days), wrote my routine on large pieces of paper (and even used them in the audition), and gave it my best shot. Hired! They agreed—better than nothing, lol—and that’s how I landed my first managerial role.
Create Your Own Lucky Break! While the job search often feels transactional, infusing it with a personal touch elevates it to a valuable exercise in relationship building that puts luck on your side. As you foster your connections (see above), keep them alive says Dorie Clark, author of Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future. Thank you notes after a connection, listening and remembering personal facts about someone to use in a personalized follow up message, and thinking of ways to help someone back can “keep up the dialogue.” Many job seekers keep helpful spreadsheets around their networking activities—whether it be for job search purposes or landing potential health coaching clients. Create your own with columns dedicated to where, how and when you connected with this person, “golden threads” to remember, and clear dates and reminders around following up to hold yourself accountable.
“Free” Up Your Work
Here me out . . . while not always a popular concept in our field, the approach of getting your work out into the public space (even if you aren’t being compensated) can be a powerful strategy that helps you stand out in a crowded field of similarly talented health coaches. Furthermore, any opportunity to put your health coaching hat on (especially in the early days) enables you to gain experience and stories of impact, avoid the painful onset of post-certification imposter syndrome, and “show” people instead of “tell” people what you do. There are myriad ways to use and demonstrate your skillset to increase your professional exposure. Writing thoughtful posts and replies on LinkedIn can build your visibility and credibility. Extend that to writing LI articles to build a portfolio of your work. Take it even further to developing a webinar or workshop that builds people’s trust in you as a subject matter expert and effective presenter.
In the early days of my solo coaching, a women’s staff retreat at a local community hospital, at no charge, allowed me to sharpen my group facilitation skills, build my coaching mailing list, and receive the gift of a professional rebranding (at no charge!) of all my workshop materials by their marketing team. Later, when organizers needed a speaker for their holiday wellness event, they reached out to me knowing my credentials and skills would deliver. At another point in my career, I amped up my coaching supervision skills by grading coaching videos for a nominal fee. I loved the work, learned a ton, and made the money and time back when these skills led to a promotion in a later role. More recently, I’ve been offering pro bono solo-practice launch sessions each month (see my March openings below). These 1 on 1’s have given me the chance to give back to an industry that has supported me over the years, pay forward the mentoring I’ve received, and actually demonstrate to others what I do and the value I bring—showing vs. telling.
Create Your Own Luck! If landing employment is your goal, brainstorm ways you can free up your work to increase your visibility and recognition as an active, working, self-motivated health coach. What options align with skills you want to build, your professional aspirations, and the spaces where potential hiring teams hang out? LinkedIn is a free platform with endless features for showcasing your skills and coaching expertise where recruiters, decision makers, and other working health coaches can see you and you can see them. Write a few brief LI articles aligned with your subject matter expertise and add them to the “Featured” section. This makes your profile pop by showcasing your skills in different ways. For me, it was a fun confidence booster to see my Substacks stacking up side by side and my profile fleshing out to reflect how I would like to be seen by the coaching world. Again, master career coach Zavo offers a reminder that it is up to you to help people connect the dots through your LinkedIn profile—Why you? Why now? Additionally, keeping your coaching skills sharp for the interview you finally land may mean offering pro bono sessions to friends and family. If your coach introduction, MI skills, and goal setting expertise are all gathering dust in the closet you can be sure “imposter syndrome” sees it as the perfect opportunity to take up residence in your mind. Who knows, those free sessions may even get you thinking, “I don’t need a job, I can do this on my own!”
Weighing Competitive Risk Against Market Risk
Throwing your hat into the ring with the growing number of board-certified health coaches seeking employment in the digital health and wellness space can be well worth the time and effort considering the benefits such as a reliable income, organizational and peer support, and structured systems that eliminate the need for that entrepreneurial gene many of us feel we lack.
This approach, where you need to compete to win, is what Disrupt Yourself author, Johnson, calls “competitive risk.” She explains that we love the idea because it “feels more secure.” Sadly, the evidence suggests the opposite. We’ve all dealt with the disappointment of losing in this arena (time and time again) and the utter confusion around what it takes to win.
That’s why Johnson offers another way to success— “market risk.” With market risk, you think there may be an unmet need, and you feel you could be the one to fill it. You aren’t sure, but it’s worth a try.
It’s what you’re doing when you make a bold move to strike out on your own and launch a solo practice. It’s about finding and filling the unique needs of your target population and addressing it through skillful, evidence-based coaching methodology.
No luck involved in this approach. It’s what you’ve trained and studied for and it’s completely within your capabilities!
Johnson also points out that this approach may support a healthier emotional state. In her book, she sites a study suggesting opportunities for self-expression and creativity lead to an increase in positive emotions such as agreeableness, openness, and cheerfulness.
How nice to have a feel-good remedy for the anxious, fear-based thinking patterns that often swallow us up in the unpredictability of the current job search climate.
Either Or . . . Or Both?
IMHO, you don’t have to choose one type of risk over the other. The five strategies I’ve shared can be easily applied to stretching your entrepreneurial muscles and taking a stab at the solo route at the same time you maintain a responsible foothold in the competitive job market. For each hour you put in competing for the job win, why not bet on yourself for a similar amount of time . . .
Flex your thinking beyond limiting beliefs around your entrepreneurial acumen and begin to envision what it would look like to land a few clients of your own.
Foster your connections within your target population and begin building relationships around your identity as a skilled NBC-HWC. As people begin to know and trust you in that role, they will see you as a valuable resource for their health journey.
Find lead up roles and opportunities to show up and confidently engage individuals and gatekeepers around what you do and how you help people and organizations as a health coach.
Free up your work in ways that lead to interacting with people as a health coach to keep your skills sharp, imposter syndrome at bay, and demonstrate the value you bring.
Follow up regularly knowing that both job searching and building a steady clientele is about high-quality relationships building over time.
There’s no doubt finding a job or a forever home for your health coaching passion and skillset is a full time endeavor and the ultimate test of leaning in. Being a trailblazer in an industry that is not quite fully formed takes courage, patience, unwavering belief in your purpose—okay, and a little bit of good ‘ole luck.
Empowering yourself around the process with these five actionable strategies though, is one surefire way to create the conditions for “lady luck” to always be on your side.
Health coaches want to know! Comment below about your “landing story.” Which one of the five strategies (or something else) do you feel was most helpful in landing a job or other opportunities to wear your health coach hat? We’d love to know!
This Week’s “Lean In” Prompt
Are you seeking employment or trying to figure out how to launch your solo practice after certification?
Take out a journal or piece of paper and set a timer for 20 minutes. Read through the five strategies (Flex Your Thinking, Foster Connections, Find Lead Up Roles, Follow Up, and Free Up Your Work). Then . . .
Unpack the ways in which you are currently “creating your own luck.” What is working for you?
Are there ways to elevate those efforts or adopt a strategy you haven’t tried yet?
If you are stuck in the merry-go-round of competitive risk—what are your thoughts around the benefits of market risk; taking some time to envision the steps to creating your own solo practice?
What is one or two steps you could take THIS WEEK to lean in to your career search more boldly? My March Coach’s Corner pro bono sessions are a great place to speak these intentions out loud and get support!
Comment below and we’ll all show our support! Maybe one of us knows of an opportunity to send your way!
March 2025 Offerings: How Can I Help?
Coach’s Corner
I continue to enjoy offering support for NBC-HWCs (or those seeking to earn their certification) for all things related to launching and thriving in your health coaching career.
Here is a genuine invitation to my “Coach’s Corner.” These are 30-minute sessions, PRO BONO, where we collaborate around any topic that will help you move forward. Here are just a few ideas on how I can help:
Receiving support for your job searching process and strengthening your approach.
Receive support for your coaching practice, especially on how to launch.
Clarifying your vision, process, or productivity muscle.
Gaining confidence and clarity around how you introduce yourself and share your coaching offerings with your population.
Coaching conundrums, skill development, and helping people change.
Anything else! It helps to not feel like you are going it alone.
Various 30-minute time slots available on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in March. Just click the link and book. It’s that easy!
Coach’s Corner Link: https://calendly.com/megcoaching/march-coach-s-corner
All Aboard: 12-Week Launch Program to Health Coaching Success!
The time between earning your certification and launching your health coaching practice is critical. Every week that goes by is both money and coaching confidence left on the table. Don’t let imposter syndrome take up residence in your mind!
When I talk with coaches, they often share how they passed the boards months, even years ago, and still haven’t used their certification in a meaningful way. I feel we need to do better supporting coaches to accelerate the launch of their coaching careers, and my experience and skillset positions me to be that valuable partner.
Learn more about me and my credentials in my About Page and LinkedIn Profile.
As an training and development specialist who “onboarded” over 150 coaches into busy onsite coaching roles, I developed and facilitated a structured onboarding process that landed coaches in their roles confident, ready, and excited to start coaching on day-one. I’ve since applied the lessons I learned to helping health coaches streamline their own onboarding process to launch their solo practices and careers in a timely fashion.
In the span of 12 weeks, you’ll enjoy a personalized and intention-filled sprint to launch and begin the process of filling your schedule with paying clients.
My pro bono Coach’s Corner sessions are a great way to share your launch vision with me and learn how “All Aboard” can help you bring that vision to life—in 12 weeks or less!
Here is my calendar. I’d love to connect.
March Coach’s Corner Sessions: https://calendly.com/megcoaching/march-coach-s-corner
Helpful Resources
Exam Study Prep Course! It Doesn’t Have to Be Hard!
One of the topics that continually comes up in my Coaches Corner is how to feel more organized and focused during the exam study process. The more streamlined the process—the smaller the gap between your learning, career launch, and monetization of your training investment.
Meet Sonja Ecklund and her streamlined, affordable exam study prep course! I met Sonja through my #3 strategy: Foster Your Connections. We connected on our shared love of and dedication to all things training and development. I have taken her free 1CE Vibly coaching platform tour available through the nbhwc.org website and feel it reflects her authenticity as a dedicated educator, L&D expert, and coach mentor. If you’re like me and need a straightforward, get-er-done, one-and-done approach, her course delivers! Check out both the Vibly course and her exam prep course here:
Growing Your Coaching Practice with Vibly: https://nbhwc.org/find-a-ce-course/#!biz/id/673384704b77bbd6ed07829e
NBHWC Board Exam Prep Course: https://www.sonjaecklund.com/nbhwc-board-exam-prep-course
Books:
I’ve nudged my career forward with the help of these books and authors’ work.
Dorie Clark: Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future
Whitney Johnson: Disrupt Yourself: Master Relentless Change and Speed Up Your Learning Curve
Kristen J. Zavo: Joy Job: Your Guide to Success, Meaning and Happiness in Your Career
The “Never Apologize for Promoting Your Coaching Work” Section
As always, thank you for visiting and reading this week. My aim is to always share ideas, stories, and information that provides value in a way that nudges your coaching and the field of health and wellness coaching forward.
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Onward!
Meg