Career Coaching for College Students
Next Great Step was honored to be featured in Bloomberg Businessweek on April 13, 2026, in an article by Jo Constantz on the rise of career coaching for college students. The piece explores why parents across the country are turning to private career coaches to help their college students and recent graduates compete in one of the toughest entry-level job markets in years.
The following are excerpts from the article.
Business is brisk for coaches like Beth Hendler-Grunt, whose New Jersey-based counseling company Next Great Step offers career coaching for college students with small-group programs and private advising to give students the polish they need to land a job. When she started more than a decade ago, Hendler-Grunt had to sell parents on her value. Now she employs a growing team that fields referrals and works with students as early as freshman year so they can secure those ever-more important internships and build résumés to compete in an increasingly cutthroat environment.
Plenty of clients for Hendler-Grunt and other coaches come via college consultants, whose former customers are now seeking help with cover letters instead of admissions essays.
“I call it part two,” says Hendler-Grunt. “You make all of this investment with college advisers and SAT prep to get them in. Our goal is to get them out.”
The article highlights a range of career coaching services at various price points, from a few hundred dollars an hour to programs costing tens of thousands of dollars. Next Great Step sits at the accessible end of that spectrum, focused on making expert coaching available to families who are serious about results, not just those with an unlimited budget.
One Next Great Step client, Lori Storch Smith, a pediatrician in Westport, Connecticut, hired NGS as her daughter was preparing to graduate from the University of Rhode Island. Her daughter Hailey ultimately landed a job in Boston. Weekly group sessions, workbooks, and one-on-one coaching helped make a daunting process feel manageable.
“She really needed to put her best foot forward in this market,” says Storch Smith. “It’s so hard for these kids right now to get jobs.”
College students are often more than happy for the help, parents and coaches say. Storch Smith’s daughter, Hailey Smith, ultimately landed a job in Boston and was particularly grateful for the support in navigating the alienating nature of one-way video interviews. Weekly group sessions, workbooks, and one-on-one coaching helped turn a daunting process into something that felt manageable. Just as valuable, Hailey says, was the consistent encouragement and individualized feedback that helped keep her spirits and confidence up.
The article also notes a significant industry shift in career coaching for college students. In 2019, about 5% of career coaches focused primarily on college students or new grads. Today, more than a quarter consider that group a core part of their practice. The demand is real, and it is growing. Read the full Bloomberg Businessweek article here.
Want to give your grad the support they need to compete in this market? Let’s Talk at 973-577-6161 or schedule a call. We welcome the opportunity to speak with you via a complimentary consultation to share how we help students and recent grads land the job or internship they deserve.
