GetPromoted vs. Career Coaching: $79 in 10 Minutes vs. $500/Hour Over 4 Weeks

You have decided to get serious about your promotion. Now you are deciding how. The two most common options: hire a career coach or use a tool like GetPromoted. They both claim to help you get promoted. They cost very different amounts. And they solve very different problems.

This is an honest comparison. We built GetPromoted, so we obviously believe in it - but career coaches do things we do not, and there are situations where a coach is the better investment. We will be specific about both.

What a Career Coach Gives You

A good promotion-focused career coach typically works with you over 3 to 4 sessions across 2 to 4 weeks. Here is what that looks like in practice:

Personalized Career Strategy

A coach evaluates your entire career trajectory, not just the current promotion cycle. They help you decide whether you should push for promotion now, switch teams first, address a skill gap, or negotiate something other than a title change. This kind of high-level strategic thinking is where coaches shine.

Emotional Support and Accountability

Getting promoted is stressful. Getting passed over is worse. Coaches provide a space to process frustration, build confidence, and stay motivated through the multi-month process. For people dealing with imposter syndrome, a difficult manager, or burnout, this matters.

Interview and Communication Prep

Some coaches specialize in helping you pitch your case verbally - in 1:1s with your manager, during calibration conversations, or in promo committee presentations (at companies where those exist). They run mock conversations and help you articulate your impact clearly.

Network and Industry Knowledge

Experienced coaches have worked with dozens or hundreds of people at specific companies. They know the unwritten rules: which managers are strong promotion advocates, how calibration actually works behind closed doors, and what committee members really care about.

The Catch

Good career coaches charge $200 to $500 per hour. Over 3 to 4 sessions (the typical engagement for promotion prep), you are looking at $600 to $2,000 total. The process takes 2 to 4 weeks. And the output is primarily verbal advice and frameworks - you still have to write the actual promotion document yourself.

What GetPromoted Gives You

GetPromoted is purpose-built for one specific task: turning your work history into a structured, committee-ready promotion packet. Here is what that looks like:

Structured AI Interview

Instead of staring at a blank document, you answer guided questions about your work - what you built, the impact it had, the challenges you navigated, how you influenced others. The interview adapts based on your responses, digging deeper into areas where the evidence is strongest.

Criteria-Mapped Formatting

Your answers are automatically organized by the promotion criteria committees actually evaluate: scope and complexity, independence, multiplier effect, technical depth, and cross-team influence. This is the structure that separates a promotion packet from a brag doc.

Quantified Metrics Extraction

The interview specifically asks for numbers - and helps you surface metrics you might not have thought to include. Revenue impact, latency improvements, team velocity gains, user adoption rates. Committees think in numbers, and the packet reflects that.

Instant Delivery

The entire process takes about 10 minutes. You get a complete promotion packet with an executive summary, criteria-mapped accomplishments, leadership highlights, and a recommended next steps section. Preview it for free. Pay $79 only if you are satisfied.

The Catch

GetPromoted does not help you decide whether to pursue a promotion in the first place. It does not provide emotional support. It does not run mock conversations with your manager. It does not know the internal politics of your specific team. It does one thing extremely well: build the document.

Head-to-Head Comparison

When a Career Coach Is the Better Choice

Be honest with yourself about where you are. A career coach makes more sense in these specific situations:

You Are Considering a Career Pivot

If you are not sure whether you want to be promoted in your current role, switch to a different team, move into management, or leave the company entirely, a coach can help you think through the decision. GetPromoted assumes you have already decided to pursue a promotion at your current company.

You Have a Difficult Manager Relationship

If your manager is actively blocking your promotion, does not advocate for you in calibration, or gives you conflicting feedback, a coach can help you navigate that political situation. The best promotion packet in the world will not help if your manager will not submit it.

You Need Ongoing Accountability

Some people work best with a human holding them accountable over weeks. If you know you will procrastinate without regular check-ins, the multi-session coaching model provides structure that a one-time tool does not.

You Are Targeting Executive Levels

Promotions at the VP and SVP level involve board dynamics, organizational design, and strategic narrative that go well beyond documentation. If you are targeting Director or above, a coach with executive experience is almost certainly worth the investment.

When GetPromoted Is the Better Choice

GetPromoted was built for people in a very specific situation. If this sounds like you, it is probably the right tool:

You Know You Are Ready - You Just Need the Document

You have been doing the work at the next level. Your manager agrees. You just need to get it all into a structured format that the committee can evaluate. This is the exact problem GetPromoted solves, and it solves it in 10 minutes instead of 4 weeks.

The Promo Deadline Is Soon

If the deadline is 2 weeks away and you have not started writing, you do not have time for a multi-session coaching engagement. You need a complete packet now. GetPromoted delivers one in a single sitting.

You Want to Spend $79, Not $1,500

A promotion is worth $15,000 to $50,000+ per year. Both a coach ($1,500) and GetPromoted ($79) are good ROI compared to the outcome. But if budget is a constraint - or you just want the most efficient path to a written document - $79 goes a lot further.

You Work Better with Structure Than Open-Ended Conversation

Some people find coaching sessions valuable. Others find them frustrating - too much talking, not enough writing. If you are the type who wants a clear process with a concrete deliverable at the end, GetPromoted's guided interview matches that working style.

The Honest Answer: They Complement Each Other

Here is what we actually recommend based on your situation:

• If you have not decided whether to pursue a promotion: Start with a coach (one session, $200-$500). Get clarity on strategy first. Do not write a packet for a promotion you are not sure you want.
• If you know you want the promotion and need the document: Start with GetPromoted ($79, 10 minutes). Get the packet done. You can always layer coaching on top if you need help with the verbal pitch or manager dynamics.
• If you have both time and budget: Use GetPromoted first to get a structured draft, then bring that draft to a coaching session. This gives your coach something concrete to react to instead of starting from scratch, which makes the coaching session 3 to 4 times more productive.

The worst option is doing neither - spending another cycle hoping your work speaks for itself. It does not. The committee reads documents, not minds.

What a $79 Promotion Packet Includes

For context on what GetPromoted delivers, here is exactly what you get:

• Executive summary - your case in 30 seconds, written for a committee member who has never met you
• Criteria-mapped accomplishments - organized by what the committee evaluates, with quantified metrics for each
• Leadership and influence highlights - mentoring, cross-team projects, design reviews, culture contributions
• Key metrics dashboard - the 4 to 6 numbers that best represent your impact
• Recommended peer reviewers - suggestions for who to ask for endorsements and what to ask them
• Manager briefing - a summary your manager can use when presenting your case in calibration

You preview it all before paying. If it is not worth 10 times what you paid, you get a full refund. No questions.

The average promotion at a major tech company is worth $15,000 to $50,000+ per year. A well-written promotion packet is the single highest-ROI investment in your career. Whether you build it with a coach, with GetPromoted, or on your own - just build it.