20 Instagram Reel Ideas for Career Coaches 

#careercoaching has 627,875 posts on Instagram.  

Let that number sink in, and before you think about how that’s a global number and career coaches are more geographically dependant for clients, remember that it still means you’re competing heavily for attention. You’re posting into an abyss. 

So how do you stand out and keep improving engagement a little by little? With fresh content ideas, and your own take on them. 

Instagram Reels are very popular, and the social platform’s algorithm does promote the use of reels over static content. The challenge then, is coming with Instagram reel ideas on a constant basis. 

20 Instagram Reel ideas for career coaches 

1. Quick career tips

 Career tips are what your audience is looking for, so this is an obvious first idea. All career coaches post tips though, so think about your audience and the common challenges they face, then think about your unique coaching approach, and then create tips accordingly. That will help you stand out from the rest! 

• Create visually appealing graphics or use on-screen text to convey quick tips 
• Use animations or transitions to make the content engaging 
• Keep your message concise and to the point 

2. Day in the life 

One of the secrets to social media success is to come across as an actual person, not a business, so you can better connect with your audience. When you showcase how you use your best practices in your own life, it helps build trust and a bond with your followers. 

• Showcase your daily routines, such as morning routines, setting up your workspace, or preparing for client meetings 
• Explain why these routines are essential for career success 

3. Success stories 

Of all the creative Instagram reels ideas, this one is tricky because it will make you think about the role of ethics for career coaches. Talk to clients with whom you have a good rapport and on whose career you’ve made significant impact, and ask them for consent to talk about their journey, without any personal details. You’ll find that plenty of your followers will be able to relate, because career challenges tend to be common among people of similar demographics.  

• Interview clients (with their consent) about their career journeys and the role your coaching played in their success 
• Highlight specific achievements, such as job promotions, career switches, or skill development 

4. Mock interviews 

You probably do a lot of these as a career coach, and they really help! Use mock interviews on Instagram Reels to create videos that are helpful, funny (interviews gone wrong, perhaps?), and most of all engaging. 

• Role-play interview scenarios with a friend or colleague to demonstrate effective interviewing techniques 
• Provide feedback and suggestions during the role-play 

5. Motivational quotes 

This might seem like a been-there-done-that reel idea, but it works great as filler content! Use motivational quote posts on days when engagement is usually low – Mondays or Fridays, for example. 

• Overlay quotes on video footage or images that relate to career development 
• Use music or sound effects to enhance the motivational impact 

6. Challenges 

Just like fitness challenges, you can set career-related challenges for followers. Say, for example, a resume-creation challenge with specific rules for formatting, design, and so on. It’s a great way to engage your current followers and create new visibility too! Encourage participants to share the challenge with friends and family who might be in the middle of a role/career transition. 

• Promote your career-related challenges in advance and explain the goals and rules in a Reel 
• Share daily or weekly updates on participants’ progress and achievements 

7. Myth busting 

Myth busting is on of the popular Instagram reels content ideas, so you need to try and make yours as unique to your approach as you can! 

• Present career-related myths in a playful way, then provide evidence to debunk the 
• Engage with viewers by asking them to comment with their own career-related myths. 

8. Interview preparation 

No matter how high up in the corporate world you are, interviews are intimidating! Coming from you, interview preparation tips will go a long way. Create an interview preparation series that will help current followers and draw in new followers. 

• Offer practical tips with real-life examples, such as demonstrating strong and weak interview responses 
• Use split-screen effects to show the interviewer and interviewee perspectives 

9. Book recommendations 

Book recommendations are a great Instagram Reel idea for followers who are going through a career change or dealing with particularly difficult challenges and want to go into the depth of understanding possible solutions. 

• Show the book covers and briefly discuss the key takeaways of each recommended book. 
• Encourage viewers to comment with their favorite career development books. 

10. Testimonials 

Testimonials are by no means one of the groundbreaking Instagram Reels ideas, but they are a great way to build social proof, and social proof is a great way to bring in new clients. If you can’t gather video testimonials from clients, we recommend getting written testimonials and using them to background music. 

• Create a compilation of testimonials from satisfied clients, highlighting their experiences and results 
• Add text overlays summarizing the benefits of your coaching 

11. Time management hacks 

Every executive faces trouble with time management at some point in their career. It’s a great subject not only because it’s so commonly found as a challenge, but because there are many new techniques in time management that keep cropping up and work differently for everyone. Think: The Pomodoro technique. 

• Illustrate time management techniques with animation or screen recordings 
• Share personal anecdotes or case studies of clients who improved their time management 

12. LinkedIn profile makeovers 

Working on one’s LinkedIn profile is one of the most important aspects of switching roles, companies, and careers! Anyone in a professional transition is looking to update their LinkedIn profile, and it isn’t easy to keep up with the latest best practices. That’s where you come in. 

• Showcase a client’s LinkedIn profile before and after your coaching, emphasizing the improvements made 
• Highlight specific changes, such as a more compelling headline or optimized keywords 

13. Professional attire advice 

How many times has a client asked you about appropriate attire at a particular company or for a particular role? These are questions that come up often, and Instagram Reels are a great way to provide tips on this very visual element. 

• Offer clothing tips for various professional settings (interviews, office, virtual meetings). 
• Create a visual lookbook of appropriate outfits and accessories. 

14. Industry insights 

Career coaches are expected to be in the know about the job market and goings-on in different industries. When you create Reels on this topic, you showcase your know-how and help your audience trust your proficiency. 

• Provide statistics, trends, or news about specific industries, and explain how viewers can prepare for opportunities 
• Use infographics or charts to make the information more digestible 

15. Q&A sessions 

Use Instagram’s “Ask me anything” feature to gather audience insights, and then make Reels on them. 

• Promote your Q&A session in advance and collect questions from your audience 
• Use Reels to answer the most interesting or frequently asked questions 

16. Soft skills spotlight 

Soft skills are a complex subject because all you can do is share advice – it’s difficult to have black & white guidelines. Use Instagram Reels to actually demonstrate the use of different soft skills so you can help your audience have actionable takeaways. 

• Dedicate each Reel to a different soft skill (e.g., communication, adaptability). 
• Share practical exercises or scenarios for viewers to practice these skills. 

17. Networking tips 

Networking is so essential in the corporate world, and yet most are uncomfortable with prospect of it! Providing networking tips is one of those Instagram Reels ideas that will be evergreen. 

• Provide tips for building a professional network, including online and in-person strategies 
• Share stories of successful networking experiences 

18. Personal branding 

No one knows the importance of personal branding like career coaches. It’s an excellent Instagram Reels idea because it’s one of the most pivotal parts of branding for coaches! 

• Explain the importance of personal branding and share steps for viewers to start building their own brand 
• Use examples of well-known personal brands 

19. Resume critiques 

Need more engagement from followers? Run a contest – winners get a free resume critique from you, along with takeaway tips. If followers are so willing, run the contest online and talk about each participant’s resume on Reels, without mentioning specifics. If not, use Reels to promote the contest and announce the winners. 

• Analyze real resumes submitted by your followers (with their consent) and provide constructive feedback 
• Show the “before” and “after” versions of the resumes, with sensitive information blurred out 

20. Behind-the-scenes 

Many people wonder what it is that a career coach really does. A great way to answer that question and build trust in your services is to show them what you really do! 

• Offer a glimpse of the preparation and work that goes into your coaching services 
• Share moments of client sessions (with permission) to give a sense of what coaching with you is like 

3 tips to make the most of these ideas 

1. Do add your own spin and personality to them 

Much of successful social media marketing – especially on a visual platform like Instagram Reels – comes down to your storytelling and authentic seld. 

2. Create a calendar 

It always helps to plan ahead! Create a social media calendar with these content ideas. At anytime you should have about two week’s work of content for posting so that you don’t run behind. Creating a calendar also helps you track which ideas have been used, how frequently you’re posting each, and which are working or not. 

3. Allow space for improvisation 

It might happen that your audience prefers one particular Instagram Reel idea more than what you expected, and another one not so much. Give yourself space to improvise so that you can cater to your audiences’ preferences in real time, and increase your social media engagement! 

These Instagram Reel ideas should have you well equipped to create reels for the next year! Remember to use the tips in a way that makes the posts uniquely yours, separate from other career coaches, and keep posting – don’t lose heart if you don’t see engagement on your content right away, be consistent.