(MONEY Magazine) – Sixteen months ago, headhunter Mary Jane Range, 55 (far right), was just another dissatisfied mid-career New York City professional, pulling down a respectable $65,000 a year. Now she's Mary Jane Range, star performer. The recruiter expects to earn a cool half a million in '97. Her secret? In August of '95, Range hired personal career coach Laura Berman Fortgang of Verona, N.J. to advise her, mostly over the telephone. Scheduling time each week to organize and plan every aspect of her business with Fortgang put Range on course to make her more efficient and ultimately catapult her into the salary stratosphere. The pair set a goal of reaching an income of $300,000 in 12 months. Range hit that target after only nine--and 32 sessions (cost: about $2,700).

Think of a career coach as a job therapist. Pay roughly $200 to $500 a month for four half-hour sessions--generally conducted over the phone--and your coach can help you identify your sharpest skills, define your career goals, set strategies to earn more money and make you more valuable to your current or next boss.

Virtually nonexistent as recently as 1990, today an estimated 1,500 such coaches advise about 20,000 workers a year. The coaches who are worth their fees generally have gravitated from other successful careers such as accountants, educators, psychologists, human-resources consultants, lawyers, sales managers and marketers. The clients who sign on are typically white-collar pros ages 30 to 60 looking to earn more, get promoted or jump industries.

Don't confuse a coach with traditional career counselors or consultants. Counselors are usually hired by new college grads who want to find a field to enter or by experienced workers trying to re-evaluate careers (typical cost: $65 to $125 an hour). Consultants specialize in helping executives land jobs and typically charge a steep fee of $3,000 to $5,000. Coaches, by contrast, help you achieve specific goals to improve your career and, by extension, your life. They often advise harried managers about personal difficulties, like finding more time to be with the family or handling pressure better. "You can't begin to expect success in a career if you're stressed by other problems," explains David Goldsmith, a career coach in Orlando.

Like their counterparts in athletics, these coaches won't do the work of helping you advance. Rather, they explain how to achieve what you want and how to set benchmarks for performance along the way. "We strategize, but we don't run the race," says Fortgang. Case in point: the way Fortgang coached Range to win her gold.

Range wanted to attract more clients and earn bigger bucks at Ingram & Aydelotte, an executive headhunting firm. "But I didn't know how to take the first step," she says. After hearing Fortgang speak at a conference, she hired her. Notes Fortgang, in coachspeak: "Mary Jane was hyperfocusing on what she wanted without seeing what needed to be done." So the coach advised the headhunter to make at least three calls a day to solicit new business. She also worked with Range to script voice-mail messages that would sound persistent and professional. "Every week I'd get at least one solid lead," says Range. "It was not really magic, but I needed someone to get me moving."

Much of what coaches offer is often good ol' common sense. Yet many pros are so immersed in their day-to-day work that they lack the perspective and objectivity to make major changes on their own. "Coaches can spot your limitations," says Fortgang.

After working with her coach, Range has become so successful that she now has three assistants to help handle the flood of new work. And she has a fresh goal: "I want to stop working on the weekends," says Range.

Hiring a coach may also be the route to move out and up, as Henry Walaszczyk, 38, of Ardsley, N.Y. learned. In 1990, after working for six years as an engineer for Bran & Luebbe Analyzing Technologies in Elmsford, N.Y., Walaszczyk saw little opportunity to advance. He wanted to change jobs but suffered one false start after another. "I'd work on my resume one week, then not at all for a while," says Walaszczyk.

That September, he consulted Orlando coach David Goldsmith, who specializes in career change. Goldsmith advised Walaszczyk to initiate at least 10 conversations each day with prospective employers, contacts, headhunters or colleagues. "Three and a half months later," says Walaszczyk, "I had three serious offers." He's now a director of engineering at Silicon Valley Group Lithography, a semiconductor equipment manufacturer in Wilton, Conn. "My starting salary was 15% higher," says Walaszczyk, "and after five years it's gone up another 65%."

Coaches can also be useful when you are your own boss and find yourself toiling around the clock. Stephen Ellis, a Florida commercial litigation attorney, had been working most nights and weekends for 15 years and saw little of his wife (they subsequently divorced) and two daughters, now ages 13 and 14. "All my life I've been trying to get more business to afford a better lifestyle for my family," says Ellis.

Seven months ago, he hired coach Mark Powers, who specializes in advising attorneys. Since then, Ellis has increased his income by 30% and reduced his office time from six days a week to 3 1/2. That let him help buy a horse for one daughter and catch more performances of the other daughter's jazz ensemble as well as to fulfill an old fantasy of taking flying lessons.

The most valuable advice Ellis got? Delegate all busywork, such as preparation for court pleadings, administration of probate cases and other detailed casework, to his support staff. The result: more time to cultivate new business. Powers also suggested Ellis pay closer attention to existing clients, through regular check-in calls and thank-you notes, so they'd rehire him and refer friends to him. Says a happy Ellis: "My days are a lot more organized, and I feel in control of my schedule."

If you're thinking about hiring a coach, proceed with caution. To date, there are no official licensing or certification programs, and admissions policies at the four schools that profess to train career coaches are lax. "It's entirely up to the consumer to weed out good coaches from bad," says Cheryl Richardson, president of the 900-member International Coach Federation, a year-old professional organization.

Start your search through word of mouth. Ask friends, colleagues and your company's human-resources managers for recommendations. You might also get in touch with the schools for referrals: Houston's Coach University (800-482-6224 or online at http://www.coachu.com); New Ventures West in San Francisco (800-332-4618); Success Unlimited Network in Reston, Va. (703-716-8374); and Coaches Training Institute in San Rafael, Calif. (415-274-7551). Or ask for referrals from the Federation (888-423-3131 or http://www.coachfederation.org).

Then interview several coaches, requesting names and phone numbers of at least three prior clients to call for references. Before hiring a coach, you should ask these four questions (if the coach balks, move on):

--What qualifies you to coach me? Don't be afraid to put a coach on the hot seat. Since coaches come from such varied backgrounds, it's up to you to get a sense of whether one you interview is legit. During this conversation, you'll also be able to assess the coach's style and attitude to see if his personality meshes with yours.

--What's your specialty? Look for a coach whose experience matches your goals. "Some coaches deal mainly in career change, others in salary advancement," says Sandy Vilas, president of Coach University. You may prefer a coach who specializes in your field. "Concentrating on attorneys," says Powers, "helps me understand their industry's language and problems."

--How would you handle my situation? A sharp coach will ask you thoughtful questions about goals and work habits. If you feel bogged down in paperwork, for instance, the coach might suggest ways to shift chores and free time for more lucrative work. Beware of anyone short on substance and long on promises--like a guarantee of an immediate 20% raise.

--Have you ever referred clients to other specialists? "If a track star tears his ligament," says Vilas, "his coach doesn't fix it himself. He sends the athlete to the doctor." Similarly, if stress on the job is caused by difficulties at home, the coach should refer a client to an appropriate counselor or therapist. If technical skills are needed, the coach ought to recommend training programs.

Once you've found a suitable coach, the two of you need to agree on a customized schedule. "When there's a lot going on in your life, the coach should make the time to speak to you more regularly," says Fortgang. Conversely, he or she ought to understand when you want to suspend meetings for a while. And after putting you on track, a trustworthy coach will offer a parting piece of advice: the news that you no longer need a coach at all.