Career Development & Internal Mobility Programs

Design career pathing and internal mobility programs to develop and retain talent

Startup Cost
$10,000-$50,000
Difficulty
Advanced
Time to Profit
10-20 months
Profit Potential
$15,000-$125,000/month

Overview

Career development consultants charge $125-$300 hourly or $25,000-$200,000 per program.

Serving 8-25 organizations generates $180,000-$1,500,000 annually with 70-85% margins.

In 2025, career growth drives retention and engagement.

Revenue from career framework and pathing design ($30,000-$150,000), internal mobility program development, career development planning tools and resources, manager training on career conversations ($5,000-$25,000), succession planning frameworks, and talent marketplace platform implementation.

Successful consultants design clear career paths and progression, create skills-based career frameworks, implement internal mobility and talent marketplaces, train managers on development conversations, and measure internal mobility and retention.

Companies with retention and internal talent development as clients.

Marketing through talent development conferences, career development expertise, internal mobility thought leadership, retention improvement case studies, and HR technology partnerships.

Required Skills

  • Career Development
  • Talent Management
  • Organization Design
  • Skills Frameworks
  • Internal Mobility
  • Succession Planning

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Large program design project fees
  • Critical retention and engagement driver
  • Growing internal mobility and skills focus
  • Long-term talent development partnerships
  • Help employees grow careers

Cons

  • Need talent management and OD expertise
  • Complex organization-wide program design
  • Manager adoption and culture change required
  • Long implementation timelines
  • Competitive talent development consulting

How to Get Started

  1. Build career development and talent management expertise
  2. Develop career framework methodologies
  3. Create career development program templates
  4. Market to talent and HR leaders
  5. Design career paths and frameworks
  6. Implement internal mobility programs
  7. Train managers and measure retention impact

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