My Journey
When I was five, my dad left, and I decided it was my fault. So I became the good girl. I followed the rules, read the room, and turned myself into whatever the adults around me needed. I didn’t know it then, but that sad little girl whose world was rocked would follow me from job to job and decision to decision.
Before becoming a career coach, I worked in understaffed and under-funded organizations where I learned how to be resourceful and wear many hats. This was great at first because I could show my versatility and prove that I was willing to put in the hours, silently hoping it would pay off with advancement. Working with my head down led to a dead end. I didn’t know how to promote my work, and I didn’t know where all this work was leading me. I had no purpose. I just kept doing, doing, doing.
I mistakenly thought that taking time off was selfish and that the work was more important. I gave up time for self-care, ate lunch at my desk, and checked email when I was on vacation because I felt guilty for leaving people in the lurch. I believed that giving up my personal life and showing 100% dedication to my job was the way to build a career. I believed that working hard would bring me the life that I wanted. I believed the more I got done and the more I sacrificed my happiness, the more valuable I was.
I believed that giving up my personal life and showing 100% dedication to my job was the way to build a career.
Because of these beliefs, I worked overtime without getting paid for it and did the job of two people while getting paid for one. I brought my work home with me and checked my email before I went to bed. I volunteered for any and everything to prove my worth. I would get assigned to roles or projects that weren’t in my wheelhouse but did them anyway because that’s what others expected. I didn’t want to let anyone down or risk a promotion or pay raise by slacking off. This pattern blurred the lines between my work life and home life.
My close friends could see the toll it was taking and would implore me to work less, but I didn’t know how to let go. Doing what I thought others wanted from me kept me on the hamster wheel. The stress was taking a toll on my physical and mental health. But I kept going, fearing that if I pulled back or tried not to care as much, people would notice and think less of me.
Years into my career, I was sitting at a red light when it hit me: my career was a dead-end relationship that had worn out its welcome.
Not long after, my boss and mentor told me to take some time off. Despite not wanting to and feeling uncomfortable being away from my responsibilities, she told me it was not an option, and that I needed it.
Looking back, I’m so grateful she did. The time off gave me the space I needed to fill my cup and assess what I wanted, not what others wanted from me. It made me wonder what feeling truly inspired by my work would mean, even though I didn’t know how to achieve it just yet, let alone what it was. I had a chance to do some deep inner work and realized a few things about myself.
My career was a dead-end relationship that had worn out its welcome.
It became clear I didn’t know how to value myself or assess my worth, so I let external validation, promotion, and money dictate it. I had these great soft skills but didn’t know how to package and promote them. I'd suppressed them for so long, thinking they weren’t marketable or valuable.
I wasn’t familiar with the term “people pleaser” at the time, but I was the poster child. I wasn't only afraid to say no; I anticipated what I thought others wanted and went out of my way to accommodate them, even at my own expense. Setting boundaries felt foreign to me. Looking back, I was still that five-year-old, being whatever everyone else needed and losing track of who I was in the process.
I always felt out of alignment with my true nature. I wasn’t where I was meant to be. I gave so much to others that I neglected myself and lost touch with who I was. My passion was never timelines, coordination, herding cats, or administrative work.
My passion was helping people. I've always had a natural talent and deep interest in mentoring, and I realized that no matter which company I was with, team members came to me for career and life advice. Customers sought me out because they loved how I cared about their problems and moved mountains to resolve them.
I realized that fear was holding me back from pursuing a dream job I was keeping on the back burner. Something that would allow my innate skills to flourish. I was ready to use the skills and knowledge I'd gained to help others.
But I had to take a leap of faith.
So I took it. Between February and June of 2019, I finished my coaching program, earned my career coaching certification, opened my practice, landed a part-time career consultant role, and quit my job.
I UNDERSTAND BECAUSE I'VE BEEN THERE
My own experience with career misalignment drove my decision to become a career coach.
I wished I had a mentor to show me the way when I was overwhelmed and confused about my career, so that’s what I became. I’m now a certified Master Professional Career Coach (MPCC) through the IACC (International Association of Career Coaches), with seven years and close to 1,000 clients behind me. I also hold a BA in Communication Studies from San Francisco State University and have coached for Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH), Slate Advisers, and Happen to Your Career.
Since becoming a career coach, I’ve dedicated my life to working with experienced professionals and leaders who’ve spent years being what everyone else needed and are ready for something truly theirs. I help you get clear on who you are and what you want, then present yourself in a way that gets you the role that aligns with your values and gives you a better quality of life. Nothing makes me more fulfilled than knowing you’re showing up as yourself, paid what you deserve, and happy, healthy, and balanced in a career that’s meant for you.
Part of a select group of Master Professional Career Coaches in the world
Former Career Consultant at Lee Hecht Harrison