Hi, I’m Rachael.

I grew up in Indiana in a conservative family where stability was the goal. Get good grades. Get a degree. Get a respectable job. Work hard. Play it safe.

I followed the plan at first. I earned my degree in psychology and started my career in social work, helping families navigate complex challenges. It was meaningful work, and I was good at it, but it drained me. The low pay, the broken systems, the constant burnout. I felt trapped.

I spent my weekends doing what I called my “Barnes & Noble therapy.” I’d grab a coffee and a stack of books from the psychology/self-help shelves and read until the store closed. Those books helped me see that the life I’d been handed wasn’t the only option.

So I did something drastic.

I quit my job, sold my house and almost everything I owned, moved into a trailer, and left Indiana with no clear plan. Just the certainty that I was meant for more.

I drove across the country to California with no job and no network. I lived in that trailer for nearly three years, and I spent the last year in the Santa Cruz mountains, picking up odd writing jobs. It was incredibly lonely, and I didn’t know what to do next.

Then one conversation changed everything.

A friend who was an engineer told me I’d be good at tech recruiting. I knew nothing about tech or recruiting, but I did my research and applied for an entry-level job in San Francisco. They made me an offer after my very first interview.

At 30, I started over at entry level, surrounded by people fresh out of college. If you’ve ever worried that it’s too late to start over, I’ve been there. I rebuilt my career from the ground up, climbed the ranks, made multiple six figures, and built a name for myself in an industry I hadn’t even known existed a few years earlier. From the inside, I saw how hiring really works: who gets interviews, who gets overlooked, and how much one referral can change the outcome. I had finally “made it.”

Except I was burnt out. I was fed up with toxic work culture and tired of pouring my energy into building someone else’s dream at the expense of my own. I looked at the people ahead of me in their careers and didn’t want their lives. More stress. More corporate politics. More chasing status that didn’t actually matter. I had worked my ass off to get there, and it still wasn’t what I wanted.

My personal life had its own leaps. I left a 10-year marriage, and later a relationship that wasn’t safe, and each time I rebuilt with the help of the chosen family I’d found. Today I’m in the healthiest partnership I could have imagined.

Then, in early 2024, I was laid off. Recruiting teams are usually the first to go when companies stop hiring, so I know how disorienting it is to lose a job you were good at. I had offers to go back. Instead, I started asking bigger questions. What do I actually want? What would it look like to build something meaningful that felt aligned with my purpose?

And then I took another leap.

I walked away from tech to help others do what I’ve done: take control of their future, reach their potential, and build a life they love.

Today I help tech professionals get clear on what they want, get seen by the people who make hiring decisions, and build careers that fit the lives they want. If you’re feeling stuck right now, I’ve been exactly where you are, and I know the way forward.