Being great at your job isn’t enough—you need gumption. 

gumption helps you see your impact, own it, and say it out loud.

Most people can tell you what they do every day. Very few can tell you what changes because of them.

That gap, between the work you're doing and the story you're telling about it, is where careers stall, promotions get delayed, and opportunities go to someone who wasn’t as qualified as you.

gumption closes that gap. For individuals navigating job searches, pivots, and promotions and for organizations that want their people to communicate their value clearly and lead with confidence.

Start with a free intro call
A woman with long dark hair and glasses sitting at a desk with a laptop, raising her arms in celebration against a digitally added red circle background with abstract pink, green, yellow, and white shapes.

welcome to gumption.

Hi, I’m Kelly.

Before I started gumption, I spent years inside the rooms where career decisions are made — who gets hired, who gets promoted, who gets labeled high potential.

What I saw surprised me.

Brilliant people were getting overlooked. Not because their work wasn't strong. Because the way they described it didn't match the impact they'd actually created.

The problem wasn't the work. It was the language around the work.

That's what gumption fixes. Whether you're in a job search, pushing for a promotion, navigating a pivot, or leading a team through change, the skill is the same.

See your impact clearly. Own it. Say it in a way that lands.

As Seen In

The Newsweek logo in red text on a white background.
Logo of US News & World Report, featuring bold white letters on a blue background with a red stripe at the bottom.
Black background with the white text 'WST' in large, bold font.
Text reading 'TROOP HR' in green on a white background.
Read my full story
A woman with shoulder-length brown hair and glasses is smiling while leaning on a white surface, wearing an orange knit sweater, with her arms crossed. She is in a bright room with green plants and a window in the background.

what my clients say.

The most common thing I hear from clients?

“I should have done this sooner.”

Work has a way of pulling you under and making you second-guess your value. My job is to help you see what you've built, find the language for it, and make sure the right people can see it too.

750+ professionals coached across industries, levels, and roles — from early-career to C-suite, nonprofit to global tech.

Clients have landed at Google, Workday, Airbnb, Meta, Anthropic, Blackrock, Bank of America, Rippling, PwC, Lilly, United Way, NASA, FDA and hundreds of other organizations where the bar is high and the competition is real.

To date, my 1:1 clients have…

  • Achieved more than 200 promotions.

  • Increased their salary by an average of 17%.

  • Landed jobs in less than 6 months (92% of 1:1 clients land a new role within 6 months from the beginning of our work together).

I’ve also partnered with dozens of companies to modernize how they approach leader and employee development and humanize the way they exit employees.

To date, outplacement clients have seen major shifts like…

  • 96% of outplaced employees landing new jobs in less than 4 months.

  • Improvement in perception of employer brand.

See more client stories on LinkedIn
A text message conversation on a dark background. The first message says: "Oh – and the salary. Base is $160-$180k with bonus up to $250k." The reply says: "Was I spot on or what?" and is marked as delivered. The last message says: "Exactly!"
Screenshot of an email from Nina, sent to Kelly, dated September 13. Nina shares that she has landed a new job as a Senior UX Designer with a 45% pay increase, starting at the end of the month. She thanks Kelly for help with her resume and recommends her to others.
A screenshot of a text message conversation showing excitement about a financial goal achievement and expressing happiness for someone else.
Text message on a mobile device saying, "The total compensation target is 7 figures if I hit my goals."
A woman with long curly blonde hair wearing a white top blowing party blowers with blue streamers, celebrating success in a chat conversation.
A quote praising Kelly for her resume writing skills, support, and assistance, attributed to Kara C.

gumption (n.) – Boldness. Confidence. The courage to take action.

It’s what gets you unstuck and moving toward the career (and life) you actually want.

You already have it.
You just need the right tools, the right language, and someone in your corner who can help you see it.

That’s where I come in.

Let’s put your gumption to work. Book a free call.

A woman smiling and holding confetti in her hands, with more confetti falling around her against a white background.

the gumption. method.

1. Get clear on where impact happens
Understand the moments where your work actually changes outcomes, not just what you did, but what shifted because of you.

2. Build confidence in what you find
Most people see their impact and immediately doubt it. This is where we close that gap.

3. Put language to your impact
Translate real work into clear, credible communication… the kind that lands in interviews, performance reviews, and leadership conversations.

4. Advocate for it
Use that language in every room that matters. Clearly, confidently, and without apology.

Simple by design. Powerful enough to change how you show up in every conversation that counts.

Ready to Get Clear?

how I can help.

A woman wearing a gray pinstripe suit and white shirt, sitting confidently against a pink background.

  • Job searching, pivoting, pushing for a promotion, or just knowing something needs to change. Wherever you are, we start by getting clear on what you've built and finding the language to say it out loud.

    Coaching. Resume and LinkedIn. Interview prep. Speaking to impact in every room that matters.

    Explore Individual Services → Let’s position you for what’s next.

  • When your people can't articulate their impact, engagement drops, performance conversations stall, and your best talent quietly starts looking elsewhere. Gumption helps teams build the language and the confidence to change that.

    Speaking. Workshops. Outplacement. The Language of Impact.

Explore Services

Good things start over coffee…

Cup of Ambition lands in your inbox every two weeks — unfiltered career advice, real workplace scenarios, and reminders to keep showing up with gumption.

Get on the list.

  • Kelly is the absolute best at what she does. Kelly’s coaching and support is methodical and effective. Highly Recommend!

    Steve G., Sr Account Executive

  • This woman literally changed my life. It’s incredibly hard in todays job market to stand out and, more importantly, actually land the job you want and this is exactly what Kelly did for me.

    James M., Operations Director

  • From the first call she made me feel at ease-- she listened and I never felt like she judged me. I have recommended Kelly to several of my friends!

    Nicole F., Sr HRBP

  • I'm still thinking about the session you delivered last year for my company's women's ERG. The session was full of insight that left me thinking about my own story.

    Michelle R., CFO

  • Without a doubt, working with gumption. was one of my biggest career defining moments. I came into coaching with a total disconnect between my work, my goals, and my action plan. I'm leaving this work with confidence that I DO create impact and now I know how to use that to build the next step in my work. I'm already using new language in my 1:1's and in Exec meetings! My COO pulled me aside last week and asked what shifted because I seemed more "strategic"!

    Rafella R., Customer Insights Specialist

  • Working with Kelly changed how I look at my career. She helped me put together a plan to leave my job that I been in for several years with no promotion and minimal raises. From the first call, she made me feel at ease. She listened and I never felt like she judged me. I’ve recommended Kelly to many of my friends. The investment is worth it!

    Nicole F.

  • I had wanted to start speaking publicly for a while but never thought that I could. I worked with Kelly to update my LinkedIn profile and build a speaking kit focused on a topic I'm passionate about. I received an invitation to speak at XXX Global Summit soon after I started sharing my speaking kit on LinkedIn in my featured section! I met with organizers this week and they commented on how well both my profile and the kit told my story. I am so happy I started working with Kelly. I know this is the first of many new opportunities for me!

    Jill H., VP, HR

  • Our organization invited Kelly to come speak to our Women's ERG and she nailed it! We had so many participants reach out to us after with positive feedback on the session and feeling like they had valuable takeaways. Personally, two months after her session, I'm still thinking about some of the advice and recommendations she shared. She's warm, engaging, and brings a different energy to work topics. Highly recommend!

    Heather M., Sr. Manufacturing Engineer

  • As a small non-profit, we are always struggling to retain our employees, especially our Gen Z employees. Kelly worked with our HR team to redefine our early career training. She was incredibly knowledgeable and supportive and we felt like she really listened to our team and our employees. We worked to redesign onboarding and how new employees give feedback and just started a new "hackathon" twice a year where leadership works with employees to co-create plans to further our strategic goals. I'd highly recommend Kelly to any HR team struggling to understand what employees really want and need.

    Kathy L, CHRO

I’m glad you asked…

  • Everyone can benefit from having a resume writer and career coach at some point in their career, especially in really difficult labor and talent markets.

    It’s isolating, dehumanizing, and confidence busting to navigate unemployment or sticky workplaces alone.

    Our goal isn't to make you dependent on working with me indefinitely.

    We equip you with career tools and skills you can take into the next steps of your work and life. 

  • AI is a powerful tool. I use it with clients all the time.

    The difference is strategy. AI can organize information. It can’t diagnose your positioning gaps or decide what not to say.

    AI will generate content based on patterns.

    It doesn’t know your career goals, the hiring context, internal politics, compensation leverage, or how to translate your experience for a particular audience.

    It produces language.
    We build strategic positioning.

  • No problem at all! We’re based in Cincinnati, OH and NYC but the entire process is conducted virtually via email and Zoom.

  • At the end of our time working together, we will send you all of your resume files (Microsoft Word and PDF). Please let us know in advance if you prefer Google Docs. 

    You can also ask us to make changes to your resume at any time. Edits are free for 90 days after you receive your finished resume.

    After 90 days, reach out to us and we can chat about a revision package.

  • We generally run on a waitlist that varies from 1-2 weeks up to 4 weeks during peak periods.

    We are not a 24-hour quick flip resume or coaching firm.

    We believe that the best results come from slowing down to speed up and we work with people who are ready to dive in to rebuild their story.

  • We don’t niche by industry or title. The common thread in this work isn’t sector or level, it’s under-translation and lack of clarity on impact.

    The tools flex across levels. The language changes, the stakes change, but the core issue remains the same: people do strong work and struggle to position it effectively.

    We work from entry-level through Executive in industries from Pharmaceutica to Nonprofits and Global Market Investment Firms and everything in between!

  • I partner with small to mid-size organization (for profit and non-profit), as we well as start-ups. The common thread is a need for more internal clarity around impact and organizational goal attainment.

  • Both! I am happy to travel to you for your event or host a virtual event.

I have more questions
Pink outline of a stylized flower with multiple petals on a black background.

let’s get to work

Your career isn’t something you wait for it’s something you build.

If you’re into real talk about career strategy, leadership, and how to position yourself for what’s next, let’s connect. No fluff, no outdated advice, just insights that help you show up with confidence and take up space.

Connect with me on LinkedIn → Let’s make sure the right people know what you bring to the table and why you belong in the room.

Black certification badge with white text reading "Certified WBENC Women's Business Enterprise" and a multicolored circular logo with stylized human figures.