Jessica Aebi
Career & Identity Coach
Career transitions & reinvention | Identity & authentic, strategic positioning |Resume & LinkedIn strategy | Second-act, encore careers, and meaningful volunteer work
Helping senior professionals break out of roles they’ve been boxed into — and build careers and lives that feel alive, free, and meaningful.
Who I Work With
I work with accomplished professionals in their 40s, 50s, and 60s who have built impressive careers — but somewhere along the way, the role stopped fitting. These are thoughtful, heart-centered leaders: Directors, Senior Directors, VPs, and C-suite executives who have achieved a great deal, yet feel stuck, boxed in, or disconnected from what they actually want next.
My clients often include:
Senior professionals considering a meaningful pivot before retirement — but not yet ready to stop working
Executives and leaders who feel successful by every external measure, yet are
quietly unfulfilled
Multipotentialites — talented people with wide-ranging abilities who face an “embarrassment of riches” and struggle to choose a direction
Career pivoters navigating industry or role changes and needing clarity about who they are beyond their title
I work best with people who are emotionally intelligent, open to self-reflection, and ready to do the internal work that leads to lasting external change.
A note on fit:
My work is person-centered, not industry-specific — so the field matters less than the professional. I tend to be a strong fit for people in business, technology, communications, marketing, consulting, nonprofit work, the creative industries, and the helping professions. I’m generally not the best match for highly technical or specialized roles where the path forward is primarily about credentials or domain expertise — think surgeons, research scientists, bankers, military officers, or tenured professors. That said, if your work is adjacent to those worlds (in HR, operations, strategy, communications, or leadership within those sectors), we may be a great fit. When in doubt, reach out.
How I Help
Most of my clients come in knowing something is off — but can’t quite name it. What I’ve found, time and again, is that the disconnect isn’t about skills or strategy. It’s about identity.
Over years of adapting to workplaces, expectations, and the roles others have cast them in, many high-achieving professionals have internalized beliefs and behaviors that no longer fit who they are — or where they want to go. I help you see what’s always been true about you, separate it from what you’ve simply adapted to, and use that clarity to make the best decisions for where you are now — not just where you’ve been.
This isn’t about finding a dream job. It’s about reconnecting with your dream self and building the career strategy that reflects that.
My Coaching Approach
My work is grounded in the belief that authentic positioning — knowing who you are, not just what you’ve done — is the foundation of every successful career move. Before we touch tactics, we do identity archaeology.
I bring together career strategy, personal narrative, and deep self-awareness work to help clients move from performing a version of themselves to fully inhabiting one. Sessions are collaborative, reflective, and direct. I don’t hand you a template — I help you discover the framework that only works for you.
I also draw on Human Design as a lens for understanding energy patterns, decision-making styles, and how different people are naturally wired to lead and work — not as dogma, but as a tool for self-recognition.
Background & Experience
I’m a Master Professional Career Coach (MPCC) with over seven years of experience and nearly 1,000 professionals coached. My work spans identity-level career transitions, strategic positioning, resume and LinkedIn development, and the kind of deep-clarity conversations that change career trajectories.
I’ve been a trusted coach with LHH (Lee Hecht Harrison), Slate Advisers, and the International Association of Career Coaches, working with leaders at the Director, Senior Director, VP, and C-suite levels across industries.
My practice, J.Aebi Coaching, is built around the Chameleon to Unicorn™ framework — a methodology that helps professionals shed their performative identities and step into an authentic, differentiated positioning that opens doors to work that truly fits.
Coaching Engagements May Include
1:1 identity and career alignment coaching sessions
Career direction work — figuring out where to go from here
Job search strategy and positioning
Resume and LinkedIn profile development
Interview preparation and narrative coaching
Authentic personal brand and career story development
What Clients Often Experience
A name for something they’ve always felt but couldn’t articulate — and the relief that comes with it
Clarity about what they actually want next, separate from what others expect of them
Renewed confidence grounded in self-knowledge, not performance
A career narrative and strategy that finally feels like them
Permission to want something different — and a clear path to pursue it
A shift in perspective — recognizing that some of the beliefs driving their decisions are rooted in external factors they can’t control, and learning to lead from internal clarity instead.
Movement. After years of feeling stuck, clients often describe a sense of momentum and possibility they hadn’t felt in a long time.
Here’s what two clients had to say:
"I quickly realized that what I needed most was to dig deep and answer honest questions about myself... With her guidance, I was able to make significant mindset shifts and see the potential of my future career self through a brand new lens."
~ Leticia Laurie, Marketing & Creative Brand Strategist
"As a seasoned CEO who has done a LOT of hiring, I was skeptical whether I really needed a career coach — turns out totally worth it... She supports through every stage, from "what do I want to do next" to updating my resume and optimizing LinkedIn, to prepping for interviews, to how to negotiate a package."
~ Laurie Adams, Nonprofit CEO
Start with a Conversation
If you’re exploring what your next chapter might look like, the next step might be a short conversation.
Email mel@boldtimers.com and simply write:
“I’d like to explore coaching.”
Mel will reply personally to arrange a time to talk.
There’s no pressure and no obligation — just a thoughtful conversation about where you are and what might come next.