How I Became a Career Coach (After 10 Years of “Unofficial” Coaching)
Today, I want to go back to the beginning.
Back to when, where, how, and why this whole “career coach” thing started.
Back to the friends, coworkers, jobs, layoff moments, and whispered “can you take a look at my resume?” conversations that quietly built this path long before I ever registered a business.
This is the origin story of my career coaching work—
the messy, human, non-linear version.
From Technical Writing to “Wait… This Isn’t It”
Right after college, I did what we’re told is “smart” and “practical”:
English degree
Technical writing job
Steady paycheck
And pretty quickly, I realized:
This is not my path.
I didn’t want to be a technical writer for the rest of my life. I wanted to be in the broader communications/marketing world—the creative stuff:
internal comms
external comms
web copy
content creation
design-adjacent work
storytelling
But I didn’t know how to get there.
I didn’t want to lose my income.
I wasn’t ready for a pay cut.
I definitely didn’t have a “how to pivot into creative communications” manual.
So I did what I’ve now become famous for in my own life:
I job hopped. I experimented. I tried different roles, industries, and environments. I learned by living it.
If you want my full “professional job hopper” saga, there’s another episode where I break down all the jobs—from dog walking to yoga teaching to government contracts and beyond.
Today, I want to zoom in on how those experiences slowly turned into career coaching.
The Truth: I’ve Been Coaching for 10 Years (I Just Refused to Call It That)
Here’s the funny part:
I’ve been doing career coaching work for over a decade.
editing friends’ resumes
rewriting LinkedIn profiles
giving interview tips
helping people think through career moves
talking money, logistics, and risk
pulling tarot cards about job transitions
using astrology, oracle decks, and spiritual tools to explore timing and vocation
But I didn’t feel “allowed” to call myself a career coach.
Why?
Because my business wasn’t legally formalized.
Because I wasn’t making “enough” money from it.
Because I didn’t have a fully fleshed-out offer suite.
Because of that old story: “You’re not a writer until you’re published.”
So in my head it became:
“You’re not a career coach until you’re making X dollars and have a fancy website and an LLC and 10 testimonials.”
Meanwhile, in real life, I’d been doing the work.
For myself. For colleagues. For friends. For family.
I was my own first client, guinea pig, student, and test case.
If I recommend something, it’s because I’ve done it or lived through it—not because I read it on Google.
That’s one of my core values:
Practice what you preach.
Don’t suggest what you’re not willing to live.
Why I Don’t Trust “Just Google It”
Quick side note about information:
So much of what we find online is optimized for visibility, not necessarily depth or integrity.
SEO (search engine optimization) favors what’s popular, not always what’s wise.
The top search result isn’t always the best researched.
Big brands rank higher, not necessarily better.
I never wanted my career guidance to be just another layer of that same noise.
I wanted it to be grounded in:
lived experience
nuance
context
spirituality and practicality
trial and error, not just theory
Which brings me to the first pivotal role that really crystallized my work.
The English Editor Role: Career Support as a Side-Quest
Around 2016-ish, I landed a full-time job as an English editor on a government contract.
The project brought together seven different language teams:
Brazilian Portuguese
Middle Eastern languages
African-region French
and others
Each team created language-learning materials for diplomats and professionals who needed to learn these languages quickly. My role as the English editor was to:
review the English translations
check grammar, syntax, clarity
ensure it was American English (not British, Australian, etc.)
maintain consistency across all those materials
Everyone on the language teams was:
an immigrant
a teacher, professor, or instructor in their native language
deeply rooted in their culture and language
I, a Latina from South Florida who grew up around Spanish and English, suddenly found myself working daily with people from all over the world, speaking languages I’d never even been exposed to before.
It was incredible.
And then the contract started to wind down.
People panicked a little.
They weren’t sure what would come next.
Some wanted to:
stay in language teaching
start a business
pivot into a new industry
find office jobs that weren’t exploitative or unstable
And that’s when they started coming to me.
I helped with:
CVs and resumes
LinkedIn profiles
clarifying job targets
talking through whether to start a business
reading LLC contracts
brainstorming names, logos, and website copy
For one colleague in particular, it became a full-service experience:
brand concept
slogan and messaging
contract review
ongoing communications consulting
I wasn’t trying to “launch an offer.”
I was just being myself.
But that role showed me something big:
The way I naturally think, organize, explain, and guide is valuable.
And it works. Especially for people whose paths don’t fit a neat box.
The Tea Station: Tarot, Budgets, and Big Moves
The second pivotal role came later, around 2019, at a hospitality company where I worked in the marketing team as the writer/editor.
I loved that job too:
creative team
in-office collaboration
constant writing and editing flow
There was one colleague I especially connected with.
We had what I like to call a “tea cooler” friendship—instead of gossiping by the water cooler, we’d make tea and talk about:
life
work
big decisions
“Is this what I really want?” moments
She started asking about:
career direction
moving to another state
budgeting and financial logistics
“Can I actually do this?”
I brought my tarot and oracle decks into the office (as one does 😂).
We did readings.
We talked through the practical side:
resume and LinkedIn upgrades
what salary she’d need in a new city
what lifestyle changes that move would require
It was an entire 360-degree support container—
career, money, logistics, spirituality, and nervous system all in one.
And again, I hadn’t planned this as a “service.”
I was just being myself.
But I felt it deeply:
This is what I’m meant to be doing.
This is the kind of support I want to offer more people.
COVID, Layoffs, and the “Okay, It’s Time” Moment
Then COVID hit.
I was laid off from that marketing role.
And instead of scrambling to get back into any job, I paused and asked:
What kind of work actually feels aligned?
What am I already doing for people, over and over?
What would I do even if no one paid me—because I believe in it that much?
The answer was right in front of me:
✨ Holistic career and lifestyle guidance.
✨ Combining strategy + soul.
✨ Bridging practical career tools + spiritual frameworks.
✨ Supporting especially those of us who are first-gen, children of immigrants, unconventional, creative, or deeply purpose-driven.
So in 2020, I finally stopped treating this as a side-thing and started:
formalizing my business
studying business and marketing from a CEO lens
testing and refining offers
clarifying who I serve and how
It took me about two years to really study what works for me as a business owner, not just what gurus say you “should” do.
Now, I can finally say with my chest:
I’m a Career and Lifestyle Coach.
Not just unofficially. Not just on the side. Fully.
What I Refuse to Sell (and Why That Matters)
One thing I knew from the beginning:
I don’t want to build a business around gimmicks.
You’ve probably seen them:
the $5 “mouse” that wiggles to keep you “active” online
the quick hacks to help you look productive instead of being aligned
the templates that promise a dream job without any inner work
I’m not judging anyone who buys them—we’ve all had moments of desperation and urgency.
But I knew:
I don’t want to make my living feeding that cycle.
I don’t want to be a band-aid.
I want to offer the medicine—the deeper, slower, more honest support that actually changes how you experience your career and life over time.
My work is for people who want:
integrity, not shortcuts
alignment, not just “success” on paper
sustainable strategies, not just dopamine hits
Because the world of work we inherited from our parents and grandparents no longer exists in the same way.
We need new tools.
We need new language.
We need permission to build something different.
What I Offer Now (Career + Lifestyle, Together)
So where has all of this led?
Right now, my work lives at the intersection of career + lifestyle—because I don’t see them as separate.
I help people with:
Career clarity & direction
What are my options now, in this economy, with my skills and constraints?
How do I pivot without burning everything down?
Digital asset upgrades
Resume and LinkedIn that actually reflect the real you
Messaging that makes sense for where work is going, not just where it’s been
Interview prep & confidence
Mock interviews where I play recruiter so you can practice safely
Strategy for different interview types (panel, behavioral, case, etc.)
Language to talk about job hopping, pivots, gaps, and identity shifts
Holistic support
Bringing in yoga philosophy
Spiritual tools (astrology, tarot/oracle) where it feels aligned
Nervous system awareness
Career decisions that actually support your life, not consume it
I have:
1:1 offers for people who want deeper support
Content on YouTube where I expand on big ideas (like using yoga philosophy in career building)
And a free anonymous question doc for quick career questions if you’re not ready for full-on coaching yet
👉 You can find all of that on my site: miriamraquelsands.com
(If you’re reading/listening later, check there for my most current offers.)
Why I’ll Always Say “Career and Lifestyle”
I always phrase it that way—career and lifestyle—because:
Your job doesn’t live in a vacuum.
Your nervous system, relationships, health, creativity, and spiritual life all show up at work with you.
The choices you make in your career shape your days, your energy, your capacity, your future options.
You are not “just” a job title.
You are a whole human being.
My work exists for that whole human.
If You’re Curious or Feeling Resonant…
Thank you for being here, for listening, for walking this path with me.
Until next time,
be well. 💜
