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Create professional life in alignment with who YOU ARE

Career

  • Redefining career path
  • Executing successful job search
  • Preparing for interview & salary negotiation 
  • Moving up within your organization
  • Creating more meaning in your life…

Workplace

  • Managing diverse/remote teams
  • Achieving top performance 
  • Resolving difficult situations and conflicts
  • Navigating organizational change
  • Rediscovering work engagement…

Balance

  • Overcoming burnout & stress
  • Finding life and work integration
  • Increasing self-management & productivity
  • Maintaining well-being at work
  • Strategizing to take time off…

Stressed? Overwhelmed? Stuck? Burned out? Lost?

Yes, Maybe, I don't know...

I am so glad you found this page because you don’t have to be alone in your journey!

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I have worked with PhDs and highly skilled professionals from over 25 countries to:

  • Make transitions to new jobs or new roles,
  • Build confidence to make hard decisions,
  • Deal with difficult workplace situations,
  • Find solutions to balance their work and live,
  • Create more meaning and fulfillment in their professional and personal lives,
  • and so much more

During our time together, I provide a judgment-free & structured space to explore your situation and come up with new ways to achieve what matters the most for you. 

To move us forward, I use several coaching techniques such as powerful questions and deep listening to identify roadblocks that stay in the way of you living the life that feels right for you. Once the roadblocks are removed, I offer a variety of research-based tools to help you find the solution and accountability techniques to reach your goals and vision. 

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Over the years, I’ve coached a variety of professionals including but not limited to PhDs outside academia, faculty members, higher ed administrators, postdocs, and graduate students. 

No matter what your job and employment status is, I am confident our continuous partnership will improve your current situation and advance your career.

Sounds too good to be true?

Here is what my clients say

  • “

    …Together, we worked on identifying my strengths, walked down a few ‘what if’ scenarios and crafted a networking plan that helped me connect with several new and accomplished professionals. This widening of my network helped me better understand career trajectories, job application strategies and even new job titles (helpful when setting up job alerts).

    But what I consider the most valuable outcome of our sessions is having my confidence back. Being able to understand my strengths, finding helpful ways to own and communicate my achievements and figuring out what I want from now on are priceless results that came out from her amazing guidance. I have since connected her to some of my close friends and previous coworkers and hope everyone has a chance to go through her life changing coaching.

    Milene Brownlow, PhD
    Neuroscience
  • “

    I started attending Irina’s coaching sessions for feeling to have lost the strong motivation I used to have at work. Irina guided me in understanding which was my scientific interests and values. She supported me towards a job transition that made me go out of my comfort zone, but also deep into my scientific interests.

    This is not all! Irina made me aware that the fear of having to choose between Science and Art, my other strong passion, was making me unsatisfied with both. Irina made my dreams become goals, and step by step she coached me to accomplish them.

    Now, after one year, I am very thankful to Irina for having guided me towards a job that really passionate for me, and to make me find the balance between my full-time professional life and my personal interests. 

    Chloe Minnai, PhD
    Physics
  • “

    …Irina initially asked about my goal, what do I want to achieve with the sections. Everything started with helping me making a CV, and how to search and apply for positions. However, as we went deep into the sections, she always used to ask me “What is your goal?”, and that progressed to understand what was happening to me, in the world around me, and how could I handle things I cannot change and take the best experience and learning from it.

    I can say that Irina changed my life in a very positive way. She guided me to understand my patterns, to not lose myself to bad thoughts, and mostly, how can I search in me what I want for my life…

    Priscila Romagnoli, PhD
    Physics
  • “

    I came to Irina at the very beginning of my postdoc. Together we developed a strategy for a good start. She gave me plenty of tips and provided a lot of useful information. It was amazing to know that there are many tools and resources from which we are not aware, which can assist us in making better decisions and positively impacting our academic careers…

    Saacnicteh Toledo Patino, PhD
    Biology
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Not familiar with the coaching process?

Roadmap of a coaching journey

1

Initiation

Free phone call
2

Strategizing

1st meeting
3

Coaching relationship

Regular meetings
4

Termination or Renegotiation

The concluding meeting
Find your best fit

Get to know your coach

The free call design to:

  • Get to know each other,
  • Understand your situation and determine how coaching can help you to move forward,
  • Discuss the sliding scale pricing (see FAQ) and basic elements of the coaching agreement,
  • Ask as many questions as you can.  
Identify your overall goals & outcomes

Start strong

After you sign the coaching agreement, a longer strategy meeting is arranged to:

  • Discuss your overall goals,
  • Define what successful outcomes look like, 
  • Clarify any questions, 
  • Start working towards your goals.
Move forward towards your goals

Keep going

Over the next 3 months, you and your coach will work together to:

  • Address barriers that stay on your way to success,
  • Create strategies to maintain steady progress, 
  • Acknowledge positive change,
  • Manage accountabilities, 
  • Readjust your goals if needed. 
Evaluate your progress and outcomes

Celebrate progress

During the last meeting of your 3-month coaching agreement, you and your coach will:

  • Evaluate progress and outcomes,
  • Celebrate success,
  • Discuss to keep working on your current or new goals (renegotiation) or to termination of the relationship.

 

Check out resources about the coaching process
An "ideal" client

Will coaching work for me?

Coaching science tells us, that “80% of people who receive coaching report increased self-confidence, and over 70% benefit from improved work performance, relationships, and more effective communication and interpersonal skills” (ICF, 2009). Moreover, the coaching clients report greater life and work satisfaction, personal growth, and increase self-reliance (IoC). Importantly, 68% of individuals reported to at least make back the initial coaching investment (ICF, 2009).

In line with the above data, I have observed remarkable changes in my clients’ lifestyles, work, and life management, and of course, confidence level to take the first steps towards their authentic goals. Regardless of the starting point, the positive changes happen because you, the client, are “naturally creative, resourceful and whole”. You have the answers and/or capable to find solutions to any problem when asked the right questions during a coaching session.

In my experience, the coaching outcomes often depend on the “chemistry” between the coach and the client. I observed that my coaching style brings the most success if you are:

  • eager to learn and reflect
  • brave to step outside the comfort zone
  • open to honest feedback
  • ready to imagine wild possibilities
  • excited to take actions
  • able to stay accountable
Exicted to learn more?

How to get started

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Step 1

Schedule a free call

  • Browse through this section
  • Pick individual vs group coaching
  • Use Calendly to select a date/time
Link to Calendly
Step 2

Make a decision

  • Reflect on the initial call
  • Read more about coaching process
  • Check out other coaches to find YOUR best fit
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Step 3

Enter coaching relationship

  • Respond to my follow up e-mail
  • Sign the coaching agreement
  • Schedule the first strategy meeting via online calendar

I can't wait to help you move forward!

Let's talk, no strings attached
Schedule a call
Just in case

Frequently asked questions

How much does coaching cost?

According to the International Coaching Foundation, an average individual coaching session ranges between $100 – $300+.

Instead of setting up a single price, I made a hard decision to use a sliding scale of $115-$375, to accommodate a variety of incomes and situations my clients might face. Before you select the price, I ask you to reflect on the following points:

  1. A coaching relationship requires great effort, presence, and commitment from both, you and me. What would be the cost of both of us to be fully engaged in the coaching conversation, willing to do what it takes to move you toward the desired outcome?
  2. If you are looking at the coaching relationships as an investment in your future, how much are you willing to contribute to see the visible progress?
  3. The result of the coaching process is not the acquisition of certain skills like a new language or a workout routine, the expected outcomes are the shift of perspectives, the feeling of confidence and control, better awareness, and expanded opportunities. Getting there is hard work that requires accountability. What would be the cost of your accountability to reach these results? 

Once you complete the reflection, let me know your $ number and I will draft the coaching agreement to honor this price for the next 3 months. After 3 months, we might need to negotiate a new rate and create a new document to finalize it. 

If you can’t afford $115+ and face a difficult situation, please don’t let the price stop you. Every year I take a few pro bono (no charge) clients and I’d be happy to discuss what I can do to make your life better. 

Why do I have to sign a contract?

The coaching contract is an agreement between the client and the coach. The contract describes the logistics, pricing, and other conditions to make sure we are on the same page before we start the coaching journey. While the coaching agreement is valid for 3 months, you can terminate the relationship at any time, preferable with a 1-week notice. 

Also, the main reason for a 3-month contract is to secure the sliding scale prices. After the contract expiration date, new prices might be negotiated. 

How many sessions do I need to see any results?

Studies and my experience show that coaching works over an extended period of time. While it is possible to come up with a temporary fix over one or two sessions, I see the best results with clients who stay with coaching for about 3 months or 4-8 sessions. The preferred session frequency is biweekly meetings.

What if I am not happy with the progress or your coaching style?

I understand that you might not be satisfied with the progress and/or my coaching style. In this case, please let me know what is going on and we will try to find alternative ways to accommodate your needs and wants. If you choose to leave the coaching relationship, I’d appreciate a 1-week notice together with short feedback that will be used for my professional development. 

What does a typical coaching meeting look like?

In the beginning, you will decide the session agenda, something that you’d like to focus on. The agenda could be linked to the overall goal or it could address a specific situation you currently face. Next, we will work together to determine the desired outcomes and work together to reach them by exploring roadblocks that stay in the way. At the end of the meeting, you will identify action items and accountability strategies to move closer to the goal we’ve worked on during the session.