I’ve spent 10+ years working across HR and talent management, 

Basically, I’ve spent a lot of time on the other side of the hiring table.

I’ve seen what companies actually look for, how hiring decisions get made, why some people get promoted while others get overlooked, and why being really good at your job is, unfortunately, not always enough to get the next opportunity.

Then my own career took a turn.

After moving to the US, I landed my first corporate job and started working with people going through career transitions. Many of my clients were coming from Big Tech and Fortune 500 companies after layoffs.

Which was… a little ironic.

I was helping people navigate uncertainty while figuring out plenty of my own.

But it turned out to be one of the most useful experiences of my career. It taught me that career problems are rarely just about resumes, interviews, or finding the “right” job.

There is usually a much bigger story underneath: identity, confidence, burnout, expectations, money, relationships, values, energy, and the very human question of:

“What the hell am I actually doing with my life?”

Along the way, I studied coaching, worked with mentors and supervisors, and eventually earned my ACC credential through the International Coaching Federation.

Since then, I’ve worked with 700+ people through coaching and career consulting — from people looking for their first opportunity to experienced professionals changing careers, recovering from layoffs, navigating burnout, or simply realizing that the career they built doesn’t really fit anymore.

But my professional experience is only one part of the story.

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I’ve always been a little obsessed with understanding people.

I grew up in Eastern Europe in the 1990s, in a family where medicine was very much part of everyday life.

From a young age, I became fascinated by the human body and human behavior. Why do we do what we do? Why do two people experience the same situation completely differently? Why can one person thrive in an environment that makes another person completely miserable?

That curiosity eventually sent me down a very long rabbit hole.

Philosophy. Psychology. Different religions and traditions. Yoga. Meditation. Mindfulness. Vipassana. Bodywork and massage therapy. Therapy. Coaching. Creativity. Art. And probably more books than I can realistically remember.

I’ve spent a slightly ridiculous amount of time asking:

“Okay, but why are humans like this?”

And then, inevitably:

“And why can’t I just figure this out faster?”

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Over the years, that curiosity turned into a serious practice of self-exploration. I’ve invested 800+ hours in my own therapy, coaching, and supervision.

I’m a mindfulness practitioner, a former yoga teacher, a massage therapist, and a Vipassana retreat participant.

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I’ve also explored creativity through ceramics, art, reading, and other seemingly unrelated things that somehow turned out to be very related.

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Because the more I learned, the more I realized something:

People are multidimensional.

You can’t really understand someone’s career by looking at their job title alone.

Your energy matters. Your nervous system matters. Your values matter. Your environment matters. Your relationships matter. Your interests, strengths, sensory needs, personality, history, and ambitions all matter.

And sometimes the thing you think is a “career problem” is actually a completely different problem wearing a tiny LinkedIn badge.

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I’ve also had to rebuild my own life.

I moved to the US from Eastern Europe as an adult, with limited English, and had to rebuild my career and identity in a completely new environment.

There was a lot of pressure to catch up quickly.

Get the job.
Build the career.
Become successful.
Prove that moving countries was worth it.
Figure everything out.

And, naturally, I tried.

Later, through my own exploration, I was diagnosed with autism and ADHD. Before that, a lot of my experiences had simply been explained as being “too sensitive,” “too anxious,” or somehow not trying hard enough.

The diagnosis didn’t suddenly explain everything.

But it gave me a much better language for understanding myself — and a much better reason to start paying attention to what my brain and nervous system actually need instead of constantly trying to override them.

That shift became important to the way I see other people, too.

It made me even more convinced that there is no single dimension that explains a person.

You can’t reduce someone to their resume.
Or their personality type.
Or their diagnosis.
Or their strengths.
Or their weaknesses.
Or their current job.

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There is a whole person there.

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And that person has a unique combination of talents, needs, experiences, patterns, values, limitations, ambitions, and ways of functioning.

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That’s part of the idea behind Talent Lab.

I don’t want to put people into boxes.

I want to explore them.

To understand how they work, what makes them come alive, where they get stuck, what they’re naturally good at, what they need to thrive, and what kind of environment allows all of that to actually work together.

Think of it less like finding the one “correct” career and more like creating a map.

Where are you now?
Where do you want to go?
What do you already have?
What might be getting in the way?
What paths could get you there?
And which one actually feels like yours?

I want to help you explore that map — not hand you a predetermined route.

This is where coaching comes in.

I don’t believe you need to “fix yourself” before you can build a good career.

And I definitely don’t think every problem can be solved with another productivity hack.

Sometimes the problem isn’t that you need more discipline.

Sometimes you’re simply building a life that doesn’t fit you.

And sometimes you don’t need to become a completely different person.

You need to understand the person you already are.

That’s what I’m interested in exploring with people.

How do you actually work?
What gives you energy?
What drains you?
What are you naturally good at?
What do you need more of?
What do you need less of?
What kind of environment brings out your best?
What are you doing because you genuinely want it — and what are you doing because you think you’re supposed to?

And maybe the biggest question:

What would your career look like if it were designed around you, rather than around what you think you’re supposed to be?

My approach is practical, curious, and flexible.

I bring together my HR and recruiting experience, coaching training, research-informed tools, and a lot of firsthand experience with career transitions, immigration, burnout, reinvention, and figuring things out as I go.

I’m not here to be the expert who gives you a five-step formula for your life.

I’m here to be your thinking partner.

A curious, thoughtful person beside you while we figure out what makes sense.

We’ll ask questions. Challenge assumptions. Notice patterns. Try things. See what happens. Change our minds when the evidence tells us to.

Some experiments will work.

Some absolutely will not.

That’s useful information too.

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Because I don’t think success means finally having everything figured out.

I think it means understanding yourself well enough to build a life and career that actually make sense for you.