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Work with Heather
About
Throughout the past 12 yrs, I've worked in higher ed and freelanced as a Career Coach - reviewing resumes & conducting mock interviews for college/grad students in finance, engineering, and marketing, to mid-level professionals changing careers in healthcare, hospitality, and creative arts, to ex-directors from Deloitte, BCG, JPM, and Amazon. I originally went to school to become a child/family therapist and spent 5yrs post-grad earning my hours toward licensure. But during grad school, I realized how much I enjoyed working in career services. My clients could see progress after just one resume review! I've been a career coach ever since, freelancing up until this year where I took my practice full-time and had 20 clients in my first month! My favorite role was at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), where I worked for some of the toughest grad programs in the country - MSCF (MFE program heavy in stats, finance, data science, ML, and math) and 16 Master's Engineering programs. At MSCF, I met with employers globally, hosted workshops, and individually career coached 300+ students with 100% internship placement with 95% receiving full-time jobs by graduation. I loved working with my international students and neurodivergent students, while reviewing resumes for Executives on the side.
Heather also coaches for Master’s Programs, Quantitative Finance, Capital Markets & Trading, Career Coaching, and Therapist & Therapy Practice. View all.
Heather’s Hedge Fund Qualifications
Coaches professionally
Experience level: Manager
100+ Hedge Fund clients
I help candidates break into hedge funds, quant research, and systematic trading by translating strong technical or finance backgrounds into buy-side-ready profiles. This includes profile analysis, gap identification, upskilling guidance, narrative re-branding, and targeted networking and application strategies. At Carnegie Mellon, I coached 90+ MFE students & grads to land roles in 30+ leading hedge funds and multi-manager platforms including Citadel, Point72, AQR, Squarepoint, and Balyasny - while also leading recruitment info sessions and speaking with hiring managers as Associate Director of Career Services for the MSCF (Computational Finance) program. If you want clear, structured guidance to break into the buy side—without guesswork or generic advice—let’s take a close look at your profile and next steps.
Heather can help with:
Behavioral Interview Prep
Cover Letters
Hedge Fund Strategy
LinkedIn Review
Networking Strategy
Promotion Strategy
Resume Review
Risk Management
Skill Building
Why do I coach?
I failed an internship because I never turned in my paperwork. I almost got kicked out of grad school for breaking down. I "job hopped" throughout my 20's, working three jobs most of the time. And I beat myself up for spending half of my career pursuing my counseling license only to walk away from it. As someone who is AudHD (Autistic + ADHD), nonbinary, has a TBI, and lived in rural areas with limited job opportunities, I know what it's like to blame yourself for career failures when trying to navigate a system that is flawed by design and rigged to exclude rather than include. My goal is to remind you that YOU ARE NOT ALONE and YOU ARE DOING THE BEST YOU CAN. I want to help you secure meaningful employment that meets your needs, on your terms rather than "just another job" to collect a paycheck. So I'd love for us to work together to personalize a game plan that works for YOU and doesn't just go with whatever society tells you to do.
Work Experience
CEO & Career Coach
Across Careers, LLC
December 2024 - Present
Hiring Manager
Career coaching for college students and career changers since 2013. Specialties in career change transitions, rebranding, and upskilling related to quant finance, neurodivergence, and clinical careers. - Source, vet, and hire vendors for special projects including optimizing CRM workflows, marketing & SEO, and bookkeeping. - Help clients identify opportunities that align with their strengths, values, interests, and work preferences. - Tailor career roadmaps (skill-building, networking, job search, rebranding, etc.) to each client’s unique background, goals, capacity, and adapt based on fluctuating job market trends. - Support clients in implementing, troubleshooting, and pivoting strategies by alternating virtual, live coaching sessions with asynchronous check-ins via text or WhatsApp.
Associate Director and Career Consultant, Master's Engineering Programs
Carnegie Mellon University
November 2023 - December 2024
Career consultant for 16 engineering Master's programs. - Advised on job/internship search, industry/academic career options, applying for PhD programs, and using ChatGPT in career planning. - Sourced 400+ employers hiring across 16 engineering programs for semi-annual career fair and compiled 32 targeted resume books for distribution. - Reviewed resumes, LinkedIn profiles, cover letters, statements of purpose, and portfolios weekly during 1:1 appointments and workshops. - Conducted mock interviews and provided offer negotiation advice.
Associate Director of Career Services and Career Coach, MSCF
Carnegie Mellon University
July 2022 - November 2023
Admissions Committee
One of two career coaches for MSCF (Master's of Computational Finance), the #3 quantitative finance program in the US - coaching 95+ grad students per cohort (80% international) on internship/job search. Served as quant career subject matter expert (SME), content creator, vendor relations, new hire trainer, and remote team leader (in absence of full-time career services director). - Connected with 100+ quant finance hiring managers and recruiters and reviewed 600+ resumes for resume books. - Boosted accepted offers (employment) by graduation from 64% to 92%, contributing to a 70% increase in student ROI (starting compensation vs tuition). - Enabled 60% of new students to receive quant internship interviews one month earlier than rival schools by accelerating summer prep timeline & e-course. - Interviewed and provided feedback as part of hiring committee for MSCF's Associate Director, Director, and Executive Director candidates. - Screened 1,000+ prospective student resumes in <5 days and advocated for admission or wait list as part of Admissions Committee. - Spoke at Conference in Singapore and hosted networking events for 40+ alumni in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Assistant Director of Career Services and Career Coach, MSCF
Carnegie Mellon University
August 2020 - July 2022
Admissions Committee
Career coach for MSCF Pittsburgh campus students. - Sourced and vetted 1,600+ quant-related roles and 300+ employer leads over two years. - Designed quant finance industry & role-specific content to expand incoming student curriula and new hiring training manual by 60%. - Partnered with Chicago Trading and alumni to pilot Technical Interview Workshop series after analyzing learning gaps. When our team of four became a team of 2, with less than 4 months to achieve 100% internship and full-time placement, I... - Engaged up to 30 students weekly via messaging, phone, and email. - Conducted cold outreach to 30+ hiring managers/recruiters, yielding 16 total hires in <8 mon. - Spearheaded 12+ virtual group programs and held 180 coaching appointments.
Career Advisor
Palm Beach State College
October 2018 - August 2020
Interviewer
One of four career coaches on community college campus of 15,000 students, including 100+ majors and certificate programs. - Coached 400+ college students annually, with emphasis on career exploration (career assessments, occupational research tools, majors) and job/internship search strategies (resume, LinkedIn, application strategy, Handshake, interviewing, etc.). - Coordinated full-cycle recruitment for two student hires, including marketing/advertising strategy, reviewing 300+ resumes in ATS, conducting interviews, and making recommendations. - Reviewed 2,000+ resumes and cover letters; majority of students reporting improvement (hearing back from companies) after one review. - Served as in-house expert on Handshake ATS and other in-house career AI tools: creating video tutorials for 600+ stakeholders, teaching workshops, and walking employers & students through steps one-by-one.
Adjunct Professor of Psychology
Florida Southern College
August 2017 - May 2018
Taught classes on Intro to Psych and Abnormal Psych (teaching DSM-V criteria). - Overhauled curriculum to promote networking, informational interviews, case studies, group exercises, and networking with local professionals.
Admissions Counselor
Keiser University
October 2016 - October 2017
Admissions Committee
One of 10 admissions counselors, contacting thousands of prospective students monthly, and offering career insights for 100+ programs. - Interviewed 106 candidates to assess program alignment, support collection of admission materials, and guide through enrollment process.
College Counselor
Florida Southern College
August 2015 - May 2016
- Provided 1:1 mental health counseling to support college students dealing with anxiety, depression, or other challenges related to academics, graduation, choosing a major, college athletics, socializing, etc.
Career Advisor & Program Coordinator
Rollins College
September 2014 - July 2015
Interviewer
Started as Grad Assistant and promoted to full-time Program Coordinator at Center for Career & Life Planning. - Advised 400+ students and alumni, over 2 years, on career exploration, professional branding, and job search strategies - including resumes, LinkedIn, cover letters, grad school admissions, application strategy, international internships, and mock interviews. - Overhauled international internship workshop and interview process, reviewing and providing feedback to 30+ candidates and creating AI mock interview (similar to Hirevue) to prep candidates in advance for screening process.
Graduate Assistant, Career Advising
Rollins College
August 2013 - September 2014
- Contacted corporate partners quarterly and managed ATS database of 300+ internships.
Public Relations and Marketing Consultant
Das Hund Haus, Inc.
May 2012 - April 2013
Hiring Manager
One of three original employees (including founder) for a local dog training startup during its first year. Still in operation today with a 4.8 star rating from 200+ Google reviews. - Planned and executed 70% of event and web marketing efforts during startup's first 8 months, selecting vendors, hiring 3 subcontractors and 2 interns, advancing strategic partnerships, and generating online copy for website. - Secured over 300 business contacts and cultivated strategic partnerships after participating in Chamber of Commerce events, business site-visits, 1:1 meetings, and hosting presentations for local leads' groups.
Education
Rollins College
Master of Arts (M.A.), Mental Health Counseling
• Certificate in College Counseling
Florida Southern College
Bachelors of Arts (B.A.), Psychology
5.0 average review
31 reviews
Overall rating
Heather also coaches for Master’s Programs, Quantitative Finance, Capital Markets & Trading, Career Coaching, and Therapist & Therapy Practice. View all.
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