About Kelly Neeson, career change coach
Nobody should have to sacrifice who they are for the sake of a job.
I'm Kelly. I'm a former teacher, an award-winning career coach, and someone who has rebuilt her own career. Now I help experienced professionals find work that fits who they are, without starting from scratch.
- Life Coach of the Year 2026
Corporate LiveWire Innovation and Excellence Awards - Education and Workforce Resilience Excellence Award 2025
Northern Enterprise Awards - Member of the Year 2025
BNI Durham, Teesside and North Yorkshire Awards
You took the job for a better life. Somewhere along the way, it started taking more than it gave.
You go home drained. You don't have the energy for the things you wanted to do. Maybe you've started to drift from friends or family. You dread stepping through the door in the morning.
Your confidence has taken a knock, and imposter syndrome hits harder than it should. That spark you used to have is still there, but it's flickering.
But you're still in there. I help you find that spark again, and a career that lets it shine.
Some people come to me needing a few tweaks to land more interviews. Some are struggling with interviews themselves. Some are so overwhelmed by their current job that they can't see a way out. And many are simply lost in a job market that has changed beyond recognition in the last two years. Whatever brings you here, I find the approach that fits you.
How I found my way here
In 2004, I was given responsibility for careers in an inner-city secondary school in Birmingham. Many of the young people I worked with couldn't yet see the options open to them. Helping them believe in themselves, and go on to something they genuinely enjoyed, whether through further education or not, lit something in me that has never gone out.
My education career took me on to become a SENCo and designated safeguarding lead. I was good at it, and I cared deeply about it. But over time I felt a growing disconnect between the sector and my own values. I believe our values underpin everything we do, and when your work doesn't align with them, you can't be happy, however good you are at your job.
One dark winter's evening, my husband, John, asked me, "If you could do anything in the world, what would you be?" He had seen what that job was taking from me. That conversation changed my life.
Read the rest of my story
I knew I still wanted to help people. I just couldn't see how. For a while I was exactly where many of my clients are now: desperate to do something different, but facing a locked door with no idea where the key was.
Then, at a Mastermind event, Dean Graziosi asked us to think about what people had thanked us for. It clicked straight away. I had always been the person colleagues came to with their CVs and applications. I remembered sitting at my dining table helping a colleague with an application. Out of 97 applicants, she was one of just two invited to interview. I loved making that kind of difference.
I wanted to do this properly. Coaching isn't regulated, but I trained with The Coaching Masters and gained an ICF-accredited coaching qualification. I started out helping teachers change career, and today I work with people from IT, sales, museums and many other sectors. Helping each of them into work that genuinely suits them is what I live for.
And the name? KL Neeson Coaching came from my old blog, klneeson.com. I had no budget for a new website, so I used what I had. Messy action in practice, and I'm glad I did, or I might still be choosing a name.
How I coach
I'm really supportive, but I'm also really practical. These are the beliefs behind everything I do.
Messy action beats perfect inaction
If you spend your life polishing every CV and every application, you'll spend your life polishing. Action, even imperfect action, is what gets results.
"I don't have time" is solvable
It's the most common thing I hear. But 15 minutes a day adds up to nearly two hours a week on your future. If you don't have time, we'll find it together.
The sabre-toothed tiger isn't real
Your brain sees danger waiting the moment you step away from a job that's hurting you. It feels real, but it isn't there. Change is far less frightening than staying stuck.
Your experience matters more than you think
I once worked with someone turned down for having "no commercial experience". A few questions later, we discovered they'd run their own hotel nine years earlier. The right conversation uncovers what a skills test never will.
Today's job market, not yesterday's
AI has changed how people are hired, and it's still changing. Some advice that worked ten years ago doesn't work now. I keep learning so the strategies you get are current.
One size never fits all
I draw on a wide toolkit of coaching frameworks, NLP and psychometrics, and choose what works for you, not a script.
Qualifications and experience
I never stop learning. I'm part of Dean Graziosi's Mastermind community and The Coaching Masters network, where I keep developing new techniques while holding on to the ones that work.
- ICF-accredited coaching qualification, The Coaching Masters, 2025
- NLP Practitioner, currently completing NLP Master Practitioner
- Level 7 certificates, including psychometric assessment
- Nearly 20 years in education, supporting thousands of adults and young people
- Creator of the Reflect, Rebrand, Relaunch career change framework
What you can expect from me
The values I work by, with every client.
Dependable
Personalised support you can rely on, especially through the challenging times.
Honest
Honesty and transparency throughout, so you can trust the process and be open about what you need.
Respectful
Your journey is unique. I listen, adapt to your needs, and put your wellbeing first.
Loyal
I'm in it for your long-term resilience and growth, not just your next application.
"Kelly is an outstanding career coach. She blends empathy, insight and accountability in a way that helps people gain clarity, confidence and forward momentum. She not only helps clients find the right next step, she helps them believe they can take it."
Alan Foster · Business and Marketing Consultant
Life outside coaching
I live rurally in County Durham with my husband, John, and our four boys. We love being outdoors, and whenever we get the chance, we pack up the motorhome and head off around Europe.
Busy family life is part of why I understand how hard it is to find time for a career change, and why I'm so practical about making it work.
Let's find your spark again
Book a free 30-minute call. We'll talk about where you are, where you'd like to be, and whether I'm the right person to help.
Book your free discovery call