I meet a lot of people who describe themselves as “stuck.” They’re competent, often well-paid, sometimes even respected in their field — and yet something feels fundamentally wrong. They’ve climbed the ladder, but they’re not sure it’s leaning against the right wall. If that sounds familiar, you’re exactly who I work with as a career coach in Birmingham.
I’m Olive Pellington, and I’ve been coaching adults across the West Midlands for over a decade. My background combines formal coaching certification through the John Maxwell Team with years of practical experience working alongside people at every stage of their working lives — from graduates who feel lost, to senior leaders who feel hollow, to people rebuilding after redundancy. I’ve been featured in IE Today Magazine and Connections Radio, and my work has been recognised on The Sylbourne TV show. Alongside my career coaching, I also work as a life coach Birmingham supporting people through broader personal transitions, because in my experience, the two are rarely separate.
Career coaching isn’t what most people expect. It’s not career advice. It’s not someone rewriting your CV. It’s something far more useful — and far more demanding.
What Does a Career Coach Actually Do?
There’s a common misconception that a career coach is a slightly posher version of a school careers advisor. The differences matter.
A careers advisor gives you information and recommendations: here are three jobs that match your skills, here’s how to apply. That has its place. A career coach does something different: I help you work out what you actually want — which is often much harder than it sounds — and then support you in closing the gap between where you are and where you want to be.
In practice, that means we work on things like:
- Values clarification — What actually matters to you at work? Not what should matter, not what looks impressive, but what genuinely drives you.
- Limiting beliefs — The internal stories that keep people stuck. “I’m too old to change direction.” “I don’t have the right degree.” “People like me don’t do jobs like that.” These beliefs are usually wrong, but they feel true, which is the problem.
- Vision and direction — Building a concrete picture of where you want to go, so decisions become clearer and action becomes possible.
- Accountability — Having someone check in, challenge you, and help you stay moving when the inevitable obstacles appear.
I’m not here to tell you what to do. I’m here to help you think — more clearly, more honestly, and more courageously than you might manage alone.
Who Is Career Coaching For?
Career coaching isn’t just for people in crisis, though it absolutely works there too. The people I tend to work with include:
- Career changers — professionals who want to move into a completely different field and need help working out what that looks like and how to get there
- People seeking promotion — those who know they’re ready for more but aren’t sure how to make the case, or what’s been holding them back
- New managers — people who’ve been promoted into leadership and are finding the jump harder than expected
- Graduates who feel lost — young professionals who did everything right and still don’t know what they want
- People post-redundancy — those using an enforced pause to reassess rather than just scramble for the next similar role
- People who are “successful” but unfulfilled — this is more common than people admit, and it’s one of the hardest places to be, because the external evidence says everything is fine
Whatever brings you here, the starting point is almost always the same: something needs to change, and you’re not quite sure what.
Career Coaching vs Life Coaching: What’s the Difference?
Honestly? Less than most people think.
Career coaching focuses on your working life — your direction, your progression, your professional identity. Life coaching takes a broader view of wellbeing, purpose, relationships, and how you want to live. But in practice, the two overlap constantly, because who you are at work is deeply connected to who you are.
If you’re unhappy in your career, it affects your confidence, your relationships, your sense of self-worth. If you’re struggling with self-belief, it shows up at work. You can’t fully separate them.
This is why my approach draws on both. I don’t draw an artificial line between “career stuff” and “life stuff” — I work with the whole picture. If you want to understand more about what life coaching is and how it differs from other forms of support, I’ve written about that separately.
The John Maxwell Approach to Career Development
My coaching is grounded in the John Maxwell Team framework, which approaches personal and professional development through the lens of intentional growth and leadership — and I mean leadership in the broadest sense, not just people management.
The Maxwell framework asks questions that most career conversations skip entirely: What are your values, and are you actually living them? What kind of person do you want to become, not just what job do you want to have? Where are you leading yourself, before you think about leading others?
This matters in career coaching because most people approach career decisions from the outside in. They look at the job market, think about what’s available, and ask “what can I get?” I work from the inside out. We start with who you are, what you stand for, and what a genuinely good working life would look like for you — then we work outwards from there.
This connects naturally to leadership coaching for those stepping into more senior roles, because the same questions apply. Great leadership starts with self-awareness, not a management handbook.
It also means we spend real time on confidence coaching — because limiting beliefs sit at the heart of most career stagnation. Not lack of skill. Not lack of opportunity. The belief that you’re not quite enough, not quite ready, not quite the right type of person.
What Does Career Coaching in Birmingham Look Like in Practice?
Every engagement starts the same way: a free 30-minute discovery call. No pitch, no pressure. It’s a chance for you to explain what’s going on, and for both of us to work out whether working together makes sense.
If we decide to proceed, here’s what a typical coaching engagement looks like:
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Goal-setting session — We define what success looks like. This sounds simple; it rarely is. Most people arrive with a vague sense of dissatisfaction rather than a clear destination, and the first real work is getting specific.
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Fortnightly sessions — Each session is 60 minutes. We meet fortnightly, which gives you enough time to take action between sessions but keeps the momentum going. Sessions are available in person in Birmingham, online via video call, or by phone — whichever suits you.
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Accountability — Between sessions, I’ll often set you something to think about, explore, or do. This is where the real change happens, not in the session itself.
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Duration — Most people find that 6 to 12 sessions gives them what they need. Some people come for a focused six-week sprint with a specific decision to make; others work with me for longer as they navigate a bigger transition. We’ll be honest about what’s needed as we go.
Does Career Coaching Actually Work?
Research from the International Coaching Federation consistently shows that coaching produces measurable outcomes — improved clarity, confidence, productivity, and goal attainment. But I’ll be honest with you in a way that some coaches won’t: coaching only works when you’re ready to do the work.
What I mean by that is this: I can ask the right questions, challenge your thinking, and hold you accountable — but I can’t want change more than you do. The people who get the most from career coaching are those who come in genuinely willing to be honest with themselves, even when that’s uncomfortable.
What I see in practice, over and over again, is that people arrive not knowing what they want and leave with a clarity they hadn’t expected. The career answers were almost always already there — they just needed the space, and the right questions, to surface them.
How to Choose a Career Coach in Birmingham
The coaching industry in the UK is currently unregulated, which means anyone can call themselves a career coach. Here are four things worth checking:
- Accreditation — Look for membership of a professional body such as the ICF (International Coaching Federation) or EMCC. This indicates the coach has met defined training and ethical standards.
- Specialism and approach — A coach who works mostly with corporate executives and a coach who works with people navigating career change are doing different things. Make sure their experience matches your situation.
- A free initial call — Any reputable coach will offer an introductory conversation before you commit. If they won’t, that tells you something.
- Clear ethics and boundaries — A good coach is clear about what they do and don’t do, and will refer you elsewhere if your needs fall outside their scope.
I’ve written a more detailed guide on how to choose a career coach in Birmingham if you want to go deeper on this.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a career coach and a careers advisor?
A careers advisor provides information, guidance, and recommendations — they might suggest suitable roles, help you understand training routes, or assist with applications. A career coach helps you work through your own thinking: what you want, what’s getting in the way, and how to move forward. Advisors give answers; coaches help you find yours.
How many sessions of career coaching do I need?
It depends on what you’re working on. A focused decision — should I take this job offer? — might take three or four sessions. A full career change or a significant confidence block typically takes six to twelve. We agree on a direction together and adjust as we go. There’s no minimum commitment.
Can career coaching help with redundancy?
Yes, and it’s one of the areas where coaching can make a real difference. Redundancy often arrives with a complicated mix of emotions — shock, relief, anxiety, opportunity — and it’s easy to rush into the next thing just to feel stable again. Coaching creates the space to make a more considered decision: is this a chance to do something different, or is the same role in a different company genuinely the right move?
Is career coaching right for me if I don’t know what I want?
Especially then. Not knowing what you want is often exactly where coaching begins. Many people arrive expecting to talk about job titles and end up doing much deeper work on values, identity, and what a good life actually looks like for them. “I don’t know what I want” is a perfectly valid starting point — in fact, it’s one of the most honest ones.
Ready to Take the Next Step in Your Career?
If you’ve read this far, something has resonated. Whether you’re at a crossroads, ready to push forward, or simply tired of feeling like your career is something that happens to you rather than something you shape — I’d love to have a conversation.
I offer a free 30-minute consultation, no commitment required. It’s a chance to talk through where you are, what you’re hoping for, and whether working together makes sense.
You can find out more about how much career coaching costs before you get in touch, if that’s helpful.
To book your free consultation, use the contact form, call me on 07505 784546, or email info@ovpcoaching.co.uk. I work with clients in Birmingham, across the West Midlands, and online throughout the UK.