What I Actually Do as an ADHD Career Coach for Women (And Why It Works)

You Don’t Need a Pep Talk. You Need a Way Out.

If you’ve followed me for more than five minutes, you’ve probably figured out I’m not here to hand out feel-good affirmations or help you manifest a dream job from thin air. I’m an ADHD career coach for women who are tired of pretending they’re fine in jobs that don’t fit. I’m not a fairy godmother. I don’t fix resumes. And I definitely don’t sell BS disguised as coaching.

What I do is help smart, burned-out women – often with ADHD – figure out why their career feels like a slow death… and then actually change it.

No vague vibes. No guilt-tripping. No pretending that everything’s fine.

Most of My Clients Don’t Think They’re Allowed to Want What They Want

Here’s what I hear in almost every first conversation:

• “I mean, I’d love to do XYZ, but… that’s not realistic, right?”
• “I’ve thought about ___, but I could never actually make that work.”
• “It’s dumb, but I always dreamed of being a ___.”

They say it with a laugh, or an eye roll, or a shrug. Because somewhere along the way, someone taught them that their dreams were silly. Or impractical. Or not for “people like them.”

So they buried it. And built a life around tolerating things instead.

My job is to help them dig that dream back up – and take it seriously.

We Unbury the Dream. Then We Build the Path.

Once we know what they actually want, we start looking at what it would take to get there.

And you know what? It’s usually not some massive reinvention. Typically, it’s a handful of doable, sometimes boring steps. But when we build momentum, things shift – fast.

Like Sydney, who went from tending bar to writing about travel and music for a living. She told me, “I can’t believe this is my life.” Not because it fell into her lap, but because she finally gave herself permission to go after it.

Or C., who was out of work for months and starting to panic a bit. She wasn’t doing anything wrong – she was just using strategies that stopped working about five years ago. We cleaned it up, built a plan, and now she’s in a permanent role she loves.

This isn’t magic. It’s just movement.

No, Your Resume Is Not the Problem.

I need to say this louder for the perfectionists in the back:

Your resume is not the reason you feel stuck.

You can spend another 14 hours tweaking it – or you can spend 30 minutes figuring out who you actually want to talk to.

Most people are out here applying to 200 jobs and wondering why nothing’s working. It’s because job boards are a backup plan, not a strategy.

Networking matters. Conversations matter. Knowing what you want matters.

That’s what I help my clients focus on.

This Isn’t Magic. It’s Work – But the Right Kind.

This is realistic career coaching for ADHD, not “vision board your way into clarity” coaching.

We’re not manifesting; we’re doing the work that actually moves the needle.

My clients get clear. They get a system. They do the work.

And yeah, it’s uncomfortable sometimes. But it’s also focused, grounded, and designed to work with their actual energy, needs, and ADHD reality.

I don’t fix people. I don’t tell them to think positive.

I build a strategy with them. And I expect them to win.

That last part matters: I expect success. Not in a cheerleader way, but in a calm, steady, “of course we’re going to figure this out” kind of way. That’s how ADHD coaching works when it’s actually useful – and that changes everything.

Let’s Talk About Loyalty, Guilt, and Why You Haven’t Left Yet

Your employer is not your family.

They’re not.

They’ll replace you in a heartbeat if it becomes convenient.
And no, they won’t hold a grudge. They’ll just move on.
All that “we couldn’t have done this without you” energy?
It vanishes the second you leave.

If you’re staying in a draining job because you’d feel guilty leaving your team… or because you feel like you need to finish that big project first… or because you think they need you?

Please hear this:

Nobody cares more about your career than you do.
(And they shouldn’t – that’s your job.)

If you’re telling yourself you can’t leave yet, I want you to ask yourself:

Is that really true? 
Or is it just more social conditioning you’ve swallowed for too long?

Oh, and also? Let’s stop pretending trauma doesn’t exist in the workplace.

If you’re walking on eggshells, in a state of chronic dread, or spending your nights doom-scrolling job boards but too paralyzed to apply, you’re not broken. You might be burned out. Or traumatized. Or both.

It’s real. I know, because I’ve been there. And you’re not imagining it.

If You’re Done Pretending You’re Fine, I’m Here

You don’t need to have a five-year plan.
You don’t need to know your “true calling.”
You don’t need to be sure.

You just need to be willing to stop pretending you’re fine.

People ask me sometimes, what makes a good career coach – especially for someone with ADHD? Here’s my answer – and it’s not someone who gives you a script, or revises your resume for you (though sometimes you might need help with that stuff).

To me, being a good career coach for ADHDers is more about:
– being able to spot my clients’ strengths before they’re able to
– helping my clients fight back against their own negative self-talk thoughts, so that they’re able to be as confident as they really should be (and get in a much better position for landing a great job)
– hold steady with my clients through the uneasy, messy parts, and help them build a path that actually fits their lives.

My clients aren’t looking for hype – they need traction.

That’s the kind of coaching I offer.

I work with a small number of 1:1 clients, and I run a group coaching program designed specifically for women navigating messy midlife career shifts with ADHD in the mix.

If you’re looking for an ADHD career coach for women who gets it, I’m here.

DM me the word RESET or click here to book a free call. We’ll talk through what’s going on and what we can do about it.

About Rachel Gaddis
Rachel Gaddis is a career strategist and coach for ADHD women who are done pretending they’re fine at work. She helps midlife professionals unlearn what’s not working, design careers that actually fit, and move forward without chaos, burnout, or performative positivity. She’s not here to fix you—she’s here to help you stop settling. Learn more or book a free call here.