Coaching with Care

I worked with Mara in the beginning of 2023 when I was on a deadline to find a new job. Going into our first session, I felt stressed, confused, and overall stuck. I felt like I didn’t know what I wanted and like I was allowing myself to conform to the norms established by society around me. In just a few short months of working with Mara, I learned more about myself than I had in years of introspection. Mara asked challenging questions and facilitated deep discussion while remaining incredibly kind, understanding, patient, and genuine. My conversations with Mara made me feel like I was talking with a close friend, mentor, and teacher all at once. Mara shifted my mindset on how my brain functions and helped me appreciate my shortcomings as much as I do my greatest strengths. After working with Mara, I feel more comfortable being my genuine self and like I have direction. Since working with Mara I have found an ideal job and a quiet mind. I do not think I would be where I am today if it were not for the conversations I had with Mara. I would recommend Mara to a family member, my closest friend, or a complete stranger.

-Jack S., Rowing Coach, Dartmouth College

Life changing!
I sought career counseling for I was fired from my job and needed support for my interviews.My counselor, Mara, was instrumental in not only helping me through this terrible time, but gave me the confidence for my interviews.Mara has extensive knowledge in all areas of psychology neuroscience, and company and career dynamics. She knows what to say to support the issue at hand. She is intuitive to get to the root cause and helps guide towards a solution.In the two months we worked together, I gained confidence and landed my dream job!Thank you Mara!!!

-Camille C., Sausalito, CA

Mara is an amazing coach. She helped me understand my strengths and exactly what type of work would make me the happiest, best version of myself. She helped me navigate my choices, and negotiate the acceptance of an offer. I can’t say enough good things about her.

-Beth T., San Francisco

I worked with Mara Rose for a little over 6 months because I didn’t know what to do at a frustrating point in my life and my career. I’m not good at asking for help in general, so I was really nervous going in, but Mara made me feel comfortable and heard from the very beginning. Over our time working together while a lot of what we focused on was the things I needed to figure out career-wise, she helped me find my way through a really challenging personal time as well and gave me strategies and perspective to be able to focus and navigate my way moving forward. Now I feel much more confident about the decisions and direction I’m taking and I don’t think I could’ve found that without her help. I’m so very appreciative.

-Dan W. San Francisco

This review is for my experience working with Mara Rose as a life/career coach. We have worked together since around June 2020. For most of this time we met bi-weekly, but for the last few months I have only booked a few interspersed sessions as needed to get guidance on important decisions. I have not been incentivized in any way to write this review.

I felt very at-ease and comfortable with her from the get-go. That initial impression proved true, as Mara is a warm, empathetic, curious, and insightful person. My favorite aspect of our coaching is the way she can really listen, and draw out questions and impressions that clarify what I had been trying to express, or add useful dimensions to my trains of thought.

To be honest, I went into this expecting to pay someone to help me jump start a career search and keep me accountable on job applications and the like, and I thought that was all I wanted. However, the process Mara implemented yielded much more that, and I’m glad it did. Mara employs a very client-lead, collaborative approach; one that let me explore myself and identify paths forward. The first few sessions involved a series of personality tests, strength/weakness finders, etc that helped me identify not just my professional experience but how my inherent personality traits and values could be assets in a job search. We then did some brainstorming and value-ranking to help clarify what types of jobs were ideal or unacceptable to me. From there I began searching for jobs with not only aclear sense of what I wanted, but also with a much broader scope of possibilities than I had been considering.

It’s important to note my personal experienced here. In addition to the pandemic, the period that we worked together involved some incredibly significant and life-changing events that for a long time took precedence over my job search. Mara was really flexible when my life was turned upside down, and she really went above and beyond to offer support during this time. I had friends to lean on, but honestly I don’t know how I would have got through that time without the support, guidance, and insights that came from our sessions during that time.

That aside, I would say that if you’re willing to do some self-examination and can commit a few hours a week to doing the “homework,” you should expect some pretty great results in a reasonable amount of time.

I would still be meeting regularly with her if my life circumstances allowed it.

-Jalal H. Oakland CA

I saw Mara for about a year. Through our initial sessions, I got to understand myself and my strengths better. This has greatly empowered me! I remember starting and feeling so confused and uncertain. And now I feel more certain than ever about what I am supposed to be doing. Even when the picture isn’t always clear, I trust myself and my strengths to end up where I’m meant to be.

-A.O. Engineering Program Manager, Apple San Francisco, CA

I worked with Mara for a few months in early 2023 as I was contemplating a career transition. I knew I wanted a change but I wasn’t sure where to start or what actions to take to move forward in my quest for a change and Mara was a great coach. I enjoyed the homework that sparked deep conversations and contemplation. I’m appreciative of her willingness to pivot our sessions depending on what was happening in my life and being a true partner in my path to anew adventure. Would recommend Mara to any of my friends!.

-Vanessa B. San Francisco, CA

Mara Rose is amazing! I had never worked with a life coach before and felt that I knew myself very well, but after working with Mara Rose for a couple of months, I feel even more confident about my career path and goals and that I have the vocabulary to think about why I am the way I am and wish to pursue certain paths. Mara was delightful to work (and talk) with; she is warm, witty, and professional all at once. We established a rapport very quickly, and I had deep trust in her and felt supported by her, even though we never met in person and just talked on the phone! Mara helped guide me through a series of exercises, which I found myself thinking of between sessions. I did opt to do coaching “homework” in between sessions, and that was as illuminating to me as the actual sessions, but she is very flexible about homework and I think it is up to each client to decide whether to do homework. Overall I am very happy about having worked with Mara and am hoping I have a reason to go back to her for a few more sessions down the road 🙂

-Chris H. Albany, NY

Worked with Mara, she was extremely helpful in helping me explore what I wanted, where to go next, and how to get there. She also helped me learn some really important things about myself that were huge breakthroughs in my development. Really felt heard and understood, and that she genuine cared deeply. Highly recommended!

-William B., CA

I’ve worked with Mara for four years (wow!) and I’m so grateful I found her. We’ve covered many topics–sometimes meeting more often, other times leaving space to enjoy the progress before diving into something new. I originally hired her as a career coach when I was feeling somewhat lost and struggling at my job. I loved the work we did around strengths, values, and positive intelligence. Four years later, I feel like I’ve found my purpose, thanks in large part to the work we’ve done together–truly invaluable. Mara has seen me through an engagement, a marriage, and now a baby. She has held space for me when my family relationships became very challenging and helped me navigate them in ways that felt actionable. I remember feeling so much lighter after tackling that issue with her–like a weight had been lifted. I love having Mara on my team, and I would highly recommend her to anyone looking to rewrite the narrative of their life or simply seeking support and problem-solving for life’s sometimes sticky and abstract challenges. 10/10!

-Grace P. San Francisco

Mara Rose is the best. She’s my constant go-to any time I need some extra support, clarity, courage, or just someone to listen sometimes (okay, and challenge me and keep me honest as well )!

Mara is one of those life coaches who immediately makes you feel comfortable and safe, and she’s real. None of that cheesy fluff you might think of when you hear the term “life coach”. She is so intuitive that she can oftentimes help draw something out of you that you weren’t even aware of yourself and she takes a stand for you.

You feel seen when you’re with Mara. You feel heard and like you can tell her anything without ever feeling judged. She is literally at times the only person that I feel safe and comfortable going to, and I have even referred some of the closest people in my life to her when they find themselves in need of coaching and support.

She was hands down born to be a life coach and I can tell you she’s had an impact in my life that will last forever..

-Jessie, Naperville, IL

Working with Mara has been truly transformative. She is an exceptional life and career coach–passionate, intelligent, and deeply committed to her clients’ growth. Mara brings a rare combination of insight, compassion, and strategic thinking to every session. Her thoughtful guidance and flexible approach have helped me navigate major decisions with clarity and confidence. Over the years we’ve worked together, I’ve achieved goals I once considered out of reach. Her creative suggestions and unwavering support have been instrumental in helping me move forward–both professionally and personally. If you’re looking for a coach who will truly invest in your success, I can’t recommend Mara highly enough.

-Michael F., Palm Springs CA

I’m so happy I took a chance on career coaching! I’m lucky to have worked with Mara Rose, she was so knowledgeable and made me feel comfortable to open up without ever feeling judged. My timeline was a little short for the coaching but Mara was super flexible and we created a plan together that would be best for my situation. Not only was she kind and encouraging, she also gave a lot of actionable tips and advice that I could implement in my life. All of the homework was really valuable and helped me discover some of my real strengths that I hadn’t realized were important to me. I feel like everything I learned from this experience will help me now and in the long-run. Biggest advice I’d give to anyone is take advantage of the whole experience, do the homework and be open to the self-discovery process!

-Adriana V. Irvine, CA

I found Mara Rose to be a super perceptive and caring life coach. She was always very attentive and her feedback felt motivating and spot on. Somehow she managed to be low pressure yet very inspirational while assigning some challenges and homework! I achieved a good deal of growth in my business and personal life. I was truly very comfortable with her and would definitely work with her again. Plus she has an infectious laugh!

-Vicki M. Chicago, IL