Putting the Care into Career

Helping ambitious professionals build careers that work alongside the realities of life, and helping organisations create workplaces where people can thrive.

Career coaching. Corporate speaking. Workshops. Group coaching. Workplace consulting.

Becky Woods

Because careers don’t happen in a vacuum.

Work doesn’t exist separately from the rest of our lives.

Our careers are shaped by ambition, family, parenthood, caring responsibilities, leadership, relationships, unexpected challenges and the things we never planned for.

I help professionals navigate their careers with all of that in mind, whether you’re looking for your next promotion, considering a career change, building your personal brand or trying to make work work alongside caring responsibilities.

And I work with organisations that want to better understand, support and retain talented people whose lives extend well beyond the workplace.

Career and care aren’t competing priorities. With the right support, they can coexist.

Career

Build a career that works for you.

Career coaching for professionals navigating progression, leadership, confidence, career change and personal brand.

Whether you’re aiming for promotion, questioning your next move or simply know that something needs to change, I’ll help you work out what you want, and how to get there.

Explore career coaching

Care

Keep care in the career.

Supporting working parents and carers to navigate the realities of combining a career with caring responsibilities.

This includes parents of children with additional needs, as well as those caring for elderly parents, people living with dementia, partners or other loved ones.

Explore care & career support

Corporate

Create workplaces where people can thrive.

Practical, engaging support for organisations that want to develop, retain and support their people.

From keynote talks and workshops to manager training, group coaching and workplace consulting.

Explore corporate support

People don’t just work 9–5.

Behind every employee is a life.

  • Children
  • Additional needs
  • Elderly parents
  • Dementia
  • Partners
  • Family responsibilities
  • Health challenges
  • Life changes

Yet people are often expected to leave all of that at the door when they arrive at work.

They can’t.

And nor should they have to.

I help organisations understand what their people may be carrying outside work, and turn that understanding into practical support that improves career sustainability, inclusion, engagement and retention.

Because supporting people isn’t just about getting them through the working day. It’s about enabling them to build a career they can sustain.

1 in 5UK employees have a caring responsibility
1.1mpeople left work to care in the last two years
69%of working carers are considering cutting hours or leaving
47%say they haven’t focused on their career as much as they’d like

Sources: Carers UK, Balancing Work and Unpaid Care: A Critical Issue (September 2025); Carers UK, State of Caring 2025.

Conversations that make people stop and think.

My talks bring together career expertise, professional experience and real-life insight to explore what happens when the demands of work meet the demands of life.

Thought-provoking, practical and human, with plenty for people to take away and use.

I speak to organisations about

  • Working parents and carers
  • The hidden realities of caring
  • Career progression when life doesn’t go to plan
  • Empathy and effective leadership
  • Supporting employees through change
  • Retaining experienced professionals
  • Building more human workplaces
  • Career development and sustainable ambition

Your career. Your ambitions. Your next chapter.

Sometimes you know exactly what you want next.

Sometimes you just know that you don’t want to stay where you are.

And sometimes you’re successful on paper but still wondering, is this really the career I want?

I provide confidential, practical career coaching for professionals who want to make thoughtful decisions about their future and take meaningful action.

Together we can explore

Career progression

How to position yourself for promotion and greater responsibility.

Career change

Whether you’re ready for something different, and what that could look like.

Confidence & leadership

Building the confidence to take up space, influence others and lead authentically.

Personal brand

Making your expertise, strengths and value visible.

Career decisions

Working through complex choices when there isn’t an obvious answer.

Work & life

Creating a career that works with the life you’re actually living.

For lawyers who want more from their careers.

I’ve been there.

I trained and qualified as a solicitor and worked in a demanding City law firm environment before moving into coaching, career consulting and executive search.

Today I work with lawyers at different stages of their careers, from those thinking about their next promotion to senior professionals questioning what comes next.

I understand the pressures, expectations and unwritten rules of professional services because I’ve experienced them myself.

Areas of support

  • Promotion & progression
  • Personal brand & visibility
  • Partnership aspirations
  • Leadership
  • Career change
  • Moving in-house
  • Returning after a career break
  • Building a career that works for your life
Coaching for lawyers
Becky Woods

Meet Becky

Former City lawyer. Career coach. Speaker. Workplace consultant. Carer.

I spent the first part of my career as a lawyer, training and qualifying as a solicitor before working in the City.

I later moved into coaching, career consulting and executive search, helping professionals understand their strengths, navigate career decisions and position themselves for what comes next.

Alongside my professional career, I’ve also experienced first-hand the reality of trying to build a career while navigating significant caring responsibilities.

That changed the way I think about work.

Because the traditional idea of a career (neat progression, predictable hours and a clear path upwards) doesn’t reflect most people’s lives.

I believe we need a more human approach.

One where ambition and caring can coexist.

One where employers understand that their people bring whole lives to work.

And one where career success is defined not just by how far you progress, but by whether the career you’ve built works for you.

More about Becky
  • ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential badge
  • Former City lawyer (DLA Piper-trained)
  • University of Warwick & Nottingham Law School
  • ICF ACC accredited coach
  • EMCC accredited coach
  • Career consultant
  • Former headhunter
  • School governor, specialising in SEND
  • Speaker & workplace consultant

Why work with me?

Professional experience

I’ve spent more than 20 years around professional careers, including experience as a City lawyer, coach, career consultant and headhunter.

Career expertise

I understand what progression actually requires, not just what it looks like on paper.

Corporate perspective

I understand the challenges employers face when trying to support, develop and retain talented people.

Real-life perspective

I know that caring responsibilities don’t neatly fit around a working day.

The result? Practical advice grounded in both professional expertise and real life.

What happens when you have the space to think differently?

Becky’s coaching gave me the clarity and confidence to take the next step in my career. I can’t recommend her highly enough.

Legal client

Becky has been an outstanding coach, and I can honestly say she has had a direct and lasting positive impact on my career. Her deep understanding of the legal profession meant our sessions were highly effective, as she immediately grasped the challenges and nuances I brought to each conversation. Becky’s warm and welcoming nature created a comfortable, open environment and her supportive, engaging and upbeat approach meant I enjoyed every session and always left in great spirits. Her advice was consistently practical and insightful, and it paid off every single time. I would highly recommend Becky!

Molly, Private Practice lawyer

Highly recommend Becky. She’s insightful and very motivating. Most importantly she is a good person who genuinely cares and considers the whole person in her work.

Natasha, Partner

Every coaching relationship is different. But the aim is always the same: greater clarity, confidence and forward movement.

Looking for something different for your people?

Whether you’re planning a keynote for an employee network, a career development session for working parents, a workshop for managers or a longer-term programme of support, I can create something around the needs of your organisation.

Let’s put the care into career.

Whether you’re thinking about your own next chapter or looking for ways to better support the people in your organisation, I’d love to hear from you.

Career coaching. Speaking. Workshops. Workplace consulting.