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Your second act

A 12-week career-change program for mid-career professionals. Eight people a cohort, a written plan by week four, Austin and online.

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Assessment
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Eight people, twelve weeks

You keep your job while we plan the move. One call a week with Dana, one with the cohort, and a plan on paper by week four.

Jan 12
Next cohort starts, a Tuesday
8 seats
Applications close Dec 18
Week 4
Your written transition plan
$2,400
Or 3 payments of $850

It fits if you

  • have spent 8 to 25 years in one field and can say what you're done with
  • can protect about five hours a week from January to April
  • want a written plan before you hand in notice, not after
  • are ready to hear that the workshop is the better first step
A desk by a window in a quiet home office, a notebook and laptop open

How the weeks run

Each week has one 1:1 call, one cohort call and a short piece of homework. Here is what happens and when.

See the full program

Weeks 1 to 3: Take stock

  1. Skills and values inventory1:1, 50 min
  2. Runway worksheet: months you can coverHomework, 1 hr
  3. Three target roles, namedWeek 3

Weeks 4 to 6: Write the plan

  1. Your written transition planWeek 4
  2. Six field conversations, scripts includedWeeks 5 to 6
  3. Plan revised from what you heard1:1, 50 min

Weeks 7 to 9: Build the story

  1. Résumé and LinkedIn rewriteWeeks 7 to 8
  2. One proof project, scoped small4 to 6 hrs
  3. Mock interview one, recordedWeek 9

Weeks 10 to 12: Go to market

  1. Ten applications, five by referralWeeks 10 to 12
  2. Mock interview two, with a hiring managerWeek 11
  3. Offer and pay negotiation prep1:1, 50 min

You leave with a written plan, two mock interviews and ten applications out12 weeks

Career-change readiness

Questions
8, about 3 minutes
Scores
ClarityRunwayTimeBudget
You get
A score out of 100 and a written read-out

  1. How clear is the field you want to move into?

    I can name the role and three employers · I have two or three directions · I know what I want to leave, not where to go · I'm not sure I want to leave yet

  2. Have you talked to anyone doing that work?

    Three or more real conversations · One or two · Not yet, but I know who to ask · No one so far

  3. If your pay dipped for a year, how many months of bills could you cover?

    Twelve months or more · Six to eleven months · Three to five months · Under three months

  4. What first-year pay change could you accept for the right role?

    A cut of 15% or more · A cut of up to 15% · Only a small dip · No dip at all

  5. How many hours a week can you protect for the next 12 weeks?

    Five or more · Three to four · One to two · Under an hour

  6. When do you want to be working in the new field?

    Within six months · Six to twelve months · Sometime in the next two years · No date yet

  7. The 12-week program is $2,400, or 3 payments of $850. Where are you with that?

    It's set aside · I'd use the payment plan · I'd need a few months to save · It isn't possible right now

  8. If the right role came up eight weeks from now, would you take it?

    Yes, I'd move · Probably, if the pay worked · I'd want more time · No

This assessment needs JavaScript. You can also apply directly or join the free workshop.

Ready, or not yet?

Eight questions on clarity, runway, time and budget. Score 70 or more and you'll see two real call times with Dana. Under that, we'll save you a seat at the free workshop instead, because a call wouldn't help you yet.

The cost of staying

Three numbers you already know. We add a 3% raise a year to the higher salary and nothing else.

$75,305

in pay you'd leave on the table over 4 years, plus about 4,512 working hours at 4 out of 10.

Pay gap by year

  1. Year 1$18,000
  2. Year 2$18,540
  3. Year 3$19,096
  4. Year 4$19,669

Total$75,305

You set the gap. We don't predict salaries.

Results, kept as a ledger

Every person from five sample cohorts, including the ones who didn't change fields. Typical result in this sample: 26 of 40 people (65%) were working in their new field six months after the program ended. The median person who changed took 21.5 weeks from the first call to a written offer, and their first-year pay changed by −1.5%. 14 people had not changed fields at six months.

Where each person was, six months after the programEach square is one person. Point at one, or tap it, to read the row.

Changed fields (26)Still searching (9)Stayed by choice (5)

  1. Cohort 1, Jan 20256 of 8 changed
  2. Cohort 2, Apr 20255 of 8 changed
  3. Cohort 3, Jul 20256 of 8 changed
  4. Cohort 4, Oct 20255 of 8 changed
  5. Cohort 5, Jan 20264 of 8 changed

Sample cohort data, written for this concept build. Not real clients. Open the full ledger

Four ways in

Every price is here. Nothing renews, and the payment plan ends after three payments.

Start here

Go all the way

Dana Whitfield, founder of Second Act Studio

Before I coached, I spent eleven years as a recruiter. I read about 30,000 résumés, and I watched a lot of good people get turned down for jobs they could have done, because their story still described the old career.

That's what we fix here. Not your worth, not your passion. Your plan, your story and your numbers, in that order.

I take eight people per cohort so I can read every draft myself. If the assessment says you're not ready, I mean it kindly: a call with me wouldn't help you yet, and the workshop will.

Dana Whitfield

ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) · Founder

[email protected]

Answers

Is this therapy? No. Coaching is planning and practice for a work decision. We don't diagnose or treat anything. If you're struggling with your mental health, we'll pause and point you to a licensed counsellor.

Do you guarantee a new job? No, and be wary of anyone who does. The results ledger shows what happened to everyone in our sample cohorts, including the people who didn't change fields.

What if I don't know what field I want? Most people start there. Take the assessment; if clarity is your low score, the free workshop or a $350 clarity session is the right first step, not the full program.

How much time does it take? Plan for five hours a week: one 50-minute call, one cohort call and the work between them. Fewer than three hours a week and the plan stalls.

Can I pay over time? Yes. The 12-week program is $2,400, or 3 payments of $850. There are no subscriptions and nothing renews.

What if it isn't working? Leave in the first two weeks and we refund everything except one clarity session ($350). After that, you can pause once and rejoin the next cohort.

Is it online or in Austin? Calls are on Zoom. Austin clients can meet Dana in person at the Barton Springs Road studio for the plan session in week four.

Who are the coaches? Dana Whitfield (ICF PCC, 11 years as an in-house recruiter) and Theo Brandt (ICF ACC, former hiring manager in healthcare and software).

Not sure yet? The assessment takes three minutes and tells you honestly whether to apply or start with the free workshop. Take the assessment

Apply for January

Eight seats. The cohort starts Tuesday, January 12, 2027. Applications close December 18.

Start the application

Concept build for a fictional brand. Names, prices and numbers are illustrations. Built by Jefi Studio.