Amazon + Microsoft recognized leader | Proven coaching programs to help you land a job you love

You’ve worked too hard to feel this stuck.

You’ve led high-stakes projects, delivered results that mattered, and climbed further than most ever will.
But somewhere along the way, the work stopped feeling like it fit.

Maybe the role’s too small now.
Maybe the company’s changed.
Maybe you have.

I know what that moment feels like — because I’ve lived it.

The first time I left a “perfect” job, it made no sense to anyone but me.

On paper, I’d made it.
I was at Amazon, leading product marketing for high-profile products like Prime and Fire tablets.

I’d started in academia and retail, then landed at Microsoft in a role that valued my retail background (who knew?). That move brought me from D.C. to Seattle.

Just as I’d settled in, Amazon came knocking — asking me to get offline retailers ready for the Fire Phone launch. That move took my Big Tech career to a whole new level.

But I couldn’t shake the feeling something didn’t fit.
The work moved faster, the bar kept shifting higher — but my sense of purpose was shrinking.

When I looked around, I saw smart, capable colleagues stay in roles they no longer loved because the comp or title looked good. I realised I was on the same path — and I didn’t want to be.

So I walked away and rebuilt my career on different terms.
Ones that gave me impact and energy.
Ones that felt tangible, sustainable, and worth showing up for.

That change in focus led me to coaching.

Now, I help experienced Big Tech professionals navigate bold career moves — especially when they want their next step to look nothing like their last.

How we work together:
🧭 Clarity – Define your values, strengths, and direction
🎯 Job Search – Own your story and land roles you actually want
🚀 First 90 Days – Lead with purpose from day one in your new role

Results my clients see:
✅ Leadership roles at companies they believe in
✅ Bigger comp and better alignment
✅ Confidence in interviews, negotiations, and decisions
✅ A definition of success that fits their life

Because you’re too smart to waste your best years in the wrong role.
Especially when the next chapter can be the best one yet.

Want to know how coaching can accelerate your career? 
📅 Book your 20-minute clarity call:
https://calendly.com/mfdcoaching/clarity

Mel Fox Dhar

The most wasted moment in a senior interview?
When they ask: “Do you have any questions for us?”

By that point, they already know you can do the job.

What they’re listening for is how you think, what you value, and whether you’ll be someone they want to work with.

Skip the throwaways.

Ask questions that tell you something real and make them think, “This person gets it.”

Three questions I see clients using very effectively in their interviews:
1️⃣ Decision-making → “When leadership is split on a big call, how do you get to a decision?”

2️⃣ Culture → “Tell me about someone who is successful here. What makes them effective?”

3️⃣ Team dynamics → “When priorities change fast, how do you decide what drops and what gets done?”

These aren’t just for showing you've been paying attention, they’re you're opportunity to seal the deal and see if you can thrive there. 

What’s the best end-of-interview question you’ve asked, or been asked?

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P.S. Last week’s newsletter broke down exactly how to set up an Impact Bank. If you want the template, you can grab it here: 
https://www.melfoxdhar.com/post/10-by-january-no-one-will-remember-what-you-did-this-fall

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Want a bit more brass tax on this one? Check out my latest newsletter: https://www.melfoxdhar.com/post/18-why-just-catching-up-is-more-strategic-than-you-think

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Nab your spot here: https://www.melfoxdhar.com/freeworkshop

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 Hi {{Name}} I’ve applied for the {{Role}} role and wanted to reach out directly.

My background is in {{relevant domain / scope}}. Most recently, I’ve been focused on {{1–2 outcomes that map cleanly to the role}}. From the job description, this role appears closely aligned with the kind of work I’ve been doing, particularly {{specific problem or mandate from the spec}}.
Sharing context in case it’s helpful as you’re reviewing candidates.
Best,
{{Your name}}

melfoxdharcoaching

Land & Thrive in a Role You Love | Career Coach for Big Tech | 10 Years at Amazon + Microsoft

I’ve coached a lot of people through Big Tech layoffs, and there’s a pattern I see on repeat: 
Most people try to move really fast and land something immediately. 

One of my recent clients was laid off from Microsoft and did exactly that.
She dove straight into job searching.
And it was making her miserable.

So we paused.
Not 12-week yoga retreat in Bali "find yourself" slow down. 
Just long enough to get honest about what she actually wanted next.
And what came out surprised her.

She hated product marketing.
Hated it.
What she really wanted was to go back into sales - specifically sales enablement.
Once she named that, things shifted.
We aligned her profile to where she actually wanted to go.
She changed how she was showing up - not by erasing her product marketing background, but by positioning it as helpful.

Her experience as a Product Marketer became evidence of:
- how she enabled sellers
- how she translated product strategy into customer-facing stories
- how she supported revenue teams in practice, not theory

Her story tightened.
Her interviews felt more grounded.

She wasn't making anything up or trying to convince someone - she was framing her experience in ways that made sense for her new role. 

She landed a new role back in September.
End to end, her search took about six weeks.

Because clarity removes friction.

"Mel, why would you become a coach? You have real, marketable skills." 
 
I still chuckle recalling that conversation. At the time, it felt like a gut punch.
 
Back then, I hadn't started coaching school nor left Amazon. I was just sharing my plan with a friend. Her surprise was genuine - she couldn't understand why I'd trade a stable career to start my own journey.
 
No one would blame me for backing down. For deciding to keep coaching as a side-hustle; I'd been doing that for a year, why not a bit longer? 
 
But instead, I took a deep breath and explained that 
I was ridiculously excited to help people stop betraying themselves in the name of success and start making intentional decisions about their careers. 
 
Too many talented individuals find themselves stuck, unsure of their next move and don't know how to make the ideas in their head a reality. 
And that's a damn shame. 
 
She agreed
and the rest, as they say, is history. 
 

Here's what I now know to be true - 
The biggest risk wasn't quitting corporate and starting my own business. 
It was letting someone else's opinion drive what I thought I could do. 
 
Yet, we all do this. 
When we're afraid of taking or even exploring a next step 
because of what other people will think. 
 
And yet 
a brief chat with someone living our dream can illuminate our path and give us the insight we need to know if it's worth considering further. 
I know that's where I started. 

So... 
Isn't it time to take that step?
Who could you speak to that's doing what you dream of?

You’re in a new role and suddenly thinking:
"Why is everyone suddenly all up in my sh*t?"

You’re not junior.
You’re not new to leadership.

And yet... every decision is being questioned, reviewed, or revisited.
This shows up a lot for my leaders leaving Amazon, especially during their first 90 days in the new role. 

Here’s what’s usually gone wrong:
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.

At Amazon, autonomy is assumed... called 'being scrappy'
and through docs, people come to trust how you think.

In a new company, that trust hasn’t been built yet - and the signals are different.

So what feels like micromanagement is often uncertainty.

Not about your capability.
About how you make decisions.

The two common mismatches likely to cause the most the most drama: 
• You lead with outcomes. Your manager wants to see the reasoning.
• You work through nuance. Your manager just wants the call.

Same problem. Different flavour.

Here’s how to fix it.
👉 Make your thinking legible. On purpose.

If you default to leading with the big picture: 
- Share your plan, tradeoffs, and next steps before you’re asked.
- Don’t assume results alone will buy trust this early.

If you default to diving into the details: 
- Set the stage by leading with the decision and the implication.
- Treat depth as support, not the headline.

This is how senior leaders earn the trust needed to have autonomy in a new system.
If everyone feels “in your business” right now, pause before getting frustrated.

You probably don’t have a micromanagement problem.
You have a translation problem.
And those are very fixable.

Remember 2022?

When recruiters were in your DMs like:
“Heyyy, want to 2x your salary and work from a beach?” 🏝️

Yeah. Same.

Now?
The market is stacked with smart, capable people — many of whom are still waiting for the system to magically sort things out.

(It won’t.)

The difference right now isn’t talent.
It’s clarity.
The people getting traction aren’t “better.”

They’re easier to understand:
Why this role
Why them
Why now

That’s exactly what we’ll cover in my workshop on Wednesday, January 28 how to get noticed (and actually move things forward) when being great isn’t enough on its own anymore.

If you know what you want but feel weirdly stuck on how to get there, come hang out.

It’s a new game.
Once you see the rules, things get a lot less mysterious.

🔗 in 💬

"So much useful information was given in the hour session - every insight was invaluable! From headlines to resume visibility...and so much more, I'm looking forward to making some positive changes!" 

It's time to get that LinkedIn profile working for you. 
Join me January 28 - let's rock this together.

“It’s manageable.”
“I’m not sure what I want next yet.”
“After the next launch, it’ll be clearer.”
“Once things stabilise, I’ll take a proper look.”

I hear this most often from senior folks at Amazon and Microsoft.
Not because they’re stuck -
but because they’re planning for a cleaner version of reality.

A version where the org is stable.
The market is predictable.
The signal is obvious.
And the next move presents itself neatly.
That version almost never arrives.

The two clients in today’s video?
We first spoke a year ago.
They were waiting for the conditions to make sense.
Instead, the conditions changed - and the questions stayed the same.

Senior careers don’t unlock in a perfect world.
They move forward in the one you’re actually in.

So the real question isn’t whether things will improve.
It’s whether you’re willing to make decisions without ideal conditions.

If this feels uncomfortably familiar, that’s usually the moment worth paying attention to.

Sara Yates

I'm a multi-functional leader bridging strategy, product, design, and content operations. At the heart of my role is the understanding that operations is as much change management as it is about the relationship between design, efficiency, and efficacy. I get excited about bringing people along for the journey and empowering my team to show up in their superpowers. 

Extroverted introvert who loves learning, cheese, and a standard poodle named Charlotte.

Skills: Project/Program management, Design Leadership, User Experience, Content Operations, Content Design, Design Management, Organizational Strategy & Design, Design Operations, Learning & Development, Mentoring, Strategic & Business Planning, Change Management, Process Optimization, Budget Management, Resource Allocation, People Operations, Team Building.

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