In a sea of options,
you will stand out
One-to-one career coaching for teachers, leaders, and education professionals. Whether you're aiming for promotion, a sector move, or a route to or within education.
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Emilia Shend
Education consultant · Curriculum Developer · pre-PhD
12 years in international education
the Netherlands · Russia · Belgium · the UK · Israel · the USA · Saudi Arabia
Dutch DUO-certified teacher
State-recognised qualification
pre-PhD, Leiden University
Researching why good teachers leave
Former Academic Director & Head of Curriculum Development
Built and led curriculum frameworks across multiple institutions
Three ways people end up here.
Pick the one that feels most like you right now.
Ready, but unproven on paper.
You want the promotion, the leadership title, or the bigger role. Your work speaks for itself in the room. Outside it, on paper and on screen, the story doesn't land the way it should. We fix that.
Book a Fit Check
Leaving the classroom, not education.
Curriculum design, instructional design, EdTech, consulting, your own practice. These careers exist and people make the move. You just need a clear map of what that shift actually looks like, and how to talk about it.
Book a Fit Check
New country, same expertise.
You've moved, or you're about to. You have real experience and real credentials. What you need is someone who knows how the new system reads you, and how to make sure it reads you right.
Book a Fit CheckThis isn't CV editing.
It's your professional identity.
Most people offering this have never hired. I have. I've built teams, hired teachers, and been hired myself: into classrooms, leadership, curriculum roles across countries. I know what a recruiter is scanning for because I've been the recruiter. So when I work with you, the CV is the smallest part of what changes.
- A rebuilt CV and interview story
- A LinkedIn presence that gets you found
- A business model, if you're going independent
- A reading and course list built for your gap
- Scripts for the conversations you're avoiding
- The imposter syndrome, named and dismantled
I work with people who have depth. I show care through honesty and professionalism, not sugarcoating. You'll get a real path forward, with coherent steps to move on it.
Three ways to work together.
Career Pivot
Moving up, moving sideways, or moving countries
- Market research for your specific target
- Full CV and LinkedIn rewrite
- Interview and positioning strategy
- 60-minute strategy call
One on One Consultation
For anyone who needs a real conversation about what comes next
- Intake before the session
- 90-minute working session
- Written plan with ordered next steps
Build Your Practice
For educators building a freelance or consulting business
- Positioning, niche, and offer design
- Pricing and proposals
- LinkedIn and client acquisition plan
Things I probably shouldn't say.
Pop a bubble. Read the take. Disagree in the comments.
We are letting AI decide what humans should learn. And the country that eliminates the humanities to produce more AI engineers will eventually discover it has engineers who cannot think.
Read on LinkedInWe are experimenting on children's developing brains. Developmental psychology already told us what they need. We stopped listening because innovation is on the agenda.
Read on LinkedInThe phones made attention fragile. The curriculum is not helping it recover. We have spent three years making lessons shorter and easier. That is exactly the wrong direction.
Read on LinkedInA mind that is under-stimulated does look disordered. We are diagnosing the child instead of fixing the curriculum. I find that very difficult to accept.
Read on LinkedInSoft skills are a polite way of being underprepared. The elite schools know this. That is why they are doing the opposite. For everyone else, soft skills are what you get instead of substance.
Read on LinkedInWhat people call "teacher freedom" is often schools transferring system-level failure onto individuals and romanticising the survival process as creativity. Children feel that inconsistency immediately.
Read on LinkedInpop a bubble to read the take
Simple. No unnecessary steps.
How it works from first contact to a finished document.
You fill in a short intake
Ten minutes. This is how I prepare before we speak.
I research your situation
You don't explain yourself twice on the call.
We work through it
Direct, focused, on your actual situation.
The document pack follows
In your inbox within 48 hours. Ready to use.
From where you are
to where you want to be.
Sofia's story.
Passed over twice.
Offered the role on the third try.
A Head of Year with 6 years' experience and real results in the classroom. The CV was listing duties but nothing showed what she'd achieved. We made it visible.
What we did
- Rebuilt the CV around impact and results
- Rewrote the LinkedIn presence to match the target role and expectations of the hiring managers
- Built a solid portfolio to show real results
- Ran a mock interview to kill the hesitation
"I'd been applying for two years. After working with Emilia I had an offer in four months."— Sofia, now Head of Department
20% salary increase. 4 months.
Answered, before you ask.
You book a free 30-minute Fit Check call. We talk through where you are and where you want to be, no pitch, no pressure. If it's a fit, I recommend the package that matches your situation and we start within the week.
If you need one focused conversation and a written plan, start with One on One. If you're actively applying or interviewing, Career Pivot rebuilds your CV, LinkedIn, and positioning around a specific target. If you're leaving employment altogether to freelance or consult, Build Your Practice covers the business side too. Not sure which one? That's exactly what the Fit Check call is for.
Before the session I prepare a file for you based on your situation. On the call, we work through the file and your actual situation, direct and specific. You ask extra questions that you would like answers to. Within 48 hours you get a written document pack you can act on immediately.
Most people offering this have never hired. I have and have done across different countries and roles. Career cooaches don't specialised on education. I do. I know what a recruiter or panel is actually scanning for because I've been on that side of the table. The CV is the smallest part of what changes. I always give advice on books to read, courses to finish and everything connected to education.
No. Teachers, school leaders, and education professionals more broadly, whether you're moving up, moving sideways into EdTech or curriculum or instructional design, or moving countries with your qualifications intact.
That uncertainty is the starting point for most people who book a Fit Check. You don't need to have it figured out before we talk.
Yes. I've worked across a number of countries. All sessions are remote by video call.
The Teacher
Career Compass.
Most career advice for teachers is generic. In 10 minutes, you'll identify exactly where you are, what's holding you back, and the three steps that actually move the needle for your situation.
A free resource by Emilia Shend · emiliashend.com
Ready to
take the
next step?
Let's talk.
Book a call.
A free 30-minute conversation. No pitch, no pressure. Just a clear look at where you are and what comes next.
Book a Fit Check30 minutes · Free · Video call
Maastricht, Netherlands
emilia.shend@gmail.com
+31 6 86 04 84 54
KVK: 42009866
VAT: NL005431241B17
