We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tiffany Nelson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tiffany below.

Tiffany, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

When I was about 19 years old, I was working as an assistant for a director at a non-profit in New York City, and it was a miserable experience. My director was very difficult, and everyone knew it. One morning, I was suddenly let go—fired, as I saw it. It was devastating; I closed my office door and cried. My recruiter, however, told me to take a couple of days off and that she had a three-day temp assignment for me starting that Monday.

The risk wasn’t intentional, but it was embracing the sheer uncertainty of the pivot. I was emotionally raw from the loss of my first “real” job and was showing up for a role with a mysterious contact, “John,” in a business I knew nothing about—an electrical contracting company. When I arrived at the building, the first man I saw was a doorman named John, and for a terrifying moment, I thought I’d been sent to work outside in a hallway. The real risk was moving forward after a major professional setback, trusting in a three-day opportunity, and betting on myself to figure it out.

I walked into the office, met the real John, and started the three-day assignment. It went swimmingly. On the last day, the vice president asked me to stay for three weeks to cover for an employee’s vacation. When that employee returned, he asked me to just stay. That three-day temp assignment ultimately turned into a 10-year career where I grew into the role of Payroll Manager, handling accounts payable and receivable, and HR. It was an amazing, formative, and enjoyable time. The willingness to jump into that unfamiliar, brief assignment after a loss—and the risk the company took on a young, temporary employee—led to one of the most significant and rewarding chapters of my professional life.

Tiffany, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For folks who may not have read about you before, can you please tell our readers about yourself, how you got into your industry / business / discipline / craft etc, what type of products/services/creative works you provide, what problems you solve for your clients and/or what you think sets you apart from others.

What are you most proud of and what are the main things you want potential clients/followers/fans to know about you/your brand/your work/ etc.

Please provide as much detail as you feel relevant as this is one of the core questions where the reader will get to know about you and your brand/organization/etc

I am Tiffany Nelson, a Life & Career Strategist, ICF-Certified Coach, and Human Resources professional. I am also the host of a new podcast, The Rebuild. My work is primarily focused on authentic and vulnerable conversations about rebuilding life after devastating loss—whether it’s from heartbreak, divorce, the loss of a loved one, a career pivot, or other major life change.

I provide coaching and strategy, drawing on about 15 years of unofficial and official life coaching experience. I use my podcast, The Rebuild…Talks with Tiffany, is a platform to discuss these topics.

My passion for this niche is rooted in my own experiences of major career pivots and loss. My career foundation includes working for 10 years as a Payroll and HR Manager for a multi-million dollar electrical contracting company. This chapter ended when I was laid off during the financial crisis. This massive professional setback—going from a deeply fulfilling career to having no work and struggling to find a job—was a profound shock. It also mirrored the parallel experience of divorcing at the same time.

This journey through dark, terrifying times and my eventual success in pivoting and rebuilding my life is what now fuels my current work. It is what allows me to connect deeply with others facing similar struggles.

I support high-achievers who have lived a fair amount of life but find themselves lacking the tools or an identifiable voice to help them “get back into the game of life” after a major loss. I provide a platform and guidance for them to see that they can pivot and transition into something incredible.

What sets me apart is my unwavering grit, determination and personal experience. I am always willing to bet on myself and believe that if I built an amazing life, career, or relationship before, I can do it again. The core of my brand is this belief: finding that spark to try again and having the grit to get over “the hump of rejection, over the sting of loss.”

My greatest source of pride is how my life has become unrecognizable from those dark times, aligning now with the life I truly wanted.

I want potential clients and followers to know that my brand is centered on rebuilding after something is lost or transitions. Something I know intimately, because I’ve lived this myself. We talk about big losses and big gains and how to navigate life’s major shifts. The most important lesson is that you can get the life you want, even after devastating loss, by embracing the pivot and being intentional about your own success. You can connect with me on LinkedIn and Instagram as Tiffany C. Nelson.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

A significant point of resilience in my journey was navigating the financial crisis after working for an electrical contracting company for 10 years as the payroll and HR manager. We saw the inevitable coming, and I was laid off, which was a huge shock to my system. I had identified deeply with my career, and suddenly, I had no work and couldn’t find a job. Those nights were dark, cold, and terrifying with worry about the future and how I would provide for my baby girl.

My resilience shone through in my determination to rebuild. I realized that if I could build a great life, career, and relationships before, I could do it again—I’m always willing to bet on myself. This experience of having to pivot and rebuild my life after a major loss is what ultimately fueled my current work as an Executive Life & Career Strategist and ICF-Certified Coach. It’s what I’m most proud of now: my life is unrecognizable from those dark times, now closely aligned with the life I truly wanted, full of new ideas and a readiness to embrace each day. This transition illustrates the core of my resilience—the ability to pivot after loss and transition into something incredible.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Something that I’ve had to unlearn was being a generalist. In Human Resources, there are often HR Generalists which means – as the HR professional you are able to perform all of the tasks required for human resources; from recruiting to onboarding, from employee relations, performance management etc. Years ago, the few people in Human Resources all performed the same functions. It’s only been in the last 15 or so years that we’ve seen a big push to specialize. Talent Acquisition separate from employee engagement, separate from labor relations etc. So on a professional level, it was necessary for me to select one area and focus completely on that – I had to unlearn being a generalist – Both professionally and personally, I’ve become laser focused on the areas that I’m most interested in and enjoy.

Contact Info:

• Linkedin: shirleybeyer, artist

Image Credits

Stacy Be Photography, PhotosbyKai