Feeling stuck between where you are and what’s next?
The Career Change Starter Kit helps you create clarity without overwhelm.
CAREER COACHING & GRAD ADMISSIONS STRATEGY
Hi, I'm Ash.
ASH CROSS, MA, GCDF
I'm a career coach and job search strategist with 12+ years of experience and a lived understanding of what it actually takes to navigate competitive, opaque systems. I've been on the other side of the table. I use the same strategies I teach.
AuDHD with a TBI
6,000+ professionals coached
Former CMU admissions committee
Former therapist
12+
Years as a career coach and strategist
6,000+
Professionals across 20+ industries
100%
MFE internship placement while at Carnegie Mellon
$160K+
Average starting salary with sign-on bonus
MY STORY
I've been there too.
I spent five years pursuing my counseling license, working across outpatient, in-home, school, college, and hospice settings. I worked multiple jobs at any given time and gave a lot of myself to the work.
When COVID hit, I went through heavy unmasking and burnout. That's when I decided to stop pursuing my license and move across state lines for my dream job working at Carnegie Mellon as a career counselor.
I'm AuDHD with a TBI. I know firsthand what job search exhaustion feels like. I know what it's like to navigate disclosure decisions, sensory overload, and a brain that doesn't always cooperate with the demands of a job search. I didn't just read about these challenges. I lived them.
My passion for career services started back in graduate school. I primarily worked in higher ed with a focus on career advising, working with 6,000+ college and grad students and career changers across more than 20 industries.
In 2025, I opened Across Careers, LLC to bring that work outside of institutional walls and serve candidates directly.
"Once I stopped trying to fit into broken systems, everything changed. Now I help others do the same."
Early career
Mental health counselor
Master's in Mental Health Counseling. Five years across outpatient, in-home, school, college, and hospice settings.
2020
Burnout, unmasking, and a pivot
COVID brought everything to a head. I left clinical work and moved across state lines for a role at Carnegie Mellon.
CMU
Associate Director, Career Services at MSCF
Worked directly with admissions committees, hiring managers, recruiters, and alumni. 100% internship placement. 97% employed within 3 months.
2025
Founded Across Careers, LLC
Bringing the same approach directly to job seekers, grad school applicants, and career changers.
CARNEGIE MELLON CREDENTIALS
I've been on the other side of the table.
As Associate Director of Career Services at Carnegie Mellon's MSCF, the #3 Financial Engineering program in the U.S., I sat on the admissions committee and reviewed 300+ candidates. I curated resume books sent to 1,000+ employers and had direct, ongoing conversations with recruiters and hiring managers about what they were actually looking for. Not what was in the job description. What they were actually looking for.
100%
MFE internship placement, multiple years running
Every student who sought an internship got one.
97%
Employed within 3 months of graduation
Over 90% making six figures. Average $160K+ with sign-on bonus.
300+
Candidates reviewed on the admissions committee
I know what moves an application forward and what gets it ignored.
MY APPROACH
What to expect when we work together.
I skip the small talk
When we meet, I jump straight into coaching. I want to understand your profile as a candidate, your thought process, your constraints, and your goals. That's how I differentiate you from your competition.
I give you honest, direct feedback
I'm practical and straightforward. I don't sugarcoat. My goal is to create a space where you can do the same: no masking, no judgment. I will tell you exactly what I think and where you should focus next.
Every session ends with clear next steps
You'll always leave with 2 to 3 specific action items, not a list of things to figure out on your own. You'll know exactly what to do when you sit down.
We adjust when life gets in the way
If you can't finish work between sessions, we do it together in real time. No shame spiral required. The structure adjusts to fit your brain, your energy, and your bandwidth.
I build systems, not just sessions
I built the job search frameworks, trackers, and workflows that hundreds of students have used. This is not advice. It is a repeatable process you can actually follow.
I use the same strategies I teach
In my own recent job search, targeted applications turned into interviews at a 75% rate. Warm outreach had a 65 to 70% response rate. I know these methods work because I have tested them myself.
SPEAKING AND EVENTS
Invite Ash to speak.
I speak at universities, bootcamps, professional associations, and corporate events on topics including quant and technical recruiting, graduate admissions strategy, neurodivergent career navigation, and job search systems that actually work.
I don't do motivational keynotes. I do practical, specific, and direct talks that give audiences something they can use the same day. Formats include workshops, webinars, panels, and live resume or LinkedIn reviews.
TOPICS I SPEAK ON
Quant and technical recruiting
How competitive hiring actually works, what firms are evaluating, and what makes a candidate stand out in a crowded pool.
Graduate admissions strategy
What MFE, CS, and STEM admissions committees are actually looking for, from someone who sat on one.
Neurodivergent career navigation
Job search systems built around how neurodivergent brains actually work, not how they're supposed to work.
Career pivots and non-linear backgrounds
How to translate a complex or non-traditional background into a clear, competitive narrative for any audience.
The SONAR framework
My five-stage career search framework, adapted for workshops, bootcamps, and group coaching settings.
NOT SURE WHERE TO START?
Ready to figure out what isn't working and fix it?
Pick the path that fits where you are right now. Not sure? Book a session and we'll figure it out together.
GRADUATE ADMISSIONS
Admissions support
I help MFE, CS, and STEM applicants understand how admissions decisions actually get made
1:1 COACHING