Let's Work Together!

Trying to land your first urban planning job?

Feeling stuck in your current role? 

Wanting to take your planning career to the next level?


I support planners and aspiring planners looking to cultivate fulfilling
and exciting careers that make a positive impact and shape our world into a better place to live.

Kristy Kilbourne, MES (Pl.), MCIP, RPP, AICP

Planning Career Coach | Urban Planning Consultant | Planning Practice Researcher

I am proud to call myself a career champion of many inspiring planners who are absolutely rocking their careers and making huge impacts through their work!

I spent years working in the public sector in a variety of roles on the front lines of planning. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have found a career I love and I am extremely passionate about all things planning (even my Instagram handle is @passionateplanning!). In my own planning career, I have had the benefit of great mentors and professional development opportunities along the way - most of this was not by accident.

What I found in practice is that a gap existed in planning education, planning workplaces, and within the profession itself. Not all Planners and aspiring planners were receiving the career advice, guidance, and support they needed to navigate transitions such as breaking into the profession, moving into management, making a change geographically, or pivoting into to different areas or roles within the field in line with their evolving career and personal interests and circumstances. As a result, I sometimes see Planners struggling to enter the profession, giving up on their goals or aspirations, in less than ideal work conditions or mismatched to their interests and strengths, lacking mentorship, feeling overwhelmed or lacking confidence in their roles, facing extreme burnout, or worse - considering quitting the profession all together.

This is why I have committed to supporting Planners through 1-on-1 coaching and mentoring (my clients are from across the United States and Canada and are at all career stages and specializations), providing workshops, advisory services, speaking, and undertaking doctoral research to contribute to Planning Practice scholarship to address this critical gap and need. 

I firmly believe that ideal roles and conditions exist for most Planners within our profession and when we can match Planners with ideal roles and conditions, provide them with support, professional communities, and environments where they can learn, grow, and thrive, that's where the magic happens.

Well supported, happy, and engaged Planners = the best possible outcomes for our communities. 

As Your Planning Career coach, I can help you:

  • Make a career pivot into planning from another field
  • Land a great first planning job or seek out your next perfect opportunity
  • Prepare for pursuing undergraduate or graduate studies in planning
  • Identify your unique strengths and skills and find your “niche” in planning
  • Find alignment between personal and professional goals and aspirations
  • Learn important skills and tools that will help you throughout your career
  • Become a more productive, effective, and confident planner (I don't just work with Planners looking for new roles)
  • Gain access to a diverse support group of motivated, growth-oriented peers
  • Effectively market yourself and your planning skill sets
  • Build your network and establish your own personal circle of planning mentors 
  • Establish a roadmap to reach your next level(s) of career growth and keep you motivated, accountable and on track to meeting your professional goals
  • Launch or grow your independent planning consulting business or planning side hustle/passion project
Get In Touch

                

Speaking, Resources and Workshops

In addition to working directly 1-on-1 with planners, I host a variety of online events throughout the year (subscribe to my e-mail newsletter!) and I partner with planning schools, employers, professional  associations, and other planner-led initiatives to deliver in-person and virtual workshops, provide advisory services, design programming/curriculum, write blog posts, and speak on podcasts on a variety of topics related to urban planning careers and the professional development of planners.   

 

Get in Touch

Client Results

What my clients are saying

 After my first real planning job I was feeling lost, confused and like I had chosen the wrong career. After working with Kristy I have felt that initial love for Planning come back as well as helping regain confidence as a planner. 

- Victoria

Working with Kristy has been one of the best investments I have ever made, and I regret not working with her sooner! Through the coaching experience, I have not only become more confident with the job application process, but I have also become much more confident as a planner. I have advanced my career in the exact way I had hoped to, and if you are feeling stuck in your career or in the job search, I cannot recommend the coaching service enough.

- Edward​​

I would recommend Kristy's coaching to any planners looking to break into their field, looking at a career pivot, refreshing their job search skills and everything in between. I realized through coaching that all I really needed was a little support and encouragement. I went into the program unsure of if I would be able to find work, let alone in a role that I wanted. With Kristy’s help I got job offers for every role I interviewed for!

- Emilia

Read More Reviews

                  

NEVER MISS AN UPDATE

Subscribe to my monthly newsletter, filled with advice, tips, helpful resources, and more!

Subscribe