Your evidence gets edited down.
You can name what the team accomplished, but your own part disappears from the story. We separate humility from invisibility, so you can describe the work without apology.
Read the guide to self-doubt at work →LGBTQ+ career coaching · Early career through Director
LGBTQ+ career coaching that turns your experience into career power
As an LGBTQ+ career coach for corporate professionals, I help you turn the work you're already doing into a career you're recognized for: the words, the evidence and the plan for your next move.
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Book free and see how we can help — no commitment, pressure, or obligation.
Remote 1:1 coaching by video for professionals across the U.S. · Call or text 317-674-3338 · hello@qarete.coach
QARETE helps LGBTQ+ corporate professionals build a clear career narrative, understand who shapes their next opportunity, and rehearse the conversation they've been postponing about scope, title, pay or sponsorship.
Every session ends with something written you can use in a real conversation—not a pep talk.
The QVANT Career Power Sprint: six private weekly video sessions with Ricardo, plus short written work between sessions. You leave with a career narrative, position audit, stakeholder map, conversation kit and a 30–90 day Career Power Plan. $900 founding pilot, paid in full—or $450 to start. You pay only after a strategy consultation confirms fit and you agree on a start date.
- 15 years at Fidelity Investments
- Consulted Fortune 500 clients
- President's Circle Award winner
- Fidelity Pride ERG lead
- Written outputs from every session
- You control disclosure
This is for you if…
- You have the results, but you don't know how to advocate for them, and no one in the room is doing it for you.
- You want the promotion or the leadership role, but you don't know how or where to start.
- You give the team the credit and discount your own results, even when the work was yours.
- You rewrite the email four times before it goes out, and still wonder how it landed.
- You were passed over, or watched a peer get the role for doing less, and nobody gave you a clear reason.
- You know a conversation is due — scope, title, pay, sponsorship — and you keep moving it to next quarter.
It's not a confidence problem. It's a visibility habit you learned for good reasons, and it's now costing you the next door.
This isn't therapy, and it isn't a resume rewrite. If you need clinical support, keep it; QARETE works on the career side.
The problems we work on
Your value is hard to see.
The people shaping your next opportunity may not understand the scope of what you do. That's a translation problem, not proof you lack capability.
Read the guide to professional visibility →You keep waiting to be chosen.
You know a decision is due, and self-editing keeps pushing it into next quarter. We turn that into one deliberate, well-timed move.
Read the guide to being passed over for promotion →Passed over? Find out which gap you're actually facing.
- Evidence gap. The work was yours, but nobody can point to it. Common mistake: working harder instead of making the record visible.
- Criteria gap. You're excelling at the job you have, not the one you want. Common mistake: assuming the next level rewards more of the same.
- Sponsorship gap. No one with influence is saying your name when you're not in the room. Common mistake: collecting mentors when you need a sponsor.
- Structural gap. The decision isn't about you. Common mistake: treating a system problem as a personal failure.
Each one needs a different move. Guessing wrong costs you months.
Three ways in. One method.
Start free. Go deeper when you're ready to act.
QVANT Career Power Diagnostic · Free
- For
- anyone who wants to know where to start.
- What happens
- you answer a short set of questions and get your result on the spot.
- You leave with
- the QVANT stage that deserves your attention now.
no email required for your result.
Career Power Scorecard · Free
- For
- anyone who has taken the diagnostic and wants to read it properly.
- What happens
- you look at your starting point across five areas: evidence, direction, visibility, sponsorship and narrative.
- You leave with
- an interpretation of where you stand and one useful next move. No grade.
QVANT Career Power Sprint · $900 founding pilot
- For
- early career through Director, ready to make a deliberate move in the next 90 days.
- What happens
- six private 1:1 video sessions with Ricardo, one a week, plus short written work between sessions.
- You leave with
- your career narrative, position audit, stakeholder map, conversation kit and a 30–90 day Career Power Plan.
$900 in full, or $450 to start. You pay only after a strategy consultation confirms fit and you agree on a start date.
Already completed your strategy consultation?
Secure your Sprint.
Please pay only after your strategy consultation has confirmed the fit and we have agreed your start date.
The Sprint, week by week
- Week 1Quiet the Doubt90 minEvidence & Career Power Inventory
- Week 2Vision with Specificity60 minNext-Door Definition
- Week 3Audit Your Current Position60 minPosition & Opportunity Audit
- Week 4Navigate the Decision60 minStakeholder, Visibility & Influence Map
- Week 5Take the First Move60 minConversation strategy, rehearsed
- Week 6Integration60 minCareer Power Plan for the next 30–90 days
How it works: the QVANT Method™
Five stages, in order. Each one ends in writing, because a plan you can't read back isn't a plan.
- 1.
Quiet the Doubt.
Your record goes on paper in checkable language. Doubt doesn't vanish; it stops being the loudest voice in the room.
- 2.
Vision with Specificity.
"The next level" becomes a defined door: the scope, the contribution, the relationships, the conditions.
- 3.
Audit Your Current Position.
You see exactly where you're visible and where you aren't, across evidence, visibility, relationships, influence and opportunity.
- 4.
Navigate the Decision.
Ten options become the one decision that moves everything else. The rest is deferred in writing, with a date.
- 5.
Take the First Move.
A written move with a date and a named person on the other end. If it doesn't have a date, it isn't a plan.
You leave with documents, not just insight.
Most coaching ends with a good feeling. QVANT ends with something you can use in Monday's meeting.
A career narrative at full size. Language that describes your contribution accurately, ready to say out loud.
A position audit. Where you stand on evidence, visibility, relationships, influence and opportunity, and which gap matters most.
A stakeholder and visibility map. Who shapes your next door, and what each of them needs to hear from you.
A conversation kit. The script for the conversation you've been postponing, rehearsed before it counts.
A 30–90 day Career Power Plan. Moves with dates and names, not intentions.
Here's a sample page from a conversation kit, built for a fictional client, so you can see what you'd walk away with.
Sample · Fictional client
Conversation kit: the scope conversation
Client: Jordan, Senior Analyst, 4 years in role
Goal: Get agreement that Jordan's work is manager-level scope, and a path to the title within two review cycles.
Evidence (checkable):
- Built the quarterly forecasting model now used by three teams
- Trained four new analysts in 2025; two are now leading their own workstreams
- Led the vendor transition that cut reporting time from 5 days to 2
The opening line:
"I'd like to talk about how my role has grown and what it would take to get to manager. Can I walk you through three things I've been leading?"
Likely pushback, and the response:
"There's no headcount right now." → "Understood. Can we agree on what manager-level looks like for me, so we're both ready when there is?"
Follow-up: Send a written recap within 24 hours, then check in on the agreed criteria in 30 days.
It's not more motivation you need. It's the evidence, the words and the date.
Who you'll work with
Ricardo Cruz — Founder of QARETE, creator of the QVANT Method™
For years I edited myself to fit a version of professional belonging I couldn't manufacture: the sports talk, the family shorthand, the easy familiarity. I read the difference as a deficit and performed smaller than my capability.
The shift came when I took ownership of my story, decisions and results. My experience became evidence. My personality became an advantage. QVANT is the method I wish I'd had then. I built it from 15 years at Fidelity Investments consulting Fortune 500 clients, from leading Fidelity's Pride ERG and serving as an employee engagement site lead, from serving my community as treasurer of the Albuquerque Pride board, and from living it.
Fidelity Investments, 15 years · President's Circle Award winner · Fidelity Pride ERG lead · Employee engagement site lead · Former treasurer, Albuquerque Pride board · MBA with Distinction · Career coaching certifications in progress
Read Ricardo's story →Founding pilot, stated plainly.
QARETE is in its founding pilot. You won't find borrowed logos or invented testimonials here. Pilot clients get the full Sprint at founding pricing, and their results will appear on this page with their permission, at the level of detail they choose.
At the end of the Sprint, pilot clients are asked whether they'd like to share what changed. Their words will appear here only with their permission.
FAQ
Questions before you start
Is this therapy?
No. QARETE is career coaching and execution strategy. If you're working with a therapist, keep doing that; we work on the career side, and every session produces something written you can use at work.
Do I need to be LGBTQ+ to work with you?
No. This isn't coaching about being out at work. It's career coaching for outcomes: your narrative, your position, your next move. What makes it different is who's coaching you: someone who has faced the same challenges and built the method from them. Coaching for LGBTQ+ professionals, by an LGBTQ+ professional.
Do I have to be out at work?
No. Disclosure is your decision, and the method treats it as one. We plan around what you choose to share, with whom and when. Nothing in the Sprint requires you to come out to anyone.
Who sees my diagnostic answers?
No one needs your email to see your result. Answers are recorded anonymously, as scores only, so the tool can improve. Your email is stored only if you ask for the scorecard and follow-up guidance.
How much does the Sprint cost, and what does "founding pilot" mean?
The Sprint is $900 in full, or $450 to start. You pay only after a strategy consultation confirms fit and you agree on a start date. Founding pilot means seats are limited and $900 is founding pricing; the price goes up once the pilot closes.
What levels do you work with?
Early career and individual contributors through Director, in corporate roles.
Is it virtual?
Yes. All six Sprint sessions are private 1:1 video calls with Ricardo. Right now I work with clients based in the U.S.
What makes LGBTQ+ career coaching different?
Workplace recognition isn't neutral. Self-editing, disclosure decisions, cultural familiarity and structural bias all change how your contribution gets seen. Generic coaching works around them; QVANT puts them in the plan, without treating any of it as your fault.
What's expected of me between sessions?
About 60 to 90 minutes a week of short written work. Each week you can send one consolidated question or draft for review, and I respond within two business days.
How do I get a spot?
Book a free 30-minute strategy consultation. If it's a fit, we agree on a start date before you pay anything. Founding pilot seats are limited.
The Sprint, stated clearly
Fees, scope and exit terms
Six private remote sessions over six weeks: one 90-minute opening session and five 60-minute sessions. You pay only after a strategy consultation confirms fit and you agree on a start date.
- Fees and payment schedule
- The investment is $900 total, paid before session one, or two $450 payments due before sessions one and four. There is no subscription or automatic renewal.
- Between-session work and support
- Plan for approximately 60–90 minutes of preparation or follow-through each week. The service includes one consolidated written question or artifact review each week, with up to 20 minutes of coach review. Responses are within two business days, Monday–Friday, excluding announced closures.
- Completion remedy
- If an agreed artifact is incomplete when due, we provide one additional session and a written revision at no charge. If the gap remains after 10 business days, we refund the amount allocated to that milestone: $250 for the opening session or $130 for the relevant follow-up. This covers the agreed work, not an employer's decision.
- Cancellation and rescheduling
- Before session one, payments are fully refundable. After starting, delivered sessions are allocated $250 for the opening session and $130 for each follow-up. We refund payments above delivered-session charges and waive unpaid charges for undelivered sessions. Give at least 24 hours' notice to reschedule. One late change or missed session may be rescheduled without charge; agree remaining dates within eight weeks. Further exceptions are agreed in writing before a fee or forfeiture.
What is—and isn't—covered
Your employer makes employment, promotion, pay, and sponsorship decisions. The sprint delivers a career narrative, clearer position, prepared conversation, and deliberate plan. External outcomes are not guaranteed.
This isn't therapy, and it isn't a resume rewrite. If you need clinical support, keep it; QARETE works on the career side.
Applying does not create an agreement or permission to charge. Final service terms will be presented in the service agreement before enrollment.
Read the full service terms →Have a question before booking?
Ask Ricardo about the coaching or whether it fits what you need.
Share only what you’re comfortable sharing. Leave out confidential employer information and personal identity details.
Start with the diagnostic. No email required.
Find the QVANT stage that deserves your attention now. If you're ready to act on it, book a free 30-minute strategy consultation for the Sprint.
You weren't built to be a draft that never gets sent.