About Brian Berry & Leap Forward Careers
Career Coach · North Yorkshire · Working with clients across the UK
I Have Sat on the Other Side of That Table
If you have ever sent out application after application and heard nothing back, walked out of an interview knowing it did not go the way you planned, or found yourself in a job that somehow became your career without you ever really choosing it — I want you to know that I have seen exactly what is happening. Not from a textbook. From the other side of the hiring process.
My name is Brian Berry. I am the founder of Leap Forward Careers. Before I became a career coach I spent years as a team manager in the public sector and IT — hiring staff, reviewing applications, sitting on interview panels, and coordinating the approval of new positions. Over that time I reviewed hundreds of applications and interviewed candidates across roles from administration through to specialist and middle management.
Our Mission
To provide timely, convenient, and relevant career support to those who want more from their career than a simple paycheck — focusing entirely on your individual needs, your situation, and your next step.
Three Things That Started Leap Forward Careers
There was not one single moment that led me to start Leap Forward Careers. There were three.
The Person Who Drifted to a Dead End
I managed someone who had moved through their career taking whatever was offered — one role to the next, without direction or intention. Over time the gap between their soft skills and the demands of their role grew wider until they hit a wall they genuinely could not get past. They needed support but did not know how to ask for it, and I did not have the right tools to give them what they actually needed. That stayed with me.
The Candidate Who Did Not Know How They Were Landing
I interviewed a candidate who spent a significant part of the interview speaking negatively about their previous employer. They were not a bad person — they were frustrated, and that frustration was probably justified. But they had no idea how it was landing on the other side of the table. There was nothing I could do to help them in that moment. I thought about how differently that conversation might have gone if someone had prepared them properly.
The Hundred Applications That Did Not Read the Job Description
I reviewed over a hundred applications for a single position and found the overwhelming majority had not read the job description properly. They sent a generic application, answered questions with a single sentence, and gave no indication they understood what the role required. Most were rejected not because they lacked the ability — but because nothing in their application demonstrated that they did.
Brian’s Background
Brian holds both an LLB(Hons) and an LLM — a Master of Laws degree — which informs the way he approaches employment rights, workplace issues, and the legal framework surrounding disability, reasonable adjustments, and discrimination at work. These are not abstract topics. They come up regularly in real conversations with real clients.
Brian’s career spans approximately ten years in commercial risk management, four years leading teams, and ten years in IT management. He has worked across the public sector, IT, and with umbrella companies — hiring staff, writing job descriptions, sitting on interview panels, reviewing job applications, conducting performance reviews, and coordinating budget approvals for positions across administrative, specialist, and middle management roles.
Brian is based in North Yorkshire, close to Leeds and the wider West Yorkshire area, and works with clients across the whole of the UK entirely online — which means wherever you are, we can work together.
On Disability — Why It Matters Personally
The disability focus at Leap Forward Careers did not come from research. It came from personal experience.
Brian has severe asthma. Most of the time it is well controlled and you would never know. But every so often — and more significantly every few years — a serious flare-up resists treatment and requires time off work to manage properly. What he encountered repeatedly was the question of whether to disclose. Whether telling an employer would help or harm. Whether asking for adjustments would make him seem less capable rather than more supported.
He knows from the inside what it feels like to weigh those questions — and from the hiring side what a well-informed, confident approach to disclosure looks like compared to one driven by uncertainty and fear.
One in seven people in the UK is neurodivergent or has a disability. Most have more protection than they realise and less support than they deserve. That is why the free Disability at Work guide exists — and why this is spoken about openly.
How Brian Works
Brian will not tell you what you want to hear. That is not what you are paying for.
What he will do is work through your situation honestly — your CV, your interview technique, your career direction, your options — and give you a clear, practical assessment of where you are and what needs to change. Not dressed up. Not harsh. Straight — which is what most people actually need and rarely get.
The people he works with best tend to be mid-career professionals who have drifted — who took a promotion because it was offered, moved sideways because it seemed like progress, or ended up in a role that no longer fits. If you recognise that description, you are in the right place.
Who Leap Forward Careers Helps
Entering the job market
For the first time, or after graduation.
Returning after an absence
After illness, caring responsibilities, or time away from work.
Facing redundancy
Supporting those whose contract is ending or who are actively job hunting.
Changing jobs or careers
Mid-career professionals looking for direction and a new path.
Our Services
Leap Forward Careers provides comprehensive support through the entire job application process — including CV review, CV writing, job description interpretation, LinkedIn profile review, and individualised coaching and consultation services.
All services are delivered online using Zoom or Microsoft Teams where required, and email. Because we work online there is no need to fit into a typical nine to five — we work around your schedule.
Operating Hours
Monday to Thursday: 8am to 8pm
Friday: 8am to 2pm
Closed on public holidays.
Once you place your request, a timeframe for completion will be provided. For interview practice and preparation, a date and time that works for you will be arranged. The service is not considered complete until you are satisfied.
What Success Looks Like
The moment that makes this worth doing is when someone gets back in touch to say they got the role. Not the application submitted. Not the interview booked. The offer accepted. That is the outcome everything here is designed to produce.
Ready to Take Your Next Step?
The best place to start is a free 15-minute call. No obligation. No sales pitch. Just a conversation about where you are and whether Leap Forward Careers can help.
Book Your Free 15-Minute Call
Email: hello@leapstartcareers.com
Call or message: 07496 366 171
Based in North Yorkshire — working with clients across the UK