Oxana Willeke

Oxana Willeke has built a career around that gap. A former recruiter, technology professional, and now executive career coach based in the Greater Seattle Area, she works with senior leaders across every industry, with particular depth in tech and climate, professionals who are polished on paper and invisible in practice. Named among Influence Digest’s Top Career Coaches in Seattle for 2025, her insight comes from sitting on both sides of the hiring table, and concluding that the real shortage isn’t talent. It’s visibility.

Her work carries a personal edge, too. She has a particular affinity for coaching international professionals and executives in transition, having navigated both herself. When a client is starting over in a new country, a new industry, or after a layoff, Oxana isn’t working from theory, she’s working from experience.

Her own career taught her this before she coached anyone through it. After moving to the U.S. from Novosibirsk, Siberia, she watched applications disappear into silence, until a mentor at the University of Washington told her to stop applying and start talking to people. A conversation at a gaming conference led to an introduction, and eventually her first U.S. role at Big Fish Games. The lesson stuck: relationships open doors that resumes can’t.

Drawing on a background in project management, Oxana built Path to Placement, a six-step private coaching program that takes clients from career direction through brand-building, networking, resume and LinkedIn optimization, interview prep, and negotiation. It exists to replace what she saw repeatedly: talented people burning out on volume, hundreds of applications, no traction, because effort without direction doesn’t convert.

Oxana’s reach extends past private clients. As a National Speakers Association member, she delivers keynote presentations and webinars, including “How to Beat the Application Tsunami” and “Supercharge Your LinkedIn”, and writes regularly on interview prep, LinkedIn strategy, and AI’s growing role in recruitment. She’s also active with Climatebase, where she completed a Fellowship with distinction and facilitated mastermind groups for professionals entering the climate sector. Careers grow through community, not in isolation.

The Oxana Willeke Playbook: 5 Lessons for Building a Career That Gets Noticed

• 1. Start with clarity: Where do you see yourself next? What are your dream companies? A deep, targeted approach beats “spray and pray” every time.
• 2. Optimize application materials: Focus your résumé and LinkedIn around measurable impact, not job descriptions.
• 3. Leverage existing networks: Expand your network strategically. Relationships don’t just support the search, they often are the search.
• 4. Track every step: Treat your job search like a project with milestones and accountability, not a waiting game.
• 5. Become a LinkedIn subject matter expert: Visibility compounds—the goal is to be sought after, not to keep searching.