I’ll never forget the day I had walked over to my boss’ office for our regular 1x1 meeting and she suggested we take a walk to another part of the building. As we headed down a dark and cold hallway we affectionately referred to as “the coffin,” we came upon a small meeting room whereupon I saw our VP of Human Resources waiting for us. I was like, “Oh shit! This can’t be good." I knew from past experience when I had been laid off from another organization. 

The first words out of the VP’s mouth were “Hi Mike, everything’s going to work out just fine.” I nearly lost it right there. In her right hand were my separation papers. In her left hand was a promotional opportunity...except that it was 120 miles away in LA.  I was given a choice to be laid off or take the promotion. Meanwhile, I was a single father at the time with shared custody. My mind and heart raced as I tried to grasp the gravity of the situation. At the time, I thought my life was ruined in either scenario. After a great deal of angst, I did decide to take the job in LA. It turned out to be the best move I ever made in my career. 

After working out some logistics for the long commute, I continued on with the company in what was an amazing 11 year HR career as an internal consultant, facilitator, and coach overseeing helping leaders and employees overcome setbacks and struggles to rise up to their potential. 

Hi, I'm Mike Gellman and I'm the CEO & Founder of High Five Career Coaching. I’ve been fortunate to help hundreds of people - just like you - who just want to have a stable job with opportunities to learn and stay relevant, contribute, and be appreciated for your talents.

Welcome to
The Career Catapult Program: The 8-Week Experience

I created this course to help folks like you finally break the endless cycle of frustration and suffering silently while others get the plum assignments, raises, or promotions. 

In this course I share my secrets from working over 15 years behind the scenes in HR facilitating meetings with leaders to determine who’s in line to get promoted and who will get valuable development opportunities. 

I pull back the curtain to help you understand the “bigger picture”, finally understand WHY they make the decisions they do, and HOW to make sense of a complex organization. 

I’ll not only share with you the big picture behind the scenes, but what highly successful employees do to differentiate themselves and positively stand out - without bragging, being fake or butt-kissing so you can gain the knowledge and strategies you need to succeed in a political work environment.