New LeafCreate your squiggly career story supported by vibe coaching Private: no sign-up, nothing stored

New Leaf

Create your squiggly career story supported by vibe coaching

Every Chapter Counts.

The ladder we expect and the squiggle we live: a straight ladder line, and a looping gold line through a new country, a new job title, skills I had to build, freelancing, another move and a fresh start, ending at the role you want next. What actually happened, and it all counts. THE LADDER WE EXPECT, AND THE SQUIGGLE WE LIVE* the ladder I thought I’d climb a new country a new job title skills I had to build freelancing another move a fresh start a totally random job on the military base volunteering in exchange for work experience the roleyou want next what actually happened, and it all counts © 2026 Elle Anderson

* The idea of the squiggly career comes from Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis, authors of The Squiggly Career and founders of Amazing If. The illustration is my own.

A note from Elle

Hi, I’m Elle (pronounced like the letter “L”). It’s lovely to meet you. I’m a product leader in tech. As an American married into the British Army, I know the “squiggly” career first-hand, with all its gaps and mindset wobbles. I built New Leaf to give back to job seekers, and it’s been a real two-way exchange. The same needs kept showing up in my community, and solving them gave me fresh product stories to tell. You see, I have to explain my own squiggly career from time to time. One of the hardest parts of any interview or pitch is explaining a gap in an uplifting way. You need a story arc that demonstrates the skills you bring to the table rather than simply listing them. It should show that you’re still sharp and turn the interviewer’s attention to what you can do. Products like this one help me do that, so thank you for helping me in my own career.

I should honestly have named this tool Audacity. The people who gain most from it already know their value. They are simply too humble to say it out loud, and many wish they had the audacity. New Leaf is a powerful, AI-native self-help tool. Think of it as your wing person.

Here’s the tricky bit when it comes to advice on career gaps and on showcasing the skills you gained outside paid work. Recruiters will tell you never to lead with “my husband’s career” because it’s supposed to be about you. Many questions about marriage or children can also breach equality law. But what if the honest truth is that your host nation’s Status of Forces Agreement simply didn’t let you work? Or that you looked after your children and poured your time into the community, often just to stay sane? I’ve met so many men and women who put highly skilled careers on hold. Among them are PhDs, chartered professionals and qualified lawyers. Many gladly took jobs far below their capability, in support roles on base or as supply teachers. Told the wrong way, those years can undersell you. So what do you say? How do you build a story arc that puts you in a position of strength when your circumstances and opportunities weren’t fully in your control?

You talk about what you did with that time in terms that resonate in a professional setting. Wherever military families land, they build communities from scratch through sheer hard work. They do it so that everyone can make the most of their years there. That’s real leadership. You delivered real outcomes, and usually you can put numbers to the difference you made. It all counts. New Leaf asks gentle, open questions to find the “so what” in every chapter, paid or unpaid. It also looks for the golden thread that ties your chapters together, so the role you want next looks like the natural next step. You can write a little and turn to the coach whenever you get stuck or would like a check-in. A word on the name: in tech, “vibe coding” means building software in conversation with an AI tool and bouncing ideas back and forth as you go. Vibe coaching works in the same collaborative way. It holds space for you to think out loud, much as a career coach would in a one-to-one session.

And hey, this isn’t only for military families. It’s for job seekers from every walk of life. Maybe you were made redundant. Maybe you’ve been looking for a while and volunteered to keep your skills fresh or grow new ones. Either way, a gap can knock an otherwise great interview off course. Over time it can also chip away at your sense of worth. That’s what New Leaf sets out to fix. Perhaps you freeze when a recruiter’s questions start. Or perhaps you just need something that reminds you of the value you bring.

Here’s what you’ll leave with: an elevator pitch, a LinkedIn summary and a printable story to take into interviews. An AI coach is on hand for the wobbly moments. (And no, it isn’t ChatGPT.) There’s no sign-up and nothing you write is stored. It’s completely free. Pour a hot drink and let’s begin.

Elle Anderson

If you’d ever like a little chat, you can find me on LinkedIn.

For whomDesigned with the Armed Forces community in mind, but for anyone with a squiggly career
CostFree. No account, no email sign-up, no cookies, nothing to install
PrivacyYour words stay on your device, and we store nothing. If you use the coach, your words are answered and never kept.
PaceCoaching prompts guide you through each question. Answer openly. If you get stuck, pause and use the built-in Vibe Coach to work through a block or find better words. At the end, New Leaf can polish your words and shape a story arc that tells your career narrative well.

You’ve added value. You’ve gained new skills. You’ve grown.

New Leaf helps you put it into words you’ll be proud to say aloud.

Start Your New Leaf

See what you’ll get

Three Free Tools to Keep, Plus a Sample of Your Printable.

Start with the self-coaching canvas: it’s the thinking that makes everything else easier. The Sample Printable shows an example made from a fictional person’s story, and yours will be built from your own chapters, in your own words. The canvas and both guides are free to download, and the PDF opens as soon as you click. Every guide is fillable: type straight into it, or open it in GoodNotes on an iPad and write with your Apple Pencil. No email, no sign-up.

The Next Chapter Canvas, a free printable self-coaching canvas by Elle AndersonStart HereThe Next Chapter CanvasA fillable self-coaching workbook: your wheel, how you want to feel and your highest priority. Do this first, and the coach can help you so much more.Download Free PDF A sample New Leaf printable: name, headline, elevator pitch, summary and skills on page one, chapters on page twoExampleSample PrintableA two-page keepsake: your one line, elevator pitch, summary, skills and every chapter with its so whatView The Example Cover of Ready for the Room, the free New Leaf interview guideFree PDFReady for the RoomNineteen interview questions, curveballs included, with what to say, what to avoid and prep pages to fill inDownload Free PDF Cover of Tame Those Mind Monkeys, a free printable New Leaf guide to answering self-doubtFree PDFTame Those Mind MonkeysMeet the voices that say you can’t, and learn to answer them kindlyDownload Free PDF

Prefer to type? Fill in the canvas online, privately

Let’s Create Your New Leaf

Five Simple Steps. The First One Is Just for You.

Before you write a word, give yourself ten quiet minutes with The Next Chapter Canvas. It helps you form your own thoughts on what matters to you, where you want to go and the first moves on the way. Bring those thoughts to the story builder and the coach, and every conversation goes much further.

  1. 00Plan Your RouteTen quiet minutes with The Next Chapter Canvas. Start here.
  2. 01Where You’re HeadingThe role you want next and the reputation you’ve built.
  3. 02Add Your ChaptersPaid and unpaid, in any order. It all counts.
  4. 03Improve My Story Arc With AIPolish your words and find the thread that ties them together.
  5. 04Generate My PrintableA two-page story to take into any application or interview.

Download The Next Chapter Canvas (PDF)

Got stuck? Need to unpick something prickly? Don’t forget the is there at the bottom of your screen.

Step 1

Where You’re Heading.

Just the basics. Everything else is optional.

More options

Step 2

Add Your Chapters.

Pick a type to add a chapter. Add as many as you like, in any order: paid and unpaid, it all counts. The questions inside are prompts to stretch you; answer the ones that fit.

Add a chapter

Privacy Explained. We don’t collect or store personal information. There’s no sign-up and no account. What you type stays in this browser until you close the page or move away, unless you choose to save it to this device. If you talk to the coach or press Improve My Story Arc With AI, your words go to the coach to be answered and aren’t kept. You can download your PDF or copy the text you’ve created, but we never keep a copy. We count how often New Leaf is started, how often the coach and polishing are used and how often the free guides are downloaded, with no names and none of your words, so we can see the difference it’s making. We also count which buttons are pressed and roughly where visits come from (country and town), never what you write.
Save or load your story on this device