Why HELM

A problem most people feel, but few can name.

There's a gap between how careers actually develop and how students are told to pursue them.

Careers don't unfold through planning or optimization. They unfold through exposure, conversations, and an understanding of how work actually operates. Yet the systems students rely on teach the opposite: pick a major, build a résumé, apply online, repeat. They're built for evaluation, not exploration.

That gap is getting wider. The job market is changing quickly, entry-level work is shifting, and the "right" path is less clear than ever. Students aren't short on information. What they're missing is a way to make sense of themselves, learn from real people, and keep taking the next step when no clear path exists.

HELM is infrastructure for exploration: a place to have real conversations, reflect on what you learn, and build agency over your own story, so the people figuring out their careers can learn, not just apply.

About Carly

Built by exploring, not climbing.

On my 20th birthday, I received my first internship offer at Goldman Sachs. I was certain my future would be linear. Instead, my career wandered through finance, city government, startups, academia, and media, and each turn added a new lens on how work really happens.

I'm Carly Chase, the founder of HELM. Before starting HELM, I spent nearly five years leading the career business at U.S. News & World Report, and I've spent much of my career working with students, entrepreneurs, and people figuring out what comes next. I currently teach Entrepreneurship at Dartmouth College and NYU, have previously taught at MIT and Columbia Business School, and have worked across startups, economic development, and financial services. I've also spent the past several months talking with college students around the country about how they're navigating career decisions and the transition from college to work.

I'm building HELM because I think figuring out your career has gotten harder, and the tools students have haven't kept up. I don't think you need to have your career mapped out at 20. I do think you should have better ways to understand yourself, explore what's out there, learn from real people and experiences, and keep taking the next step.