Working with Krithi has been one of the highlights of my past year of career coaching and I’m so excited to feature her this month! When Krithi and I began working together, the career she was building in International Development was uncertain during a time of major funding cuts, and finding a job in a saturated market was increasingly difficult.
Krithi had graduated with an M.A. in Conflict Resolution and Coexistence from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and gained professional experience in her field before and after. Yet, she was hitting major walls in the full-time job search when she heard about my career coaching services and reached out. We got to work revamping her resume together and creating versions to help expand the job search to new opportunities.
She shared, “I really learned that you do not have to pigeon hole yourself into one place, and figuring out how to market your skills is sometimes more beneficial. It was really helpful to have different versions of my resume and use that to apply to different roles and broaden the search.”
Through our work together we discussed the alignment of her career values, like equity-driven and social cohesive work, so even while widening the search we could prioritize the right roles. We also developed a strong elevator pitch and practiced mock interviews so she could go into every interview with confidence. Job searching can be overwhelming and discouraging at times, so encouragement and support from a career coach can be just as important as practical skills.
Krithi shared, “I really learned that 99% of the time it is not you in the process, it is something else. All that I could ever really control was the quality of the application, how I was showing up for the interview, and putting my best foot forward.”
I am so excited to share that after all the hard work and dedication that Krithi put into the job search, she was hired into a part-time role at the African Bridge Network this Fall and was recently promoted as their full-time Program Manager! In her role, she runs both the Skilled Immigrant Certification Program and Immigrant Professionals Fellowship. The Certification Program is designed to support immigrant professionals in preparing themselves to enter the US job market and overcome the many barriers that immigrant professionals face when applying for jobs by providing comprehensive pre-employment training. The Immigrant Professionals Fellowship places a cohort of 10 healthcare professionals in fellowship roles for 4-months at Boston-area hospitals. This provides an opportunity for ABN candidates to access the vital US experience that they need to kickstart their careers.
Krithi mentioned her job search process further prepared her for this role because “sharing her experience and the difficulty she had job searching puts things into perspective and reminds [participants] they are not alone.” In addition to her full-time role, Krithi is also completing a leadership development fellowship with the The Institute for Nonprofit Practice and continues her volunteer work with Golden Boots Uganda providing grant and development support.
Please join me in celebrating all that Krithi has accomplished!
"I’m so grateful for all of the support and encouragement that Abbie gave me while I was looking for a job. She really helped me to improve my interview skills and strengthen my resume so that I could apply more widely, which was integral in me being able to land my current job. " - Krithi
