We were lucky to catch up with Katelyn Richards recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Katelyn, thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned while working at a prior job?

The most important lesson that I ever learned in my career was to pay attention to what I was most curious about. Curiosity is a sign of openness and a sign of things that will be life-giving. If you’re curious about something…there’s a reason for that! Pay attention to what it is and be willing to pull at that thread and follow that trail- you’ll be amazed at where it will take you in your career.

Katelyn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Absolutely! I’m currently a Career Coach and Personal Branding Strategist and I started my own career coaching business Crafted Careers back at the beginning of 2021 where I help high-achieving professionals make meaningful career transitions so that they can finally thrive.

My own professional journey started off in the world of higher education where I worked with college students running and overseeing the residence halls at several different universities. One of my favorite parts of that job was that I got to oversee the hiring processes and sp from there I naturally pivoted into the world of recruiting.

Talent Acquisition is where I’ve spent the majority of my career and I found in that space I got to do a lot of informal coaching of job seekers when it came to their resumes and preparing for interviews with my clients. In the midst of COVID, like so many others, I was let go.

While absolutely terrifying, it also allowed me the opportunity to step back and reflect on what it was that I really wanted to do with my career and the impact I wanted to have. What I realized is that my heart was really with job seekers so I made the decision to pivot once again into career coaching and that’s what I’ve been doing for the past few years- getting to lift up the curtain and essentially share with job seekers what companies are actually looking for when it comes to hiring top talent and the strategies needed to stand out so that they can land a job they love.

My coaching focuses on building community and a meaningful personal brand, as I’ve found that these are the things needed not just to make a successful career transition, but also to insure that you have a career insurance policy long-term and get thought of for opportunities beyond the job boards!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

For many years, I was a LinkedIn “lurker.” I consumed content from other people, maybe engaging with a reaction here or there. The idea of creating my own content felt vulnerable and, if I’m totally honest, absolutely terrifying. But when I launched my career coaching business at the beginning of 2021 I knew I was going to need to step out of the shadows from being a “lurker” and a “liker” to posting about my own thoughts and ideas. So in April of 2021, I created my first real post. And it got a whopping 400 views and a handful of reactions. Fast forward to today and I now have over 25 thousand followers and posts that have gotten upwards of 2 million views a piece. How did it happen? Simple- consistency. I kept showing up. Day after day. Week after week. Month after month. I built trust, found my voice, and built a community of meaningful relationships. My best advice to those getting started? One day at a time. Simply write about the things that you believe in, are knowledgeable of, and that you actually *like* talking about- and the rest will follow. You’ll find your people. It’s not about getting a huge volume of eyeballs on your social media content- it’s about getting the *right* eyeballs on it.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In March of 2020 I was let go from my Talent Acquisition role of 5+ years. On my due date with my third child, nonetheless. Let me tell y’all- it was absolutely terrifying. I had two little ones ages 2 & 1, was expecting the third one any moment, and had no idea what the future would hold for me professionally. But I knew I had a choice. I could choose the route of self-pity and frustration…or I could choose to use it as an opportunity for forward momentum and a fresh start. I chose the latter. I worked with a Career Coach to learn more about my strengths and what I really wanted and needed in my career. I got clarity around what was most important to me and my non-negotiables. And I chose to make a significant pivot into the world of career coaching myself. And I can say with confidence- it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. Without the rug being pulled under me, it would have been easy to stay stagnant where I was in my career, rather than fight for growth. It would have been easy to keep doing what I was doing and keep my career on autopilot, allowing it to happen TO me, rather than being intentional about where I *really* wanted to go long term. Lay-offs are terrifying and, while I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, the practice of resilience in the face of adversity and pushing through to something new is an experience I’ll always be grateful for.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.acraftedcareer.com
• Instagram: @crafted.careers
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katelyn-richards/

Image Credits
Amy Nicole Photography