We recently connected with Rachel Reeves and have shared our conversation below.
Rachel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us about a time where you or your team really helped a customer get an amazing result?
I recently completed The Bank of America Institute for Women’s Entrepreneurship Certification Program. This program is a collaboration between Bank of America and Cornell University to deliver an online learning portal that provides women entrepreneurs with the skills, knowledge and resources to build, manage, and scale a successful business.
There are 6 courses required to complete the certification. In one course, “Made to Stick”, written by Dan and Chip Heath is referenced as a resource to identify six principles that make an idea “sticky” so that people respond to and remember it. The principles are: Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional and Story (SUCCES). Now, I apply these principles to each of my clients and each service I provide. After a Résumés by Rae revamp, these 3 clients achieved amazing results:
– Andre: Over the last 8 years, Andre A. has dedicated his work to being a change agent, providing re-entry mentorship and training, as well as hosting speaking engagements around social justice and reform. In his last role, he served as Program Manager for justice involved job seekers at NYC area airports. After relocating to seek more fulfilling positions, Andre landed an Employment Specialist role. Andre states, “The interviewer mentioned how perfectly crafted my résumé was. What you delivered is a visual representation of my work history and community engagement. It’s not just a résumé, it’s a series of short stories that lead to people wanting to know more about me. Your résumé always gets me in the door and I ace the interview everytime. Teamwork makes the dream work.” Mr. Apparicio is also a self-published author, new father, and founder of It’s A Process.
– Tralisia: Since her résumé revamp, Tralisia F. landed interviews at State Farm, Sedgwick, and ADT. Since it aligns more with her career goals, Tralisia accepted the Customer Relations Manager role at State Farm. She also enrolled in college to obtain her Human Resource Management degree. Her first semester is underway and says, “I can’t thank you enough for changing my life for the better.”
– Ruby: Ruby moved to the United States in 2019. Prior to relocation, she was a self-employed real estate agent for almost 15 years. She states, “I was lost and had no clue as to what employers look for here.” She started college in 2020 and is set to graduate with her bachelor’s degree in Corporate Communications in summer 2023. Prior to revamping her résumé, Ruby was constantly rejected for every job she applied to including a summer internship with the MTA. Once her résumé was revamped, she reapplied for the internship. In October 2022, Ruby was accepted as an administrative/office asstanst intern. Ruby explains, “My internship runs until June 2023 and I am looking forward to updating my résumé again as I hope that my position transitions into a full-time role. I can’t thank you enough for creating my résumé and cover letter and having them speak for me.”
Rachel, 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?
Résumés by Rae specializes in résumé and cover letter writing for various levels of career experience. Guiding my clients to unlock doors to fulfilling and profitable careers is my goal. Résumés by Rae offers various career services including professional writing services, job search assistance, résume building workshops, document editing and proofreading as well as content writing. I am also a certified Meta Community Manager, overseeing a career and employment group of over 5,000 black people in Queens, NY.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Entrepreneurship can be brutal, challenging, tiresome, and overwhelming. Without a team, day-to-day operations can get stressful. In my case, I am also a mother. I volunteer my time with several community organizations. It seemed like there was never enough time in a day to do it all.
I took a pause, literally. I used my time on self-care and professional development. It was imperative that I rest, regroup and refresh my repertoire to be able to show up as my best self for my clients. To me, that is resilience — staying the course even when it seems like there is no reward. Rewards are earned, not given.
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
Bootstrapping. Utilizing my savings and turning profits back into was my initial source of funding. I forsee grants, microloans and assistance from the Small Business Administration to be options as I grow.
My impact is great enough to expand to more than my home office. I envision a progressive employment hub led by a diverse group of professionals who identify within a minority population. At its core is education and job-relevant training. I know first-hand the disadvantages experienced by people who are not prepared for the workforce, and I want to change that. I want to provide the opportunity for NYC citizens of all ages to be able to practice interviewing skills, job readiness, résumé writing, and negotiate offers of employment professionally. Additionally, I hope to provide a nonjudgmental space for people to acquire professional clothing and food as needed and application assistance for employment or further education to assist in common obstacles of becoming gainfully employed.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.resumesbyrae.com
- Instagram: @resumesbyrae
- Facebook: Resumes by Rae