My professional journey started at the age of 22 when I decided to move to Dublin, Ireland to learn English. I worked in secondary jobs as a waitress and barista but always believed that I could do better. I knew I had to push my boundaries and overcome many obstacles, so I went back to college and graduated with a CIPD HR Diploma at the National College of Ireland and started my career in recruitment.
I worked and supported recruitment activities for several well-known companies across EMEA such as HP, Paypal, Google, and Amazon. While working in these big tech companies, I also worked side gigs helping foreigners to land an international career through cv writing, LinkedIn usage, job hunting, and career consulting. Linkedin was an impactful learning curve for me; developing invaluable knowledge regarding recruitment best practices, strategic use of the platform, how to avoid unconscious bias, as well as inclusion and diversity.
I lived and breathed the culture and values of the company; truly becoming an employee advocate and brand ambassador as I talked about #linkedinlife across all my social media while working as a Freelancer, specialising as ‘Linkedin Expert’ teaching Job Seekers how to land their dream jobs by strategically using the Linkedin platform. Through determination, dedication and a proactive professionalism, I actively pursued a permanent position and salary increase.
Then tragedy struck! My manager called and dropped a bomb saying my contract could not be extended due to the Linkedin acquisition by Microsoft. All operational jobs across EMEA had been put on hold by management and she could only promise to bring me back in 4 months’ time, when the Campus recruitment activities came back to their peak. I still remember that day, I went back home and cried, I could not picture myself leaving this company which had become a family to me.
This difficult lesson came with a silver lining, an insight into the operational side of a large company; the fact that I was just another tiny little piece in the big titans game of multinationals, that I was replaceable, and working for a company or having a job was never a sign of security.
I had to do something! I could not let my future be determined by this dark day; I am the master of my life and outside problems would not define me. From that moment on, I understood fully that my “job title” was not the real value I could add to people’s lives. I decided to reinvent myself and take control of my own brand. Of course, I had an employee mindset and I didn’t know what to do, so I asked for government help. I was frightened by the idea of not having enough money to pay my bills and rent, thus in April 2016 I was officially registered in the Irish government job-seeking program and unemployed.
The second greatest idea I had was to create a Facebook post and advertise my career and Linkedin expert services in facebook groups. Until this point, the only client “database” I had was due to some side work that I had managed to gather. I did not have a portfolio of services, nor a website, but after my first Facebook post, I discovered a blue ocean opportunity. I was fully booked with career consulting and CV writing for weeks! I was so busy that I started to work on the weekends. In less than 2 months, something that was once a side gig had turned into a real business, to the point that I felt comfortable leaving the Irish job seeker scheme and opened a little business as Sole Trader. In less than 2 months I had my very own business but no idea how to position myself or this new “baby” in a real-world marketplace.
I needed help! I needed to brand, advertise, and sell my business but my business was me! Thankfully I discovered Personal Branding. I went through the best personal branding program in the market, YouMethod, where I discovered, positioned, and managed my brand aligned with my business model. I started to understand who my target audience was, what they needed from me, how to better support them, what to say to them, how to develop correct marketing strategies, create youtube videos with certainty that I was delivering life-changing content, and develop a logo and website focused on my plans and strategies.
I had a clear vision, mission, and short, mid, and long-term goals and targets for me and my little business. Thanks to personal branding I was able to differentiate myself, ensure my brand and services were unique, thrive and grow in an international market as a successful International Career Strategist and LinkedIn Expert. I managed to do all of this and get myself where I am today in a country where the language is not my mother tongue. So yes, I have an accent but it has never affected my results or performance.
Today, I manage a lovely small team of Consultants that guide and help foreign professionals to land their dream job internationally through all the tools and techniques I created after years of experience in the recruitment market and at LinkedIn. I am proud to say that my team champions the same values, integrity, and passion for our clients and our visions are innovative and consistently on the cutting edge of recruitment expectations.
As a team, we draw from our collective experience in recruitment, people management, technology, and industry know-how to spearhead strategic goals for our clients and most importantly, secure results. I pride myself on being an eternal student, acquiring new skills and knowledge such as how to read a final profit and loss report, strategic business thinking, digital marketing, neuromarketing, and online learning technology. My business has grown and is thriving, even through critical and difficult times, thanks to passion, dedication, focus, strategy and having a proactive doer attitude.
Everything I have achieved is due to delivering high quality service, innovation, and focus on my client’s success/results and also thanks to my initial personal branding strategy back in 2016. It made my name strong and positioned my name uniquely as a trustworthy and high-standard professional in the international market. I am constantly referring back to these principles in order to strategically plan and guide my life, business and brand, because of this I firmly believe in strong brands and in the methodology.
Thanks to all of that, now I have the freedom to work remotely from anywhere in the world, I manage my own small company virtually and I am recognized as a first-class Career and Personal Branding Expert in the international market (Certified by Brand You Academy). I have had the privilege of serving several clients across all disciplines, professionals, consultants, and entrepreneurs, strategically assisting them as they achieve an international reputation through personal branding.
