Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenyetta Nesbitt.
Hi Kenyetta, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My passion and zeal for career development began as an honors student in high school. I wrote my first resume at the age of 15 in preparation for the season of college admissions and deciding the next step of my educational career. I’ve always been a strong, skilled writer with love for words as I competed in many spelling bees, so resume writing was very intriguing to me. Growing up in rural Southeast Georgia, career development wasn’t a buzzword or something readily taught in school. I began to understand the magnitude and importance of a resume as a career marketing tool after helping people in my family and my local community gets new jobs as a result of writing their resumes.
Throughout college, I continued to write resumes for others as a side hustle in order to pay for books and to help pay bills as a full-time student. Meanwhile, working in the Tech field, I had many opportunities to sit on interview and selection committees and see firsthand how many professionals were passed over for opportunities because of the quality of their resumes and/or interview skills. I began to realize the gap that existed in young professionals’ knowledge in their own career planning and not being able to articulate their career story or identity. Using my career, I learned and applied career development practices, strategies, and trends that helped me reach various milestones of success for myself. Ultimately, I pivoted into career services in higher education where I’ve been able to be an advocate and practitioner of career development to help young professionals explore career paths that align with their various life, educational, and work experiences, articulate their definition of success, and explore how they’d like to show up in the workforce and make impact. My professional and life mission has always been to “be who I needed as a first-generation black female growing up in poverty,” and Ambition Evolve Career Services was birthed as a way to achieve that mission by helping others to unlock their potential despite their backgrounds and walks of life.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
This journey has not been smooth at all, but it has been a worthy journey full of discovery of my purpose and assignment. Some of the biggest struggles I’ve dealt with include imposter syndrome and perfectionism that stems from childhood trauma. Despite being a high achiever academically and career-wise, I’ve struggled with feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness. I’ve often felt that people don’t see career development as important and are unwilling to invest in themselves by investing in career support services. Additionally, just feeling that this industry is oversaturated with career coaches and trying to determine how to stand out as someone who is not only passionate about this topic but experienced and professionally trained to do this work. An additional challenge I’ve faced is trying to balance building a business with a full-time career and pursuing an MBA degree full-time. It is difficult to find balance and flexibility to work on my business when the majority of a typical day is consumed with work (8 am-5 pm) and hours in class or working on class assignments.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m fortunate to be able to have intersected my passion for career development with my professional career. I currently work in career services as a Career Consultant for a major R1 institution where I’m able to assist STEM majors with all things career development, from resume writing, interview prep, internship/job search, networking strategy, salary negotiation, exploring and preparing for grad school among many other things. I am most proud of being able to utilize my career as a way to gain access to knowledge, experiences, resources, and rooms that equip me with the expertise needed to ultimately build a thriving, successful career consulting firm. In the early years of my career, I thought that leadership positions automatically equated to some inflated level of influence, but my experiences have shifted my perspective.
Through my rewarding career and the testimonials I receive from students who get immense value from working with me. I am overly proud of being able to achieve tangible impact from interactions I have every day and seeing my students go from a state of confusion, doubt, and unsure to having great clarity in their defined career goals and a strong level of confidence about the steps they should take to achieve their desired success. What sets me apart from others is my ability to inspire and empower others to see their careers as more than just a nice salary and livelihood, but understanding the magnitude of the skills, abilities, and gifts they possess and the impact they can have on this world. There are so many people who need what we have, and we have to consider the legacy we want to build through our careers.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ambitionevolve.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ambitionevolve/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ambitionevolve
Image Credits
Grace Life Marketing & Nova Bright Photography
