Rachael Bozsik, the founder and CEO of a company called The Brand Girls, completely changed how I view myself. Last month she came to UF to speak to some of the Panhellenic community and I had the opportunity to attend. I had no idea what to expect when I signed up to go. I assumed she would be a regular guest speaker with a few inspiring points. But she ended up making me feel ten times more confident. I was ready to tackle life within the short hour and a half.
Who is Rachael Bozsik?
Rachael is the founder of The Brand Girls, a company which provides career coaching, brand help and networking opportunities to college students. In college she was in Greek life and began giving presentations about career coaching to her sorority sisters. She realized this is what she wanted to do and soon began her company. Rachael speaks at various events and recently led an inspiring session at UF.
Clarity and goal setting
Bozsik said on average, college women wait until they’re 95 percent ready to do what they want to do instead of just going for it from the beginning. It shouldn’t be this way. We should have the confidence to go for what we want when we want it.
A limiting belief, as Rachael said, is the voice inside of your head holding you back and making you feel small. This voice, or limiting belief, can become loud, and that’s when we listen to it. She said that our thoughts become our experiences, which is due to this voice in our heads. She challenged us to write down our own limiting belief. Then, we had to write down two ways this limiting belief has held us back. For me this was tough because I was purposely pointing out my weaknesses, which can be uncomfortable. Lastly for goal setting, we wrote down two goals we want to accomplish without our limiting belief.
Resume development
Next, Rachael coached us on resume development, which is helpful for anyone. She discussed what employers look for and how we can show those things on our resume. She also said to change titles on your resume. A stronger title may gain the attention of an employer. She also said it is very important to be specific and use numbers and data when at all possible. Personally, I realized my resume is not very specific. This is an easy change to make to become a stronger candidate.
Networking
Networking can be scary. We know we need to do it, but it can be hard to figure out how. Rachael said that people are willing to help, but we need to be specific about what we’re looking for. For example, knowing the city you want to be in or knowing the department you want to work in can give people a better understanding of your goals. If you tell someone you want to work at a marketing firm in Chicago, they may remember they have a mutual friend that does something very similar.
I learned from Rachael that networking doesn’t have to be overwhelming. People talk all the time. It’s just a matter of knowing what you want. We talked about our passions and how to express them to others. She also talked a bit about interviewing during her Q&A portion of the talk.
Find your passion
It may sound cliché but Rachael made me realize that we can all do what we put our mind to. There are a lot of opportunities, we just don’t always find them. I’m inspired to find them now.
Rachael was a regular college student like all of us. She figured out what her passion was and ran with it. She even started small within her college community. It doesn’t matter if we only take a small step. Any step is progress in the right direction.
The Brand Girls has done a lot for many college women. They have helped women get jobs and internships at their dream companies. I was glad to have gotten a glimpse of what their company does for college women. After the short talk I felt like I found so much more potential in myself. I can’t imagine the success they must bring to women that use their services.
My big takeaways
I learned that we stop ourselves from doing what we want, even if we don’t realize it. Our minds can manipulate us to think that we can’t do something. Whether it tells us we don’t have enough experience, or that we’re not qualified, our minds play mean tricks on us. It doesn’t matter if we think these things are true. We just have to try.
Being confident in yourself and realizing you can be your own girl boss will boost your motivation. If I didn’t think I had it in me before, Rachael Bozsik assured me I do.