Episode 12: Career Coaching Spotlight - Changing Careers with Amanda Sierzega

Leaving The Nest

What did you want to be when you grew up? An astronaut? An archeologist? A teacher? Many of us started out believing we’d do one thing then changed our minds shortly thereafter.

This isn’t the case for today’s guest—she knew she would be teaching people since preschool. The only thing that has changed has been who and what she teaches.

Hey there, listeners! Welcome back to another episode of Leaving the Nest. I’m your host, Kathleen Pellegrino from ROCS Grad Staffing. Our mission is to help you find a job out of college and thrive in the real world.

Today, I’m joined by an old friend of mine. Her name is Amanda Sierzega and we went to high school together in Pennsylvania. (Go Phantoms!)

We recently reconnected when she reached out to me on LinkedIn. She saw what I was up to with ROCS and with our podcast, Leaving the Nest, and felt there was a lot of good overlap with what she had been up to.

Amanda recently founded her own company with her business partner called Devicore. They provide all kinds of career services like resume writing, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, career development, coaching, and more.

I’m really excited that she’s here today to share her input and advice for our job-seekers listening.

And her story is really cool, as well! She actually wasn’t always in this career coaching world. Amanda made a career change pretty early on which I know our listeners will be eager to hear about.

So let’s go ahead and welcome her on Leaving the Nest!

Enjoy!

In This Episode:[01:33] - An introduction to our guest for today’s episode, Amanda Sierzega.

[02:57] - Amanda and Kathleen reminisce about their time on the swim team.

[05:06] - We hear about Amanda’s college experience.

[07:02] - Amanda’s interest in becoming a teacher started in preschool, and we learn what was going through Amanda’s mind as she came closer to college graduation.

[09:14] - Being a high school English teacher felt like a dream come true.

[12:10] - Technology has changed so much since Amanda was in high school. Here is how that change impacted Amanda’s time as a new teacher.

[13:03] - What changed Amanda’s mind from originally wanting to be a Spanish teacher?

[14:59] - The emotional attachment to Amanda’s degree changed after graduation.

[16:41] - The COVID-19 pandemic was a pivotal point for Amanda and ultimately led to her wanting to make a career shift.

[18:45] - We learn how doing resume work on the side paved the way to where she is today.

[21:59] - How did people who needed help with their resumes connect with Amanda early on?

[23:52] - The origins of Devicore, according to Amanda.

[26:45] - Devicore seems to have grown so fast, but it took a lot of hard work for the team.

[28:38] - Amanda gives advice for those looking to take a chance on starting their own business.

[31:07] - These are the common mistakes Amanda sees with wording on resumes.

[33:50] - On The Pivot Podcast, Kathleen was a guest and Amanda reveals this was one of the most-streamed episodes.

[36:37] - How to connect with Amanda.

Resources: ROCS Grad Staffing Devicore The Pivot Podcast The Pivot Podcast - Episode 17 - Kathleen Pellegrino, Recruiting, Recent Graduates, & Knowing Yourself

Connect with Kathleen: [e-mail] LinkedIn Call: 703-579-6677

Connect with Amanda: LinkedIn Instagram