Welcome to the First-Gen Blog for Career Advice!

Hi there!

Welcome to the Propel On Purpose Coaching Blog, where I'll be sharing career advice for first-gen students & professionals, with the first-gen experience always in mind & culturally relevant for those of us who are first.only.different (coined by the titan, Shonda Rhimes, my fave writer & producer of all time).

I'm Anyelis Cordero, the founder of Propel On Purpose Coaching, which focuses on developing diverse leaders & empowering first-gens to propel their career & life on purpose.  You can learn more about me & my journey from Ex-Corporate HR leader to Chief Coaching Officer, here.  I'm Cuban which means Cafecito (coffee) is a cultural staple; it's what we make when someone visits, the first & last thing we serve during our gatherings, & what we sip on when we share chisme (google it). Cafecito is in the fiber of most Latino cultures. And in America, coffee is a way of doing business.

Let me explain why this blog is the "Career, Cafecito & Courage" section of the POP Coaching website.  In Corporate America (and most organizations), if you want to connect with others, you schedule a "Coffee Chat" to learn about their career journey and ask questions you may be too shy or afraid to ask in public forums like team or department meetings, townhalls or other gatherings.  Coffee Chats though sans coffee most of the time, are the best way to get to know leaders who can become your mentors or sponsors (more about the difference & how to gain them in another blog).  As the first in her family to earn a bachelors, master's and work in Corporate America, there were so many times when I felt clueless in the corporate world because I just didn't know what I didn't know.  It was through these Coffee Chat conversations that I was able to connect the dots & understand who were the key players in the organization, how to navigate the corporate politics, and how to abide by (or strategically break) the unwritten rules of the workplace.

In college, when I was the co-chair of the Latino Student Organization and RA for the Latino Cultural floor, we created a "Cafe' con Leche" series to bring together the Latino students to learn more & get involved in issues affecting our communities. We always had cafecito with Maria cookies I'd bring back from the Union City bodegas (mostly for my bestie, Jenny), AND we'd bring in professors, speakers or other students to share their experiences.

This blog is essentially a mix of these experiences.  I want to share with you, dear reader, all of the career knowledge, resources and tools I've gained in the past 15yrs of working full-time AND more specifically, the insider scoop I garnered in the last decade of working in Corporate Human Resources.  

Most importantly though, I want to serve as your catalyst for courage!  The goal is for you to read these insights & tips AND take ACTION toward that next, dream job OR business idea OR whatever it is that makes you feel like you're using your powerful gifts, talents, skills & experiences to make a great contribution.  The real dream & privilege is to work, lead & live on purpose!

So stay tuned in for a weekly bite-size, bingeable post that like a cortadito, will be powerfully packed to energize & propel you, on purpose...wherever you are on your first-gen journey.

Cheers y Pa'lante!