Begin Your job Search with CareerStart
One-on-One Personalized Coaching
CareerStart is the ideal choice if you want a personalized plan that is tailored to your career goals, job search plan and lifestyle. We develop an individually determined job search plan. Then we work with you to effectively execute on that plan and coach you every step of the way to landing an internship, a full-time position, a transition back into the workforce or even a complete career pivot. Our goal is to coach you in landing a great job in a career that ultimately has you satisfied and fulfilled in your work.
Our Best Practices
Discovering your passions and skills
Career coaching in networking
Resumes and cover letter development
Training interview skills and recording mock interviews
Assist in landing internships and full-time jobs for college students
Coaching in landing re-entry into the workforce or a career pivot
Assist in negotiation of your compensation package
Preparing for your new full-time job or internship
Mission Statement
CareerStart provides step-by-step coaching through the internship or job search process, and creating your competitive edge. With over 20 years of individual coaching experience, we specialize in areas including, recent graduate employment, job market re-entry and career pivoting. Landing your “dream job” is what we’re all about. We can get you started.
WHAT WE OFFER OUR CLIENTS
Whether planning for college or graduating from one
CareerStart can help.
We offer coaching to high school students and those just beginning their college experience to get them on the right track. Our interests and ability assessments enable students to hone in on their college majors and potential careers early on. Armed with this information, students are able to select studies relevant to their future. In addition, we guide high school students in landing internships while still in school to assist them in admissions into colleges and universities of their dreams. We guide high school and college students in extracurricular activities that develop skills and attributes colleges and employers look for in new admissions, internships and new hires.
For college juniors and seniors, CareerStart helps them make solid career choices that fit best for them given their interests, skills and goals. We guide them with professional advice throughout the job search every step of the way, from networking, resume and cover letter writing, to developing top interview skills. We ensure our clients are well-positioned to win internships and offers for their ideal jobs.
Experienced Professionals looking for a change
CareerStart can help.
CareerStart helps experienced professionals looking for a career change, re-entry into the workforce, or an opportunity to pivot mid-career.
CareerStart can get you where you want to be. Perhaps, you are considering a job or even a career change or launch of a new business as an entrepreneur; we know what it takes. Maybe you have a passion to turn a beloved hobby into a small business. Or, just maybe you are looking to re-enter the workforce. Whatever it is, CareerStart has helped others do the same. We can assist you in achieving your specific goals.
CareerStart will help you develop your “Personal Brand” to use in effectively networking toward your goal. A personal brand is a story about who you are, as an employee, a manager, or even a CEO. How you tell your story sets you apart from all the others. Your own personal brand, or story, when used effectively in networking with others can assist you in realizing your goals.
The way you tell your story makes all the difference in successful networking. No one can tell your story better than you. A passionate and authentic voice rings true to others. CareerStart’s coaches are highly-skilled in helping their clients dig deep to reach their own inner voice resulting in an authentic and passion-filled Personal Brand worthy of attention to land the job, start a new career or become an entrepreneur.
We coach our clients how to use their own words when networking, interviewing or looking for capital to start their own business. CareerStart works with experienced professionals to take their goals to the next level.
MEET OUR COACHES
Pamela Gingold
Pamela Gingold brings a unique background to CareerStart that includes more than 20 years of experience in career development and coaching of college students and recent college graduates, along with hands-on business experience.
She established CareerStart to follow her passion for helping others, after spending four years successfully running analyst development programs at a leading regional bank with global operations, based in Chicago. As manager of various entry-level programs, she reviewed job applications, selected resumes, interviewed, recruited, advised, and mentored analysts in career direction and professional development. Further, she assisted each in landing their best placement opportunity within Capital Markets and the Corporate Bank. This role inspired her to found CareerStart to continue coaching college students, recent graduates, as well as early and mid-career professionals in pivoting to another job or career, by determining their career interests, skills, and goals and positioning them to successfully land their dream jobs.
Pamela has also successfully worked with adults looking to return to the workforce after raising children or due to other life changes.
CareerStart clientele benefit from Pamela’s extensive corporate background in accounting, finance, and human resources; she spent four years as a CPA with PriceWaterhouse, 15 years in Capital Markets and four years in human resources with First National Bank of Chicago. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in accounting from Ohio University, and an MBA focused on finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
CareerStart Founder and Career Coach
Your Experienced guide to Personalized one-on-one Coaching by An industry Professional
John Lopez-Ona
John supports CareerStart and its clients by offering his personal experience in career development.
John’s intense curiosity and passion for business led him through a personal journey that included enriching experiences in international business, investment banking, consulting, technology and real estate. During 40+ years in business, he succeeded at large conglomerates, small companies and his own start-ups and gained visibility to an incredible breadth of industries and functions, such as strategy development, commercial groups, operations and financial engineering.
During this varied career, John hired and developed team members ranging from new college graduates to CEO. He ran MBA recruiting and served on undergraduate recruiting teams for leading investment banks and was responsible for the development of teams that numbered in the hundreds. He credits all these team mates with teaching him how diversity contributes to success and how each individual has value. He formed close bonds and prioritized their career aspirations to create platforms that attracted the best and launched their careers. Many of the people who worked with John still consider him one of the most influential individuals in their careers.
But John’s greatest lessons in career development came from his family. With his parents and an older sister, he immigrated to America and watched his father re-create himself in a new country. His father-in-law was a successful entrepreneur that developed markets throughout the West. His siblings have all had successful careers and his wife holds a senior position in academia after a successful career as a mother. Finally, each of his three children graduated college with a job in hand. John has been surrounded by people that loved work and learned from each of them.
John’s purpose is to share his experiences and learnings with whomever wishes to pursue like goals.
John received his BA degree, with a double major in accounting and economics, from Franklin & Marshall College and his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Career Coach
Your Experienced guide to Personalized one-on-one Coaching by An industry Professional
Tricia Wiese
Tricia Wiese, with over twenty years of recruitment experience with companies ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies, joined CareerStart in early 2022 as a Career Coach and Career Strategist. With her seniority, Tricia brings a level of excellence and professionalism to both coaching and recruiting that is hard to find. She prides herself on building strong relationships with clients and never forgetting a name. These relationships led her to “guiding” her clients and candidates in interviews and in life and thus led her to focus additionally on career coaching. Tricia brings her substantial knowledge of corporate recruiting to career coaching by understanding what employers seek in new hires. These include development of a “Personal Brand” for each client, resume building, developing effective networking and interviewing skills in her clients.
Tricia’s professional experience includes President and Owner of Talent Solutions, Inc, a boutique recruiting firm specializing in placing top sales talent since 2019. As such, she works with corporations and startup companies in contract recruiting for talent to join their teams. Previously, Tricia worked ten years for Oracle as a Principal Talent Advisor. Other recruiting experiences include Hitachi Consulting, Salesforce.com, among others.
Trica earned her B.S. in Sociology from Iowa State University. When not working or traveling, Tricia, based in the Denver, Colorado area spends time hiking with her seven-year-old Golden Retriever.
Career Coach
Your Experienced guide to Personalized one-on-one Coaching by An industry Professional
TESTIMONIALS
“CareerStart coaches’ industry experience gives them unique insight into matching employer requirements with candidate skills. They helped me set realistic goals when I was new to the business, and taught me how to showcase my skills for maximum effectiveness. My coach at CareerStart remains a mentor and an important guiding influence in my career.”
– Smita V. | Institutional Investor
“I went to one of the best undergraduate business schools in the country and had nearly a 4.0 GPA. I was able to secure interviews but couldn’t seem to land a job offer. Working with CareerStart increased my knowledge of the financial industry and helped me understand how to show employers I was the right candidate for the job. CareerStart provided advice that was right on target. With their help, I got the job offer I wanted!”
– Matt S. | Wells Fargo Advisors
“CareerStart went beyond expectations to assist me in landing my ideal job at a top investment bank. Their real-world experience was invaluable. CareeStart brought out the best in me with great advice to win the job offer. I wouldn’t be here without their help”
– Pamela R. | JP Morgan
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