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Meet
Karissa
After graduating from Binghamton University in 2014 with a Bachelor's in English, I began my career in Youth Development as a Program Director, spearheading enrichment programs for K-12 youth in my hometown, Brooklyn, NY.
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My love for my students inspired me to obtain a Master's in Human Resource Management from Stony Brook University to learn to hire and train better staff. I have since championed Talent Acquisition in various industries, leading recruitment teams and developing strategies to source and hire candidates for non-profit, private, and start-up organizations.
As both the Founder of Writer's Block Resumes LLC, and Head of Talent Acquisition at a prominent NYC-based non-profit, I use my expertise and skills to help job seekers improve their job search and access the opportunities they truly want and deserve!
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Note: As is customary for resumes, this page is
written in reverse chronological order.
Experience
2022-Present
NEW YORK ROAD RUNNERS
HEAD OF TALENT ACQUISITION
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Today, I serve as the Head of Talent Acquisition of a notable New York City-based, world-renowned non-profit organization.
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Working in the sports industry is quite different than what I'm used to, but the principles of Talent Acquisition ring true anywhere. As a Senior Leader, I oversee the strategic planning of Talent Acquisition initiatives for two departments within the organization. I'm responsible for many high-level, high-impact, and high-visibility workflows and work closely with our Executive Leaders to influence and execute organizational change management.
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Everything that happened in my career was pivotal for me to get to this point—becoming a Head at 30 was no easy feat, but it didn't happen because of luck. It happened because I was focused on my goals, committed to my continual growth, and had the audacity to take risks.
My career path wasn't linear, and I'm still charting it as I go. Know that yours won't be linear either and that it's not about where you started but where you're going!
I'm excited by my journey, and can't wait to be apart of yours!
2019-2022
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, RECRUITMENT
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10 Months.
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Ten months was all it took to get promoted, not one, but two levels above my starting role into leadership at the organization. My previous leadership experience served me well, and once I got the hang of the recruitment landscape, my career took off.
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In this role, I learned to become a data-driven leader. As mentioned, I have strong intuition as a leader, but I didn't understand how important data needed to be in my decision-making.
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I fell in love with it—I feel unstoppable when I leverage data.
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I stayed in this role for three years, making it the longest job held to date. I grew here. I became an incredible leader here. I had some incredible leaders here.
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No organization is perfect, and I had my gripes (big ones, too), but when I measured the sum, the good outweighed the bad—I was exactly where I needed to be.
When I left, it wasn't because of dissatisfaction, leadership, or lack of opportunity. I left because my heart was calling me to pursue full-time entrepreneurship. I gave up a chance at a significant promotion to follow my dream, and while full-time entrepreneurship turned out to be the wrong next step for me, I don't regret my decision to leave. It forced me out of my comfort zone and took me out of an industry I no longer loved.
2018-2019
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST
SOURCING RECRUITER
While I loved working with kids, I grew tired of direct service roles. Being responsible for someone else's children is a huge responsibility, and my day-to-day started to wear on me. As I thought about what was next for me, it was time to leverage my education in Human Resources and experience in leadership to make a career pivot into the Talent Acquisition space.
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I landed a full-time role as a Recruiter with a charter school network and couldn't have picked a more perfect opportunity. Working for a school meant I could continue my passion for youth without working with them daily. I was able to hire great teachers for the students I served, which was my goal in pursuing my degree.
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I genuinely loved my job— I enjoyed work and was happier with my pay, but that's not to imply that it was all sunshine and rainbows.
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Having come from working in schools, it was my first role as an adult in a corporate setting. The imposter syndrome was crushing, and my undiagnosed anxiety made it worse. I often tell the story about how I'd buy a cup of tea from a vendor outside my job every morning, only for my boss to express her confusion about why I never opted for the complimentary tea in the break room. It took months for me to finally admit to her and my team that imposter syndrome had convinced me that I was neither entitled nor deserving of anything in the break room. It made me uncomfortable to take anything because who was I? I'd never occupied a space where we got free things, and if I touched anything in my previous roles, I'd get my head bitten off.
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I was lucky to be part of a team centered on DEI, and I saw myself slowly immersing myself in the office culture. If you're wondering, yes, I eventually stopped paying for tea!
2017-2018
PLAY, STUDY, WIN
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
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After my role as the Internship Coordinator, I was still convinced that my passion was in Youth Development. Having just graduated with my Master's in Human Resource Management, my goal was to use my education to hire and train better staff for kids.
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I returned to my roots as a Program Director, this time at the Middle School level. Strategically, having experience with the full range of K through 12 students was vital to further expanding my horizons.
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*Enters second toxic work environment*
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By this point, I'd become a great leader, running strong programs. My staff were the best I'd ever had, my students were literal angels, and my students' caregivers were the best I'd ever work with— but the school's administration was nasty. On my first day, I met with the also new school Principal, who made it clear that she did not like my program (...bet you're wondering how she knew she didn't like my program, as we were both new, it was the first day, and neither one of us had experienced said program).
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Looking back, that was my cue to exit stage left and run as far as possible. Despite the unkind things I experienced there, I'm glad I didn't leave. The environment was poor, but it didn't impact my mental health— instead, I found that my program empowered and invigorated me, but I knew from Day 1 that I wouldn't be staying past that year.
2016-2017
COUNSELING IN SCHOOLS
INTERNSHIP COORDINATOR
By this point in my career, I still hadn't mastered the job search. My resume was beginning to make me look like a flight risk with the slew of short-term stints I did. While each job progressively earned me more money and experience, I hadn't spent enough time in most roles to demonstrate impact.
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Despite not landing a full-time role, I found an opportunity to further my interest in job readiness for youth by becoming an Internship Coordinator at a High School. Doing so benefited my career, as my work in Youth Development had always taken place at the Elementary level—expanding into High School could help me access a wider range of opportunities.
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As the Internship Coordinator, I had to build the program from scratch. While I'd already had experience with program development, my job quickly proved difficult when trying to solicit partners to host our students as interns. Long story short, I was off track for the program timeline, and it was the first time I felt like I was failing in my career.
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Here's the thing— you show up differently when leaders empower you.
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My leader at the time saw that I was trying my hardest to get the program up and running. She didn't make me feel unworthy or incapable, and it influenced me to continue to push for the program. This program was the first time I really thought about strategic decision-making. I relied on my intuition in other roles, so this was the first time I had to be strategic, and it was only then that I successfully kickstarted the program.
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At the end of that school year, I finished my Master's program, and my manager encouraged me to do two things: get back into the workforce to land a better job and start a career coaching business. And so, Writer's Block was born.
Summers '16, '17, & '18
POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE
SUMMER YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM MONITOR
The summer I quit my job, I stumbled into an opportunity to support young adults with job readiness.
I'd been working to improve my candidacy as a jobseeker in the years prior, but this role sparked an interest in career development I didn't know I had.
I went in thinking that this summer job was just an opportunity to expand my budding career in Youth Development while buying myself some time to land a new full-time role. It became a pivotal foundational point and a soft landing place for me to fall back on while I figured out what was next in my career.
2016
YMCA
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
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I quit this job within five months.
One day, I decided that I'd had enough and marched into my boss's office to give my two weeks' notice without having another opportunity lined up. While I was glad to have my first full-time Program Director role, I didn't realize I was walking into the most toxic workplace of my career.
I was miserable. I despised my manager, hated the corporate politics I'd now become privy to, and was overworked and underpaid to clean up yet another disastrous program.
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I remember walking blocks from my office to another office where my boss was located for my weekly check-ins. With every passing week, I grew more and more depressed, and I'd feel my chest tightening as I neared the building. I was becoming physically ill.
My breaking point was the day I found myself running out of my program, snot-nosed and crying my eyes out on the street in broad daylight. I'm not much of a crier, but I couldn't take much more. I called home and told them I was quitting, and even though my family advised against it, I realized that I'd rather be broke than broken—besides, it's not like they were paying me enough, so I was already broke to begin with.
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While leaving was one of the best decisions of my career, I want to note that I had the right conditions and support to leave without a plan— I lived at home, didn't have significant expenses, and was otherwise taken care of by my family. I wouldn't leave without a backup plan again, but the experience taught me not to hesitate to find a new opportunity if I am unhappy in a role.
2015
YWCA
INTERIM PROGRAM DIRECTOR
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Not long into my role as Assistant Director, I was given an opportunity to be an Interim Program Director. This is a bit of revisionist history because what actually happened was that the Interim Director role was a consolation prize, having not successfully landed the Program Director role. ​I got my first reality check as a young Black woman in the professional world, having not gotten the role because I was "too green," or in other words, young.
I spent a few months as the Interim Director because even though I wasn't the right fit for them, they still needed a body. I dedicated myself to rebuilding the program from the ground up, having found it a colossal mess when I first started. I showed up as my authentic self, staff morale was high despite the program's MANY challenges, and the role just felt... right.
Considering my success in getting program back on track, and building strong rapports with our students, caregivers, administrators, and funders, I was beside myself when my manager asked if I was interested in re-interviewing for the role.
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Re-interview?
The time I spent busting my ass was my interview. If they couldn't see the value in me and my work after literally putting myself in harm's way for this role and program, they'd never see it. I'd always be fighting to prove myself.
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I still remember my manager's reaction when I responded with a confident "no." —I'd already landed a full-time Program Director role with my previous employer, and I happily sashayed my way out of there!
2014-2015
YWCA
ASSISTANT PROGRAM DIRECTOR
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After I graduated from college, I returned for another summer of Camp, and set my intentions on eventually becoming a Program Director. Fresh out of college with little experience, I convinced myself that I needed to be a Camp & After School Counselor for at least two years before I could even look at Director-level roles.
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That idea lasted three months— the two months of Summer when I was working 40 hours a week at camp, and the one month I spent as an After-School Counselor which drastically reduced my hours to 3 hours a day. At the time, I was making $10 p/h (which was above minimum wage), but I was quickly unable to reconcile that I was bringing in $150 a week before taxes after graduating from the top state school and while working hard to make sure these kids made it through each afternoon in one piece.
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On a whim, I applied to an Assistant Program Director role, and while it was still part-time, it paid $15 p/h and gave me my first leadership responsibilities.
I'll be the first to admit, my transition into leadership was rocky.
I operated with the beliefs that my team needed to do what they were told, when they were told, and that I didn't need to build personal connections with them. I didn't show up as my authentic (fun) self, and while I felt respected, I didn't feel liked. I did great work in terms of my responsibilities, but this role challenged me to reconsider how I wanted to show up as a leader.
Summers '13 & '14
YMCA
CAMP COUNSELOR
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The summer I returned home after my Junior year found me desperately applying for summer jobs. It was the first time I had to be aggressive about my job search, considering that my connections resulted in my first two roles.
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I failed miserably at my job search. I barely got interviews, and when I did, I bombed them.
I saw an opportunity to be a Camp Counselor and showed up to the interview determined to land the role despite not having much experience working with kids. It was the first time I'd ever done a group interview, and I outshined my competitors— I don't know what got into me, but I honestly didn't plan to leave jobless.
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What was intended to be a cute summer job where I'd play all day and go on free trips turned out to be the most challenging job I've ever had.
I LOVED it.
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At the time, I was still unsure of my career path after college, (which was rapidly coming to a close might I add) and I'd half-heartedly decided that I was going to law school because that's what I said I wanted to do at 7. My time as a Camp Counselor revealed that I had a passion for working with youth, and from that moment on, I dedicated myself to a career in Youth Development.
2012-2014
SA INK PRINT SHOP
CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSOCIATE
My next role came in my Junior year of college, which I got by being in the right place at the right number of times! I'd often visit my then-boyfriend during his shift, and was eventually offered his role when he left!
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Having this job had its pros and cons— on the one hand, I found myself less interested in academics, skipping classes to pick up shifts; but on the other hand, I realized how driven and motivated I was at work— not because I wanted more money, but because I genuinely enjoyed it.
Looking back, I realize the signs that I'd be career-driven were there all along!
BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY
PART-TIME ASSOCIATE
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I got my first job at 17 as a Senior in High School, and I still remember the exhaustion I felt after my first day!
I grew up in the library, having come from a lineage of family members who worked there, so this was a fitting introduction to the workforce. While my stint there was short before going away to college, it taught me work ethic and how to show up strong. My role primarily consisted of shelving books and using internal systems to support a network of libraries, but I got valuable insight into working in an office-type setting and playing an essential part in a large-scale operation.
Education
2016-2017
STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
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2010-2014
BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY
BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ENGLISH
Minor In Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies