CAP Fellow Spotlight: Never Stop Learning with Nataly Santos!
While working, going to school, and being a mom full-time, Nataly Santos has also worked her way through CCF’s Career Advancement Program (CAP)! Currently, she attends BMCC and just received a job offer in human services as a recruiter! Read below to learn more about her journey with CAP!
What is your dream job/career? Why?
I want to work in human resources because I love helping people and being able to interact with them everyday. I used to own my own business a few years ago, and I learned that being a leader isn’t just showing others what you want them to do. It’s about being humble and wanting to help others learn how to mitigate problems. It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it. I have dealt with managers in the past who didn’t quite know the right way to guide me. So, I want to be that change for others. Plus, one of my strengths is good communications skills, so I think I would thrive in human resources.
What made you want to join CAP?
One thing that I value very highly is learning. I never want to stop learning and finding new ways to evolve myself and improve my skills. Currently, I work in recruiting. I joined CAP so that I could learn new ways to help people and build my resume and eventually move into the role and organizations that I dream of.
How did you feel when you first joined CAP?
I was excited to see what the program had to offer, but I was a little nervous that I wouldn’t be able to juggle it with my work, school, and home life. Thankfully, I was able to complete the program with flexibility and eventually mastered the balancing act of work, CAP, my kids, and school and started to learn ways that I could improve myself as well as my resume and build my career confidence!
What was your favorite part of CAP?
CAP is great because it helped me build the backbone, the structure that is leading me to the career I want. It goes deep into finding out what you want to do; finding your passion. The best part of CAP was that the career coach helped me dive deep into what I truly wanted to do and then moved on to help me look into how I can achieve what I wanted. It helped me realize what was for me, what wasn’t for me, and how I could best meet my own career needs.
What is the most powerful way you’ve been able to develop your career with CAP?
I would say learning about and reflecting on my skills. With CAP, I was able to break down what I’m already good at and what I can work on. Getting feedback from my career coach and becoming more familiar with what my strengths and weaknesses are helped me understand myself better. I was more equipped to not only improve my skills but also know how to utilize them more effectively.
What would you say to someone who is thinking of joining CAP?
I would say that this is a great opportunity for all women with justice involvement. Even if you think that you don’t need to improve your resume or your interview skills, there is always something you can learn or improve on, and that will take you one step closer to achieving your dreams.
After having participated in CAP, I feel great; I feel confident. It gave me more assurance and understanding in what I want to do and how I am as a professional. And it didn’t stop at professional support - CAP and CCF were there just to listen to the difficulties that I face as well. I love knowing that they are there if I need support.