Stephanie Nuesi has a story that many Latinas who have immigrated to the United States can identify with. She arrived in this country without speaking English well, but with a suitcase full of dreams which pushed her to fight for her goals and to face the challenges she needed to overcome in order to succeed.

When she realized that she would need a very high level of English to get the job of her dreams, she did not give in to defeatist thinking but instead looked for ways to improve. And thanks to her perseverance and dedication, in a short time she managed to join one of the most important companies in the United States!

But her success story goes beyond that. Once she achieved her goal, Stephanie looked for a way to guide and inspire other young women like her who were pursuing the “American Dream”. Her vision led her to create Max Up, a consulting firm to help college students and professionals achieve professional success.

In addition to this project, this Dominican woman is a content creator for LinkedIn, one of the most important platforms for individuals seeking employment and/or professional development. In other words, if you find yourself in a moment of uncertainty and don’t know what doors to knock on or how to get the job of your dreams, Stephanie is your ‘go to girl!’

Now, I’m sure you’re wondering:  how did she manage to get so far in such a short time without speaking English? We wondered the same thing. We interviewed her so she could tell us her story in detail and share her best tips for finding a job.

What part of the Dominican Republic are you from and what brought you to the United States?

Stephanie: I was born and raised in a small town called Los Mameyes. I came to the United States at the age of 16 in 2015 to pursue the famous American dream. I wanted to become the first person in my family to graduate from a university in the USA and to work in corporate America. My dream has always been to create opportunities for other young people in my country, as sometimes our generation does not see or have access to those opportunities. Studying in the USA and working here was an opportunity for my family, my relatives, and the whole next generation. I wasn’t just thinking of myself, but of everyone who could positively benefit from the things I could accomplish.

How did you learn English through LinkedIn?

Stephanie: When I first started creating content on LinkedIn, everything was in English. I had to spend many hours understanding what other people were posting and making my own posts. In the beginning, it took me a long time to make a post, because I didn’t know some English words or sentences well. Many people also helped me by correcting and giving me constructive feedback. Since I had to create these posts daily, my English fluency grew incredibly.

What was your biggest professional challenge in not speaking English well? Tell us about an experience that has marked you in this regard.

Stephanie: I faced many difficulties not being able to speak English. I remember going to work events where I couldn’t communicate the way I wanted to with other professionals. I was so afraid that they wouldn’t understand me. Once I was assigned to give a presentation to a group of people at work, and part of the feedback I received was to speak more slowly because I was not understood very well. Because of this, I decided to practice more English conversations with other co-workers and ask for constructive criticism more often. This helped me to grow not only professionally, but personally.

As second language speakers, we internalize negative stereotypes and believe we don’t have what it takes to be great professionals. This destroys our self-esteem and becomes a barrier that prevents us from reaching our goals and maximizing our potential. It is important to stress the importance of understanding that everything is a process, and we should not give up or let our thinking become the very barrier that prevents our professional and personal development.

After only 5 years, you managed to do the unimaginable: you got the job of your dreams as a financial analyst at Google. How did you achieve it?

Stephanie: Google was always my dream company. I remember walking into the New York office next to my mother and saying, “Mom, I’m going to work there someday.” This seemingly impossible dream became a reality. I started researching what positions I qualified for, and I connected with many professionals at the company via LinkedIn. They were very gracious in offering their advice and knowledge to help me with what I needed. Little by little, I prepared myself until they opened applications for their “BOLD” internship program. I was selected to be an intern for 3 months, worked with the hardware team during the summer, and got my job offer as a financial analyst after that.

One of the things that helped me quite a bit was creating content on LinkedIn. The content I created was meant to help other students achieve their dream job. Through this, I had the opportunity to achieve more visibility with people who worked at the company and create a more recognized and valued personal brand.

I remember dreaming of these moments when I was studying in my room in a small town in the Dominican Republic. Everything from the dream came true.

For all the girls who want to excel professionally – and who think there are more obstacles than opportunities in your life – list the best tips for getting the job of your dreams on LinkedIn.

-Make your LinkedIn profile stand out and build your personal brand. Make sure your profile includes your technical abilities and all your experience so that you increase your visibility with recruiters and human resources representatives from your dream companies.

-Connect with people and interact via direct messages.

-Comment on posts so others will recognize you.

-Post content that helps others, including your own personal and professional story.

-Join groups on LinkedIn.

-Add your “Open to work” button on your profile to let recruiters know you are available. Be sure to add the positions you are interested in and what job locations you are interested in.

-Create a banner (cover photo) that shows your main qualities and the type of positions in which you’ve worked or would like to work, since the banner is the first thing a person sees when he/she enters your LinkedIn profile.

-Add a video to your profile. LinkedIn allows you to have a 30-second video where you can describe who you are and what kind of job positions you are looking for.

-Add your professional portfolio in the “featured” part of your LinkedIn profile to show what professional qualifications you have.

What do you think of Stephanie Nuesi’s story? Isn’t it compelling? If you want to read more tips for professional development, don’t miss this guide by Stephanie. Click here to access it!