Charise Wilson knows firsthand how valuable mentors are, especially for a job hunter who’s determined to move up but doesn’t know how to get there.
Mentors act as sherpas, offering guidance, contacts, creative feedback and a place to vent.
“They’ve supported and influenced me,” Wilson said.
Wilson brought that personal experience with her when she debuted her employment coaching business in 2019. Lincoln-based Workforce Ready Solutions, a minority- and woman-owned business, helps professionals get back in the workforce, advance or change careers. Wilson’s sessions range from polishing resumes and LinkedIn profiles to freshening up interview skills.
She also helps businesses and organizations with human resources issues, coaching their employees, creating employer handbooks, as well as advising with recruitment, conflict resolution, performance reviews and salaries. Clients range from the Community College of Rhode Island and the I-195 Redevelopment District to Leadership Rhode Island and Foster Forward.
Tackling workplace issues is a world she knows well.
“When I was young, I left school in 12th grade. I was pregnant, and I was advised by a guidance counselor not to return. I was a straight-A student,” she said. “I ended up doing a GED [diploma] and then a master’s degree. It was hard. Having to carve my own personal path has helped me to help others. I had to find mentors; everyone needs a cheerleader.”
Before launching her company, Wilson worked in employment assistance at Lincoln Educational Services, and later at Becker College and Southern New Hampshire University, where she helped people navigate the working world. She realized there were not a lot of women of color in her field and she enjoyed supporting and helping job hunters get where they wanted to go.
At the same time, she was raising a young child and taking business classes, funded by what’s now the Real Jobs Rhode Island program.
At the end of the course, she began looking for a job.
“I was struggling,” she said. “I needed work. I went to a job club and met with career coaches, including reps from the Northern Rhode Island Private Industry Council. I was all dressed up with my resume and they asked, ‘What do you want to do?’ I said, ‘This.’ They called days later and said they had an opening at the reception desk.”
When the industry council closed, one of Wilson’s original coaches moved on to Lincoln Educational Services Corp. and recommended Wilson for her job when she retired.
“Her name was Dottie. She said, ‘You’d be good for my job,’ and I got it. Within a year, I was director of career services,” Wilson said.
In 2013, Wilson graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Becker and a master’s degree in human resource management from SNHU in 2017.
“Having worked in education and the fact I have a graduate degree helps me understand what employers are looking for,” she said. “I have that business perspective and I can pass those insights along.”
Part of helping individual clients find the perfect position is making them take a hard look at their background and how it fits with their prospective dream job. Office culture has changed, she says. It used to be someone could stay in a company and work their way up; the emphasis was on how hard you did your job.
Today it’s different, she says. It’s not just about work ethic.
“It’s your brand and factors like your other activities and what additional impact you’re having, such as your role in the community, how you’re showcasing your skills and who you know,” she said.
Clients get frustrated and don’t want to be challenged when Wilson tells them that new reality.
“I worked with someone who wasn’t convinced I was telling her what her job search needed to be. I said we need to put more emphasis on volunteering associations,” Wilson said. “She was working in finance, and she needed to make those connections. She started teaching a class in financial literacy and made a contact that led to a job in finance and project management. She needed to get out of her comfort zone, beyond sending off her resume.”
As a solo entrepreneur, Wilson thinks about her business constantly, she says, juggling and managing her time, finding a quiet few hours to create content she wants to teach. She’s also recently hired a part-time assistant to help with administrative and programming needs. And she’s working on making more time for herself, she says with a laugh.
But despite her best efforts, she admits it’s still hard to turn off at the end of the workday, although she credits her husband of 30 years for supporting and believing in her.
“I’m a vehicle to provide the necessary info to my clients,” she said. “It’s up to them to make the moves. I want to see people succeed.”
