Meet This Young Professional: Isabel Wadsworth, inspiring graduates to find their career path

Isabel Wadsworth (Izzy) is a student, athlete, and young professional from Lake Wales, FL. A current senior at Randolph-Macon College and Client Delivery Intern at Riva Solutions, Isabel is committed to helping young men and women bridge the gap between their education and careers.

I reached out to interview Izzy about her new company Mod10 Consulting. We talked about her business, the importance of storytelling in the workplace, and how companies can help their employees be more successful! Learn more about Mod10Consulting here and connect with her on LinkedIn here.

Stories are important in any organization because they help solidify the company culture.

The choices that you make in your life as a student and professional, those build your story.

Tell me a bit about yourself and your background.

I’m originally from central Florida from a small town in a county that’s been struggling for the past few years. I was born and raised in a community that wanted to grow and develop. I wanted to pursue a liberal arts degree and was recruited to play tennis at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, VA. I’m currently a senior pursuing a degree in Communications, International Business, Economics, and Spanish. I’m hoping to go to law school after college.

In terms of my past experiences, my first job was working at a theme park. It taught me responsibility about sales and holding yourself accountable. It also taught me about working with teams in a high pressure environment.

The following summer, I interned at a nonprofit organization in marketing and community outreach. This ignited my passion for culture and building from the ground up in terms of rebranding. It was a small team of 3 or 4 people and I really gained many skills and grew from interning there.

I had my first corporate experience in New York City, which was a major contrast from working at a small non-profit in my hometown. I went from working with people I knew in my community to working at a high rise in Time Square. Everything built on itself to lead me to where I am today.

You founded Mod10Consulting as a student. That’s so cool! Can you tell me more about your organization?
I’ll start with its origin story. At a young age, I had this innate desire to help others become their best selves. I believe that if you have the skills necessary to build good teams and jump on opportunities, you can succeed.
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At 13, I had this idea to start a website called Modern 10, which would highlight the 10 characteristics that I thought every modern woman should have like Faith, Fitness, Family, Friendship, etc. Mod10 is an homage to a thirteen-year-old girl who had a mission to help others.

Recently, I was getting a lot of discouraging texts from my friends who’d share what was blocking them from succeeding with their goals. I wanted to operationalize and bridge opportunities. I created a few surveys and asked a group of students: Would you rather go to a student your age or an older professional for job advice? The majority of the survey participants selected they would rather see a student their age due to the shifting job market. So, I sat down one night in my childhood bedroom and started Mod10Consulting. There is a market out there for people to communicate their needs in unprecedented times; finding someone their age and with their experience is so valuable.
I’ve noticed that oftentimes older professionals talk down to young professionals about how to get a job. Although their wisdom is helpful, there is a benefit to offering a service to students at the same age and to talk to them as equals; it’s easier to say we’re gonna get through this together.

‍How do you think stories play a role in attracting people to your organization?
‍GoodSeeker’s narrative focus is great. I also love your title of Marketing Advocate because it really speaks to the company culture at GoodSeeker.

Stories are important in any organization because they help solidify the company culture.

The choices that you make in your life as a student and professional, those build your story.

There is no template for success. You can’t tell someone what they need to do to be successful. You have to understand that things ebb and flow. You will fail and you will succeed. It’s all part of your story. For every success story, there’s also rejection stories, like screwing up an interview. It’s so important to tell the whole story - highlight the good and the bad. This brings emphasis to progress instead of perfection.

How do young professionals do their research on employers to call out B.S?  
This is such a good question and it’s so important for young graduates to take this point into consideration. It’s hard to tell. One way to call out B.S is to do research on social media, Paylocity, Yelp, and Glassdoor. You can read reviews and see what employees are writing about culture. I’d encourage people to do that.

Even in the companies that you’re currently serving, keeping yourself updated with the pulse of the company as it relates to culture, development, and network building. I look for companies that are going to help me expand my network and grow in a healthy environment.

Also, as an athlete, I love teams and coachability. At the non-profit where I interned, my boss gave me an environment to make mistakes. I didn’t know how to write a press release or create a marketing budget. Instead of reprimanding me, he always said keep going.

Creating a circle of safety that allows people to make mistakes without the fear of losing their jobs or asking for help without the fear of being ridiculed is part of creating a strong culture.

You want to make sure the company is a match with you. Ask yourself, can I be a part of this team? Am I going to come out of this with better professional skills?

How do you get confidence that an employer is committed to employee success?
‍LinkedIn is a great resource because you gain a bird’s eye view of what your employers and teammates prioritize in their professional network in life.

What are the leaders of a company posting when they’re off the clock? Are they sharing articles that are industry specific, about leadership, or what’s going on in the world?

That is a good way to gage where a company lies; as you continue working for an organization, the authenticity of their posts will be confirmed. Overall, if you see consistency on LinkedIn and other websites, it’s usually telling of the organization.

What can organizations do differently to help employees be successful while working from home?
There are two different buckets of what companies need to do: Logistics and Communications. Regarding logistics, companies can implement an open calendar policy, ensure expectations regarding working from home are clear to employees, establish a weekly meeting with their team, etc. These changes can be operationalized. With the second bucket lies communication. Companies can integrate communication channels like Slack into the work day which can be very beneficial for company culture and to boost morale.

There are some intangible changes as well including empathy. For many leaders who have limited time with loads of work to do, this can be extremely difficult as it involves them using more of their energy to check-in on their team.

For instance, my boss has 3 boys and 2 of them are going off to college. She also has to be that person to lean on and be that empathetic leader and servant leader. It’s extremely hard to do every day but it’s necessary.

You’ll weaken your team if you’re not showing empathetic leadership.

Her being open and saying that she needs an hour break to go exercise, or needs to spend time with her kids, gives her team permission to do the same if needed. This also touches on flexibility and adaptability. We’re all going through incredible amounts of change in our personal and professional lives; accepting change as inevitable is so important.

What makes an employee want to be an ambassador for an employer?
Love this question! It’s a two-way street. Work and personal life is about relationships. You have to give and take whether you’re working with a team or directly under someone. Being an ambassador is not about showing blind loyalty. It’s a relationship of trust and learning from each other constantly.

I’m such an ambassador for Riva because they trust my input and my work just as much as I trust theirs. We have a program called the Riva Ambassador program. Riva has a corporate office and then people on site we call “on the ground,” who are in the weeds at the federal agencies doing awesome work. Our job is to make sure they’re successful. It’s that relationship between the employers and employees that creates great ambassadors who inspires others.

Thank you, Izzy! Is there anything else you’d like to add?

At many companies, there’s an expectation that young people are going to come in and make an immediate impact. Employers expect millennials to have fresh ideas right off the bat and vice versa!
The first month of working anywhere, I take a different posture. I take a step back and actively listen. Many in our generation passively listen and you’re doing yourself a disservice if you think you can act immediately.

How are you going to contribute if you don’t have situational awareness of the company? How are you going to learn about the company and understand its culture? You have to sit back and receive. Always keep an open mind.

Something I really admire about the CEO of Riva is that he always listens with an open mind. For anyone whether you’re young or already established, remember to be inspired to listen.