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Rachel Lynch grew from a shy student through DECA leadership positions that turned into a paid internship and job shadowing in the fashion industry in NY.   She is finishing her college degree in 3 years and already has a job lined up at a top accounting firm.  

Can you tell us about what you do?

10th grade, something clicked to get more serious, led to DECA.  Got into DECA leadership, had 2 great internship opportunities, 1 was paid.

Where did the drive come from?  

Rachel had self-talk that she lacked confidence.  DECA has a community that is forward thinking, motivated to do something and have an impact, trying and failing which inspired Rachel to believe in herself and take action.  She was inspired by the community.

What inspired her mindset?

Fed up with herself, “I’m more than this.” Her instinct that she was more than being the person who doesn’t talk, raise her hand, engage. Mentors, her mom inspired her to be a strong woman.  DECA students have energy, a spark that pulls people out of their shell, get people moving forward, that is “the key”.

How did she connect with internship opportunities she was interested in?

State officer for NJ DECA, DECA International Keynote Speaker video production in NY, her advisor offered the opportunity to be a part of the production in NY and she jumped at the opportunity.  She asked the main PR manager if there was an opportunity to “job shadow”, she got a business card and followed up the same day with an email.  This led to shadowing planning meeting, modeling and styling sessions, Fashion Week, photo shoots for a runway collection, connecting with people in all the different businesses.

The second internship was paid for working in an investment firm office through her advisor in DECA.

What is your favorite insight that you are pulling from the experience?

Continue to find opportunities, “info sessions”, show up, have conversations, and learn, continue to be hungry for information.

Networking tips?

LinkedIn in high school.  Informational interviewing, send a message on LinkedIn, email or phone #, what does your day to day look like? If you were to give yourself a tip for interview for jobs what would that be?  Follow career tracks and keep following up.  For help with this check out the Career Clarity Course on Claritydojo.com,

What resources do you recommend? sites, books, podcasts

7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey

• Be Proactive.
• Begin with the End in Mind.
• Put First Things First.
• Think Win-Win.
• Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood.
• Synergize.
• Sharpen the Saw.

How to Win Friend and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Mentors can give references.  Experiment.  Google it.  Podcast- “Woah, That’s Good.” By Sadie Robinson.  “What’s the best advice you’ve been given?”

Best success? Favorite failure?

French, she knew when it was time to stop, time invested vs return.

Success is earning DECA VP and the impact she was able to make.

If you were to coach listeners, students 10-20 years old who are curious about a career, and they want to learn more, but were unsure about trying something new or connecting with people who do it, basically asking someone for help; what would you say?

Explore.  Internal passions and strengths.  Learn about yourself.  Keep moving forward.  Even if you don’t know the next step, the feeling of not knowing anything.  Take the next step.  Connect with someone, maybe put a little more effort into work.  Keep on going, keep on moving.

Look you up to find out more?

LinkedIn, instagram @therachellynch