First Gen Edition: Find the Story That Gets You Hired

First Gen Edition: Find the Story That Gets You Hired

Offered by Inès S.

Career Pivots & Inflection Points | Storytelling Coach | Google, X, Meta

Brandeis University Logo

Studied at Brandeis University

Speak Dreams Logo

Works at Speak Dreams

Package Description:

Your career is yours to direct — and you're writing a chapter your family hasn't had the chance to live yet. Whether you're planning your next move or navigating a layoff, the hardest part is rarely the résumé. It's the story. For first-generation professionals, it carries even more weight: the investment your family made to get you here, the doors you're opening for everyone who comes next, and the particular kind of courage it takes to navigate a system your parents didn't come up in. I'm first-gen too — the first in my family to go to school in the US. My dad is a French academic who studied in France, so when I started building my career here, there was no family playbook to borrow from. I know what it means to be the only one at the table without a family template for the next move. That isn't a gap. It's your edge. Hiring managers and recruiters meet thousands of candidates who grew up expecting to be there — yours carries something they rarely see. I've been through a lot of transitions and been the odd one out — an immigrant most of my life. Being at the intersection of cultures means you never quite fit, but it also affords super powers that are very useful if you know how to tap into them. I was born in Paris, moved to the US, lived in the South of France for part of high school, came back to the US for my senior year, then went to Brandeis University, graduated, and moved to Brazil. All of it motivates me to help people like you navigate new systems and get your foot in the door. I remember telling my family I wanted to work in Tech and also with creativity, and it was so distant from their reality, they looked at me like I was nuts. I use the same techniques that got me through high-stakes interviews and deals as a leader at Google and Instagram, and the same techniques I now teach Fortune 500 leaders across industries. What we do together: Before we start, you receive a Treasure Hunting pre-work packet — a set of questions designed to surface the moments, turning points, and family stories that shape your career story. (First-gen professionals often carry the richest material here — multi-generational journeys, first-of-their-kind moments, quiet courage that never got named.) You arrive to Session 1 already inspired and mid-discovery. Session 1 — Treasure Hunt. We go through your treasures together and kick off the story makeover. Treasure Hunting is my proprietary method for finding the story only you can tell. For first-gen professionals, we pay special attention to the family story — the one your parents and grandparents lived, and the one you're writing next. Session 2 — Your Narrative, Inside and Out. We shape two versions of your story: the internal one (how you understand your own arc) and the external one (how you pitch it to recruiters, hiring managers, and your network). Session 3 — Interview Training I. We rehearse for your first interviews — warming up, building confidence, stress-testing your answers. Session 4 — Interview Training II. Higher-stakes rehearsal. We drill the rooms that matter most — final rounds, executive panels, the offers on the line.


What you'll get from this package

Clarity and confidence in your edge as a First Gen Talent

Interview training and techniques to get hired

A reframed story you can pitch to any audience — recruiters, hiring managers, your network

Confidence in your worth, your trajectory, and the unique value you bring

Clarity on how your story connects to your next chapter

A strong sense of your internal and external narrative for this chapter

Stronger public speaking and executive presence


Additional details

Coaching delivered via live sessions.

I'm French-Brazilian-American, raised in the US — and without a family playbook, I still managed to build a career at some of the world's most admired companies. I worked at Google Brazil in the early days, was the first hire for Instagram LatAm when the app was still scrappy, and went on to sit behind the Instagram founders at MPK HQ. None of it was inherited. All of it was figured out. That's why I coach the way I do. I know what it feels like to walk into rooms without a script and learn the rules while you're being tested on them. I know what it means to carry your family's investment into systems they didn't come up in. And I know how to turn that experience — the one that made you feel like an outsider — into the edge that makes you distinctive. I've also been knocked down. I was impacted by a company-wide layoff at Instagram, which means when we work on your comeback, your pivot, or your next big leap, I'm coaching from experience — not theory. I know the weight of starting over when your family doesn't quite understand what you're starting over from. I'm also the founder of Speak Dreams, the storytelling company behind the Speak Dreams Mentorship Program. During the pandemic, I read 627 life stories, interviewed 77 finalists, and matched 84 young people across countries — including many first-generation talent navigating their way into universities, scholarships, and first jobs without a family playbook. That experience taught me what first-generation talent really needs from coaching: someone who sees the full weight of what you're carrying, helps you name it clearly, and turns it into the story that opens doors.

Refund Policy

Services included:

Career Planning

Personal Branding

Networking Strategy

Interview Prep


More packages from Inès

Custom hourly · $300/hr

Get help with Career Planning, Professional Networking, and .

Inès also coaches for Communication & Public Speaking, College, Startup Founders, Influencer & Creator, and Startup Careers. View all.


Inès S.

Offered by Inès S.

Joined March 2026

Career Pivots & Inflection Points | Storytelling Coach | Google, X, Meta

I've navigated multiple career pivots across industries, continents, and cultures — Bank of New York to Google Brazil to Instagram to founding Speak Dreams. I coach leaders through inflection points by helping them own and articulate the narrative that makes them irreplaceable. At Google, X, and Meta, I worked with leaders facing pivots: role transitions, visibility challenges, identity shifts. The pattern: storytelling unlocks clarity. When you can tell your story coherently, you move from stuck to strategic. I've coached this methodology at scale — my Speak Dreams Mentorship Program matched 84 women across cultures and countries through narrative work. The approach works: 9.9/10 life impact rating.

Coaches professionally

Experience level: Director

$1,164

4h of coaching

 
Sign in
Free events
Programs