The job seekers Upwardly Global works with are incredibly talented. And sometimes, all they need is one small change, a spark that helps push them over the edge and land a job that’s suited to their skills and background.
For Phuong, that small step is help with pronunciation. From Vietnam, she’s been in the U.S. for a few years and speaks English fluently. But her accent – and her confidence levels because of it – has been a barrier.
“With the job search a phone interview almost always happens first,” she says. “But I don’t feel comfortable speaking English over the phone. I haven’t gotten those jobs because of that.”
Phuong had sought out pronunciation classes on her own, but had to stop taking lessons when the resource drain got to be too much.
When the team at Upwardly Global was thinking about who in their universe could benefit from a small change with big impact, Phuong was on top of their list.
So for Day 111, we surprised Phuong with something she’s been wanting more of for a long time….pronunciation classes!
On top of it all, the teacher we arranged for her ended up being none other than her previous instructor! They were overjoyed to be united.
“This was a surprise!” said Phuong with a big smile. “It’s not only a great thing to have these lessons, it’s like being reunited with an old friend.”
Hear from Upwardly Global teammate Favin about why these classes are so important for Phuong.
