The First Five
Her career won’t be built in a day. But how she starts matters.
Landing the first job after college is important.
Knowing how to build a career once she gets there is even more important.
The First Five is a career strategy and leadership program for young women preparing to enter the professional world. It is designed to bridge the gap between what college teaches exceptionally well and what young professionals often have to figure out on their own.
How do you build a professional network when you're just starting out? Speak confidently with senior leaders? Advocate for yourself? Recover from mistakes? Recognize a good opportunity? Navigate workplace dynamics? Decide when to stay—and when it's time to make a move?
These are career skills.
And they can be learned.
The First Five helps young women start learning them before their first day on the job.
Why the First Five Years Matter
The first job is just the beginning.
Early career decisions can have an outsized impact on what comes next.
The experiences she pursues, relationships she builds, skills she develops, reputation she creates, and opportunities she chooses all begin shaping her professional trajectory.
Yet many talented young women enter the workforce having spent years preparing academically—and very little time learning how careers actually work.
The First Five changes that.
Instead of focusing only on “How do I get hired?”, we help participants begin asking bigger questions:
What do I want to become known for?
How do I create opportunities instead of waiting for them?
Who should be in my professional network?
How do I communicate with confidence and credibility?
How do I advocate for myself without feeling uncomfortable doing it?
How do I make smart decisions about my career?
Getting hired matters.
Learning how to navigate what happens after you're hired matters, too.
Introducing the Class
What She'll Work On
The First Five goes beyond résumés and interview tips.
Throughout the program, participants develop practical skills and strategies across areas such as:
Career Strategy
Understanding where she wants to go, identifying opportunities, making intentional choices, and beginning to think beyond the first job.
Professional Brand & Presence
Learning how to communicate her value, present herself professionally, and build credibility.
Networking & Relationships
Building genuine professional relationships, finding mentors, developing a network, and becoming comfortable reaching out to people she doesn't already know.
Job Search Strategy
Approaching the search strategically—from identifying opportunities and positioning her experience to interviewing and evaluating offers.
Communication
Learning to communicate confidently with colleagues, managers, executives, recruiters, and other professionals.
Leadership & Confidence
Developing the confidence to contribute ideas, take initiative, handle difficult situations, and grow into leadership.
Self-Advocacy
Learning how to ask for opportunities, seek feedback, communicate accomplishments, and advocate for her professional growth.
Real-World Career Decisions
Understanding workplace dynamics and learning how to evaluate opportunities, setbacks, managers, promotions, and career moves.
More Than a Career Class
She needs information. She also needs people.
Careers are built through relationships as much as résumés.
That's why The First Five is designed as an experience, not simply a collection of online lessons.
Participants learn alongside other ambitious women who are navigating the same transition.
The program combines:
Biweekly sessions • Career strategy • Leadership development • Mentorship • Practical tools • The First Five Playbook • Peer community
The objective isn't to tell her exactly what career she should pursue.
It's to give her the tools, perspective, confidence, and support to make those decisions for herself.
What Makes The First Five Different?
There is plenty of advice available about writing a résumé or answering interview questions.
The First Five looks further ahead.
We prepare her for the career—not just the interview.
That means talking about the things young professionals often don't learn until they've already experienced them.
How to build credibility.
How to develop relationships with people several levels above you.
How to ask for help.
How to handle feedback.
How to make your work visible without constantly promoting yourself.
How to recognize an opportunity.
How to respond when something doesn't go according to plan.
How to become someone other people want on their team.
And eventually, how to become a leader.
That's the difference between preparing for a first job and preparing for a career.
For Parents
Your role is changing, too.
For years, you've been deeply involved in helping your daughter reach the next milestone.
The transition into a career is different.
You still want to help—but increasingly, the best support isn't solving the problem for her. It's helping her develop the confidence and judgment to solve it herself.
The First Five gives your daughter a place to ask questions, practice professional skills, learn from experienced leaders, and begin taking ownership of her career.
You remain one of the most important people in her corner.
She begins building a professional circle of her own.
Her first five years will happen either way.
The question is whether she'll enter them simply hoping to figure things out—or with a foundation for navigating them intentionally.
Let's help her start strong.
The First Five
Career readiness. Leadership. Confidence. Real-world success.
