Juliana
Juliana has always been passionate about hair and the beauty industry. She has been installing and styling custom wigs for various clients since she was in high school, usually out of her home.
Before she came to One On One, Juliana was enrolled in a paid internship program with another non-profit organization that promised to help her get her GED. A few months after starting the program, Juliana’s internship abruptly ended for her and all other participants when the organization permanently closed.
Juliana learned about One On One through her boyfriend, who had obtained his forklift certification through our JTED program. She started working with an employment coach, who helped her search for jobs in the beauty industry. Juliana’s coach helped her develop skills to cold call employers, as well as make follow-up calls after submitting an application.
Juliana completed an application for a beauty advisor role at ULTA on the Skills for Chicagoland’s Future portal. She did interview practice and preparation with her coach, including reviewing common interview questions. She interviewed at the downtown ULTA. While she was not selected for that role, the ULTA manager downtown sent Juliana's info to other district stores, and directly after that, Juliana was contacted by the Skokie ULTA location.
Juliana was hired as a Beauty Advisor at ULTA. She is working part-time and loves her coworkers. She says it’s a very positive and inclusive workplace. At ULTA, Juliana helps recommend hair and makeup products to customers, does shade matches, and helps process customer transactions at the cash register.
“It is going well! I'm so passionate about this new chapter in my life. This job gives me a very warm, happy feeling inside. I love this job as a beauty advisor at ULTA. I can really express my personality, which is great, and also I can learn from my supervisor, who supports the whole team.”
Juliana thought working with One On One was helpful because she was able to meet with her coach virtually and didn’t need to travel from the North Side to the South Side to come to the office.
“Those meetings, being really flexible, were helpful. You can get it done anywhere.”
Moving forward, Juliana is interested in higher positions, such as lead cashier at ULTA, as she gains more experience. She is still doing her clients' hair and nails on the side and is interested in going to cosmetology school.
For those still looking for a job, Juliana said not to feel discouraged, because you don’t know when the opportunity to meet someone who could really help you may come.
