Making your Best Impression with the Help of Beryl Castillo
by georgina arias avila
Eager to start a business, Beryl Castillo, PhD in Business Administration with an emphasis in Strategy & Innovation, opened two businesses in North Pole. One dedicated to employment counseling, First Impressions BC, LLC., and home surveillance and pet care, Forget Me Not Home Watchers, LLC.
At 19 years old, Beryl Castillo migrated to Seattle, along with her mother, from her native Peru. Her first work experiences were at McDonalds and JCPenney. Then, she opted for military service and enlisted in the U.S. Army, where she served in Iraq. Currently, she is a First Sergeant for the 168th Civil Engineering Squadron with the Alaska Air National Guard (Eielson Air Force Base). She and her partner, who is an active-duty member in the Air Force, decided to establish their home in Alaska in 2020, along with their two daughters.
In August 2022, Castillo saw the opportunity to open her first business. “Bilingual people have difficulties writing our resume because we process information in two different languages at the same time and it can be unintentionally confusing. In my youth, it was very difficult to write my resume in a professional manner. My experience as a human resource professional working as a government employee for almost three years allows me to give back to the community what I have received and help them be successfully hired,” said Castillo.
Not only the bilingual community has benefited from her service, but many people with different needs, from students or university graduates, retirees, or military personnel, as well as people from other states. Beryl advises creating a resume that is one to two pages long and contains relevant work experience that matches the requirements of the position for which you are applying. “It is obsolete to have a general resume for all jobs.” In addition, she suggests reading the job announcement carefully and practicing on delivering key information about past professional experience with friends to be prepared for the job interview.
On the other hand, she also specializes in preparing resumes for federal jobs. It requires more work since you are looking to work for the Government.” These resumes are more detailed and should be a maximum of five pages.”
She points out that applicants have to be careful with the verbs used to describe the tasks of the job performed. “A common mistake I found when reviewing resumes is that the job description does not match the roles held. For example, if you were a supervisor, you should describe how you manage your team, etc.”
Bery does not have an office for either First Impressions BC or Forget Me Not Home Watchers. Castillo uses Internet tools to connect with clients, saving time and providing efficiency in service.
“Forget Me Not Home Watchers also emerged from my personal experience. As military members, our family travels and we prefer not to leave our home and pets unattended. The idea is to take care of the home and the animals while the owners are traveling. This business was born in September 2023.”
For more information, you can write to [email protected] or call 512-522-3795. First Impressions BC is on Facebook.
