The Northeast is about to get even more Collegewise soon, as we’ve just hired Sara Kratzok to open our second office in the Boston area.
Who’s Sara?
Since graduating from Wellesley College in 2006, Sara has worked as an associate director of college counseling at a charter school, an admissions reader and later an alumnae admissions representative for Wellesley, an outreach coordinator at a private girls' school, and a high school history teacher. She also has a masters in education from Harvard and has been a regular presenter at local and national admissions conferences.
Why did we pick Sara?
Nobody gets hired at Collegewise without writing a great cover letter, but Sara’s just might have set the gold standard, especially when she followed her first paragraph with:
“I thought I might just end things there (sort of a “drop the mic” cover letter), but the over-achiever in me wants to get you really excited to meet me so that we can decide together if I am a good fit for this role.”
It worked.
College applicants could learn a lot from Sara’s approach to applying for a job at Collegewise.
There was nothing about Sara’s cover letter or resume that had an “insert name of company here” feeling. It really felt like she prepared those materials just for us, and in doing so, she made it absolutely clear just how perfect she was for this job. Matchmaking is important in both college admissions and job searching.
Sara didn’t just say that she was committed to education and willing to work hard to help kids; she’s already doing those things. Students who tell colleges, “I really want to help people,” or “I’m fascinated with engineering” are never as noticeable as those students who are already pursuing those interests.
Plus, we just liked Sara. She’s got oomph. I mean, she’s on a bowling team called “Split Happens." Really. So the only question left for us to answer was, “Do we want to watch Sara go over-achieve and be successful somewhere else, or do we want her to do so here with us (while at the same time improving our company's net bowling score)?” That was just a no-brainer, which is exactly the reaction students should aim to inspire from colleges.
Boston bound
Sara will be joining Tim, Shantá, and Jenn in Boston for a week of training starting June 10. Until then, Sara is finishing up the academic year at her high school and completing the required pre-reading assignments for our training. Although it's likely that in her over-achieving style, Sara has already completed the readings, identified any errors, and prepared study guides. She's going to fit in just fine.
Welcome, Sara!