Sylvia Correa

The school of hard knocks — and 25 years of refusing to let it stop me.

I was 19 when my mom passed away at 38 from breast cancer. No warning, no time to prepare. I left California for Colorado with no degree, no family nearby, and no safety net. A small manufacturer took a chance on me as an HR generalist with zero experience, and I never backed down from a single challenge they put in front of me. When they were acquired by Leggett & Platt, I built an entire HR department from the ground up: SOPs, audits, compliance, structure, culture alignment. I learned what it meant to walk into a room where nothing existed and leave it functioning.

When my grandmother was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, I came home without hesitation. That chapter closed and a new one opened at Hot Topic's corporate office, where a director saw potential in me before I fully saw it in myself and handed me the keys to everything he knew about recruiting. From that point forward, my network opened every door. I had spent years investing in relationships, hosting networking events nationwide and into Canada, and consistently delivering more than what was expected of me. That reputation kept me top of mind, and every opportunity through Tesla came through people who had seen me in action, a network that now includes more than 30,000 people on LinkedIn.

But the network didn't protect me forever. After several layoffs, I found myself overlooked and not getting offers I knew I was qualified for. It took almost eight months to land. I was eventually discovered through a search firm, and what struck me was how being truly set up for success, prepared for every stage of the process, allowed me to finally be seen. I never forgot how that felt. When I found my footing, properly preparing candidates became non-negotiable.

Then came another layoff. This time I didn't go looking for the next opportunity. I decided to become it. I bet on myself and committed to fixing a broken system: identify the core misread fast and work from there. That's how the diagnostic was born, and that's why Quillworx exists. Watching a client's confidence come back after being overlooked and ghosted is something I will never get tired of. That's what keeps me going.

Two things, both learned the hard way.

The first: never let anyone take your power away. Early in my career I let someone's opinion of me become my opinion of me. I allowed their assessment of my worth to shrink what I believed was possible for myself. It took time to recognize what was happening and even longer to undo it. The moment I stopped outsourcing my confidence to other people's perceptions was the moment everything shifted.

The second took longer to learn. I believed for years that keeping my head down, doing exceptional work, and delivering real impact would speak for itself. It doesn't. While I was busy producing results, someone else was busy being visible, positioning themselves, and advocating loudly for their own advancement. They got the promotion. I got overlooked. That experience was frustrating, but it was also clarifying. Hard work is the foundation, but it is not the whole game. You have to be seen. You have to speak up. Self-advocacy is not arrogance, it is a skill, and not developing it early enough is a mistake I would not make twice.

Both lessons shaped everything I built. Because the most dangerous thing in a career is not failure. It is quietly accepting a version of yourself that was never true to begin with.

Be intentional about your growth, and protect time every week to invest in yourself. That means tracking your wins — every single one, no matter how small. You will need that record more than you think, whether it's for a performance review, a promotion conversation, or simply a hard day when you need to remember what you are actually capable of.

Advocate for yourself out loud. Do not wait to be noticed. Raise your hand, speak up in the room, and make sure the right people know the impact you are having. Visibility is not vanity, it is strategy.

Stay curious. You do not need to have all the answers, but being the person who asks the right questions signals engagement, intelligence, and drive. Inquisitiveness is a strength, not a weakness.

Set honest checkpoints every 60 to 90 days to evaluate whether your environment is helping you grow or holding you back. Always have a Plan B, not out of fear, but out of self-respect. And stay open to conversations and opportunities that may not look obvious at first. Some of the best doors do not announce themselves.

Last, and most importantly: do not fall into imposter syndrome. You belong at that table. You were not placed there by accident. Make sure your resume, LinkedIn presence, and how you show up in interviews clearly communicate your impact, not just what you have done, but the value you have delivered and what you are capable of next.

The women who advance are not always the most qualified in the room. They are the ones who know their worth and are not afraid to show it..

The job market is a fundamentally different landscape than it was even three years ago. AI-generated resumes, auto-apply tools, and a flood of look-alike profiles mean the average job opening now receives 300 to 500 applicants. Companies are slower to hire, leaning on technology to filter rather than humans to evaluate. Standing out has never been harder, and blending in has never been easier. That's a dangerous combination.

Studies show that nearly 50% of the global workforce is unhappy at work, and that number doesn't surprise me. Workloads are growing, culture is shifting, compensation is stalling, and people are too exhausted to invest in their own growth. What keeps them stuck is a combination of golden handcuffs and fear of stepping into an unstable job market. So they wait. And while they're waiting, confidence erodes, mental health suffers, and compensation gets left on the table year after year. Staying too long in the wrong place doesn't just stall your career. It changes who you are. The exit plan isn't about leaving. It's about protecting your trajectory.

The biggest opportunity I see is one most people are sleeping on: early career professionals. The resources available to them are almost nonexistent. Talented people are getting passed over not because they lack potential, but because they are operating with blind spots they have no way of seeing and have been shaped by bad advice that is costing them opportunities before they ever get started. This demographic is hungry, driven, and ready to invest in themselves. They just need someone to show them how the room actually works. I have opened an exclusive program through Quillworx specifically designed for top performers in this space, giving them the tools, clarity, and positioning strategy they need to be seen from day one, not years later after learning things the hard way.

Integrity, impact, and authenticity are the values I lead with in everything I do. I believe in doing the right thing even when it is hard, showing up as my full self, and leaving people better than I found them. I have a natural ability to see potential in others, often before they see it in themselves, and that gift comes with a responsibility I take seriously. This work is not transactional for me. It is deeply personal. Every client I work with deserves honesty, a clear mirror, and someone in their corner who is fully invested in their success. My involvement with breast cancer awareness organizations is also close to my heart in a way that is deeply tied to who I am. Having lost both my mother and my grandmother to breast cancer, giving back in their honor is something I carry with me in everything I do.

In my personal life, family is everything. My son has wanted to be a doctor since he was three years old, and supporting that dream every step of the way is something I take seriously as a mother. With high school just around the corner, we have started doing campus visits so he can begin to touch what that future actually feels like. I have been married for about a year now and we are genuinely having the best time. We love the outdoors, stay active, and read constantly. Kauai is our yearly reset where we kayak, surf, hike, and chase waterfalls. Living in Huntington Beach means the beach is our backyard, and our sunset walks are something we protect no matter how busy life gets. That balance between drive and stillness is something I protect fiercely. It reminds me that the work matters, the people matter, and so do I.