Meet Shireen Jaffer of Skillify

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shireen Jaffer.

Shireen, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started working when I was 14. My friends didn’t support it, my friend’s parents didn’t recommend it, and most of my teachers advised I focus on school. But I saw how hard my mother worked, and followed in my older brother’s footsteps who also began working at a young age. I was working 40 hours by the age of 16 and missed many days of school during senior year. But by that point, I had learned to communicate with my teachers and found the right mentors who served as incredible champions. And looking back, although it came at a social sacrifice, I am so glad I made the decisions that I did as a young student.

I learned early on what the real world valued and what I needed to work towards. I learned from awesome bosses, terrible co-workers, from being fired, from being hired on the spot, etc. While my friends stressed over grades and test scores, I stressed about finding meaningful work and validating my interests. But I seemed to be the only one who wasn’t chasing high test scores and GPA.

When I entered college, I saw similar patterns. Students were concerned more about their grades than they were about their interests and building a life outside of school. When the time came to step into the real world, I saw them panic. They hadn’t taken the time to understand what truly interested them, find mentors, or learn how to get internships and work experience… That is why I started Skillify after my first year of college.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Smooth roads rarely lead to adventure and fun stories. 🙂 One of the earliest challenges I faced was finding the right mentors and pushing forward despite the naysayers. I had several professors tell me that students could not launch successful businesses. I had friends tell me I was wasting my time and not enjoying college. I had team members quit before big showcases and conferences.

During Skillify’s the first year, I received advice from someone who was considered a major thought leader in workforce development. He said that high schools would take 3-5 years to implement Skillify programs, and it wasn’t worth the time. I didn’t have much to lose, but so much to gain, so I gave myself a year to make it happen. We had our first school contract signed and paid within 6 months of launching. By our second year, a school had signed a three-year, six-figure contract with us.

Another challenge was building the right team. I learned to do every role. I learned to ask for help. I learned to take feedback and improve quickly. I learned to over-communicate. I learned to empower and build trust. And I learned all of these the hard way.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Skillify – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
The mission of Skillify is simple: help students explore and validate their interests by interacting with mentors and internships. I started with college students but quickly realized that this exploration needs to happen in high school before students make big decisions like where to go to college and what to study. So I began introducing Skillify’s career-readiness programs to high schools.

Skillify’s programs have impacted over 10,000 students. Our youngest student is 13 and our oldest is 56! We are proud to serve a diverse group of students, equip them with real-world skills, and provide access to our incredible network of 500+ industry professionals who serve as mentors. Skillify programs begin with day-long conferences consisting of interactive workshops where participants acquire crucial skills (everything from networking to building a unique and relevant resume). The programs continue with varying months of virtual support, where students and Skillify coaches work one-on-one to set and achieve professional goals, like acquiring mentorships, job shadows, and internships.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
After implementing successful career-readiness and work-based learning programs for students across 220 schools, I wanted to build a technology solution that could do this work at scale. To make this possible, I launched another company this year, Edvo. Edvo serves as a talent concierge. Edvo helps people find meaningful opportunities and acquire the relevant skills to get qualified.

A lot of what I learned in school was irrelevant, misinformed, or outdated. And most of those people I graduated with came out of school with major skill gaps and jobs that they left after a year. I want to change this. I want to make sure that everyone has access to relevant education, and can get qualified for jobs that fit their needs.

Contact Info:

• Website: skillifynow.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: instagram.com/skillifynow
• Facebook: facebook.com/skillify
• Twitter: twitter.com/skillify
• Other: linkedin.com/company/skillify

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