“Your Background Is Your Strength, Not A Limitation”: Advice From First-Gen Grads

Written By Taylor Hurles

The first-generation job seekers in the Basta Fellowship are truly rockstars. Through the 11-week career readiness program, followed by 1:1 career coaching, these job seekers leverage their strengths, skills, and academic experience to accelerate their job search.

The results: Basta Fellows are nearly twice as likely to land a great first job, and 90% of them are promoted in the first year!

So, what does it take to unleash first-gen magic and launch your career? Here is some advice from first-gen talent who have (literally) gotten the job done.

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Awais Akram
Fund Accounting Analyst, Langham Hall

  • Remember that your background is your strength, not a limitation.

  • Use your resilience, determination, and hunger for success to fuel your drive.

  • Seek out mentors who understand your journey and can guide you through the challenges.

  • And most importantly, never underestimate the power of your dreams. They are valid, and with hard work and perseverance, you can achieve anything you set your mind to.

Niezum Ahmed
Multimedia InternMultimedia Intern, New York Jobs CEO CounciL


  • Your journey may be different from another person's journey but that doesn’t mean you should ever let that discourage you. 

  • Go after the roles you thought you never would look twice at because they could lead you to your dream company or dream role at the end. 

  • Allow yourself to learn from every part of your own journey and let it be the motivating factor to keep going.

Maisha Hanif
Program Coordinator, Girls on the Run NYC

  • Continue applying daily to at least 3-4 applications.

  • Apply to roles that actually cater to your resume, strengths, experiences and industry

  • The most important advice is to not give up!

Rodrigo Martinez
Network Soccer Coach, Success Academy Charter Schools

  • Don’t give up, keep going, keep applying, keep going to networking events

  • Reconnect with old friends and old colleagues.

  • Please don’t give up on yourself; it will all be worth it eventually.

Jason Morales
Software Engineering Fellow, Hack.Diversity

  • Always put yourself out there. Yes, it can be a bit scary, especially if you’re a bit of an introvert (such as myself). Still, the advice of 'just pretend you’re talking to an old friend' helped calm my nerves while interviewing and allowed me to flesh out my experiences transparently.

  • Keep pushing forward and prepare your interview materials beforehand!

  • Be authentic in telling your story via an elevator pitch to potential employees and apply to opportunities for the interviewing experience, as it is a skill like any other. This practice will ultimately help you get comfortable with it.

Taylor Hurles
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