We recently had the chance to connect with Gabrielle Rodman and have shared our conversation below.
Gabrielle, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What is a normal day like for you right now?
By day, I work full-time in Global HR Management at Dell Technologies, and on nights and weekends I pour my energy into my own career support business. I help people with everything from resume writing and interview prep to career coaching, LinkedIn optimization, and networking events. Career building is something I’m deeply passionate about, so creating these services has been a natural extension of my HR background. To stay balanced, I make time for personal training, plenty of coffee, and long walks with my rescue pup, Gus — those small rituals keep me grounded while I help others grow in their careers.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
About me
I’m Gabrielle Morgan Rodman. I work full time in Global HR Management at Dell Technologies, and on nights and weekends I run a career-support business that helps people move forward in practical, strategic ways. My work is grounded in what hiring teams actually look for—because I live that world every day—and delivered with the hands-on storytelling and brand sensibility I learned working in luxury fashion.
Background / how I got here
I started my career on the corporate side of luxury fashion, including a role supporting the VP of Fashion at CHANEL in New York. During the COVID years I made a conscious pivot: I returned to school and completed a master’s degree in Human Resources. That combination—deep exposure to high-end brand storytelling plus formal HR training—gave me a unique lens on career positioning: the importance of narrative (how you present yourself) combined with a rigorous understanding of hiring, talent assessment, and organizational needs. After moving into HR roles, I launched my career services business a few years ago to bridge the persistent gap I saw between how people present themselves and what hiring leaders are actually evaluating.
What I do (services and structure)
My services cover the full trilogy of modern job search success: clarity (brand + positioning), tools (résumés, cover letters, LinkedIn optimization), and execution (interview prep, negotiation, and networking). Concretely that looks like:
Customized résumé and cover letter writing focused on achievements and transferable skills
LinkedIn profile strategy and optimization so clients show up for recruiters and network authentically
Mock interviews and behavioral interview coaching with practical feedback and scripting
Salary negotiation coaching and offer evaluation so clients maximize total compensation and equity
1:1 career coaching for pivots, return-to-work strategies, and leadership positioning
Live workshops and local networking events that combine skill-building with community connections
I offer everything as single sessions for busy clients, or as bundled programs—my most popular is the “Success Essentials” package, which walks someone end-to-end from brand clarity to an offer.
What makes my approach different
Two things set my work apart: perspective and practicality. My HR role at Dell gives me an up-to-date, inside view of what hiring teams and recruiters prioritize—job design, competencies, and signals of leadership potential. My fashion background helps me coach people on story, presence, and branding so their application materials and interviews feel cohesive and memorable. I combine that with highly actionable deliverables (rewriteable bullets, interview scripts, negotiation templates) and a clear timeline so busy professionals see progress quickly. Everything I design is realistic for people balancing full-time jobs, families, or other commitments.
Who I serve and why I care about supporting women
I work with a lot of women: those pivoting careers, returning after a break, moving into leadership, or negotiating on their first senior role. I’m passionate about supporting women because I see systemic gaps—confidence, visibility, and negotiation—that keep talented women from getting the roles and pay they deserve. My coaching focuses on translating experience into leadership language, building negotiation muscle, and creating a repeatable plan for visibility and promotion. I believe in practical empowerment: not just pep talks, but tools and tactics that change outcomes.
Impact and examples of outcomes
Clients come to me overwhelmed by the job market and leave with clarity and momentum. Typical outcomes include more targeted applications, stronger interview performance, and better offers because they can tell a concise, powerful story and negotiate with data and confidence. I measure success by whether a client gets interviews that match their goals, accepts an offer they’re proud of, or lands an internal promotion after repositioning their skills.
What I’m working on now
I’m expanding group programming and more frequent local networking events to create affordable ways for people to get coaching plus community. I’m also building short, focused toolkits and templates clients can use independently between 1:1 sessions—because many people want high-impact, time-efficient work they can do around a full-time job.
Personal note (how I stay balanced)
I juggle a demanding HR role at Dell with client work, so structure is essential: I schedule coaching and writing in evenings and on weekends, and design programs that respect the time constraints of working professionals. Personally, I’m getting back into fitness, love traveling and live in Nashville with my boyfriend Cory and rescue pup Gus.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
The relationship that has shaped me the most is with my mother. She raised me as a single parent while putting herself through law school at night — an incredible example of determination and work ethic. We often left each other notes on a whiteboard at home, like two ships passing in the night, but always cheering each other on. What’s equally powerful is how she sees me. She has always viewed me as strong, capable, and resilient, sometimes even more than I see myself. In moments when I doubt my own abilities, I lean on the confidence she’s reflected back to me my whole life. Knowing that someone I admire so deeply believes in me so fiercely gives me the power to keep moving forward, and it’s shaped the way I show up for myself and for others.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering taught me lessons that success alone could never have. For years, I dealt with debilitating pelvic pain that no one could explain. I went from doctor to doctor, facing misdiagnoses and, at times, gaslighting, being told my pain wasn’t real or was “all in my head.” That period was exhausting, isolating, and frightening. I began to realize that I had to become my own strongest advocate, to research, ask questions, and insist on answers when others dismissed my experience. Eventually, I was diagnosed with endometriosis, and two surgeries later, I started to find relief.
Going through that experience showed me the depth of patience, resilience, and self-trust that I never would have known from any professional or personal success. Success can teach you confidence in your abilities, or the satisfaction of achieving a goal, but suffering teaches you humility, empathy, and an inner fortitude that cannot be earned otherwise. It forced me to slow down, to listen to my body, and to honor my own needs and boundaries. It also gave me a profound sense of empathy — I now approach my work, my clients, and my relationships with a deeper understanding that everyone carries battles you cannot always see.
Most importantly, suffering taught me that your worth is not defined by what others see or acknowledge, but by your perseverance, courage, and the strength you cultivate in the face of adversity. That lesson — hard-won and deeply personal — has shaped how I approach every aspect of my life, from my career to my business to my relationships. It’s a reminder that resilience is not built in moments of ease, but in the trials that test your spirit and demand you show up for yourself, even when it feels impossible.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
My closest friends would say that what really matters to me is making a difference in people’s lives, especially in supporting women to feel confident, empowered, and seen. I’ve always been drawn to helping others navigate challenges, whether it’s in their careers, personal growth, or day-to-day struggles. That drive is rooted in my own experiences — I know what it feels like to be dismissed or underestimated. In high school, I experienced bullying from so-called “mean girls,” which was hurtful and isolating at the time. But it also made me deeply aware of the impact that words and actions can have on someone’s confidence.
Those experiences taught me empathy and the importance of standing up for others. I carry that with me in both my professional work and my personal life. Helping women tell their stories, claim their worth, and navigate obstacles isn’t just work for me — it’s a mission. I want the people around me to feel supported and capable, and I’m constantly reminded that even small acts of encouragement can create ripple effects that change someone’s trajectory.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
When I’m old, the story I hope people tell about me is not centered on the positions I held or the accolades I collected, but on the ways I made a difference in the lives of others. I hope they remember that I cared deeply about supporting people — especially women — to see their own worth and realize their potential. I want them to say that I listened, that I created space for them to be heard, and that I encouraged them to pursue opportunities they might have thought were out of reach. I hope they recall that I celebrated their successes as if they were my own and offered guidance and tools to navigate challenges with confidence and clarity.
I also hope people remember my resilience and authenticity — that I was unafraid to show vulnerability and share my own struggles so that others could feel less alone in theirs. Life has taught me, through experiences like dealing with health challenges, navigating career pivots, and overcoming self-doubt, that strength and perseverance are built in the moments that feel hardest. I hope that by sharing these lessons, I gave others permission to trust themselves, take risks, and pursue their own growth, even when it felt scary or uncertain.
I want my story to reflect the values I hold most dearly: integrity, empathy, courage, and relentless curiosity. I want people to remember that I showed up not just to work hard, but to lift others, to mentor and guide, to advocate for fairness, and to champion people who might not yet have found their voice. I hope they say that I used my knowledge, experience, and time to make meaningful contributions that extended beyond my own success — that I created lasting impact, not just temporary wins.
Ultimately, I hope the story of my life is one that inspires others to care, to act, and to believe in themselves. I want people to say that my presence mattered, that my energy and efforts helped shape opportunities for others, and that I left the world a little better, a little more just, and a little more supportive than I found it. If someone were to say, “Because of her, I believed in myself a little more, I tried harder, I went after what I wanted,” I would feel that I had truly lived a life of purpose.
And on a personal level, I hope they remember that I loved fully — my family, my friends, my rescue pup Gus, and my partner Cory — and that even while I pursued ambitious goals, I made time to nurture relationships and bring joy, kindness, and laughter into the lives of those around me. That’s the story I want to be remembered for: someone who balanced drive with empathy, achievement with heart, and ambition with generosity.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://careerbuildingbasics.com
- Instagram: careerbuildingbasics
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielle-rodman-9b091393/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Career-Building-Basics-100083314360253/
- Other: https://share.google/1Cue7MeRJUVQ2JWuu
Image Credits
Sarah Mackenzie Photography
