Monique Arambula
Staff Writer
Careers with Kelli is a small business designed to help Gen Z with creating resumes, preparing for interviews and landing their dream job. It aims to offer a personal affordable job hunting support resource, and it is geared toward students and early career job seekers with tips and hacks for navigating the competitive career market.
The company was founded this year by January 2025 ULV alumna Kelli Makenna Kuttruff, who goes by Kelli Makenna professionally.
Makenna has an interest in human resources, and the business was born out of a need she saw when she began job hunting.
Makenna is certified by the Society for Human Resource Management.
She saw many of her friends struggle with creating resumes, completing college applications and presenting themselves professionally in interviews. She knew there was a clear need for career support in the Gen Z community.
“I saw a need, in Gen Z particularly, that were struggling to bridge the gap between their educational journey and their career with finding those entry-level jobs, those internships, or whatever they were looking for,” Makenna said. “I feel like it’s almost become normalized to get a college degree, that sometimes it can be hard for people to know how to stand out among the competition.”
The new company is already beginning to build a foundation. Makenna runs the business solo but gets marketing and promotional help from Michael Roccia, a senior communications major at ULV, who serves as the head of PR for Careers with Kelli as part of his senior project.
“Instagram and TikTok are the hardest with our social media because through our research we found that those are the two platforms that Gen Z is drawn to the most,” Roccia said. “Gen Z entering the workforce for the first time is our primary audience.”
Unlike traditional in-person coaching, the business is entirely online. Clients start with a free 15-minute consultation before choosing from one of six packages, which start at $29.99 and include resume help, interview coaching and LinkedIn makeovers.
“I have noticed that even with the most basic career packages, some of them are upwards of several hundred dollars, which seems to exclude a lot of the younger generation who might not have those funds yet,” Makenna said. “I understand the Gen Z experience, and a lot of people who have been career coaching for a long time don’t understand that the job market is very different than it was 10, 20, 30 years ago.”
Daniella Carpinelli, a nursing student at Citrus College currently completing her prerequisites, worked with Careers with Kelli to build a resume for school applications.
“Kelli had me send all my experience like volunteer work, school history, licensing – and then she decided what to include,” Carpinelli said. “We proofread it together, and it was super helpful.”
Carpinelli said she was accepted to the schools she applied to and believes the polished resume helped her stand out.
“I’d definitely go back to her again,” Carpinelli said.
“My resume was all over the place and she totally helped me fix it up,” Giana Froio, a longtime friend of Makenna and recent ULV graduate with a degree in communications and a concentration in public relations, said. “She’s so sweet, and you never feel any judgment with her. I was literally texting her the other day about a Roth IRA account, like asking what bank to use.”
Froio now works at the Volunteer Center of San Gabriel Valley and said Makenna’s guidance during her job search was a big help.
Competitors include larger resume-writing platforms and career coaching services, but Makenna believes her age and personal approach give her an edge.
“I understand what it’s like to be in their shoes,” Makenna said. “I want to make sure they’re confident in telling their story, and that their resume reflects what they actually bring to the table.”
To learn more or book a consultation with Careers with Kelli, visit careerswithkelli.com.
Monique Arambula can be found at monique.arambula@laverne.edu.
Monique Arambula is a staff writer for the Campus Times. She is also a freshman communications major with a concentration in public relations and a minor in film production.
