Rachel Cohen is a business partnerships team lead at the San Diego Workforce Partnership. Here she tells a little bit about herself, both personally and professionally.
What is a typical day like for you?
I start my morning with a cup of iced coffee, always! I check emails and Salesforce dashboards from my couch for a bit then I create a to-do list for the day before heading into work. My day could take shape in so many ways. I could send out candidate referrals, have a few meetings to discuss updates on current programs, hop on a call with an employer, plan for future events, deliver a presentation, attend a local business group meetup, a team huddle, an interdepartmental sync-up, a strategy session—the list goes on! That’s what makes the role of a business services rep really unique and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
If you had $30,000 to donate to a workforce development program, what would you want done with it?
I would love to find a way to help our local businesses really compete in the e-commerce realm while simultaneously helping their current staff learn new skills that have a higher market rate value if paired with traditional customer service skills. With this year marking the first time in history that online sales will surpass in-store sales and with the sheer number of underemployed individuals in customer service roles, I think it is so important that we help our local business communities and workers stay competitive. I know how hard it can be to try to navigate implementing a new system while keeping up with the day to day needs of a business but I also recognize the need to adapt or else businesses could suffer—especially when the economy shifts. I think the Local Search Marketing Program is a great start and I would love to keep that same energy for future projects.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
When I’m not working at the Workforce Partnership or my record shop/clothing boutique Fivespace, you can catch me browsing the local swap meets, thrift stores, coffee shops and sushi spots with my business partner (aka husband). I also spend my free time chauffeuring my 12-year-old son to basketball practice, games and tournaments then squeezing in some mommy-daughter time with my 2-year-old. She is making a fine apprentice and I hope to pass down the family business to her someday. I have about 20 years of on-the-job training left to go.