Content Creator & Video Strategist for HR Leaders — on Authentic Storytelling, Fake Vulnerability, Protecting Your Truth, and Why Your Content Can Feel Fake Even When You're Telling the Truth
Rhona Pierce didn't set out to be a content creator. She became one by necessity — moving from Panama to Oklahoma as an immigrant, struggling to land interviews despite real experience, and deciding one day to make a video that would let people see who she actually was. That video worked. And it set her on a path that led to coaching HR and talent acquisition leaders on how to build authority and influence through personal branding and video content.
In this conversation, Rhona and Serhiy dig into the mechanics and psychology of storytelling in the age of content — why people add too much to their stories until they stop feeling real, what fake vulnerability actually looks like and why it erodes trust, why no one cares about you in your story unless you make it about them, and why the coaching industry has shifted from teaching people things to just doing those things for them.
Rhona also shares what it means to protect your truth in business — including firing clients, working with competitors, and what happened when someone she trusted tried to steal one of her biggest clients. Candid, specific, and genuinely useful for anyone building a personal brand or learning to tell their story in a way that actually connects.
Rhona Pierce is a content creator and video content strategist originally from Panama, now based in Oklahoma. She coaches HR and talent acquisition leaders to build authority and influence through personal branding and video content — a "done for you" model that reflects her belief that people today don't want to be taught how to do things; they want the work done for them.
She started writing stories by hand as a child, always curious about people and their stories — often getting in trouble for asking too many questions. She became a content creator by necessity after moving to the US and struggling to break into the job market as an immigrant, despite speaking fluent English and holding regional operations management experience. One video changed everything. From there she moved into recruiting, then personal branding coaching, and built her practice around helping others be seen before they get judged.
Rhona volunteers with Dress for Success, a worldwide organization helping people prepare for job interviews. She posts almost every day on LinkedIn and runs the Workfluencer Podcast on YouTube. Her approach to business is clear: she doesn't compete on price, she fires clients who undermine her team's work, and she has zero tolerance for broken trust.
I am very passionate about being able to pay my bills um and and live a comfortable life. But to be honest, what I honestly want to do all day is go shopping and travel. And that's not my job.
Don't make it about you. That's the main thing. Even if you're telling your story, it can't be about you. And people always look at me weird when I say this, but at the end of the day, no one cares about you.
If you didn't learn a lesson from the story, you're not ready to tell that story.