How often have you wondered: Why am I doing this? Why do I want this? Why am I experiencing this?
What if you had the chance to discover your "why" during a yearlong opportunity — before you kicked off your career? That's exactly what Abby Falik has created for individuals during a gap year between high school graduation and college entrance with Global Citizen Year. She is the founder of the organization, which also helps students stretch themselves, learn about new cultures and languages, and also gain priceless experiences and memories. Students of Global Citizen Year stay with host families in Brazil, Ecuador, India and Senegal, and work as apprentices in local organizations.
Abby was once the type of student she hopes to inspire. She was attending college at Stanford when she realized that she was longing for more than the life that a traditional model of education provides. She wanted more out of her education that simply listening to professors in lecture halls. Taking action, Abby left traditional education behind and spent a year in Brazil working and traveling. After coming back to Stanford after this life-changing journey, she noticed she gained confidence and maturity, which she credits as an advantage that altered the course of her life. On this trip Abby had discovered her own "why" and her vision for her lifelong work was born.
But before Abby realized her vision, she worked in a nonprofit — managing, building and creating ideas — and then attended Harvard to obtain an MBA that would help her create Global Citizen Year.
In today's episode, we discuss the exciting trends in education and how our perceptions and expectations of higher education can (and should) change to create better accommodations for how we live. We also learn what inspires Abby's work and why she hopes the model of taking a "bridge year" will soon become the norm for most students in the United States. Then again, maybe we should all consider a bridge year — whether we're entering college or beginning year 15 of our careers.
Ashley Eckstein is a force, which isn’t surprising considering she’s a strong believer in The Force Star Wars brought to life. As the voice of Star Wars’ Ashsoka Tano, Ashley brings to life a strong character who always wants to do the right thing. And in real life, she isn’t much different from that character.
She strives to empower young girls and women everywhere through Her Universe, an online community where female fangirls can be themselves and also find merchandise featuring their favorite Lucas Film, Disney characters and more. And like the Disney characters she loves, Ashely had to persist to make her dream come true. Why? The industry simply wasn’t welcoming to creating sci-fi and fantasy focused clothing exclusively for a female fan base.
But like any heroine, Ashley found a way to turn a negative into a positive. Because other major companies didn’t want licenses for merchandise this space or didn’t use the ones they had, she was able to prove a fan base and a market without any competition. Of course, a few years later when Her Universe began proving sales, other companies began to pay attention. It has grown so much in size that it’s now a subsidiary of Hot Topic.
Now, in addition to her role with Her Universe and as the voice of Ahsoka Tano, she can add author to her list of accomplishments. This summer she released It’s Your Universe, an interactive book that guides its reader on making their dreams happen. Listen in for a sneak peek of our interview with Ashley in today's Career Quickie, and then read the interview in its entirety on IWantHerJob.com.
Beth Comstock is the former vice chair of GE and a corporate director of Nike. Her accomplishments include building GE’s Business Innovations and GE Ventures, as well as overseeing the reinvention of GE Lighting. Prior to her role as vice chair she served as chief marketing officer of the company. And before that she had another dream job as the president of integrated media at NBC Universal, overseeing the company’s digital efforts, including the early formation of Hulu.
While Beth has built an incredible career, she’s also made some tough decisions in the process of doing so. We’re all lucky enough live vicariously through her, with the opportunity to learn more about her journey and the decisions that led her to career success in her new book out today called Imagine It Forward.
In it, Beth shares her story, documenting the ups and downs of working at GE and NBC during a time of tremendous growth. But, Beth will tell you she also wrote this book to help those out in the middle of their career. It’s for those who want to make change happen, but feel they need permission to do so, whether through others or from themselves.
In today’s episode I am joined by I Want Her Job founder Brianne. Together, we talk to Beth about inspiring change, the importance of embracing tension and conflict, how to navigate gatekeepers and more.
We hope you enjoy today’s conversation. You can also visit I Want Her Job dot com for an online version of today’s interview.We rely on word-of-mouth to help our community grow and would love if left a review of our podcast on iTunes and subscribe to future episodes. You can read more interviews on I Want Her Job dot com, where you can also sign up for our newsletter. And if you have ideas for future guests, we’re just an email away.
Emily Benson is a retail consultant, author, writer and mobile boutique expert on a mission. She wants to help empower retail entrepreneurs to make more money in their businesses. In today's episode of I Want Her Job The Podcast Emily shares her story of opening a mobile boutique, challenges she's encountered along the way, lessons she's learned and some of the business strategies that have helped her succeed. If you're looking for creative inspiration for your wild idea, we think Emily's fearless ambition, joi de vivre and strong business skills will inspire you to go for it. If you are looking to go deeper into operating retail boutiques, check out Emily's book, The Ultimate Boutique Handbook, check out her site Stylish and Successful and listen to her podcast, Boost Your Boutique.
If you're a parent, chances are you know about Dr. Laura Markham. And if you don't, allow us to introduce her and her parenting advice that could be life-changing for you and your family. Dr. Laura is the founding editor of AhaParenting, a blog 130k+ subscribers strong. As a parenting expert she's been interviewed for thousands of articles by publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Real Simple, Newsday and Parents magazine. In addition to her blog, she shares critical parenting advice in each of her weekly emails, aimed to help you build stronger and deeper bonds with your children. After all, we are mightily convinced she just may be a modern-day Mary Poppins.
In today's episode Dr. Laura shares her philosophies on raising kids with empathy and connection, as well as ideas for building stronger and more trusting relationships with your children. She walks us through a scenario on how to deal with temper tantrums, tips on managing technology with kids and more. We also discuss how putting in the work now to build loving and trusting relationships can ripple toward the future, creating an output with lasting effects.
Joi Gordon was working as an assistant district attorney, pursuing a legal career when one day she realized, this wasn’t her dream job. Then, while watching a morning show she learned about a nonprofit that supplied low-income women with a perfect interview outfit. As someone who knew the power a great suit could bring, she was intrigued.
Now, Joi has served as the CEO for Dress for Success for the past two decades. The organization, which spans more than 156 cities in dozens of countries is often referred to as the “Starbucks of the nonprofit world.”
In today’s episode of I Want Her Job The Podcast, Joi shares why she’s a lover of learning, why the right dress or suit can make all the difference and the importance of following your own path.
Imagine if you could travel the world, creating videos and social media content that wanderlusts all over the world consume on the daily. With more than 378,000 YouTube subscribers and a popular travel vlog, Hey Nadine, Nadine Sykora has a gig that does just that. And with travel to 49+ countries under her belt in the last 7 years, she’s a go-to for adventure advice and travel tips.
In today’s episode of I Want Her Job: The Podcast, we talk to Nadine about what it’s like to share her experiences with others on various digital channels, how she started her vlog, her best tools for creating vibrant and engaging content, and tips for others who are interested in traveling around the globe – and making a living off of it. We also talk with Nadine about her important role as a brand influencer, including her partnership with Best Western, and learn more about what she does as an influencer and why she loves her partnership with the brand.
Listen in as we ask Nadine about a few of her favorite travel adventures and find out more about her dream-worthy job.
Amanda Joy Ravenhill knew she wanted to make a large impact on our society in her day-to-day work. And she gets the opportunity to do just that as the executive director of the Buckminster Fuller Institute, an organization founded to remember and implement the ideas of R. Buckminster Fuller, a renowned 20th Century inventor and visionary. The Institute is dedicated to the same mission Buckminster Fuller had -- catalyzing transformative solutions to complex global problems through design thinking education. The Institute's programs offer a look at local needs and global trends to design a holistic approach that brings together art, science, design and technology. The organization is known for its flagship program, the Buckminster Fuller Challenge, which offers an annual $100,000 prize to support the creation and execution of a strategy that has the potential to solve humanity's most pressing problems.
As a passionate advocate for environmental work and social justice issues, Amanda has found a job that fulfills her. Today we discuss her path that brought her to her executive director role and go deeper into her day-to-day duties in that position. We also talk about Project Drawdown, a book and digital platform she co-founded that shows the path to carbon neutrality with a positive twist. In the book, an international coalition of researchers, professionals and scientists present viable techniques and practices to halt climate change, allowing us to view the challenge as an opportunity to create a just and livable world.
In addition to her daily job, Amanda started a band --The Seastars -- with four of her close friends, who also happen to be leaders in sustainability and social impact movements. The group sings cover songs, but they adapt the lyrics to focus on the environment. We recommend you check out their fabulous cover of "Royals" by Lorde.
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Heather Freiser's role as the Vice President of Brand and Content for career website, The Muse, puts her squarely in the role of creating videos and articles that share stories in unique and captivating ways. In other words, she directs the production of content that makes you want to click, listen and watch useful and interesting career advice that supports job seekers and helps those currently employed with on-the-job advice.
Prior to her role at The Muse, Heather was a senior brand editor at Contently, and before that she served as a senior producer at Bloomberg, overseeing all production for the network's closing bell show, Street Smart. And before that she held various production roles at Fox Business Network and Fox News Channel.
Heather also is the owner, along with her husband, of a literary-themed restaurant in Atlantic Beach, New York called Beginnings. The restaurant provides diners with an immersive dining experience that is paired with a literary theme. For Beginnings events, Heather gets to dream up and create literary nights for titles such as The Godfather; Angela's Ashes; The Great Gatsby; Eat, Pray, Love and more. During these events, the entire menu, attire, and of course, the conversation, revolves around a book's theme.
In today's show Heather shares her career path, details of her day-to-day life on the job, juggling professional life while raising three young children, and tips and trends for those interested in a similar career path.