I Want Her Job

Fran Hauser’s career history makes one thing very clear: She’s a powerhouse. Having served as president of digital for the Style and Entertainment Group at Time Inc., Fran oversaw digital business for PEOPLE, InStyle, Entertainment Weekly and others. She also served in other senior roles at Time Inc., including as general manager of Time Inc. Interactive. And before that worked at AOL as vice president and general manager of AOL Movies and Moviefone. Now, Fran serves as a startup investor and advisor for companies including HelloGiggles, Meditation Studio and The Wing. Impressively, 18 of the 20 companies in her portfolio are founded by women. Fran’s passion for empowering female businesswomen can also be seen in her volunteer activities. She serves on the board of directors for GlobalGiving; as a special advisor to Girl Be Heard; and as an advisory board member of 92Y Women inPower and Rent the Runway’s Project Entrepreneur. Last year Fran published a book every modern career woman needs on her bookshelf, Th

Sharon Coleman is on a mission to bring comfort to those going through cancer treatment. The inspiration for her business came through her own struggle with cancer. She endured extensive treatments when she was diagnosed, and two years later had undergone surgery, radiation and many, many hours of chemotherapy treatments.  The experience inspired her to create a curated care package gift box business called Lemon and Honey Gifts. Each box is made with love and an understanding of what people going through treatments need and want. If you’ve ever been in the position of not knowing what to do or say when a friend or family member is diagnosed, Sharon’s packages packed with comfort are a place to start. In today’s episode of I Want Her Job: The Podcast, Sharon shares how she started her business and opened her Shopify store, without any previous technical e-commerce skills, as well as how she learned to navigate the dozens of new issues that would pop up each week. She also shares the resources that helped her

Advance warning, Lori Gottlieb’s new book, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, is very likely to send you to therapy to deal with issues that may be holding you back. The book combines Lori’s own relationship crisis – a surprise break up, which sends her to a therapist– along with the lives of four of her clients who are also dealing with a range of personal issues. And while each person in her book has their own challenges, from dealing with a terminal cancer diagnosis to pursuing only toxic relationships, Lori emphasizes that we should not minimize our struggles just because we feel they don’t compare. She suggests that we should not apply a hierarchy of pain. While not always immediately life-threatening, when layers of pain are revealed it likely connects to one of the four concerns we all must face at some point – death, isolation, freedom and feeling meaningless. The way Lori threads together the stories of her clients and herself, will leave you fully absorbed as you turn each page. At times the book fe

As the founder of LinkedIn Reboot and Reboot for Business, Katie Fogarty’s work has helped people transform their LinkedIn profiles, personal brands and career opportunities. And with a background writing for morning TV news, working for a global PR firm and even for a U.S. Senator, Katie’s experience in public relations and journalism has given her a perfect combination of skills to help others summarize their personal stories on their LinkedIn pages.  In today’s episode of I Want Her Job: The Podcast, Katie shares the benefits of making a LinkedIn profile page that displays the best of what you have to offer and explains why you should give your presence on the social network more attention. Topics discussed: Easy ways to start engaging on LinkedIn Ideas to build stronger connections via the platform Ways to improve your visibility. Three mistakes people make on LinkedIn  Future trends on the platform, why LinkedIn is “a conversation” and Katy's favorite tools for running her personal business. If you enj

Christina Ramirez was on an assignment at UC Santa Barbara 13 years ago when she came up with the idea for eco-conscious toothbrushes. Today her Plus Ultra Bamboo Toothbrushes are sold in more than 320 retail stores in 22 states, including Whole Foods and Amazon. She also has her sights set on expanding into other eco-conscious products. In our conversation Christina shares how wise advice from her stepmom encouraged her to leave a job that had left her feeling miserable for an out-of-the-mold job that would bring her long-term happiness. The wise push, Christina says, gave her the confidence to walk toward her ultimate business dream. But her dream didn’t come without a lot of hard work and tough lessons. We talk about the ups and downs she faced when starting a new business – from flying to China to find manufacturers, to a tough lesson in quality control when her first lot of 5,000 toothbrushes were damaged. We also talk about all the steps Christina took even before facing the production hurdles to bring

f you’re like us, you love wearing fashion that makes you feel confident and stylish. Today’s Leading Lady creates fashion just like that, and she also takes it a step further by infusing a female empowerment theme into her brand as well.   Who are we talking about? If you guessed Rebecca Minkoff you are right on. Rebecca has the ultimate girl-moves-to-big-city, girl-works-hard and girl-makes-it story. At only 18 years old she moved to NYC to chase her dream of making it as a fashion designer. Many hit pieces, like the Morning After Bag, helped catapulted her accessories line to bold-faced name status. And in 2009, she introduced her first ready-to-wear collection.   Now the Rebecca Minkoff brand has domestic and international retail locations and is distributed in more than 900 stores worldwide. Additionally, as the woman behind the brand, Rebecca was named as a member of the New York State Council on Women and Girls, and in fall of last year she established the Female Founder Collective, which features a ne

Frida Polli is the founder of Pymetrics, a startup that uses algorithms to reduce hiring bias through software. The software uses neuroscience-based games and cutting-edge AI to reinvent the way companies attract, select and retain talent. It also helps job seekers match to jobs best suited for their strengths, personalities and capabilities. Companies utilizing Pymetrics during the hiring process include Unilever, LinkedIn, Tesla and Accenture. The organization has received press from The New York Times to The Economist and Wall Street Journal. And it works. Data from Pymetrics is showing that job offers and retention rates have increased for the organizations using its services. From a job seeker standpoint, many of us have started jobs that, in hindsight, weren’t the best fit for our personality types. With Pymetrics, applicants are tested through a series of online games for a certain set of cognitive and emotional traits. The games are put together to help a candidate find a job that’s a great fit! And,

In today's episode of I Want Her Job: The Podcast, we check back in with Anna Lambert, director of talent acquisition at Shopify. An e-commerce platform that handles marketing, payments and shipping, Shopify empowers entrepreneurs all over the world. With more than $82 billion of transactions made on the platform, it powers more than 600,000 businesses.    Our original interview with Anna was one of our top 10 most-downloaded shows, and so we decided to get an update on her job and company for this week's Career Quickie. We ask her about how Shopify hires differently, how the company's open-mined approach attracts a wide variety of candidates and advice for how you can reach out and pitch yourself for a job.   Listen to our conversation to hear more about what recruiters want to see when you reach out to them. Also learn more about why your story, your interest in a job and your path can make you a strong candidate, with or without a traditional background. Shopify, Anna says, believes in the potential of

When it comes to leadership, Debbie Madden has the experience. Currently the fearless co-founder and CEO of Stride Consulting, an agile software development consultancy for companies and startups, Stride is her fifth company and the role marks her third time as CEO. The organization's clients include The Daily Beast, casper and Equinox, and has been named to the 2018 Inc. 500 list, as well as designations for Crain's Best Places to Work In NYC — twice!   In today's episode of I Want Her Job: The Podcast, we talk to Debbie about her culture-first philosophy, discuss what has fueled Stride's growth and delve into her top leadership strategies. We also talk about performance review techniques applied at the company, job opportunities that exist in agile software development and why the company is such a magnet for former teachers and those who love to teach in various ways.   Debbie also opens up to us about the brave decisions she made after her breast cancer diagnosis. While the phrase "great leader" can be t

  Jessica Honegger is the founder of Noonday Collection, a soaring business that designs and sells fair trade jewelry and accessories made by artisans around the world. She's also the author of Imperfect Courage. In the book, released in August, Jessica she shares her story about how she launched Noonday Collection as an inspired side hustle and provides guidance on soul searching, collaborating and broadening your circle of passion.   In today's episode of I Want Her Job: The Podcast, we talk to Jessica about how she pushed through fear to create a global organization that is changing the world. We also talk about the book's theme: You will be scared when doing new things and stretching outside of your comfort zone. But, you need to go forward anyway. You need to run scared toward a life of purpose and adventure.   "We avoid real issues, fear of the world, and it leads to a life of boredom, a lack of impact, spiritual death," as she describes it in her book. There is a certain power in being scared, and goin

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

In our latest episode of I Want Her Job The Podcast, I Want Her Job Founder Brianne Perleberg, and I Want Her Job The Podcast Co-founder Polina Selyutin turn the mics on each other. Listen in as they describe how the podcast came to life, how it was launched, the steps they took to create it and how they bring in the amazing guests you hear each week. Additionally, Brianne and Polina talk about their respective careers. Brianne talks about how she launched I Want Her Job in 2010, how she came up with the idea for the site and the jobs she's had during the day along the way. (I Want Her Job is a side hustle for the duo at this point.) Polina shares what inspired her to reach out to Brianne with the idea to collaborate on the podcast, how she learned to edit podcasts, her early influences and why it's sometimes okay not to listen to your parents -- even if you love them dearly!   We hope you enjoy the special twist in today's episode as you get two know the two women behind this podcast.

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 co

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 tho

Jessica Jackson Sloan is currently serving as council member for Mill Valley and as the National Director of Cut50, a bipartisan organization working to reduce incarceration rates and to make communities safer. Previously she served as Mayor and Vice Mayor of Mill Valley.     Jessica was the 18th guest on I Want Her Job The Podcast, and her episode was one of our top 10 most-downloaded shows. Today, we check back in with Jessica to hear what she's been working on since we last talked. And in today's episode she shares ways to get involved today in your local government. While most of us aren't going to run for mayor -- thought it's worth considering! -- there are usually dozens of local opportunities within your city. They can bring a great sense of fulfillment and community spirit that can enrich your life as you help your neighbors.   Also with today's show, we are adding a new series format called our Career Quickie. Of course, we will still bring in-depth, thought-provoking conversations with our Leading

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.

Want a peek at the future of our global society? Ask April Rinne to have a seat at your table. April bridges the private, public and social sectors as an advisor to startups, established companies, policy makers, think tanks, investors, and local and national governments. With these stakeholders she leads discussions on policy reform, global expansion, sustainable development, emerging markets and the future of work, travel and tourism. An individual with true global reach, April has lived overseas for more than 10 years, traveling to more than 100 countries during that timespan. She's also worked in more than 50 countries, averaging about 20 different countries per year.   April serves as a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum, where she leads the Sharing Economy Working Group. In today's episode of I Want Her Job The Podcast, April discusses how her parents instilled in her a love for travel, discovery, adventure and giving back to the world. She also shares a very sobering fact with us—she lost

Sarah K. Peck is a force. She's a writer, startup advisor, yoga teacher, and founder/executive director of Startup Pregnant-- a media company documenting the stories of women's leadership across work and family. Previously she worked as vice president of communications for a Y Combinator-backed startup, One Month, where she also was a successful writing and communications consultant, published in more than 75 online publications.   Sarah also is a 20-time All-American swimmer who swam the Escape From Alcatraz marathon nine separate times. And we also can't forget to mention the time Sarah swam the 1.5-mile freezing swim from Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay in only a swim cap and goggles to raise money of charity: water.   In today's show we open up the thought process behind how Sarah achieves her audacious goals. We discuss yes, her amazing swimming accomplishments, as well as her move from a job in the architecture and design industry to a career she created for herself in writing and communications consultin

In today's episode of I Want Her Job The Podcast we are speaking with a woman who is leading a company that is utilizing technology to change education for the better. Jamie Candee is the president, CEO and board director at Edmentum, an education technology company providing web-based learning programs and solutions to more than 1 million children in 40,000 schools across every state in the nation.   In our interview we speak with Jamie about how she followed her lifelong passion for education to a career that nourishes her soul, while also helping to improve educational service options for thousands of students. We talk about her clear and ambitious goals, her impressive path to CEO, as well as discuss her other senior roles she held prior to this position in Operations, Revenue and Product Strategy. Jamie also shares her management philosophies and advice for pursuing -- and getting -- senior leadership roles.   Jamie's enthusiasm and commitment to her career in education is so incredibly inspiring, th

Lesley Jane Seymour has made a career out of connecting and supporting women. Whether it was providing guidance for teens during her editor-in-chief tenure at YM magazine, or for young women while at the helm of Redbook and Marie Claire. And before her newest venture, she took this role of chief connector and supporter to the pages of More magazine, where she created history by including Michelle Obama as guest editor for an entire issue of the glossy.   Now as the Founder and CEO of CoveyClub, Lesley is aiming to enrich the lives of women in the middle of their careers through support via the platform and community. In today's episode of I Want Her Job The Podcast, we speak with Lesley about inspired her to launch CoveyClub, why she's so motivated to help women face challenges in the corporate world during the middle of their lives, and we hear about her audacious goals for CoveyClub. We also talk to her about depression, her ideas for getting unstuck through lifelong learning and more. Her wisdom in today'