Skimm'd From The Couch

Carly worked her way up from management trainee at AT&T, going from fighting for respect from her male colleagues to taking the top job at Hewlett-Packard and becoming the first female CEO of a Fortune 50 company. She oversaw a contentious merger, job and pay cuts. And after she was fired, Carly served as an advisor to John McCain and Mitt Romney’s presidential campaigns — in between beating breast cancer and running for President herself. She’s no stranger to criticism and tough feedback, and this week, she shared how learning to take feedback has helped her on her journey.  In this episode, Carly talks about: Working your way up Making unpopular decisions as a leader Distinguishing feedback from criticism Unlearning perfectionism How to respond to tough feedback

Brooke Shields has been a household name ever since she did her first commercial, at just 11 months old. As a teenage model and actress being managed by her mother, Brooke found her own image sexualized — but refused to play along with the media’s expectations. Since then, she’s acted on Broadway, starred in sitcoms and TV dramas, raised two daughters and written two memoirs. We spoke to Brooke about how to survive and stay sane amid intense public scrutiny. In this episode, Brooke talks about: Working with her mother — and choosing to fire her The small things she does to help her compartmentalize  Staying true to herself under pressure Not taking criticism personally

Shawna Thomas has always stood out — from winning a prestigious college scholarship when she was 13 years old, to working her way up the ranks at NBC News from intern to senior producer. Over the course of her career, she’s won multiple Emmys and a Peabody, among other awards. Today, she’s in control of one of the nation’s top morning news shows, CBS Mornings. Listen to this week’s episode, where Shawna talks about how to shine in front of your boss and potential employers. In this episode, Shawna talks about: Making an impression during a job interview Why all work experience is relevant — even if you’ve changed careers How to make your resume stand out  Why going to therapy can make you better at your job How she learned to manage people

When Emily Ratajkowski was asked to appear in a music video in 2013, she didn’t expect it to catapult her to overnight fame. Since then, she’s appeared in movies like ‘Gone Girl,’ walked the runway at New York Fashion week and launched her own swimwear line. And last year, Emily’s essay for ‘The Cut’ about objectification and power imbalances she experienced went viral, landing her a book deal for her new essay collection, ‘My Body.’ This week, she’s joining us to talk about how she learned to advocate for herself.  In this episode, Emily talks about: How her career trajectory shaped her politics Recovering from moments where she felt professionally undermined Deciding to disclose others’ bad behavior — and dealing with the backlash Learning to take her time with decisions How motherhood has changed her relationship with herself and her work

It’s impossible to know how Hillary Clinton’s life would have run without Huma Abedin. From the late '90s through 2016, Huma occupied a central role in running Hillary’s life as an aide and personal advisor. She remained private even when both her personal and professional lives were embroiled in simultaneous crises, from her previous husband’s infidelity to Hillary’s emails. Now, she’s setting out to define herself in her own words. In this episode, Huma talks about: Staying connected to her roots Working her way up in the White House Keeping her professional and personal lives private Seeking help for her mental health  Creating a reputation of her own

When she was in college, Alexa von Tobel realized she knew nothing about personal finance. And she couldn’t find any good tools out there to learn. So she set out to learn about managing her own money — a journey that led her to dropping out of Harvard Business School after just one semester, writing two books, and starting two multi-million dollar businesses. We spoke to Alexa about the basics of business, money management, and what makes a successful start-up. In this episode, Alexa talks about: The pros and cons of business school How to get investors to buy into a business plan How venture capital funding works Taking care of your mental health as an entrepreneur Running a company as a parent

This episode mentions sexual assault, which could be triggering to some listeners.  Tarana Burke coined the phrase “me too” to help young Black girls in Selma, Alabama talk about sexual assault over a decade ago. But when #MeToo went viral overnight in 2017, Tarana had to figure out how to share her life’s work and its resources with a broader audience. Today, Tarana’s facing new challenges: how to offer sexual assault survivors the resources they need over the internet, and learning to balance her own needs alongside her work. In this episode, Tarana talks about: How “me too” began How she keeps going when personal and professional overlap How she approaches burnout and recovery Why rest is important for work

Julianna Margulies went from pouring G&Ts and filming commercials in Manhattan to being one of the most-awarded actresses on television. She’s famous for roles on “E.R.,” “The Good Wife,” and “The Morning Show” — and despite always having a backup plan, Julianna’s biggest decisions have been guided by her intuition. We spoke to Julianna about making big life decisions, taking risks and turning down lucrative offers. In this episode, Julianna talks about: Planning for the future  Trusting that the right work will find you Saying no to professional opportunities (hi, E.R.)  Clarifying your career focus How she stopped people pleasing

This week, we’re throwing it back to one of our favorite episodes from last year.  Erica Williams Simon is a writer, host, and the CEO of Sage House media. Her new book reveals how she re-wrote her life story and shares how you can do the same. She walked us through how she makes tough decisions, starting with how she quit a perfect-on-paper job and changed her life.   In this episode, Erica shares:  What growing up in a church community taught her  How she made the decision to quit  How to navigate the financial burden of leaving a job  How to craft and tell your career story  How to learn from an unfulfilling job

Rea Ann Silva spent two decades working as a makeup artist for music videos, movies, and television. And on the side, she started developing a tool to make her work easier: the Beautyblender. Little did she know, she would end up transforming the beauty industry. And what helped her along the way - from movie sets to becoming CEO - was her relationships and her network. So this week, we’re getting her advice on how to start - and grow - your own.   In this episode, Rea Ann shares:  How she climbed the career ladder How she tapped into her industry’s networks How to work up the nerve to cold-call What it was like to see Beautyblender in the Smithsonian Museum

Gabrielle Union hit her big break as an actor more than 20 year ago. Today she’s a household name in pop culture, as well as an advocate and author. And along the way, she’s had to learn one of the biggest (and hardest) career lessons: how to stand up for yourself. From navigating toxic workplaces, to challenging inequity and bias in Hollywood, to speaking out about pay parity, Gabrielle’s a hero to many for standing up to broken systems - and for how open and honest she is with her fans and her readers.  In this episode, Gabrielle shares: Realizing when vulnerability can be a superpower Standing up for yourself — and others — at work Navigating your professional reputation Knowing your value in pay negotiations Why you need to talk about money  Using preparation to counter anxiety

Welcome to a special bonus episode of 9 to 5ish with theSkimm. A few weeks ago, theSkimm's co-founders and co-CEOs Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg hosted a Back to "Normal" power panel, talking about what a return to “normal” in the workplace looks like amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We were joined by… Tina Tchen, then-president and CEO of Time’s Up Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center Ai-jen Poo, co-founder and executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance And, Tami Forman, CEO of Path Forward It’s no secret that women have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic: One in 10 moms with young kids quit their job — with half of them saying it was because of school or daycare closures. Gender equality in the workplace was set back more than a decade. And women were feeling burned out at faster rates. Now, as women head back into the workforce and office, it’s important to make sure they’re equipped with the information and tools they need to mak

Morgan DeBaun was one of the only Black women working in Silicon Valley when she quit her job and started Blavity, a news media company focused on serving Black Americans. But as Morgan started to learn, raising money isn’t easy - especially when so little funding goes to women and women of color in the first place. This week, we spoke to Morgan about raising capital, overcoming obstacles, and selling your story to investors. In this episode, Morgan shares:  Bootstrapping your business and delayed gratification Defining your company mission Learning how different types of funding works Staying true to your vision when pitching it Bringing Black creators into the spotlight in the tech space

When Alexandra Fine co-founded Dame, a women-founded sex toy company looking to close the pleasure gap, not everyone was on board with her vision. She got a lot of pushback - from traditional investors to advertisers - as she sought to change how the world looked at sex toys and pleasure. So this week: we spoke to Alexandra about how she navigated those obstacles and came up with creative solutions to get Dame off the ground. In this episode, Alexandra shares:  How they funded the businesses when investors said ‘no’  How she’s built her team  Why Dame has to get creative with how they advertise their products  How she overcame people who doubted her mission  Why Dame is suing the MTA 

We spend a lot of time - if not most of our time - at work. And that means: the relationships we have with our colleagues matter, and can impact how satisfied we are with our jobs. So this week, we talked to world-famous psychotherapist Esther Perel about how to create meaningful relationships with our coworkers. And why our interpersonal skills are just as important as any of the skills we list on our resume.  In this episode, Esther shares:  How to have difficult conversations in the office  How managers can create trust on teams  How to build relationships with colleagues virtually  Why she does “couples therapy” for bosses and direct reports  What a “relationship resume” is  PS: Want to hear more from Esther? Check out her podcasts, and her new card game, here.

Mentors at work. We know they’re good to have, but there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to finding one. They can be someone on your team, someone in your company, or someone in a totally different line of work. But no matter who it is, there are some best practices when it comes to starting - and maintaining - those relationships. This week, we talked to Rashida Jones, president of MSNBC, to learn how she found mentors - and how she sustained those relationships throughout her career.  In this episode, Rashida shares:  What she goes to her mentors for How to start looking for a mentor  How to push past the awkwardness of those first few convos   Why mentees have to drive the relationship  Why it’s good to have more than one mentor  How to be direct with mentors about what you want to get out of the relationship  How to transition from mentee to mentor

We heard from a lot of you that you have questions about whether to pursue your MBA or another business degree. So we asked an expert. Erika James is the dean of the Wharton School at UPenn, the oldest business school in the country. So she’s got tips on how to know if you’re ready to get that degree - and how to know if an MBA isn’t the right path for you. Plus: she tells us the do’s and dont’s of the application process.  In this episode, Dean James shares:  How to evaluate if you’re ready for an MBA How to know if an MBA isn’t the degree for you  How to make your application stand out (and what not to include)  Whether you should get an MBA if you think you don't have “quantitative skills”  What you learn from an MBA program  Her perspective on how business leadership has changed 

Whether you’re a solo entrepreneur or working at a big company, everyone has a personal brand at work. And everything from your LinkedIn profile to your resume to your interview style adds to that brand. So this week, we sat down with the master of creating a personal brand, Paris Hilton, to talk about how she built hers. She’s not only the OG social media influencer, but she also created a persona that took the world by storm. And spoiler: investing in her brand paid off. Now, she’s got dozens of businesses, not to mention a new hit TV show on Netflix, "Cooking with Paris." In this episode, Paris shares:  Why (and how) she built the persona of Paris Hilton  What she’s like as a businesswoman  Her advice for leveraging social media to reach your career goals Who she goes to for advice when she’s looking to take the next step  How she evaluates who to work with  How to prioritize between personal and professional life

What does it actually mean to know your worth at work? This week, we asked the queen of confidence (and of morning TV), Gayle King, how she found hers. She told us her self worth came from years of salary negotiations, building strong support systems, navigating setbacks, and dealing with tough bosses.  In this episode, Gayle shares:  Her mindset going into negotiations How she gained a sense of self worth as a junior reporter Why tough moments and failure can add to self worth  How she leans on her support system  Why celebrating other people’s success adds to your self worth (hi, Oprah)  How she dealt with being underestimated 

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are underway. And as we all started cheering for the athletes on our TV screens, it got us thinking about winning - and losing - at work. Maybe you got the promotion. Or maybe your long-time project wasn’t a success. How should we navigate the ups and downs? To find out, we called up an expert: 2008 Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin. She’s had some high highs (hello, gold medal)...and also some low lows (injuries, falls, and haters).  In this episode, Nastia shares:  How to block out external noise  How to keep going when you want to quit  How to move on from failure  How she dealt with a 1:1 rivalry  How to hype yourself up