Brave Women at Work Jen Pestikas

Here’s what I thought about my career in my twenties.

I need to get a job so I can leave on my own and prove to my mom and myself that I am an adult.

In my thirties, here’s what I was thinking about.

I need to hustle and work hard.

I’m not stopping until I get to the top.

And then I hit my forties, and something shifted. Yes, I am still ambitious, but my priorities are changing. I want to be more present for my kids when they are young. My older daughter, Charlotte, is already twelve years old, and it feels like yesterday that I gave birth to her. I don’t want to lose those moments. I’m sure you can relate.

I had a lovely, thought-provoking conversation with my guest, Soon Hagerty today. We were all over the page in our topics, but somehow it all made sense.

During my chat with Soon, we discussed:
Her experience fleeing Saigon with her family when she was little and what long lasting impacts this made on her.Her role at Hagerty Insurance and the impact of personal and professional brand.What led to her decision to move away from a large role at Hagerty and focus more of her energy on her daughter.Moving beyond resume virtues and towards eulogy virtues.Her other business endeavors, including the charitable restaurant, The Good Bowl, and her non-profit, Boundless Ventures.
The underlying theme of today’s show is how we can give back to others and ourselves, how we can be truly present and not simply on the hamster wheel. I hope you take some time to reflect on your resume virtues vs. eulogy virtues after today’s conversation.

Study shows that color is a powerful communication tool used to signal action, influence mood, and influence physiological reactions. The colors yellow, red, and orange sometimes trigger our appetite, which is why fast-food chains use those colors to paint their establishments. But who knew that color could be a healing tool? In this episode, Heather Eck, a Synesthesia Artist and Color Alchemist, talks about the healing power of color and explains the process of how she uses its power to heal. Tune in to further explore the great healing power of color. 

During our chat, we discussed: 
Heather’s journey as an HR Manager to Synesthesia ArtistThe Meaning of SynesthesiaFrom Being Stuck to IntentionHow a Spirit Portrait process worksHeather’s gift and the meaning of colorsJennifer’s color.Getting a Spirit Portrait!

Crafting a career story goes beyond just listing your work experiences on a resume. It’s about weaving a compelling narrative that showcases your skills, experiences, and aspirations in a way that resonates with potential employers. In this episode, Gina Riley, the Creator of CareerVelocity System, shares her insights on the importance of crafting your career story during career transition. In today’s job market, career transition takes internal reflection and some soul searching to ensure that the next move for us is the right one, especially when we are in mid-career and looking for managerial-level roles or higher. Join us in unpacking more golden nuggets in today’s conversation. Tune in to this episode now!

During my chat with Gina, we discussed:
How Gina helps her clients during a career transitionWhat a career story is and why it is important to craft yoursHow we can leverage our career story, especially during times of career transitionWhat a leadership language and how we identify oursWhat Gina’s CareerVelocity System™ is and how we can use it to our advantageThe meaning of “You are a business within a business.”

According to Merriam-Webster, “authentic” means to be “true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character.”

As you will learn during my conversation with guest, Emily Drake, the word “authentic” was also 2023 word of the year. It was one of the most looked up words in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary last year.

And the word “authentic” showed up as a top character trait of executive/leadership presence in a 2022 study referenced in a recent article on executive presence by the Harvard Business Review.

And finally, I recently reviewed my personal and professional values, and authenticity and integrity are two of them. I need to live and work authentically to me at this point in my life. Here’s a quick plug if you haven’t reviewed your values lately. Just like you go to the doctor for your annual check-up, you need to review your values annually. Know your values is so important because it drives clarity, especially when you need to make key personal or professional decisions. Google Brene Brown’s values exercise for awesome tools!

The bottom line is that we can’t get away from authentic leadership!

During my chat with Emily, we discussed:

What authentic leadership means to Emily.What prompted her to start her company, The Collective Academy.How we can determine what success means to us and how it changes over time.How we can avoid career complacency, especially when we hear others encourage us to slide into our comfort zones and stay there.Emily shares some of the hurdles that she has seen ambitious women face and how to overcome them.And she shares signs of organizational cultures that don’t foster authenticity and what to do about it. 

Are you ready for a power-packed episode today? Get ready to take notes or listen to this show more than once. My guest, Shelmina Abji, shared so many wonderful tools on what it takes to show your worth, build your confidence, and emerge as a leader. I wish that I had known Shelmina earlier in my career. Her story was inspiring and motivating to me, and I am sure it will be for you!

During my chat with Shelmina, we discussed:
Show Your Worth: 8 Intentional Strategies for Women to Emerge as Leaders at Work
Redefining short-term and long-term success.The most valuable resource.How to say no to things that don’t fit our top priorities?The importance of personal brand.The role of sponsorship in emerging as a leader.Strategy to build a work-life balance.

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, “Employers slowed hiring and handed out smaller raises in recent months, signs of fading momentum in the job market that have some forecasters expecting unemployment to rise in 2024.”
 
This is being done to help the U.S. economy have a soft landing, meaning the Fed is trying to avoid a recession. The Fed is trying to have the labor market cool without it collapsing.
 
What does all this mean in lay terms? It means that if you are looking for a job right now, it is a tough labor market. And this tracks with the conversations I’m having with my dear friends and other colleagues out there looking for jobs.
 
They are interviewing, interviewing, and interviewing some more without hearing back from recruiters. Their confidence is taking a hit. They wonder if they have the chops to get hired.
And while this is happening, we have a changing work environment with continued demand for hybrid or remote work, human resources professionals being battered and bruised from the challenges of COVID and beyond, and recruiters getting a bad rap.
 
My guest today, Theresia Intag, is setting the record straight on all these issues.
 
During my chat with Theresia, we discussed:

1.     The story behind Theresia’s companies, IntagHire and Tag4HR.
2.     What Theresia is seeing in the recruiting industry right now.
3.     Why you may not be contacted after your interviews right now (and hint, it’s not your fault).
4.     How you can stand out from the crowd when interviewing.
5.     How you can stay confident and engaged when it’s taking a long time to find the next best role in your career path.
6.     What’s going on with hybrid work and how companies can attract top talent in the changing face of work.
7.     Why middle managers are facing burnout. Theresia also shares some creative and interesting ways that companies can support their employees.
8.     And the benefits that top talent is expecting moving forward.