9 to 5ish with theSkimm

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 make their work-life balance real. Hit play to hear from the experts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices