5 Pieces Of Practical Career Advice From Uniquely Successful Women
Etre girls visit Morgan Stanley
The Epic Mentor Guide: Insider Advice for Girls Eyeing the Workforce from 180 Boss Women Who Know is the advice almanac that ambitious young women never had but desperately needed. From Abbey Wilcox’s advice on “Prepping Your Sport for the Olympics” to Veronica Niele Beard’s tips on “What to Wear to Work and Why” the guide offers practical, no-nonsense sage advice from 180 phenomenal women representing nearly every walk of professional life.
And they all have one simple trait in common—excellence.
In the guide some of the most successful women share those tiny little secrets that helped define their careers and propel their success.
· Priti Dalal shares tips on advancing you career on TikTok.
· Samantha Thorstensen discusses interviewing with the International Space Station.
· Marie Benedict reveals insight on writing your first The New York Times bestseller.
· Sara Sidner shares advice on being vulnerable at work.
· Tyra Banks explains the importance of over-preparing for every single meeting.
Too often wicked-smart, ambitious women fall into the trap of checking all the boxes, overachieving, receiving the academic accolades only to feel stifled and confused in workplaces that fall far short of propelling them to reach their full potential. Instead, they may fumble around for years playing an endless game of trial and error trying to find the elusive secrets to success in their chosen field. With this book, founder of girls mentorship program Être, Illana Raia has extracted those priceless nuggets of wisdom typically reserved for intimate, revealing one-on-one chats over drinks or whispers in a break room and distilled them into a litany of invaluable advice for all.
While The Epic Mentor Guide includes big ideas that might inform one’s leadership style or career philosophy, the book also includes surprisingly practical, easily implementable nuggets that can yield immediate discernable impact. (Questions noted below are extracted from The Epic Mentor Guide.)
Gaby Wasensteiner on Creating Profiles That Stand Out on LinkedIn
Question: What makes brand-new LinkedIn profiles stand out, and how can those entering the work world for the first time leverage all that LinkedIn has to offer?
LinkedIn Brand marketing manager Gaby Wasensteiner highlights the importance of authenticity. “Your profile is your story, and that will set you apart from others,” she insists. “Make your unique personality come to life through your photo, background image and summary.” Equipped with a personalized profile, Wasensteiner encourage novices to be bold in reaching out to expand their connections by sending connection requests with short personal notes to those who currently work for a company or in a position of interest to them.
Emme on Knowing When to Speak Up in the Room
Question: What advice would you give us about setting up smart habits as we take our first steps in the work world?
Model, author and television personality Emme offers the simple, sage advice, “Be the person who listens the most in a room; when it’s your time to share, you’ll be well informed!” Indeed, listening seems to be an undervalued, often overlooked yet critical part of communication and developing keen listening skills—along with the listening habit—can prove to be a differentiator for those honing critically important skills for future organizational leaders.
Alisyn Camerota on Breaking into Broadcast Journalism
Question: What is your advice for girls looking to break into broadcast journalism today—what college majors, internships or activities do you think are most important?
Camerota elevates a point that many ambitious students might easily overlook in their zealous pursuit of top grades. “The key is networking!” she insists. “Ask every journalism professor you have for their contacts in the field. Get a hands-on internship—one where you get to do actual reporting—and network with everyone working there.” She advises staying in touch with them to help build your own accessible professional network.
Audrey Sherman on Protecting Your Ideas with a Patent
Question: When is the right time to protect a big idea with a patent, and do you have any advice for innovative girls entering that process?
3M’s “100 patent woman” Audrey Sherman insists, “The best time to protect the big idea with a patent is as soon as you can describe it as new and useful.” Given the United States Patent and Trademark Offices’ “first to file” system, there are distinct advantages to filing sooner rather than later. “To begin this you need to be able to tell the story of how your idea is new and why it is needed and different from past patented ideas,” she explains. “Then you keep to that known truth as your patent application gets examined before it can become a granted patent.”
Diana Kapp on How to Craft a Perfect First Book Pitch
Question: What is your advice to aspiring authors ready to pitch their first book to an agent—what makes a great pitch and what’s one common mistake to avoid?
Diana Kapp, author of GIRLS WHO RUN THE WORLD, suggests a paradigm shift in how one thinks about a book pitch. “Show in your proposal what your proposed book would be like versus tell. The writing itself in the proposal matters just as much as the idea,” she explains. Kapp continues on to suggest asking yourself the question, “Why am I the perfect person to bring this particular book to the world?” then she suggests setting about making that case in the pitch.
The Epic Mentor Guide offers a glimpse into the practical advice that seasoned mentors might offer their closest protégés. While the experts have achieved the height of success in their given field, their reflections and musings remind us of the famous saying, “Talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not.”
The truth is that no one succeeds on their own. Arguably, tapping into sources of insight or support can in fact make all the difference between success and failure.
