I love the way you explain comfort zones! So true.

This is more or less what I've settled into as a rough script when asked this question in interviews. "We begin with my time in retail sales management, as AGM for Teavana. By the time they offered me my own store, I knew I didn’t want to be in retail for the next part of my journey, so I stepped down and finished my degree in Holistic Psychology. My internship at a 501c3 nonprofit called Strongwater Therapeutic Equestrian Center, was all about connecting people with different abilities with horses. They hired me to be their Volunteer Coordinator before I graduated! By the time I left, our new Director had tripled our program size, and I’d grown our volunteer pool to match, from about 35 burned-out but dedicated folks to over 300, and I was organizing and scheduling about 90 volunteers weekly. Now keep in mind, this is nonprofit we’re talking about, so I was doing full time work for part time pay and holding up to three other jobs at the same time to sustain myself. Eventually, that needed to be just one job. So I pulled out my toolbox from retail management, volunteer coordination, effective people strategies, events, etc. and realized I had all the right tools to support me in Office Management. I focused my efforts there, and began a six-year journey in managing operations, vendors, facilities, staff, internal communications, etc. for primarily SaaS-based startups sized 30-225, on both coasts of the US. That brings us to 2020 and the Pandemic initially settling in on the West Coast, when I was laid off from my most recent office management role, managing all aspects of our 48ksqft downtown SF headquarters. I felt very strongly that I needed to find a way to do social good, so I co-founded my first LLC, Tell Me More Gifts in June 2020 and were able to begin paying artists by Fall 2020. We built TMMG to be a small business, and we continue to run it on the side as a hobby. When it was time for me to take my toolbox out again in 2021 and give it a good shaking, I had a lot more puzzle pieces to work with. I took my time figuring out what pictures I could make out of all these new parts, initially considering returning to ops management remotely or generalist roles. The strengths I want to focus on next are my passion for collecting data, feedback, and insights and converting them into stories that are easily understood, while collaborating cross-functionally and building diverse relationships...Ideally while also developing/innovating curriculum to support the growth and education of all. That all leads me directly to Customer Success, which is why we’re here today!"

This is the bit I came up with from Peppercorn exercises, and what I currently have on my LI: "I enjoy pursuing as many hobbies as is manageable at one time, plus an extra for fun. Current favorites include cooking, social partner dances such as West Coast Swing, writing, photography, and extremely novice bird watching. I also actively pursue speaking engagements such as panels and podcasts focusing on DEIBAA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, Accessibility, Allyship), sharing my lived and learned experiences while advocating for universal Accessibility." It goes into some glossy detail of my never-ending list of hobbies and interests while, I believe, portraying some of my personality at the same time. I also wanted to surface some extra-curricular activities that support my areas of expertise. Excited to hear what others have come up with, too!

Imposter Syndrome shows up for me all the time when applying for jobs--and plenty of times just during my Peppercorn adventures too! Everything everyone's said already has also been helpful for me. An additional idea I'll share is that I've been working to update one of my internal tools to work with my own Imposter Syndrome, which used to only entail me flooding the insecure thoughts with supportive ones. That being said, I know my brain's in the habit of feeling Super Insecure About Everything, Often (TM) and flooding it with positive thinking isn't always enough to get my Anxiety Spiral to shut up for long. To try to help with this, I've been working on finding my own examples of past success to literally remind me of what I've already done and talking myself through it--out loud. Sounds a little familiar, like the Success Briefs exercise, yeah? This is one of the many reasons I'm really digging my Peppercorn experience--the skills are truly cross-functional; completing Phase 1 exercises directly helped me improve something important to me in my personal and professional life. It does take more time and emotional energy to remember to stop myself and think of specific examples to combat the insecure thought. And, it's also been more effective in helping me decrease the amount of Imposter Syndrome that pops up than the tool I was using prior. Ex: Insecure thought: "I don't know who I'm kidding to think I could do this job; it's way too much, I don't have the experience." Former coping skill: "I've done a lot of things, my experience might look different from other people, but it helps set me apart." This is fine, and I've realized lately it hasn't been helping as much. I decided to try altering it a bit. New coping skill I'm practicing: "I've done a lot of things that give me relevant experience. Remember that time I did x, y, or z relevant thing? I felt similarly then and I found ways to work through it then, so I believe I'll be able to work through this new situation, too." I think adding something like describing the type of skill set(s) I utilized would probably be the next step for me, once this becomes more palatable to my brain. Anyways, I hope any of this either rings true or helps. I think it's safe to say we all live with Imposter Syndrome issues all the time, and we aren't as alone as our brains might like to imply :)

Hi Raquel! For me, it often comes down to the person I'm speaking with and our unique chemistry. When I'm on the phone, it's often much easier for me to stay focused on what they're saying because I'm not also trying to interpret their body language or facial expressions. On the other hand, those cues are super important for me in terms of getting to know someone, so I'll often make a point to be in video calls especially when I'm first getting to know a person or company. A new norm I've experienced recently is folks starting on camera to see faces and say hi, then turning off video to help focus on what's being said. This has been very effective for me and helps me from getting video call fatigue as quickly. I like to have bits of both--usually starting with a phone screen helps me stay focused on spoken details, and if a video interview follows, then I get to see how comfortable the other people seem to be and mirror their body language which has been helpful for building quick connections across distance. TL;DR: I need both voice and video to feel like I've got a broader holistic understanding of the person/people as they operate within their company.

In my experience, the first person to throw out the salary range is at a slight disadvantage because the first number thrown out is often used to mentally anchor all future negotiations as a limit. I've navigated this by taking initiative to ask recruiters what range they're offering before they ask me for what I'm seeking, which is usually at the end of the call. One of my previous employers didn't negotiate at all and stated that at the beginning, along with clear info on how they sourced the numbers for equitable salaries in the area. It was a relief to have the money numbers up front, and to know that if offered I'd receive 80-100% of market value for my role and responsibilities. Made everything much easier and I wish others would consider a similar approach.

Heck yea! Even better, thanks for the info Mansi!

I think I followed you on CH! <3 Hear you there sometime!

I'm happy to! A note I forgot to mention, which you may already know: I think they're still on ios only at the moment, so if your # goes to an android, you should still be able to use the invite once the android version is live. Email me your phone number and I'll send you an invite after class today! lindseytenmiranda@gmail.com

I used to bounce my ideas off of my family, friends, and others closest to me. However, as time's gone on my path has diverged and I noticed no one I was taking advice from is/was yet in a position I envied or wanted to emulate. Now I tend to use my inner circle for emotional support through the career choices I make based off of conversations from mentors, peers in my industry and adjacent. If I had access to sponsorship etc. through a place of work I'd jump at that opportunity as well. I've noticed that the things I want to do in my career and with my work life are very different from what many others around me want, need, and/or expect. However, my quality of life and the type of knowledge the people around me with since making this change has definitely improved. Additionally, I've found the site Elpha to be incredibly helpful in making a substantial number of those connections.