“To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.” — Bruce Lee The days of job security are gone. I’ve changed careers four times in my 20 plus years of professional working experience. I went from being a zookeeper to a television news reporter in nine months. From reporter to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg Administration press secretary. From press secretary to corporate public relations spokesperson and executive at a Fortune 50 company. I left corporate to start

I grew up with dogs as pets, yet I never had a dog in my adult life. But after years of excuses, I recently took the plunge after stumbling upon a perfect Shetland Sheepdog puppy from a local reputable breeder. A few months into puppy ownership, and I’m in no way surprised by how much I’ve fallen in love with my puppy Catch. The bigger surprise was how much trying to be a responsible puppy owner taught me about trying to be a responsible employee and manager at my job. I’ll o

I have had many jobs and I have hired many people. The one thing that has always struck me is how easy it is to lose track of what the real goal of the process, especially when starting out. Here is a few things that I wish somebody had told me before I got my first job. I wish somebody had told me that I did not have to accept the first job offered to me. I was so sure that if I did not take it, no other job would ever come my way and I would be stuck in my parents’ basement

Student loans. You’ve probably heard of them. Maybe you’ve even borrowed to finance your own higher education. I know I did. I took out a combination of loans from the federal government and private institutions so I could go to law school. The idea behind taking these loans to bankroll my education was simple. I borrowed money. A lot of money. I earned my degree. I got my dream job. Theoretically, I was going to pay off my loans within 10 years or less and ride off into the

[This article is also available on Huffington Post: click HERE.] There have been many stories about the power of women this past week. I wanted to share a professional experience that made a very personal impact on me and made me realize that I could take the reigns of my own life. I was in my early-30s and had recently resigned from my job as a talent agent at WME (the William Morris Agency, as it was then known). I stayed on a few months after my resignation to make sure my

As a manager, watching an employee ask for a raise can often create cringes, forehead slaps, and even worse, anger and annoyance. While conversations about compensation and career paths are important parts of cultivating teams and organizations, not enough employees prepare for the talk.  Worse, they often commit basic errors that effectively kill the conversation, and make mistakes that can easily be avoided.  Gathering the wisdom of the BizzyChicks community, here is a list

“Can we schedule a time to discuss my performance and compensation?” For many people, even the thought of uttering this phrase to a manager can create sleepless nights and acid indigestion. Conversations about money are difficult in their own right. Discussions about one’s merit are even more emotional, as can be tied to feelings of self-worth, likeability, and evoke the primal fear of rejection. Women appear to struggle more with the conversation than men. Over the course of

It’s not too surprising that 2016 marks the first year where a woman appears as a serious contender in the elections for the United States President.  In the past few years, more focus than ever has been put on women: their rights, their voices, their ambitions, their struggles, and ultimately, their importance in societies globally. While women garnered well under 50% of Time’s “100 Most Influential People in 2015,” undoubtedly women now claim major positions in industries t