Career Contessa with Lauren McGoodwin
Career Contessa with Lauren McGoodwin
Today is one of the first episodes I recorded in quarantine and it is an incredibly timely one. Joining me today is Lauren McGoodwin, founder and CEO of Career Contessa, to talk about how you can find the perfect job for you, even in the middle of high unemployment and a recession. She gives some really great and practical advice for anyone who is planning the next chapter of their career and I hope you find her information and website as useful as I do.
What are we drinking?
Lauren - Rosé
Shannon - Box Chardonnay
Podcast Notes
Lauren graduated during the recession in 2009. There were no jobs, no prospects, and she had no idea what she wanted to do. She got a dead-end job working as an administrative assistant for a dental school. She eventually went to work for Hulu.
While working as a recruiter for Hulu, she saw a consistent theme that women everywhere seemed to have reached the goals they’d set, even exceeded them, only to find themselves exceedingly unhappy.
She also realized that what schools taught her about getting a job, doesn’t actually apply. While working for Hulu, she was at the end of her Master’s degree. Her thesis was on millennial women and career resources. She was able to get a grant to start a website called Career Contessa. Nobody was having these conversations back then.
Lauren is now a speaker, educator, author, and advocate for women’s career development.
She is the founder and CEO of Career Contessa, an online learning and media resource helping women be more fulfilled, healthy, and successful at work through daily career advice, career coaching, online courses, a salary database, and more.
More than 2 million people have turned to Career Contessa each year. Prior to creating this incredible platform, and despite hitting every target on the post-grad roadmap, she felt that her expectations had failed her.
Across the board, the same questions came up, so Lauren decided to answer these questions with Career Contessa.
From this journey of helping women in their careers, she decided to compile all of her lessons learned into her new book, Power Moves. In Power Moves, Lauren answers those career sabotaging questions and shares her insights and the secret to building a purposeful career.
There is more pressure for women, especially around careers, to feel like you owe it to somebody else. You can’t have it all and you need to figure out what is best for you. You can check all the right boxes and do everything right and it can all go a way that isn’t planned.
The second wave of feminism isn’t “You can do it all”, it is “You have to do it all”. This is why so many women are overachievers and able to hyper multitask. The terms ambition collision or ambition trap exist, because a lot of people are feeling this way. You can’t have it all and do it all, all at the same time.
You can know what you want in the workforce and still not get it, because you are a woman.
Right now, there is a lot of job uncertainty, because so many people are losing their jobs. Before looking for a job, take care of foundational items. If you were laid off, make sure you are applying for unemployment. Second, make sure you understand your runway — what is your budget and how quickly do you need to find a job.
If you need a job within two months, you need to go where the demand is now. There are companies that are being vocal about hiring, such as Amazon and Walmart. If your runway is a little longer, you can spend a little more time with your job search.
Make sure you are taking care of your mental, physical, and financial health. You will not be able to search for a job, if you don’t take care of yourself. The checklist doesn’t come until after self care. You don’t want to make a decision in high anxiety and stress.
This is an opportunity for you to start a new chapter of your life. You have the ability to direct that chapter. Consider, with some perspective, what you want to do. Take the time to be self reflective.
Ask yourself: Where did I have success in my last job? What things gave me the most energy? When was my energy totally drained? Who did I enjoy working with? What departments or jobs did I find really interesting? Keep asking why?
Go on a listening tour. Reach out to people you’ve worked with before and ask for 20 minutes of their time. Ask them what they think about when they hear your skills and ask what jobs they think you would be good at. Take notes and thank them.
A lot of companies are on a hiring freeze right now, because they don’t know what is going to happen. Recognize there is sensitivity around this time, but that isn’t a bad thing. Anxiety is a big piece about this, because you have fear about the future. You cannot control this.
Set up a daily and weekly schedule. There is a lot of research that proves setting and achieving goals is incredibly good for your well being, because it creates confidence. You are going to need a lot of confidence in your job search. There is nothing that cuts down your confidence as much as a job search.
This could mean taking an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon to do these self-reflective tasks. If you journal, you will be shocked at how much you can process by writing it down. Then, set weekly goals. This could be one listening tour a week.
After that, focus on ten companies that are aligned with your goals. Don’t focus on job titles yet, because titles change from company to company. Look at value fit, not culture fit. Culture fit is who you are going to have a beer with after work. Value fit is who is going to support you with your goals and during tough times, like a pandemic.
You need to be clear about what are the most important things to you. Think about your must-haves, your need-to-haves, and your deal breakers.
Try to have informational interviews with people who work at those companies. Take the time to find people and be clear with what you want to talk to them about. Ask for a phone call, not a Zoom call.
Don’t send a LinkedIn message. Instead connect with them and get their email address from their profile or Google their email address. Try to go straight to their inbox.
Lauren had the best success using the words Informational Interview Request in the subject line. In the body of the message, try to find common ground and be specific and direct. At the end of the message, let them know what days you are available for a 20-minute phone call. Let them know why you are contacting them and what you are asking them to do.
It is going to be more important than ever that you show, not tell, how amazing you are. Companies are hiring to solve problems in their company, not to give you a salary and benefits.
Create a portfolio site to show what you have done. This is something you can do right now. There is a course on Career Contessa called Digital You, where they will show you how to do this. Squarespace also has videos on YouTube to show you how to do this.
The last piece of this puzzle is to make a resume and optimize your LinkedIn profile. It is of no use to make a resume if you don’t know what you are good at or if you don’t have a job description. Think of keywords to use.
Networking is still the number one way to find jobs, because there are more people than jobs. Who do you really want to work for? Show how much you are interested in the company by learning all about them and talking to people in the company. Read their blog and sign up for their newsletter and truly be interested. This is what will make you stand out.
One of the worst things that happened to recruiters is the button that allows applicants to apply for everything. Recruiters don’t want 1,000 applicants, they want five really good ones. A saying for recruiters is “spray then pray”. This is when people send their application everywhere and then pray someone will pick it up.
When you start applying for jobs and do nothing else, you are wasting everyone’s time. Make sure you are talking to people and send your resume directly to a person. It is much faster for a recruiter to quickly look and say yay or nay.
Write a great cover letter and be creative. Write specific things about the company. Companies give so many hints about what they are looking for. Also, send a thank you email after an interview.
By focusing on a company, you can learn a lot about what they are looking for. Don’t get too fixated on the job, unless you are a surgeon or lawyer. Certain skill sets apply to a lot of jobs. You will learn most about what you need for the job when you are on the job.
A pivot is a bunch of small steps adding up to a big change. These are small, medium, or big habits you are doing that ultimately get you to that big pivot. This is that opportunity to sit back and think about what you want to do. How are you going to make the most of this?
We’ve always lived in times of uncertainty, because tomorrow is never promised, but now it is smacking us in the face. You need to create a plan and have a structure in place. You will feel better for it. This is an opportunity to pivot and you owe it to yourself to take the time to figure it out. You don’t have to wait for an actual position at a company to open.
Don’t be shamed or embarrassed about the situation you are in, if you are looking for a job. You are not alone, and it probably didn’t have anything to do with you. “Lay-off due to COVID-19” is normal and everyone accepts it.
You can have two headings on your resume, one that says relevant experience and one that says other experience. Start preparing yourself for what is going to set you apart. Being creative makes you stand out.
People over age 50 and 60 have benefits they can offer a company, like flexibility and not needing to go home right at 5:00pm. Ageism can go both ways and you can make it work for you.
Lauren makes money by selling online courses and advertisement. The best thing you can do for her and her company is to get on, or stay on, her email list. The online courses are reasonably priced and topics range from the 24 Resume Makeover to the Digital You course.
Lauren’s first book, Power Moves, is being released May 19. If you pre-order it, you can get free companion resources that are valued at over $300. Go to powermovesbook.com.
Takeaway: My biggest takeaway is that researching a company is a unique and different approach than just researching a job and job title. Maybe that is exactly what you need to do to differentiate yourself during these crazy times.
Random Three Questions
What do you for your self care?
What are you bingeing during this quarantine?
If this was your last night on earth, what would be your last meal?
Connect with Lauren
Website: careercontessa.com
Insta: @careercontessa
Facebook: Career Contessa
Preorder Lauren’s Book: Power Moves
If you have any topics you would like me to cover on this podcast, or If you’d like to get in the financially naked hot seat, I encourage you to email me to Shannon@fingyms.com, or join the private Martinis and Your Money Facebook group, and let me know what you want to hear.
If you’d like to talk to my team at the Financial Gym to give you the plan you need to not only survive during these crazy times but to thrive during them, we’re offering a number of great deals right now. While you’re quarantined from home, our team is happy to help you make your plan and take money stress off your plate. So head over to, or send friends to, financialgym.com to get set up today.