289: Stealing Wi-Fi as Career Strategy with Jenny Wood

Believe it or not, you can get mentorship from anyone you’d like by employing a strategy today’s guest calls “stealing Wi-Fi.” According to today's guest, Jenny Wood, the creator of Own Your Career at Google, you can get mentorship from anyone you like by paying closer attention to what they do and how they do it. 

In this episode, The Jenny’s dig into multiple elements of career strategy, including navigating plateaus, sidelining imposter syndrome, and course-correcting when you screw up. 

More about Jenny Wood: Jenny is mom to Ari, aged six, and Noa, aged almost five, and the Director of Americas Media Operations at Google. She is currently working on her first book. Learn more at ItsJennyWood.com. 

🌟3 Key Takeaways:

  • When you’re asking for someone to sponsor you (or provide any other kind of mentorship), make it specific and time-bound, and don’t forget to include what you can provide to them as well.

  • When at a plateau: Consider making a lateral move. Sometimes a little zig-zag can help you push through stagnation. 

  • Keep a failure resume, and celebrate those failures as reminders of when you take risks and make mistakes; remember that being vulnerable and sharing those stories allows others to empathize and connect with you. 

 

✅Next Action: Ask for what you want. Your manager is busy, they don’t remember what you’re working on, what you need, or even what types of project excite you most. Remind them. (For pointers on this, check out Jenny’s LinkedIn Learning course, Figuring Out Your Next Move).

📘Books Mentioned:

🔗Resources Mentioned

🎧Related Podcast Episodes

 

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