I didn’t know what I wanted to do but I always knew the woman I wanted to be.
-Diane Von Furstenberg
Career
This chapter is about putting myself in charge of creating the career I want. It’s about picking the path less traveled; the roads traveled on that path; the steps taken; the easy and agonizing decisions along the way. It’s about the mentors that have encouraged me to keep going. Those who believe in me. It’s about helping others do the same; to demand their worth. Never settle.
Next Chapter: Fitness
Women Automotive Summit: A Global Event Like No Other
In May, I was invited to attend the inaugural Women Automotive Summit. Put on by a team of passionate professionals from Worldwide Partnerships, a British organization dedicated to the power of face-to-face business interactions, the Summit would take place in Stuttgart on June 14. Coincidentally, it would occur right in the middle of my ...
Lost in Translation: I Got a Facial in Munich
Prelude Several weeks ago, I saw an interesting job opportunity come through in one of my LinkedIn searches. It was at the Paris-born boutique skincare and luxury cosmetics maker, Maria Galland. Headquartered in Munich since its acquisition by the German healthcare group Klosterfrau in the 1980s, the role reported directly to its CEO and ...
Learning to Listen & the Power of Place
Sometimes I refer to myself as an accidental developer because I didn’t set out to create a real estate business when I started flipping houses. The Beginning In 2013, I was looking for a house to renovate, and landed a project much bigger than the tiny row house I had just completed. This new ...
GDW: I am “Woman of the Week”!
On a gloomy Munich Friday, last week, I got a note from Sabrina from Global Digital Women that brightened up my day. It read something like: “We would like to feature you as part of this new program we are starting this year called #WomanoftheWeek. Here are 8 questions for you to consider if ...
#DFLA18: So Much More than an Award
I pick up the Digital Female Leadership Award story where I last left off in early August, after publishing a blog post in which I shared my thoughts and feelings about asking my network for help and votes for the Audience Award. Back then, I was also wondering if these women shared my insecurities, ...
Lisbon: Lively and Lovely
I’ll kill 2 birds with one stone with Lisbon: visit another city on that Condé Nast 20 best European cities list, the original source of travel inspiration for my 2018 gap year (that I now ironically can’t find online anymore), and attend a conference, the House of Beautiful Business, partially put on by a human ...
London: Highs and Low
I came to London at the end of my visit to Munich. I hadn’t originally planned on it but an opportunity to pick up a freelance assignment partly there / partly remotely from DC for the month of October came up. London was calling. Naturally, I extended my 7-week Bavarian visit another week and ...
Living Dharma: I Learn. I Teach.
Editor: Caroline Trudeau A Learning Journey I’ve always been motivated by learning… Declared Majors: Accounting, Biology, Dietetics, Home Economics Degree: Bachelor of Science in Education (Virginia Tech) Career Path: Public School Teaching — False Starts: Alternative Education, Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Curriculum Development ...
Help: I’m Nominated for an Award!
Growth and comfort do not coexist -Ginni Rometty How I Got Here It’s no secret, I’m in job search mode, full effect. Lately, I’ve been stepping up the networking, especially searching for and reaching out to contacts globally, given my desire for a global career. A kindred German spirit mentions to me ...
A Career With Intention
A person with goals in life knows no obstacles. -Nuccio Bertone I unknowingly embraced my career with intention in elementary school, when I started drawing horses with great passion (I competed in equitation tournaments for years, starting at age 10). That passion for horses was surpassed only by my passion for cars, when I ...
Since The IBM Seduction: I’m Ready
“Caroline, what have you been up to?!” This question comes up more and more as time passes since I put my corporate career on pause. Lately, after several years on the road, as I have re-integrated in the Northern Virginia region I spent the last 18 years residing in, it shows up with every encounter ...
Once Upon A Goal: To The LPGA Tour And Beyond
Editor: Caroline Trudeau Prologue to a Dream I grew up on the LPGA Tour. My mom, Myra was a professional golfer, my dad, Worth, a caddie. After the tour, my parents worked at golf courses in my native Kentucky: she taught golf, he was a club pro. They never put any pressure on me to ...
Persistence: To Create My Career
Co-Author: Caroline Trudeau Warm Up “I’ve been reading your blog. I’m inspired by your stories”, Cécile shares as our annual meeting to review of my finances. I’m flattered. She is my advisor for all things money related. I do (almost!) everything she tells me about assuring my financial security, managing my coin and planning for ...
Dear Future Employer: Please Don’t Tell Me You Are Busy
Here is why: I already know you are. We all are busy. Especially in this day and age: society is encouraging us to tell the world how busy we are as a status symbol. (For more on this topic, read this fascinating Harvard Business Review article or this brilliant Columbia Business School white paper). So ...
On The First Date: To Tell or Not?
I recently started saying yes to recruiters. Soon, I will (have to) go back to work; I’m actually looking forward to it! So I’ve turned that LinkedIn feature on and I am open to the initial fit conversation that is often necessary to begin the hiring process at pretty much every corporation. I am happy to report that I have already ...
From CES 2018: What’s in an Experience?
For nearly 40 years, the most wonderful time of the year has traditionally been followed by CES season in Las Vegas. Quickly after setting their resolutions, some 200,000 humans from all over the world head to Sin City to kick off the new year with a bang. They walk the more than 2.5 million square feet of exhibition floor and asphalt ...