Career Coaching - Renaissance Woman Consulting LLC

Sara smiles next to her laptop which shows a Zoom meeting. She's wearing headphones and a small circle light shines on her face. In the background are children's toys and art supplies.

You’re Enough

Do you remember the SNL skit with Al Franken and Michael Jordan? (Yes, I’m THAT old and if you have no idea what I’m talking about, check it out below). Al has Michael look into a mirror and recite the mantra, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.” In my

The word quality is written in a fancy cursive font in a pink color in the upper left. Next to it is a greater than sign and the word quantity is in a plan black font to the right of the symbol. Below quality is one large drawing of a computer with the word "job" in the center of the screen surrounded by green lines with black lines below representing text. To the right are nine small copies of the same image.

The Stalled-Out Search

One of the worst sounds you can hear during a job hunt is crickets. 🦗🦗🦗 You start the job search excited and perhaps nervous about where your next step will take you. You edit your resume and create a cover letter (possibly for the first time if you’re coming directly out of TV News) and

Word cloud with the largest words being communication, technical proficiency, self-motivation, time management, collaboration and adaptability

You Got Skillz!

Can you guess where this word cloud came from? (No scrolling down and cheating 😉) If you guessed these are the skills required to work in journalism (that’s what I would have thought as a former TV News person), guess again… I used my old pal Google and pulled text from more than a dozen

Quote from Leslie Rangle in from of multicolored boxes. The quote reads "Trauma must no longer be only normalized within the context of journalists covering war. Trauma is happening in every community journalists are covering, not including the trauma journalists carry with them into their careers. Journalists break news, don't let it break you.

TV News Trauma

There’s a toxic we talk about…and the toxic that goes unspoken but still traumatizes. In the TV News business, there’s plenty to complain about. The work hours are often horrible, most are poorly paid, social media followers can be vicious, there are toxic bosses, etc etc. But there’s another layer on top of all that

Sara has a camera person filming her as she demonstrates how to make a tornado in a bottle for a group of children. She is wearing a white lab coat and there is a poster with a sign indicating this is an event for WXOW-19 Weather Academy.

Embracing a New Identity

More than any position I’ve had (including stints at science museums, higher education, non-profits and owning my own business), people are most intrigued to learn about my TV News life. “What was it REALLY like?” “Do you miss it?” If you are on-air, they’re drawn to the perceived fame and fortune (insert sarcastic laughter here).

Throwback picture of Sara stands in the grass near a river holding a TV microphone with the insignia for WXOW channel 19 for a live shot. She's wearing blue striped button down collar shirt and is in the middle of addressing a camera which isn't visible in the picture.

Your TV News background is the KEY to a remote job…

…you just have to explain why. There’s no way around it, competition for remote work is fierce! Remote positions receive hundreds, even thousands of applicants. Looking at those numbers may give you a sense of hopelessness, especially if you’re trying to make two simultaneous transitions: from one industry (like TV news) into another AND from

Desktop with keyboard, pen, notebook, classes and a yellow post-it note in the center. The word "toxic" is written in red on the post-it.

Strategically Avoiding Toxicity

Many of my clients are current or former TV news employees (one of the stops in my career history as well). In way too many cases, newsrooms are toxic environment full of overworked, under-respected, stressed out employees. They’re often struggling with mental health challenges because of these experiences and one of their top goals is

Searching for Career Opportunities

Searching for jobs right now in the field of communication/marketing/PR and especially hybrid or remote work is difficult right now. Here are a few niche resources for jobs I’ve come across. Matt Lockshin’s searchable job board lists progressive non-profits and agencies that have digital job openings. https://www.mattlockshin.com/job-board Kaitlyn Arford publishes a newsletter full of freelance

Powerhouse LinkedIn Networking Training

One of my favorite tasks is leading interactive trainings that provide tools attendees can immediately implement in their lives and in their work. One recent training I designed and led was for the Science Communication Trainers Network (SCTN) entitled “Using LinkedIn to be a Powerhouse Networker.” The description was, “In this session, participants will learn