Bozoma St. John does not go unnoticed.
St. John, was 48 years old Netflix’s first black C-level executive as their Chief Marketing Officer. He was Uber’s first Chief Brand Officer submitted rebuilding the rideshare company’s image. And he is became topics In 2016, when he rocked the stage at Apple’s annual conference despite not looking like a typical “Apple fan,” he says.
St. John’s career moves are as daring as his personal style. He has well-meaning but misguided advice to thank for that, he says.
“An early manager told me never to wear red lipstick or red nail polish,” St. John told CNBC Make It when asked about the best career advice he ever received.
“He did it with good intentions, like, ‘You walk into a room and you don’t want to be too bold.’ You don’t want people to make judgments about you before you even open your mouth,” says St. John.
But “it made me question my appearance in the rooms. Being a very tall and bold black woman in my wardrobe, I found that it really made me look smaller.”
St. John says he decided to ignore that advice and turn it on its head to “be the flashiest, the boldest, the sharpest, the wittiest in the room, and be very confident about it.”
“I was successful because I didn’t take that advice,” he says.
St. John continues to navigate major changes in her career, becoming CEO for the first time for her hair and beauty brand Eve by Boz, and recently added “reality TV star” to her resume, as a cast member on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and co-host of NBC’s On Brand with Jimmy Fallon.
He wants you to make a big career change, too.
With people approaching the New Year with new job goals, St. John says it’s a good time to pursue what you really want in any career. “This turning point can happen at any moment,” he says.
Here, based on his career and experience managing thousands of people, St. John shares the signs of when it’s time to quit, how to build your professional brand, the top red flags when interviewing with companies, and more. shares.
When you know it’s time to quit
My advice is generally if you’re getting the Sunday Nightmare, you’re in the wrong place. If you’re coming back from a holiday and you’re so sick to your stomach that you don’t want to go back to work, or you’re dreading it so much that you can barely sleep, I think that’s a pretty big indicator that you should go now.
A big mistake people make when getting a raise, promotion, or termination
If you want a promotion or more experience at your job, set a timeline by which you can achieve that goal or decide it’s time to leave. Make a schedule with your boss.
Often people take a selfish approach to this promotion or promotion of the conversation. The company and your manager want to hear how you can help the company and the community of colleagues.
So if you frame it as, “By March 1st, I want to be promoted to X, and I’m going to do my job this way to get more responsibility or help the company achieve X, Y, and Z,” that gives you some building blocks and a timeline to get you there by March 1st.
When you’re trying to take the next step in mid-career, you need to have a plan in place to make sure you’re communicating with your boss with a timeline in mind.
It’s a big mistake to think that it’s all you, you need to put in ideas on how to get ahead. If you don’t add your manager to your timeline, they won’t know what you’re trying to accomplish.
When you have that conversation, everyone knows you’ve reached your goal, and if you don’t contribute and don’t get it by March 1st, everyone’s on the same page: “I’m quitting.”
How to manage your professional brand
Whether you’re on TV or sitting in a booth, I believe your personal brand is important and to some extent you have no control over it. Therefore, control should be taken as much as possible.
If you’re sitting in a cubicle in an open floor plan and someone doesn’t appreciate your work, it’s your responsibility to make sure the brand’s narrative about you is that you’re hardworking or creative or a problem solver. Do as much as you can to communicate that brand in the way you communicate in front of the camera.
The #1 quality he hires
This is the No. 1 thing: Be fully yourself. Don’t try to trim your edges for a better fit. The way you make yourself memorable is to be truly memorable.
There are so many beautiful unique things about each of us, our experiences, the history that comes with us, and weaving them into your answers and the conversation you’re having is really what makes someone remember you.
We often think that as people we have to have similar interests or tastes in order for someone to get along and want to hire us. And I think it’s actually the opposite. Curiously, because you want to get to know someone, you say, “They’re from here or they’ve had that experience and they can apply for this job because I don’t have that experience.” That’s how you want to be perceived in an interview.
Its biggest red flag when interviewing with a company
If you’re in an interview and the person you’re talking to seems like they’re looking for someone like them, run. Run fast, far and far.
You want to be in a place where the unique contribution you make to work is appreciated and loved. And it’s not just about your business experience. It’s about your cultural experience, your personal experience, and your emotional experience.
You’re one of them, bring it on.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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