career
Over the nine months of pregnancy with my first baby, I mentally prepared myself for those middle-of-the-night feedings (and the resulting exhaustion), the postpartum mood swings, and other inevitable life changes. Loading audio narration… One thing I didn’t prepare myself for? The identity crisis set in as soon as I…
When Alana Aichholz was applying to college, she read her essays aloud to her mom, who edited them orally because cancer was making it difficult to see. It was one of the last big projects the two took on together, before her mom, Laurene, a writer, died in 2022.”She helped…
At 38, I faced the toughest decision of my career: whether I wanted to continue working. Loading audio narration… I had been working since I was a teenager and had never considered not doing so.When my husband and I got married, we discussed what our future would look like with…
In a previous life, I was a ratty, vagabond mountain girl. I never thought of myself as a writer, and I definitely didn’t plan to build a career as a ghostwriter. I rarely planned where I’d sleep each night.During a gap year from college in winter 2020, I was working…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Greg Smith, CEO of Thinkific. It has been edited for length and clarity.I became interested in corporate law because of the role lawyers play in pivotal business decisions. As a CEO, I might navigate a merger or IPO only once or…
I used to hold a quiet grudge against my parents for the way they handled my creative dreams. Loading audio narration… It wasn’t the kind of loud, dramatic grudge that shows up at therapy and needs a name. It was more like a low hum in the background of my…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nuala O’Hanlon, who quit her marketing role at Primark in Dublin to backpack through Asia. It has been edited for length and clarity.I’ve been in the fashion merchandising and marketing industry for my decadelong career. I started taking on visual merchandising…
I always thought I was going to be a reporter.I went to journalism school, did all the internships, and chased a career where you talk to interesting people and tell their stories for a living. I came close to landing a job at the BBC, but it didn’t pan out…
Conan O’Brien, 62, says he was able to have a long Hollywood career because he learned how to bounce back from failure.On Wednesday’s appearance on the “IMO” podcast, the comedian spoke about the importance of staying positive and learning to roll with it when facing setbacks.”I always say I’m like…
We’re a 10-minute walk from the Palace of Versailles. My wife attends ISIPCA, one of the most prestigious graduate perfumery programs in the world, and I’m an American writer living right outside Paris.It may sound glamorous, but my daily routine hasn’t really changed. Before our move in October, I sat…
