Jackie Boas
[00:00:00] Jolie Downs: Welcome to the career wanderlust podcast your compass for new career horizons today We are talking with Jacqueline Boas Jackie has an impressive background hanging up communications with the leading companies such as Legrand Osram Northeast Bank and Boston Scientific Corporation as well as managing her own consultancy birdsong communications Jackie has had a long standing passion for mission driven business, and she recently made a change from corporate communications role to taking on a position as the global philanthropic communications manager with the New Balance Foundation.
[00:00:36] I'm really excited to learn more. Jackie, thank you for joining us on the Career Wanderlust podcast. Thank
[00:00:42] Jacqueline Boas: you. It's, , an honor and I've really enjoyed listening to your previous episodes and you're very insightful guests.
[00:00:49] Jolie Downs: Oh, thank you. I know I've had some great guests, right?
[00:00:52] Jacqueline Boas: You have.
[00:00:54] Jolie Downs: So please, could you tell us a little bit about what you feel has been some of your favorite career
[00:00:58] Jacqueline Boas: advice and why?
[00:01:00] I'd love to. This is a great exercise. It's given me a chance to kind of think about the conversations that I've had with my mentors, but also some of the people that I've had the honor of serving as a mentor too. Um, so I have one sort of very pragmatic piece of advice, which may be a bit of a surprise in a career podcast, focus podcast.
[00:01:21] I would say I would recommend everyone at every point in their career. To work with a financial planner. And the reason why I use that as a piece of advice is that I think it's really helpful in making decisions that feel somewhat emotional sometimes, , around whether or not to take a job. If you're qualified enough for a job, should you apply for a job?
[00:01:44] What should you be looking for to start with? What do you need in order to feel good about accepting a job? I've worked with so many mentees who've found themselves in positions. Where they're either afraid to leave because they think they're making the most money they'll ever make in their careers, and they feel like if they leave financially, it will be a mistake or vice versa.
[00:02:09] They've worked in mission based organizations that aren't able to pay sort of a competitive salary against, say, a corporate role, and, , they're really just like. surviving on very little, but they feel guilty about considering leaving because of the financial implications. , so that's one thing I would say.
[00:02:30] It's sort of surprising, but so many times, um, my conversations with mentees come back to, , the financial piece of working. And so understanding like what you need , to live off of and what your financial plans are for the future, what age you'd like to retire, for example, having those conversations, , so that you can make a decision based on what's going to be best for your financial health in addition to your career and sort of emotional health, I think is really important.
[00:03:00] Jolie Downs: Wow. Really good advice. Not something you're right. It is not. It's a typical advice, but really, really good. And, and you're right, Amy, compensation. Is a big aspect of changing jobs and what's interesting from my perspective is Is even though this is a huge aspect. It is not the aspect that makes you happy, right?
[00:03:21] Right, it's but so the financial make you unhappy very quickly A true story, but that's what, so that's why I love this financial planner. Like they'll help you figure out where you need to be to help you make those decisions. So sometimes you can be okay making a little bit less. Sometimes you do need to be making more and sometimes you're not quite sure where that balance is.
[00:03:47] So I love this advice. Thank you. It's not something I've thought about before and I think it's brilliant personally. I think
[00:03:53] Jacqueline Boas: it helps set, , I'll say, uh, early in career and, , women up for success in, , specifically because there's so much angst around asking for what you. deserve or conversations around raises or promotions.
[00:04:10] And so if you can sort of take the fear out of it around your self worth and think about like, Oh, I live in New York city and I'm doing a copywriting job. And so now do I need four other jobs to be able to keep this copywriting job that might lead me to something more senior if I stick it out? Like you can sort of take the angst out of it by just knowing , realistically, financially, what you need.
[00:04:38] Jolie Downs: Yeah. It gives you that clarity. Yeah. I mean, clarity is, is incredibly valuable in every aspect and, and yes, , in finances so much, so many of us don't have clarity there. So yeah. So that's my, my pragmatic
[00:04:50] Jacqueline Boas: piece of advice I'd say, , you know, on the sort of like You know, professional development, creating goals, , and sort of like trying to land the job of your dreams, which I feel like.
[00:05:04] I've been lucky enough to do a few times because my dreams have changed throughout my career.
[00:05:09] Jolie Downs: Yes, they do. It's good to acknowledge that and keep asking yourself.
[00:05:14] Jacqueline Boas: I'd say that some of the best experiences I've had professionally and personally have been in situations where I'm absolutely terrified. So, , not to let fear be the determining factor as to whether or not you take a risk to apply for a job or ask for that promotion or change direction in a career.
[00:05:33] Jolie Downs: Mmm, such the best advice. I completely agree, right? It's like fear. You can hide behind fear and you will get nowhere Just make fear your friend and walk beside it. Don't let it stop you Yeah,
[00:05:48] Jacqueline Boas: and it can be as small as raising your hand in a meeting and offering your
[00:05:59] Um, and it can be very intimidating to raise your hand. , but it can also be public speaking. It could be applying for a job that you're not sure you're qualified for. It could be sending an email to a recruiter and asking for a conversation as to getting their professional opinion as to what. kind of roles you should be looking at.
[00:06:18] Um, so I think not letting fear determine you taking risks, , in terms of planning the next steps of your career.
[00:06:25] Jolie Downs: Oh yeah. Completely agree. The more you walk with the fear and move forward with it, the easier it gets too. Don't you find, you know what I mean? Just with each step, you know, in realizing I can do this.
[00:06:36] I can, I did that. I can do this. I did that. I can do this. Yes.
[00:06:39] Jacqueline Boas: Absolutely. What's the worst thing that can happen is that your fear is a reality, but you've already thought about it. Ad nauseum, before you
[00:06:48] Jolie Downs: try. So Exactly. And here's, and, and here's the thing about that, that I have found, because I, you know, and I learned this, this was actually a very early lesson for me.
[00:06:57] Super fearful public speaking
[00:06:59] Jacqueline Boas: situation. Yeah. Super fearful. Many people.
[00:07:01] Jolie Downs: So scared. Oh my gosh. And this was in the high school years. Okay. Mm-Hmm. . So public speaking amongst your peers in high school. Just the worst happened. Okay. Everyone laughed, laughed at me, everyone laughed at me. They weren't laughing with me.
[00:07:13] They were laughing at me. And it was so empowering because I was like, wow, that's what I was scared of. It just happened. I'm still here. I'm still me. I'm still okay. I still have the same friends. I still have the same family, mind blown, you know, so much, so much of what we fear is really not to be feared.
[00:07:33] And there's a
[00:07:33] Jacqueline Boas: lot, you know, in communicate in communications roles in general, you know, I've talked to lots of people who are afraid of public speaking, afraid of. talking to a reporter, right? , if you work in PR, that's part of the job. So like practicing, , public speaking with someone who's Not, you know, who's a, who's a safe listener, but we'll give you constructive feedback, practicing conversations about pitching to a reporter with another, more experienced PR professional.
[00:08:00] Like there's lots of opportunities to practice the, the pieces of our roles that might terrify us. And I think taking advantage of your mentors or your, even your peers, so that the, big scary monster sitting on your shoulder isn't holding you back from growth.
[00:08:18] Jolie Downs: Oh, I love it. Such great advice.
[00:08:20] Thank you for sharing that. And I love, I love a story. So could you share a story about something impactful that happened to you and your work situation? What happened? What did you learn from it?
[00:08:32] Jacqueline Boas: Yeah, that's a great question. So, , We talked a little bit, , prior to recording about the squiggly line of my career.
[00:08:40] Um, I've worked across many different industries and I've, you know, through, through being a communications professional, I've had to learn how to know a little bit about a lot of topics, whether it's products or, , get to know an org chart really quickly, get comfortable in front of a CEO and make a recommendation.
[00:08:59] , so I've been in some. Intimidating situations. I think one of the things that thankfully age has gotten me a little bit more comfortable with doing is leaving, companies or roles when I've gotten really clear that I'm unhappy. Um, and that is a, another on, on the, on the topic of being terrified. , that's another situation where, you know, this idea that we need to sort of like perfect ourselves and our skills as we move forward in our career.
[00:09:28] , one of the things that I think. Within the last few years, I've gotten more comfortable with is really being aware of when I'm unhappy and then making the steps to leave. And so I've had the opportunity to work for some wonderful organizations and companies and I've worked with some great mentors and managers and some not so great ones.
[00:09:48] But at the end of the day when you are dreading on a Sunday night, , starting work on Monday or worse, you're thinking about Friday night on Monday morning. , you know, that, that's really the onus is on you to do something about it. And I say that from a position of privilege. I, I always want to acknowledge, I am a straight white.
[00:10:10] Married, educated female. And I have a partner that, , we co earn together. So there is a lot of privilege that comes with being able to be in a position to step away from a situation where you don't feel like you're thriving. , but I, I've really. I've, I think I've earned a lot of pride in myself, , by being able to do that, , and it's not easy.
[00:10:38] And sometimes, you know, you have an employer that says, wait, we'll give you more money or we'll give you a different position or we'll give you more people. What's going to make you want to stay? And I think. Listening to that voice inside that's telling you it's not the right culture for you and that the right value system, not the right manager, whatever it is, listening to that voice and taking the steps to leave is a really important, , was a really impactful period in time for me.
[00:11:06] And I've done it a couple of times, but now I'm a lot more comfortable knowing my worth and knowing it's just, there's no amount of money that's worth staying in a. In a position or under a manager that makes you miserable. A hundred
[00:11:18] Jolie Downs: percent is not worth it at all. I completely agree. And this is vital advice if you ask me, because too many people stay in a job that they are unhappy in because of fear, because of so many different reasons, because they don't think of anything better because there's just so
[00:11:34] Jacqueline Boas: many different reasons, a short period of time on their resume.
[00:11:36] Like you, you can probably speak to this better than I can, but having. an authentic answer to why did you decide to leave? It's okay to say it wasn't the right fit and I was unhappy and I was doing a disservice to the company and to myself. I think that's an appropriate answer.
[00:11:53] Jolie Downs: Absolutely. Here's the, here's the thing.
[00:11:55] Clarity is, is a magical thing in an interview process. When you know exactly why you didn't want something and why you made a change and what it is that you do want and why you're there talking to them. Um, there is a beauty in that and it is felt in the interview process. Yeah. Clarity is magic. ,
[00:12:10] Jacqueline Boas: No one, no one gets to the end of their life and says, oh, I wish I had spent four, five more years with that miserable manager in a job that I hated.
[00:12:20] No one says that. No. They say, why didn't I leave earlier? This was a, you know, this was A situation in which I was forcing myself to, to, to fit into a, a square hole when I was a round peg.
[00:12:34] Jolie Downs: Yes. Yes. For anyone listening, this is a promise I can make. If you are unhappy in what you're doing, I promise you that there is absolutely something better for you out there.
[00:12:43] It is a big wide world with so much opportunity. Not worth staying somewhere you're not be. Thank you for that. It's
[00:12:48] Jacqueline Boas: like dating. It's like dating. Sometimes it's better to be single and happy.
[00:12:57] Jolie Downs: True story. So that's really, really great. Um, now can you tell us a little bit about, I mean, New Balance, what, what attracted you to this position? And if you can comment, sure. What do you think has helped serve you in landing your corporate
[00:13:11] Jacqueline Boas: roles? Well, I will say that I feel I've just started this new role.
[00:13:15] So I work for the New Balance Foundation, which is a separate legal charitable entity within New Balance, which is obviously, , we like to say we're the fiercely independent, , shoe and apparel brand. , So go new balance. I'm a, I'm a convert very early. , and my closet, , has a lot of shoes to show for it.
[00:13:32] So I saw this role, I was actually working for myself. So as, as you mentioned at the top, I was managing my own, , communications consulting firm. And I came across this job posting cause I look on LinkedIn almost daily, not just for myself, but for people that I'm working with who are trying to make.
[00:13:48] Moves in their own career. And I saw the job for, , the global communications, , manager for philanthropy supporting the foundation. And it was, it was sort of like lightning struck me and it was a unicorn job. I've never seen it any other charitable foundation. , and it was the perfect combination of my.
[00:14:08] Cumulative professional experience to date. , and that was one of those moments where I wasn't looking actively for a job. I wasn't even thinking about new balance, to be honest. I've always wanted to work for a global brand that's direct to consumer and a brand that I personally am passionate. About and consume.
[00:14:29] , and I do, I'm a kind of a sneaker head. , so I literally hammered out my cover letter in about five minutes. It's probably the most heartfelt and authentic cover letter I've ever written. I didn't show it to anyone else. I emailed it, , to someone that I actually know that works at New Balance and asked them to do an employee referral for me.
[00:14:48] And thankfully he went one step further and emailed the hiring managers and the employees. TA person, , who is managing the rec. And I think by about four o'clock that afternoon, I had my first interview scheduled. It was really like a serendipitous
[00:15:05] Jolie Downs: moment, but I was prepared. Yes.
[00:15:08] Jacqueline Boas: Right. Like I know my worth.
[00:15:09] I know my experience. I know about employer referrals. I asked and I wrote a cover letter that was Absolutely authentic and heartfelt and I knew I was qualified
[00:15:23] Jolie Downs: for the job. All of the pieces, yes, these are all the successful pieces. Fantastic. What a great share.
[00:15:30] Jacqueline Boas: And I, and I'm, I'm, I love working for a company where I can see the values operationalized.
[00:15:36] I will say this is the, genuinely. No shade to my former employers. This is genuinely a company where I see the values they state externally are operationalized internally. Well, I love
[00:15:49] just
[00:15:49] Jolie Downs: right from that first part where you said, lightning struck me, you know, I mean, there's times in life where we have, it's like that tuning fork, all of a sudden something is vibrating inside and feeling so right.
[00:15:59] We don't always follow through when you feel that. So yeah, yeah. Just from the follow through on that, I want to applaud you. Thank you. So, uh, now, before you go, could you tell us something that you have either read, watched, or listened to that had a positive impact on you that you feel others could benefit
[00:16:14] Jacqueline Boas: from as well?
[00:16:16] Yeah, I could give you a list of... 20 resources because I'm an avid reader and podcast listener. Um, but I would say one of the books that, you know, it's a little cliche for a, I'll say a woman of a certain age. Um, but I'm a huge Brene Brown fan and I read the gifts of imperfection. Someone gave it to me just as like a hand me down that book has been highlighted, dog eared.
[00:16:42] Referenced in so many conversations that I've had with mentees, with peers, professionally and personally. , because like fear, I think this like pursuit of perfection is such a myth and it creates so much unnecessary angst in our lives. So I would say that's a huge influence on me. I like to look at it.
[00:17:02] Every once in a while when I think that I'm being perfect and I'm like, Oh no, this is such a waste of time. Why was I trying to project this image that I have my S H I T together? Um, yeah. And the other thing I would say is the 10 percent happier podcast with Dan Harris. I'm a huge proponent of putting as much energy in staying organized and focused in my day.
[00:17:28] Time life as I am in my personal life. So building that routine of like, for me, the magic combination is sleep. , I personally don't drink alcohol. It's a late later in life decision, but it's paid me back in spades. Daily movement, exercise, , meditation. And I podcast because he interviews really interesting.
[00:17:54] People and he also offers free meditations that you can do like ten minutes a day.
[00:18:00] Jolie Downs: Oh, that's fantastic Oh, I love it. I'll check that out. And I actually haven't read that Brené Brown book. So I'm excited to go to read that as well Thank you for the suggestions. I appreciate it. No problem. Happy
[00:18:10] Jacqueline Boas: to share
[00:18:11] Jolie Downs: Jackie this has been so much fun and such great advice all around.
[00:18:14] Thank you for joining us on the career Wanderlust My pleasure.
[00:18:17] Jacqueline Boas: I feel honored to be included amongst your very knowledgeable and wise guests