My career lore and the lessons learned along the way… 1 - Back in the day, I wan
By Liahaberman · October 27, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
My career lore and the lessons learned along the way…
1 - Back in the day, I wanted to work in publishing and TV. I interned at Seventeen during college and applied to E! News. I didn’t get that job, but I did get to work for E! Online.
Rejection is redirection, and sometimes the picture-perfect life you planned isn’t what’s meant to be and there’s actually something even better out there for you.
2 - I started writing the TV news ticker and entertainment news stories at E! Online, and went on to manage a department.
The people you meet in the trenches are the network you can rely on for years. I’m still good friends with my former coworkers to this day.
3 - I worked at Yahoo for 2 years. Nobody was paying much attention to social at the time, so I got to do incredible things like Instagram takeovers with people like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Working in less desirable departments can give you incredible opportunities to experiment without someone watching over your shoulder.
4 - I worked a series of smaller, toxic jobs to pay the bills.
Not every job has to be your dream job, but it should give you something: a pay bump, a better title, new skills, or the chance to expand your network.
5 - I took a job with a health and fitness brand. Career-wise, it was a step backward, but I turned a director of social job into a VP role by volunteering for every new program the company launched: paid social, video series, an influencer marketing program, even planning a 2,000-person event at the Rose Bowl.
6 - UCLA Extension invited a friend to teach a class, and she asked me to co-teach with her. We had 4 days to prep for our first class. Sometimes you just have to say yes and figure it out along the way.
7 - I went through 3 layoffs in 2 years. It doesn’t matter how hard you work or how good you are at what you do; you can be let go at a moment’s notice. And every single time you lose your job, it’s traumatizing AF.
I have a lot of respect for Gen Z’s commitment to work-life balance, especially compared with my generation’s belief that loyalty would be rewarded.
8 - I started my newsletter during this time because I was bored and figured my knowledge might be useful to students or the clients I was working with.
I didn’t really know what I was building or why. Sometimes you just need to get started and figure out your purpose along the way.
9 - Every time I hear someone talk about consulting or public speaking, I ask where they’re documenting their knowledge. It could be a newsletter, podcast, blog, or LinkedIn posts.
Putting yourself out there has a compounding effect. Every update shows people you know what you’re talking about, which leads to more opportunities, which gives you more to talk about. And the cycle continues.