Valerie Valcourt has lived all around the U.S. in Seattle, New York City and Washington, D.C. But she made her biggest move yet last year when she quit her six-figure Big Tech job to go to pastry school in France. Valcourt, 34, tells CNBC Make It she started the process in 2020 when, while earning … Read more
Valerie Valcourt is living what some might consider the dream life: The 34-year-old former executive assistant quit her tech job over a year ago and now makes pastries in the South of France. She recently went viral on TikTok for posting her experience of changing careers in her 30s: “Don’t let society try to trick … Read more
Asking for a pay raise is no easy feat, particularly for women. More than half of women around the world have never asked for a raise before, according to a 2024 study by job listings site Indeed. Of the 43% who asked, three in four received a pay increase. Additionally, 61% of women globally believe … Read more
Nobody wants to look incompetent or unskilled in the workplace. Unfortunately, the words we use every day can make us do just that. There’s one common phrase experts say to avoid if you’re speaking with your boss: “I don’t know.” “The simple acceptance of not knowing” can make it seem like you’re uninterested in going … Read more
Picture it: Your co-worker, who you normally get along with, avoided you at lunch, then grunted when you offered to grab him a coffee. He’s clearly annoyed at you, but won’t address it. This is textbook passive-aggressive behavior — a hallmark of people who have trouble handling conflict. As a public speaking trainer, I’ve found that the best way … Read more
Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive and evaluate feelings accurately in ourselves and in others. The most emotionally intelligent people can access and evoke emotion, understand non-verbal cues, and regulate their feelings to build stronger relationships. As a Harvard-trained psychologist, I’ve seen firsthand how this is key to long-term professional and personal success. So how … Read more
No matter who you are, you’re going to face some kind of obstacles in your life. Highly successful people overcome them by having “prodigious amounts of productive paranoia,” according to multi-time bestselling author and leadership expert Jim Collins. That means thinking about every possible outcome of every decision you make, and taking the time to … Read more
Resumes are often integral to job applications, but as skills-based hiring is on the rise, could they become obsolete? Srdjanpav | E+ | Getty Images More often than not, the first step of a job application is submitting your resume. That’s your basic person details, education, job experience. And perhaps a section on volunteering work, … Read more
Believe it or not, career breaks are now more common than ever. In a survey of 6,000 workers in Southeast Asia, only 29% indicated they never experienced a career break. The top life experiences that required a career break — defined as taking more than a month off work — were health or wellness issues … Read more
Bobbie Bain had been working at American Airlines for less than a year when she received devastating news. Her son died. She hadn’t worked long enough to qualify for unpaid family leave, she said. So she decided to quit. “I worked my two-week notice that I barely remember,” she said. And “that’s that.” Bain said … Read more