Career advice for my younger self – Bossing It

In celebration of Women’s History Month, we reached out to inspiring alumnae leaders for their top career advice. Read the key tips they’d share with women who are just starting out:

Shaikha Alothman (BSc 2008)

Shaikha is the Co-founder and Director of Haus, a nonprofit that supports family caregivers in the Arab Gulf. Known as the ‘AgeCare Whisperer,’ she is establishing the foundations of home care and the care economy in the Arab Gulf by advising Kuwait’s Ministry of Health on evidence-based policies, establishing community interventions, and developing AI-powered tools.

Trained in both American and Kuwaiti home care systems, Shaikha is the first Kuwaiti woman named in MIT Technology Review’s ‘Innovators Under 35’ list. Her contributions have been recognised by leading global institutions such as Weill Cornell, MIT, and the U.S. Department of State, as well as by prominent leaders, including Kuwait’s Prime Minister and Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum.

Don’t buy into the disempowerment narrative

My biggest advice is to be mindful of the difference between acknowledgment and acceptance. As an aspiring entrepreneur, I lived on both ends of this spectrum – once never acknowledging gender biases and later allowing them to limit me. And I see this pattern in many of the women I mentor as well, when we talk ourselves out of opportunities that we think we can’t have or be accepted to have. It took me years to notice this pattern!

I urge younger women, and their supporters, to be mindful of this invisible behavioural limitation – that sweet spot is where empowerment is!

Candice Defontaine (BA 2007)

Candice is Head of Philanthropy at UK for UNHCR, where she leads the organisation’s strategy and team for philanthropic fundraising. She has over 15 years’ experience in this area and has worked across a range of issues she is passionate about, including the environment, homelessness, medical research, and refugees.

Embrace failure

Midway through my career, I went for an internal promotion at an organisation I loved working at. Following the interview, I was confident that I had a good chance at securing the role. Turns out I didn’t even make the second stage. The disappointment was crushing.

On the advice of a friend, I decided to embrace this failure as an opportunity. I requested detailed feedback from the panel, found a mentor to help me develop, and I now look back on that period as one of tremendous growth. I’ve carried the lessons from embracing failure throughout my career, from how I manage teams to how I build resilience. Failure doesn’t have to be the end – it can be the door to exciting growth.

Francesca Chang (BSc 2004)

Francesca is a Business Director at Red Bee Creative, working with global TV brands such as Disney+ and NBCUniversal. Her clients at previous advertising agencies include Nike, Timberland, and Diesel. For the past few years, she has been writing fiction in her spare time, and with her agent is looking to publish her two novels. Both touch on themes of culture, identity, food, and generational dynamics.

Take time to find your path

You will have many years of working ahead of you, so use the time after you graduate to explore, travel, test, and see what motivates and gives you joy. Your first job might not be right for you and that’s okay.

I took a career break when I was 30 and went to South America. I used this time to make myself more employable – while travelling, I wrote a blog about advertising and interviewed one of the most respected Brazilian Creative Directors in Sao Paolo. I then took a sabbatical at 40 to finish my first book. I believe a work/life balance can be as much an ambition as running your own business.

Anna Smith (PgDip 1994)

Anna is a well-known film critic and broadcaster. The former President of the UK Critics’ Circle, she is the host and co-founder of Girls On Film, the world’s leading podcast about women in film. Since its first episode in 2018, Girls On Film has welcomed 13 Oscar-winners onto the podcast, been nominated for seven awards, and launched its own annual awards show.

As a writer, Anna is a regular contributor to major publications including Time Out, The Guardian, and Rolling Stone UK. Having been the film expert on many editions of the BBC News Channel Film Review, Anna now appears regularly on Sky News and BBC Radio 4. She has hosted hundreds of on-stage Q&As and film premieres and has been a judge at ceremonies including the BAFTA Film Awards. You can find her on Instagram at @annasmithfilmcritic.

Talk to everyone in the same informal, friendly manner

Early in your career, it’s easy to think that formality and deference are required. While respect is important, people mostly want to work with folks who are fun to chat to, who don’t stick to a script, and who aren’t afraid to be irreverent when it feels natural. This can make you memorable.

I interview a lot of famous women and they always respond to an open smile; an honest, spur-of-the-moment question and a confident bounce. To aid this, make sure your friends are those who help you to be your best self – and vice versa, of course.

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