From lawyer to launching Offscript, Part 1

Lisa Eldridge was partner at a law firm, and then she wasn't (spoiler: she found her way back to the partnership). For decades, she balanced work and life - stepping back from her partnership and raising three kids before once again making partner after racking up 30 years as a corporate litigator.She's a brilliant lawyer, passionate community activist, and long-time champion for more flexible work arrangements in the private legal sector, particularly for women.In this fun, honest conversation we cover a lot of ground: balancing work and life, being paid what you’re worth, advocating for yourself, finding your niche, uplifting other women, and a whole lot more.

Kelsey Creveling is a Founder, Executive Consulting Advisor, Public Speaker, Author, and StartUp Advisor. She's also an advocate for personal and professional wellness (both her own and others') and she's a big believer that the best stuff happens when we get out of our comfort zone and pursue our passions, fearlessly. In this episode, she talks about her professional journey and the power of endurance to help you overcome hardship, take risks, and create a life that makes you happy.

Patty Hester is a jet-setter, a Programme Director, and a 10-year veteran at the National Student Leadership Conference, where she holds half a dozen titles and manages teams literally 12 times bigger than any team I have ever been on, much less been in charge of. She also happens to be my little sister, and in this episode, we sat down to chat about how our careers have played out, and whether we're surprised (or not so surprised) about where each other has landed professionally.

Steph French is a woman who has spent a lot of time working in male-dominated spaces, like construction and tech. Naturally, she has a lot to say about what it's like to build a career in environments that weren't designed to support the growth or progression of women at work. And when it comes to building a career in spite of challenges, she's something of an expert, having raised her daughter while getting her degree and working. In this episode, she shares her experience and talks about everything from the benefits of listening with intent, to her favourite question ("why?"), and how she leaves her work at work (most of the time).

Hillary Lundberg is a University Recruiter at the world's largest company (that'd be Microsoft). And despite managing a talent pool that spans the Americas, her work/life balance has never been better. In this episode, Hillary (not a Boomer) talks about working with Gen Z, setting boundaries at work, prioritising her mental health, and her advice for anyone who's considering a new job or career.

Maryann Bates is a Pulitzer Prize nominated photographer and photojournalist with a career story that would make one helluva good movie. At the height of her career, she locked her cameras in a closet (literally) before eventually finding her way back behind the lens. She's photographed former presidents, athletes, and cultural icons, and she's had a front-row seat to some seriously impressive modern history over the course of her 40 year career. This is her story!

In this special episode, I'm reading an excerpt from "Lawless: An Autobiographical Guide to Professional Rule-breaking," which is a project I've been working on that for reasons unknown even to myself I've decided to share here. "Burn it to the ground" is from the opening chapters and tells the tale of the two ways you can go about getting the job you want. Spoiler: one involves a bit of fire.

Jamie Hill is a communications strategist, public affairs analyst, and community activist with an outrageously impressive work history and a positive attitude that just won't quit. She started her career in government before spending nearly ten years at Google, which she left in 2021. Since then, she's worked in start-ups with BIG missions, like redesigning the way mental health care is provided in America. She's currently a Principal at Shallot Communications in NYC, where she's busy building brands, creating communities, and redefining her approach to work/life balance (a term she thinks it's time to retire).

After arriving from the US to the UK on the first day of the first national COVID lockdown, I spent almost an entire year applying to hundreds (if not thousands) of jobs, with only one callback. In early 2021 I finally made a connection that helped me land a gig as a content writer, and exactly one year later I was hired as the Head of Brand & Content for a business with 175 people. 19 months, 3 clients, and one (very well-timed) lay off later, I decided it was time to go all-in on myself. This is Part 2 of my journey from lawyer to launching Offscript.

Buckle up and take a journey with me back to 2016, when I got fired from legal practice for asking to take a day off. Little did I know that when I left my office and walked the five blocks home with my diplomas in a cardboard box (no, literally) that I would never work as an attorney again. After such a shocking departure from the job I'd spent my entire life preparing to have, I spent almost five years trying to break into a new career, collecting a few thousand rejection emails along the way, before finally picking up some traction in early 2021. This is Part 1 of that journey.