Scott discusses how both his creative and analytical qualities, leadership and competitive roles in sports, and ability to cope with the word “no” helped him become the successful entrepreneur that he is today. He also talks about his desire to create a meaningful culture in the work environment, through blending work and life on the job, and he gives four key elements that attribute success to entrepreneurs.

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Scott Kerslake is currently the CEO of prAna Living, LLC, a leader in outdoor, yoga and active lifestyle apparel. Prior to prAna, Scott was the President of Miraval Life in Balance™ the number one ranked destination wellness spa and resort in the world (Conde Nast, Spa Finder and Travel & Leisure). Prior to Miraval, Scott was Founder, Chairman and CEO of Athleta Corporation, widely recognized as one of the premier brands in the women’s sports and active markets. Scott was the creator of the Athleta brand, its strategic plan, and internal cultural development. The New York Times, CNN and Chicago Tribune referred to Athleta as one of the most progressive and employee friendly organizations in the U.S. Prior to Athleta, Scott worked in San Francisco, CA and Cambridge, Mass., as a management consultant for Sapient Corporation.
 

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Joseph explains the people oriented aspect of his business, and the challenges of managing multiple competing priorities in business and in his personal life.

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Joseph has been actively involved in the behavioral-health, prevention and wellness industry for over 25 years. In the first 15 years of his career, Joseph accumulated ground-up experience working with well known and respected organizations providing adult, young adult and adolescent treatment services. By serving as program director, VP of operations, COO and CEO, he served at all levels of a therapeutic organization. These companies include Sierra Tucson, Father Martin’s Ashley, AIM House, The Bradford Group, Comprehensive Addictions Program and CompCare. Today, Joseph focuses his energy, and his passion for healthy-living programs, on young adults. He joined forces with his partners Bharat Mitra and Bhavani, the founders of Organic India (an international tea and herb company), to create Insight Intensive. Insight Intensive’s mission and philosophy is that individuals who have experienced many of life’s struggles have great potential for developing the awareness and clarity necessary to move comfortably and confidently towards a life free of disempowering perspectives and self-imposed limitations. The program is founded on the core principles of personal integrity, accountability and empowerment that benefits self and others.
 

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Michael and Gwendolyn focus on creating more time rather than making more money so that they can create an ideal work-life balance.

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Michael Anello

As a Drupal developer, trainer, and consultant, Mike specializes in custom modules, theme integration, and project management. He has worked on dozens Drupal sites including FieldandStream.com and Ozmosis.com, as well as mini-sites for Marriott and JetBlue. Additionally, he has built educational, library, and political web sites with active social communities. He has contributed several Drupal Modules and is an active member of the Drupal community (including being one of the leaders of the Florida Drupal user’s group).His passion for training comes from his constant recruiting of talented designers and themers to master Drupal so his pool of talented collaborators grows with his client base. His aptitude for educating comes from a long history of training that started out when he was a graduate student assistant, teaching engineering courses at Florida Tech to his appointment as an adjunct at the university. Michael’s career began as a research engineer with a nationally-recognized research institution as the lead developer of a widely-used software application for buildings energy research. After nationwide commercial deployment of the software, his reputation for solid planning, attention to detail and fast project turn-around provided demand for his services and the impetus for his consulting career and foray into training.

Gwendolyn Anello

Gwendolyn Anello provides professional consulting in the areas of program development, domestic and international business development, strategies, community and public affairs, and fundraising. She is also an accomplished business and technical writer. Gwendolyn has created millions of dollars in funding streams through market development, sponsorships and grant programs, been instrumental in several product and commercial developments, created scores of successful communications programs, and writes for virtually every form of print and electronic media available. The highly effective public outreach and program development initiatives she develops for diverse organizations throughout the United States are based on her distinctive expertise in economic development, marketing and communications. She has secured more than $30 million in cash and in-kind support from federal and state government agencies, corporations and foundations for business, economic development, education and environmental/energy related projects. She has also been instrumental in developing new markets for a high-profile space tourism company, and conducted successful public communications programs for political issue campaigns and industrial and commercial developments. Before starting her own business in 1995, Anello headed fundraising for several non-profits, and before that was headed media relations and technical publications for Florida Institute of Technology, from which she earlier earned a BS with honors in Technical Communications.

 

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Carol describes how embracing both entrepreneurship and engineering led to her company’s success, and discusses the implications of being a woman in these industries.

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Carol Craig’s role at the Naval Air Warfare Center was the integration of Global Positioning Systems and Cockpit Display development for several Navy and Marine Corps aircraft. Today, she is the founder, president, CEO and CFO of Craig Technologies; a multi-million dollar federally certified 8(a), service-disabled veteran-owned, woman-owned business. Incorporated in 1999 and on track to earn over $20 million in revenue this year, Craig Technologies specializes in systems engineering, project management, infrastructure installation, software design and engineering, research and development, modeling and simulation, training and a myriad of custom technical services.
 

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Angela explains that the compensation package that employees receive is more than just salary. The whole package is more than just a single number.

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Angela begins by urging students to recognize the elements of compensation packages beyond just salary. Other equally important elements in the job offer are benefits, program policies, and office culture. Benefits such as medical insurance, bonuses, and leave policy are crucial in both a fiscal and personal sense. Ask questions such as, “How much medical does the employee pay versus how much medical does the company pay,” “What is the timing of the bonus, “What is the recovery agreement,” and “what types of leave are offered?” Another key factor is if the company has professional development, which includes training for employees, mentoring programs to help develop employees in their careers, and regular feedback for employees on expectations and progress. Finally, office culture is a major part of what a prospective employee should understand. For example, a prospective employee should find out about the dress code and the social environment of the workplace. It is also important to look at gender equality and inclusion: What percent of top executives are women and/or ethnically diverse individuals? Lastly, be sure to understand the firm’s attitude toward mobility if you are interested in working abroad or being able to transfer. Overall, make sure to look at more than simply the base salary: read the fine print and understand the office culture to ensure a job offer is a good fit.

Marlene discusses how to learn about work-life balance at a company during an interview, and why it is important to ask questions during the interview.

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Marlene believes that young professionals must take the time to understand what is most important to them, particularly where work-life balance falls in their own values. Before an interview, do research on the prospective employer such as reading the diversity mission and the work-life statement. At the interview, a student can ask about tools and programs that help employees succeed both at work and in their personal lives. Note that some industries are friendlier to work-life balance. Students can also look at a company’s track record in diversity, demographics, and number of minorities in leadership positions. Students may be worried that asking about work-life balance will reflect poorly on their work ethic. However, Marlene says that this all depends on how the student asks the questions and how much homework they have done on the company. She suggests starting by asking about the company’s vision and mission, and moving on to programs and tools that support them. Work-life balance falls under diversity, and if that is not in the top 5 most important things to the company, that should be a red flag for students.

In this podcast, Sharon Dauk gives advice on career strategies in a tough environment from her perspective as both an executive coach and industry professional. Her unique perspective lets people see what it’s like on both sides of the interview table.

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Tough times can present opportunities, and Sharon suggests that creativity is key. First, try and figure out what you are good at. Even though the big names in investment banking may not be recruiting right now, find other companies that have similar characteristics and seek them out. Networking is very important, and you have to present your value proposition – what are your passions and what will you bring to the table. Sharon believes that hard economic times can increase entrepreneurship. She graduated during a downturn in the economy and ended up starting her own investment firm.
How can a student stand out in an interview? Sharon suggests that you should be yourself and show how you are going to dedicate yourself to making the business successful. Attitude is just as important as skills. Sharon remembers a particularly good interview with a student who asked questions about how their participation would benefit the bigger picture. People are hiring you to do a job for them and achieve something they need. Present yourself as providing a solution to that problem. From a corporate point of view, someone who seems really ready to work is more attractive than someone asking about work-life balance. From Sharon’s experience as a coach, she suggests doing more research outside of the interview to find if the work-life balance would be right for you.

Sharon Dauk gives advice on career strategies in a tough environment from her perspective as both an executive coach and industry professional. Her unique perspective lets people see what it’s like on both sides of the interview table.

To download this podcast, click here
 
Tough times can present opportunities, and Sharon suggests that creativity is key. First, try and figure out what you are good at. Even though the big names in investment banking may not be recruiting right now, find other companies that have similar characteristics and seek them out. Networking is very important, and you have to present your value proposition – what are your passions and what will you bring to the table. Sharon believes that hard economic times can increase entrepreneurship. She graduated during a downturn in the economy and ended up starting her own investment firm.
How can a student stand out in an interview? Sharon suggests that you should be yourself and show how you are going to dedicate yourself to making the business successful. Attitude is just as important as skills. Sharon remembers a particularly good interview with a student who asked questions about how their participation would benefit the bigger picture. People are hiring you to do a job for them and achieve something they need. Present yourself as providing a solution to that problem. From a corporate point of view, someone who seems really ready to work is more attractive than someone asking about work-life balance. From Sharon’s experience as a coach, she suggests doing more research outside of the interview to find if the work-life balance would be right for you.