Do you have questions about informational interviews? Do you wonder about how to act on your curiosity, grow your community, find role models, and take control of your own career? Three panelists will cover it all: from ‘why’ to ‘how to,’ sharing both resources and personal testimonials.

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·         Ariel Richardson, a children’s editor at Chronicle Books, will talk mentors and mentees through a ‘how to’ of informational interviews, including thoughts on cultivating and acting on curiosity, forming your own (secret) board of directors you can turn to when you need them, and putting regular reminders in your calendar to ask someone new to coffee, promoting connection. 

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·         Linda Calhoun, founder of Career Girls, will share video resources on the importance of taking initiative to direct your own career and to find your own mentors, as well as talk about the importance of giving back whether you’re just starting your career or established within it, and one way to do so: mentoring younger girls before they enter the job market.

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·         Sam Steele at LinkedIn—but formerly in publishing—will share tips for optimizing your LinkedIn profile for networking, how to prepare for interviews and informational interviews with their interview prep tool, as well as share their abundance of free courses (available until March 31st) on things like interview prep, communication skills, and digital body language. 

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All three panelists will also speak to their own experiences with informational interviews, mentoring, and networking, and how those experiences have helped to grow their careers, or the careers of those they’ve mentored. After the panel, all attendees will receive an email chock full of tangible resources, provided by each panelist, to ensure attendees feel empowered as they embark on their own career journey. 

Ariel Richardson is an Editor in Children's at Chronicle Books in San Francisco. She primarily edits picture books and board books, working on titles like What Color Is Night?, Like the Moon Loves the Sky, and A to Z Menagerie. She loves books with a global perspective, books about religious literacy and intersectionality, books that celebrate the power of the imagination, and books that push the boundaries of traditional bookmaking. She’s a children’s bookseller in her spare time, and has a master’s degree in Children’s Literature from Simmons College.

Linda Calhoun is the founder and executive producer of CareerGirls.org. She is president, Friends of the SF Commission on Women, chair, Board of Directors, Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Foundation,  and chair, International Relations Forum, Commonwealth Club of California. BS, Mass Communication, Boston University; International Marketing Certificate, American University, Paris.

Sam Steele is the Regional Account Executive for the LinkedIn Learning Public Sector.  Previously, she worked at Chronicle Books, and was a co-founder of Publishing the World.

She enjoys connecting the public sector to professional development opportunities.