Greetings, homies! Welcome to our very first newsletter! We’re stoked to be on break with you, and provide some essentials to improve your workday and life.

It’s time to level up while enjoying this byte-sized read 🤓.

GETTING AHEAD

It’s never too early to ask for a promo

Women are promoted WAY LESS than white men SMFH 😤. In 2023, McKinsey found that for every 100 men promoted from entry level to manager, 87 women were promoted, and for women of color, it was only 73.

I’ve promoted many times by doing one simple thing: asking. It’s literally never too early to ask. Okay, but wait, don’t go up to your manager tomorrow and say “promote me.” This is what you should do:

1) Find out when your promotion cycles are. Managers often need to propose their reports for promotion MONTHS before. At my company the promo cycle is April 1st, and by November (5 months prior!!), managers need to submit a promotion request.
Note: if you’re at a startup / smaller co, you may not have set “cycles” but you should still bring up your desire to promote 6+ months ahead of time.

2) Schedule reoccurring 1:1s with your manager (e.g. once per week), and bring up your career development 6+ months before promo submissions. A few days before the meeting message them:

3) During your meeting, WRITE DOWN exactly what your manager states you need to work on, even if it’s totally subjective BS like, “you need to learn to manage up.” For subjective goals, ask specifically how you can work together to hit this. They will probably say, “oh, we can just discuss as needed.” So, make sure you actually discuss and take note of those chats. For objective goals (e.g. grow app MAU by 10%), ask to define a strategy together to help you get there. You should now have sub-goals. Also, do a gut check to ensure it’s attainable. If not, kindly push back!

4) Send them the goals after the meeting in a clear, bulleted format with this note: “Here’s what we discussed. Anything I missed?” Now, you have their confirmation in writing 😏.

5) You have your actionable list! Woo! Now, use a 1:1 each month to discuss where you’re at. Come prepared to the meeting with updates.

6) Fast forward 6+ months. It’s promo submission time. Make sure you have a 1:1 before submissions to ensure you’re good to go. If your manager tries to push back, you have ammo – you wrote down the goals and provided updates every month. If you’ve been on track, why are they pushing back? Challenge them and advocate for yourself!

INCLUSIVITY CORNER

Billie – body products for women that were actually made by a woman *gasp*

Okay, this is a mission I can get behind. Co-founder Georgina Gooley launched Billie because she was one of many women struggling to find a good razor that met women’s unique shaving needs without the “pink tax” – a roughly 7% markup on women’s products. 🤬

Gooley’s company channeled “your body, your choice” branding and energy. Billie is dedicated to body-hair positivity, and aims to break down societal notions regarding women’s choices about managing their body hair. Billie’s products are carefully designed and come at an affordable price (no fricken “pink tax”). And guess what? This company also partners with women-first orgs, like Every Mother Counts, Black Girls Code, etc.

Hats off to Billie and Georgina Gooley.

PERFORMANCE ENHANCERS

Write shit down

I feel like everyone knows that writing with pen and paper helps your memory, but how much does this really help, and when should we really be doing this? It’s not exactly chill to be on a Zoom call, looking down at your notebook, frantically writing the entire time.

How much does it help?
A Japanese study found that during the memory retrieval phase, writing things down is associated with a higher “robust brain activation” when compared to device users. Basically, your brain straight up works better. Folks in the study that wrote stuff down completed a task 25% faster, WOAH.

“Okay, I’m sold. When should I write stuff down?”
First off, don’t be the awkward Zoom person staring down, writing everything. Use pen and paper when you really need to learn or memorize something. For example, I just wrote myself a little note about what a greedy algorithm is 🤑.

FRESH DRIPS

Layer up for winter 🥶 

As a queer girl living in NYC, I aim for stylish without trying too hard. In my humble opinion 😇, my outfits are perfect for wfh, in-office, happy hour, or your next date. Check it:

• Short-sleeve turtleneck (carob brown)
  Why we love it: perfect length, doesn’t wrinkle

• Boxy long-sleeve sweater (black)
  Why we love it: soft AF and we just love boxy

• Straight-leg cords (toasted coconut)
  Why we love it: stretchy and comfy unlike most cords, just the right amount of wide-leg, not too tight on top. And super cool pockets

*We know these may be a little pricey – if so, take a screenshot and use Google Lens to find similar and more affordable options. 🙌

FOCUSED VIBES

Is MØ queer? I’m interested lol

Alright, alright, it’s time to get into focus mode. Check out No Mythologies to Follow by MØ. It’s slower indie pop album with the right amount of mood. This album did not get the hype it deserved, and is perfect for some heads down grind work.

Our personal faves from the album:

• Pilgrim

• Slow Love

• Never Wanna Know

COMIC RELIEF

Let’s harness this energy going into the next promo cycle 🤣

@justwomenssports

Elite defense 🔒 (via unclechaps/TW) ##defense##basketball##hoopstiktok##womensbasketball##funny

And... that’s a wrap! If you liked this newsletter, send it to your homies. If you didn’t like it, then ✌️. Jk, we’d love to know why and what we can do to improve. Cheers and see ya next week 😎!