On April 1, 2021 Union College alumni Kate White ’72 spoke with the Union community about three strategies she believes have worked to propel her and others forward in the workplace. Her talk was titled, “3 Gutsy Strategies For Post-COVID Career Success.” The event was co-sponsored by the Becker Career Center, EON, Women’s Union, the English Department and the GOLD Network. Student Abigail Stack ’21, President of UMarketing led the conversation with White. 

White is a New York Times bestselling author of fifteen novels of suspense which include seven standalone psychological thrillers, including Have You Seen Me? and eight Bailey Weggins mysteries. She also held the role of editor-in-chief at Cosmopolitan magazine for fourteen years. 

The first of her three strategies for the event centered around not buying into the belief that one needs to be one-hundred percent prepared or should wait for the perfect moment in various realms of life. White says, “Opportunities missed are options picked up by others,” and honed in on the notion that if you are one-hundred percent ready, you are probably over-qualified. 

The second strategy was phrased by White as, “go big, break the rules and don’t sit around waiting for someone to give you permission.” She asked viewers to question their ideas with the “4 B’s”: can it be… Better? Bigger? Bolder? Badass? She also encouraged viewers to not wait for permission to do things and make their own decisions.

White finished with the third strategy, “You’ve got to ask for what you want, even if you can come up with a really good reason for why you shouldn’t.” She stressed the importance of asking for what you want regarding salary and terms of agreement. 

Concluding with advice about the importance of handwritten thank you notes and the power of a cover letter, White answered several questions from the audience and shared that her favorite spot on campus used to be the “.