February 6, 2025 • 30 mins
Get ready to level up your job hunt with the latest Let's Talk About It episode!
TJ Lowery and Shatema Gresham drop some serious gems on creating a resume that beats the AI filters and tells your story in a real, authentic way. From making a killer first impression—starting at the front desk—to using positive energy to stand out, they’ll show you how to shine as the next superstar hire. Shatema shares how keeping your resume short and sweet keeps hiring managers hooked, while TJ’s practical tips will help you crush your next career move.
We also dive into how to make diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) feel real and relatable for young undergrads at Arizona State University. TJ brings it home with stories from his own journey into law, inspired by family, mentors, and favorite music artists—from Future to Mary J. Blige. You’ll get a fresh take on how inclusive environments can create real change and build momentum toward a better workplace.
And if you’ve ever wondered how career pivots feel like the rhythm of a great song, you’re in for a treat. TJ opens up about navigating competitive, male-dominated industries with confidence and the freedom that comes from embracing change. It’s all about recognizing your transferable skills and trusting the process.
Tune in for this inspiring convo, and don’t forget to subscribe, like, and follow us for more stories and real talk!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to let's Talk About it, the podcast where we
shine a light on the changeagents and everyday heroes who
shape our communities.
Here we dive deep into thelived experiences of our guests,
exploring the milestone momentsthat have either propelled them
forward or changed their pathsmoments that have either
propelled them forward orchanged their paths.
We anchor every conversation intwo foundational pillars of the
(00:28):
Black community books and music.
Through this unique lens, wecapture, entertain and inform,
weaving a rich tapestry ofstories and insights that
resonate, inspire and sparkmeaningful dialogue.
Join our host, tj Lowry andShatima Grisham, as they engage
with thought leaders andcommunity change agents to
(00:51):
uncover the rich tapestry ofexperiences that shape our lives
.
Get ready for insightfuldiscussions, unfiltered
perspectives and the celebrationof Black excellence.
Let's talk about it of blackexcellence.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Let's talk about it.
Hey everyone, and welcome tolet's Talk About it the podcast.
I'm your girl, tj.
Right back at you for anotherepisode.
I'm so excited to dive intothis episode, but before we do
that, you know I've got tointroduce my fabulous, fabulous
co host, shatima.
(01:25):
How you doing, girl?
Hey, tj, yeah, so what's upwith you lately?
What you got going on, what wedon't have going on?
Speaker 3 (01:32):
in the streets.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
It's always something , what I wanted to share with
the people.
You know we talked about PTMG acouple shows ago.
Um, your forte is recruiting it.
It is, and we are HRpractitioners.
Hit them up with about threetips from a recruiting
standpoint that you would advisefor their resume or for their
(01:53):
job search.
What's your top three tipsyou'd tell them to make sure
that they've got together.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Yes, my sweet spot is talentmanagement recruitment.
I've been doing that for over20 years.
The first thing I wouldprobably say on your resume to
get around AI that the jobyou're seeking needs to be
infiltrated in the resume.
Systems are using some sort ofAI and they're looking for
(02:27):
specific keywords and if thosekeywords are not on the resume
then it's not going to pull upin the search.
So if you want to be a manager,you better put something like
I've managed this process.
If you're looking forconsulting, you need to have
some of those buzzwords in there.
A good trick is take their jobdescriptions and incorporate
some of the words on their jobdescriptions.
Usually the first three bulletpoints on the job descriptions
(02:48):
are their must-haves.
The longer the job descriptionsare, the preferred or, you know
, nice-haves are going to belower.
But the things that they reallywant are usually going to be in
their first three bullet points,and I definitely would take
some of those words and put iton your resume.
Bullet points, and I definitelywould take some of those words
and put it on your resume.
The next thing I always tellpeople is, when you are
(03:12):
interviewing, most hiringmanagers are looking at energy.
So if you can go in there withgood energy, big energy, be
engaged, ask questions, For somereason, as leaders we believe
energy will mimic production andso, even if your resume is not,
you know, very strong or maybea little skinny, if you go in
the interview with good energy,high energy, good morning hello
(03:37):
and engage with them, for somereason we think that that
equates to a superstar hire.
So I tell people to increasetheir energy, make sure their
resume has those keywords inthere.
And then the last tidbit that Itell people is when you are
called in for an interview,speak to that front desk
(03:57):
receptionist person.
They hang out with their hiringmanager all the time.
They see them every morning,they speak to them, and so if
you come in, the interviewstarts when you walk in the
building.
It starts with that personwho's sitting at the desk.
If you engage them and sayhello when you leave, I
guarantee you they're going tobe like that.
Tj was in here.
She was so nice, she told megood morning, she sat there and
(04:20):
spoke to me.
Are you going to hire her?
And we hear that as hiringmanagers.
So I tell people, if you getthe interview, whoever's at that
front desk, whoever welcomesyou in, make sure that you
engage that person and know thatyour interview starts then,
because when they go to thebreak room or they see that
hiring manager later, they'regoing to ask you know about you
coming in here or whateverconversations you have, so don't
(04:41):
take your cell phone calls inthat lobby and things like that.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
I like it.
Those are some good tips.
Now this is the recruiter, thespecialist in talent recruiting
and talent act.
I personally don't like it andI don't like to recruit because
I am an energy person to yourpoint and I feel like that
energy one, um, authenticity isthe highest or vibration of
(05:07):
energy you can feel right.
When people are authentic, wecan feel that.
That's why we want that and alot of times, you know, early on
, I can kind of gauge based ontheir responses, based on what
I've seen, um, and so I don'treally want to go through the
hour and.
I know that's bad, but I justdon't enjoy it as much as I used
(05:28):
to.
I do enjoy the people aspect,but I want to just jump off of
some of those tips.
Your resume is your story.
Right.
It should tell a story aboutwho you are.
Four page resumes I'm notinterested, right?
I really don't care how longyou've been in the industry.
There should be a way that youcan condense that to some solid
(05:49):
information, because now youhave AI, you know to get through
recruiting, You've got talentacts and then you still have me,
the hiring manager, and wedon't want to spend a lot of
time on the resume.
So make it pop out for us quickand easy, because you don't
have to put everything in there.
You'll be able to tell me yourstory, but give me some impact
(06:10):
and make your story really speakto who you are.
So my two is that and keepingit short and then interview.
Learn something about thecompany, right.
When people come in and theyhave never looked us up.
You know, with all the socialspaces people are in, you can go
find the YouTube.
You know you need to know alittle bit about the brand that
(06:33):
you're working for.
I don't need you to knoweverybody, but you should at
least have done a little bit ofhomework.
And then please, please, knowyour compensation strategy right
?
We know what the job is postedfor.
You should also know where youwant to be, and so you should be
able to have a very healthydiscussion about the salary.
(06:54):
I'm not saying make a decisionin the interview, but there
should be a space for you to askand talk about.
You know your desired salary.
So I just wanted to talk alittle bit about some HR resume
and interviewing tips before weget into today's show.
But now drum roll, please.
Who are you introducing?
Speaker 3 (07:15):
us to Shatima, Absolutely, TJ.
Well, I am excited we have awonderful guest today.
Her name is Whitney Harvey, CEOof Gen 38 and the self-coached
lawyer.
She is an esteemed businessstrategist, consultant and
motivational speaker whointegrates legal expertise,
(07:36):
wellness and practice.
And on top of all that let's goover these nice credentials
that she holds she holds herJuris Doctorates from ASU's
University Sandra Day O'ConnorCollege of Law and is pursuing
her doctorate in philosophy andgeneral psychology, with a
specialization in industrial andorganizational psychology.
(07:57):
Welcome to the let's Talk Aboutit podcast, Welcome, welcome.
Thank you, ladies, Thanks forhaving me.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
And looking beautiful as ever Very very appropriately
dressed for today's show, soI'm excited for you to bring
that big, big energy right.
Yes, so one of the thingsbefore we jump in, I do need to
know what is Gen 38?
I've not heard about Gen 38.
So tell us a little bit aboutthat.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
Yeah, so Gen 38 is honestly, you know, I have the
self-coached lawyer for lawyersand legal professionals and I'm
talking about breaking downbarriers and systemic barriers
on the legal side of things andI just found that people were
really gravitating towards thatmessage but they thought, well,
it's only for lawyers.
So I'm like, ok, I need alawyer, another company or
(08:47):
business that really matchesthat same energy for community
advocates, people that are doingcommunity building and you know
a lot of that is happening incorporations.
So Gen 38 was this kind of likebirthing process of me.
In this passionate era of thisis my true passion.
I want to talk about communityhealing and that's where I
(09:07):
really bring the breath work tocommunity events.
So that's where I really bringthe breath work to community
events.
Okay, so that's gen 38.
I do a lot and talk a lot aboutsimilar things, but this is
truly heavy on the healing andI'm leading with healing, not
just burnout love that.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
So we brought you out in June for one of our most
well-attended events, um DEItown hall, which we did
experience some of the work.
I take it that's Gen 38.
And then I also want to knowwhat is your thoughts on DEI now
, with everything that has, Isee the deep inhale.
I need to know, like you gotout in these streets and you
(09:41):
were doing the work explainingabout DEI, telling us why it's
so difficult for them to buy in.
And so now what is yourthoughts on what's happening,
whitney?
Speaker 4 (09:53):
Yeah, you know it's been difficult.
I even found myself like, at theend of you know the summer I
had done a whole round of panelson DEI and by the end of it one
of the last presentations wasliterally me like tearing up up,
getting choked up in the middleof it and I knew I'm like, okay
, this is time for me to take alittle pause, like I use the
(10:16):
summer to really take a breakaway from speaking on those
topics, from immersing in it,because you know that's our
lived experiences.
So then to try to process someof it and talk about it publicly
can be really difficult.
And then I'm teaching a classnow at ASU ASU and the business
law undergraduate program andit's legal aspects of diversity
(10:38):
in the workplace.
So I'm trying to teach that to,you know, 20 to 22 year olds
and that's been anotherchallenge for me of trying to
make it relevant to them.
So you know I don't have likeany pushback really on like that
we see socially around thetopics, but it's more convincing
to the relevancy because theyhaven't had any life experience.
(11:00):
So that's a whole nother level.
But I look at it as anopportunity because there isn't
such this resistance, there's anopen-mindedness around it and
just a curiosity and I can workwith that.
I can work with curiosity, butyou know people being completely
shut down to it.
I don't want to be in thebusiness of convincing.
Yeah so right now, I think mypersonally.
(11:22):
For my mental and emotionalwell-being, I want to go to
spaces where they recognizealready the importance of DEI.
I'm not trying to go intospaces to convince about it
Right.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
You know we were trying to lookat governance around.
You know, ai, to protect thework DEI has done.
We were very concerned that thebias is in there, and so you
know, we really still need topreserve what we have, and so I
like that strategy to stopfocusing on turning people and
(11:55):
focus on those who are alreadythere.
Maybe we can build enough, youknow, momentum in that space to
bring people in.
So really just needed to tapinto that a little bit.
I do want to jump into ouricebreaker call let's um or
let's talk about it, so we'llask you a question and just give
us the answer quick.
(12:15):
First thought that comes tomind um, this one favorite
hip-hop artist.
Who's your favorite hip-hopartist?
future oh okay, controversialover there, love that.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
To piggyback off of that, what's your favorite
hip-hop music video?
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Video, probably, and the song I can't think of, but
with Lil' Kim with the differentwig.
Oh yeah, crush on you Crush onyou.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Yeah, iconic, yes, wait isn't that the one DJ
Envy's daughter did forhalloween, which was
controversial?
She did all her looks she did,and so that was a big old um,
what's the best r&b album of alltime for you?
Um mary j blige oh, I love thatit's one of my favorites.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Yes, we've heard that it's still like a classic you
can play it Start to end.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
I am team Mary.
Yes Pop song that always getsyou dancing.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
Pop song, I would say Britney Spears Toxic.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Ooh Right, toxic, I heard it when you said it no, no
, no.
We won't dance, what's um heavyin rotation on your playlist um
(13:49):
, I like jt from the city girl.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Okay, um, doji.
Who else I like doji?
Yes, for sure she can dance.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
I feel like I'm late to discovering her, but I love
the music, yeah I've justdiscovered her too, so we might
be, but it's never too late,because she'd be out there
getting it yes, she is out there, yes in your opinion, what's
the most underrated artists?
Speaker 3 (14:08):
Ooh.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
You know I'm going to okay twofold.
So, doja Cat, I would saycurrent and then historical.
I was always a BoneThugs-N-Harmony fan.
And I just think they werevisionaries before their time
because I still listen to theirmusic.
I'm like that was so cuttingedge, but they didn't get the
credit.
Yeah, we weren't ready, yeah,we weren't ready.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Yeah.
What is your favorite genre ofmusic?
What's your go-to Hip-hop?
For sure Rap.
I would say Okay.
Speaker 4 (14:41):
So when did you first fall in love with hip-hop?
I would go back to fifth grade.
It was Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
I don't know what my exposurewas, but one of my best friends
in fifth grade.
That bonded us.
We would just stay up all nightplaying the music.
We had our crushes.
She liked Crazy.
Bones I always seem to like theones that are a little
(15:02):
rebellious.
That's our inside Right.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
I like that.
So then speak to that in termsof how you got into your career.
How did you break into yourcareer?
Speaker 4 (15:16):
Yeah, so on the lawyer's side, you know that was
definitely like a seed that wasplanted for my mom.
So it was like law school ormedical school pick one and at
first I thought I was going todo medical school and I don't
know where the shift reallyhappened, but I think it was
just some guidance along the way.
(15:37):
Some teachers, you know I woulddo mock trials and everyone was
like afraid to go up against mein class.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
I love that.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
And one of my teachers in high school it was a
criminal justice class.
He said have you thought aboutgoing to law school?
And at teachers in high schoolit was a criminal justice class,
he said have you thought aboutgoing to law school?
And I'm like yeah, I'm goingback and forth between that and
medical school.
So I think those nudges, thosekind of cues, got me thinking
like this is where I'm going toreally go.
So that's how I got started andI knew that going into college
(16:05):
that was my route, going to lawschool after this.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
All right, right.
So that's the intro to yoursong.
Uh, the song, the sounds ofwhitney.
When did the beat drop in yourcareer?
Speaker 4 (16:17):
when did the beat drop?
You know, probably okay.
So the beat drop, is thatsupposed to be a good thing or
bad?
Speaker 2 (16:24):
so the beat drop.
It follows the first 16 bars ofthe song.
I should have shared this withyou.
It would be that moment whenyour career took off.
When did the beat drop?
Speaker 4 (16:36):
You know, honestly, I feel like it took some time,
and I would say probably Eightor nine years in, and that was
because I had moved around acouple of times.
I had gotten more confident inbeing authentic in my workplace.
I went from a big firm to likesmaller, smaller smaller.
(16:57):
And I was getting more alignedwith the places I wanted to work
in and more confident.
So it was less of the impostersyndrome and more of.
I got this.
I know what I'm doing and I canbe strategic in the way I
navigate the space and the of.
I got this.
I know what I'm doing, yeah,and I can be strategic in the
way I navigate the space and theway I handle my cases did you
feel like firm was morecompetitive versus the small?
Speaker 2 (17:18):
that's what I felt, like this energy of I've got to
compete, so now you are, so theanxiety just increases.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
Then right, absolutely so competitive, um a
little bit like high school too.
You know, they can kind of putyou up against each other they
showed her what everyone'sbillable hours were.
They had a report that gotcirculated.
Oh yeah, uh-huh, you needed tobe on top, you did, and if you
had a bad month, you know nowyou have not just the partners
(17:44):
looking at it, you have yourfriends or peers like, oh okay,
we got her.
Yeah, so not the healthiest ofenvironments, especially, you
know, as my first place I workedor you know, first couple
places.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
So yeah, yeah, never thought about it like that
cutthroat it feels like it yeahwell, what about the verse?
So the verse is the part of thesong that's used to advance the
plot and make up the majorityof the song.
What was the verse on thispersonal soundtrack that we're
talking about?
Speaker 4 (18:18):
Okay, you know well, and I don't know what, the next
part of the song is.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
Maybe, that's not the verse.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
But I think it was during the pandemic, me deciding
that I really wanted to pivotand make this career my own.
I wasn't as afraid to go afterit.
So I was like, okay, I want todo a little bit of practice, but
I want to do some other things.
I want to teach, I want tospeak, you know, and have more
fun with work.
So that was kind of wherethat's what I keep coming back
(18:47):
to Anytime I'm doing things.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
I don't really enjoy.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
I'm like I need to get back to why I have evolved
anyways out of full timepractice.
I want to have fun.
I want to have more enjoyableexperiences in my career.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Can you share some of your most difficult career
challenges and how you navigatedthrough those?
We just talked about some ofthe competitiveness.
I can only imagine it wasmale-dominated.
What were some of those careerchallenges that you have to
navigate through?
Speaker 4 (19:16):
Yeah.
So I would say early on it wasbecause of the competition.
If there was a few of us women,you know, working for a male
partner, everyone's trying tovie for that attention like get
the you know glamour cases, getthe glamour clients.
So there was that.
And then after that I would say, you know, I was always working
(19:41):
in predominantly you know whiteenvironment, so I'm still
trying to navigate, showing upauthentically but not standing
out in a bad way, right.
So I think it was.
You know, when I got to a workenvironment where I had my first
black supervisor, I was superexcited because I'm like, well,
I've never, I've never seen this, especially us both being women
lawyers, and it just wasn't apositive experience.
There was some competitionthere and I think, unfortunately
(20:05):
, I grew a lot through that, butit was very challenging to have
to navigate that.
So that's unfortunate yeah, itwas, and now I look back at it
more with compassion because Isee just kind of that dynamics
of what we were up against.
So I don't think it was like ahurt thing or a me thing, it was
just situational environment.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Yeah, the environment environment and that's what we
have to remember when we aregoing through our lived
experience.
Our environment is going toimpact us, good or bad, and even
in that case, I'm sure outsideof work it would have been a
different dynamic, but in thatspace, being two black women and
all the yes we can only imagine.
(20:43):
So let's talk about the chorus.
It's the heart of the song.
It captures the main messageand the emotional essence.
It's the part most peopleremember and sing along to.
When you think about yourcareer, what has been the core
message and also your personallife, your core message in your
career and personal life.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Yeah, definitely not being afraid to pivot, like
don't being afraid to pivot,like don't be afraid to pivot.
I think a lot of times we, youknow, make decisions based on
information we have at the time,and we can always change our
mind, and I think I had to.
That's the core thing I've done.
You know, at first, when I wasworking with a lot of firms, I
(21:25):
was moving around pivoting, youknow, in work environments,
different practice areas.
Then I pivoted toentrepreneurship.
So then it was like okay, howdo I navigate this?
I've never been an entrepreneur, never desired it, didn't have
any entrepreneurs in myimmediate family.
So now I'm trying to figurethat out.
So you know, I think it's justalways being like I can change
(21:48):
my mind, it's okay and theskills are transferable.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Absolutely yeah, yeah .
Speaker 4 (21:54):
So you're not really starting over.
You're starting over, butyou're not really starting over.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
And you're only expanding right.
When you've done this and nowyou've done this, you're
transferring those skills, butas a person, you're expanding
your experience, and so I lovethat.
You also have the supportsystem to help you navigate that
.
I know your mom introduced ussaying you need to get out here
and meet people, and you knowwe've been hitting it off since.
(22:17):
We need to get our lunch daterescheduled, but it's a good,
good thing for us to know it'sokay to pivot right.
That pandemic too.
That was a pivot for Shatima,oh yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Yeah, the you know and I was thinking when you were
talking, being an entrepreneurmyself.
You know I have to remindmyself, I can make the rules,
you know.
So you're used to living andexecuting for someone else and
you know there was some SOP orstandard work.
Or you know, you've been kindof preconditioned to do this,
this, this, and then I'm like,well, hold on, you don't have to
start working until 10.
(22:50):
You don't have to wake up anddo this first, or, you know, do
that, you can make the rules,and that what that grind looks
like for you may be different,and it doesn't mean that it's
not right, right, so I candefinitely appreciate that.
And then I also, you know, oneof the biggest lessons I think
I've learned as an entrepreneuris you got to figure it out.
(23:11):
So, even though those skillsare transferable, you're tapping
into different aspects of thoseskills.
Right of negotiation, you know,reviewing the contracts,
networking looks a littledifferent as an entrepreneur, as
it did in other spaces.
Speaker 4 (23:25):
So I definitely can relate to that being kind of
that pivot and and continuallypivoting for sure, yeah, and
like the biggest challenge, Ithink, coming from corporate to
entrepreneurship is in corporatewe have more resources.
Right, you're working for this,this organization, and you know
you can print all you want anddo all these things, and when
(23:45):
it's on you and your dime it's,it looks very different, right?
Where's that qr code?
Speaker 2 (23:51):
well, it's you then, being in the restaurant as the
host, the waitress, the chef.
You go cook it, come serve it.
You know that's the differencebetween entrepreneurial, but you
get it done.
You know, to shatima's point,you shift and make it happen so.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
So the final piece of the soundtrack is the bridge.
The bridge helps break up therepetitiveness of the song.
It adds an element of surprise,often presenting a new angle to
the main idea.
What is the bridge to your song?
Speaker 4 (24:20):
Ooh.
So I would say I know we'vekind of talked about it a little
bit, but it's now me really,you know, starting to disconnect
more and more from just thatlawyer identity side and show
more of that black woman side.
And that's where you know,doing gen 38, doing community
breathwork events where we havehip-hop music, you lay down on a
(24:44):
mask, you're on a mat, put onyour eye mask and like have some
breathwork release around.
Hip-hop music is anunconventional right.
And then us like going on atour to do it city to city is
something that I don't thinkanybody saw coming for me and
I'm like why are you doing this?
I'm like I don't know I'm justjust where my heart is leading
me to go and having fun with it,and we're gonna turn it into
(25:08):
you hopefully being at musicfestivals, having you know yoga
instructors, like doing anelement of twerk you know to,
like twerk workshops in it, justreally like full body, like
embodiment for women, confidence, empowerment.
That's really where I'm headed,so I think that that's where
people are.
Didn't see that coming, butit's really at the top of my
(25:30):
focus right now.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
I would be in there dancing some hip hop breath work
.
Well, if they can do yoga withpigs and surely you can do, you
know, breathing with hip hop.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Absolutely.
I hear you saying I'm more thanjust a lawyer.
You know I'm more than just andI love that for you, you know,
just being able to express allthose things inside you want to
do, you want to be.
But look what is given to thecommunity.
I think that's where yourreturns going to come back and
you'll just be keep doing itbecause you love it and people
(26:05):
are being.
You know they're gettingsomething from that, so I love
that.
It's inspiring, it's communitychange agent.
So, um, what is the song, yourgo-to song, whitney, that helps
push you through those toughtimes?
Or, like in my case, when I'mready to go in and to work and I
know it's going to be war?
What's that go-to song for youthat you're gonna put on?
Speaker 4 (26:29):
um, you know I like right now it's a song by future
called crushed up and it's notheavy on the like war music, but
it's just very.
There's a lot of metaphors inthere and it's really about
envisioning and manifestationand like that's really where I'm
headed.
I've used to view manifestationin a very different way of like
(26:53):
just sit and wait, like okay, Iwant to manifest this, but
there is some activity around it.
Like you don't have to likehustle the hardest and you know
it doesn't have to look likeburnout, but you have to get
clear on what you want and thenyou have to make action towards
that, and so that song to me isreally inspiring for that.
So, even if you're going intothis work environment or a place
(27:16):
that you don't currently wantto be in, you're envisioning
what the ultimate goal is andhow you're going to get out of
there, so that's one of myfavorites what's the name of it?
Speaker 2 (27:26):
again, crushed up, crushed up.
All right, so it'll help us setour intentions when we're
manifesting and then move intoaction.
All right.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Love Future Crushed Up I know, I'm hearing it.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
We got to check out more Future.
I know.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
Who'd have thought.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Full of surprises.
Whitney said Right.
Whitney said Whitney said it.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
Whitney said it.
What album would you recommendfor our guests to listen to?
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Ooh, a start to finish, like if they haven't
already Start to finish.
We want to hear all of it.
Speaker 4 (27:59):
You know that is a good question.
I still love Chronic 2000 by DrDre.
Yeah, like.
That's one that I probably like.
That's what I'm trying to thinkof the last album, I mean West
Coast Baby over there.
Speaker 3 (28:13):
Yes, yes.
Speaker 4 (28:14):
And I'm sure there's some after that.
But that was like boom where mybrain went to of.
Even now I can hear it and I'mlike I love this Right, love
this song.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Love that, we'll take that West Coast.
So, this has been such a greatconversation.
The inspiration I mean I'mfeeling it.
I'm hoping the audience isgetting that too.
You are doing your thing outthere.
Tell everybody where they canfind you on social Whitney.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
Yeah, so thank you.
I love being here.
It's always so good to see you.
If you want to further connect,I'm on Instagram,
whitneymharveyesq, and I'm also,you know, on LinkedIn as well,
but you can find me on my othersocials for Instagram, on Gen 38
.
That's really what's going tobe taken off in the future.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Gen 38.
I'll make sure I follow.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Absolutely Well.
Thank you so much, Whitney.
It's always our pleasurehanging out with you here.
We're so glad that you tooksome time to give us some pearls
to think about, and we hopethat the viewers had a great
time listening to you as well,Thank you.
Thanks for having me Once again.
I'm Shatima Gresham.
I am the CEO of Procure TalentManagement Group.
(29:18):
We specialize in talentmanagement.
I'm also the VP of professionaldevelopment and membership with
the Black HR Society.
You can find Procure onInstagram, Facebook and LinkedIn
, and you can also find me atshatimawewantatalkaboutitcom.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
I'm Twani Vaughn, also known as TJ Laurie.
We want to thank you forjoining us.
We also want to thank oursponsor, the Black HR Society,
for making a meaningfuldifference in the lives of Black
HR professionals here in theValley difference in the lives
of black HR professionals herein the Valley.
You can find the black HRsociety on all social social
platforms at the black HRsociety, find us on IgE at black
(29:57):
HR society.
If you want to reach out to me,you want to be a sponsor, you
want to be on the show or youknow someone who'd make a great
guest, you can email me, TJ, at.
We want to talk about itcom,because we do.
We want to talk about it withyou.
We're so glad you came andjoined us today.
We look forward to you comingon back next time.
(30:18):
Until then, bye, bye, bye.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Thank you for tuning into let's Talk About it the
podcast.
We hope you enjoyed today'sconversation and found
inspiration in the stories andexperiences shared.
We trust that you wereentertained, learned something
new and felt inspired by today'sshow.
Be sure to subscribe, like,follow, share and join us for
(30:43):
the next episode.
Until then, keep theconversation going and let's
keep talking about it.
Welcome to let's Talk About it, the podcast where we
shine a light on the changeagents and everyday heroes who
shape our communities.
Here we dive deep into thelived experiences of our guests,
exploring the milestone momentsthat have either propelled them
forward or changed their pathsmoments that have either
propelled them forward orchanged their paths.
We anchor every conversation intwo foundational pillars of the
(00:28):
Black community books and music.
Through this unique lens, wecapture, entertain and inform,
weaving a rich tapestry ofstories and insights that
resonate, inspire and sparkmeaningful dialogue.
Join our host, tj Lowry andShatima Grisham, as they engage
with thought leaders andcommunity change agents to
(00:51):
uncover the rich tapestry ofexperiences that shape our lives
.
Get ready for insightfuldiscussions, unfiltered
perspectives and the celebrationof Black excellence.
Let's talk about it of blackexcellence.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Let's talk about it.
Hey everyone, and welcome tolet's Talk About it the podcast.
I'm your girl, tj.
Right back at you for anotherepisode.
I'm so excited to dive intothis episode, but before we do
that, you know I've got tointroduce my fabulous, fabulous
co host, shatima.
(01:25):
How you doing, girl?
Hey, tj, yeah, so what's upwith you lately?
What you got going on, what wedon't have going on?
Speaker 3 (01:32):
in the streets.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
It's always something , what I wanted to share with
the people.
You know we talked about PTMG acouple shows ago.
Um, your forte is recruiting it.
It is, and we are HRpractitioners.
Hit them up with about threetips from a recruiting
standpoint that you would advisefor their resume or for their
(01:53):
job search.
What's your top three tipsyou'd tell them to make sure
that they've got together.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Yes, my sweet spot is talentmanagement recruitment.
I've been doing that for over20 years.
The first thing I wouldprobably say on your resume to
get around AI that the jobyou're seeking needs to be
infiltrated in the resume.
Systems are using some sort ofAI and they're looking for
(02:27):
specific keywords and if thosekeywords are not on the resume
then it's not going to pull upin the search.
So if you want to be a manager,you better put something like
I've managed this process.
If you're looking forconsulting, you need to have
some of those buzzwords in there.
A good trick is take their jobdescriptions and incorporate
some of the words on their jobdescriptions.
Usually the first three bulletpoints on the job descriptions
(02:48):
are their must-haves.
The longer the job descriptionsare, the preferred or, you know
, nice-haves are going to belower.
But the things that they reallywant are usually going to be in
their first three bullet points,and I definitely would take
some of those words and put iton your resume.
Bullet points, and I definitelywould take some of those words
and put it on your resume.
The next thing I always tellpeople is, when you are
(03:12):
interviewing, most hiringmanagers are looking at energy.
So if you can go in there withgood energy, big energy, be
engaged, ask questions, For somereason, as leaders we believe
energy will mimic production andso, even if your resume is not,
you know, very strong or maybea little skinny, if you go in
the interview with good energy,high energy, good morning hello
(03:37):
and engage with them, for somereason we think that that
equates to a superstar hire.
So I tell people to increasetheir energy, make sure their
resume has those keywords inthere.
And then the last tidbit that Itell people is when you are
called in for an interview,speak to that front desk
(03:57):
receptionist person.
They hang out with their hiringmanager all the time.
They see them every morning,they speak to them, and so if
you come in, the interviewstarts when you walk in the
building.
It starts with that personwho's sitting at the desk.
If you engage them and sayhello when you leave, I
guarantee you they're going tobe like that.
Tj was in here.
She was so nice, she told megood morning, she sat there and
(04:20):
spoke to me.
Are you going to hire her?
And we hear that as hiringmanagers.
So I tell people, if you getthe interview, whoever's at that
front desk, whoever welcomesyou in, make sure that you
engage that person and know thatyour interview starts then,
because when they go to thebreak room or they see that
hiring manager later, they'regoing to ask you know about you
coming in here or whateverconversations you have, so don't
(04:41):
take your cell phone calls inthat lobby and things like that.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
I like it.
Those are some good tips.
Now this is the recruiter, thespecialist in talent recruiting
and talent act.
I personally don't like it andI don't like to recruit because
I am an energy person to yourpoint and I feel like that
energy one, um, authenticity isthe highest or vibration of
(05:07):
energy you can feel right.
When people are authentic, wecan feel that.
That's why we want that and alot of times, you know, early on
, I can kind of gauge based ontheir responses, based on what
I've seen, um, and so I don'treally want to go through the
hour and.
I know that's bad, but I justdon't enjoy it as much as I used
(05:28):
to.
I do enjoy the people aspect,but I want to just jump off of
some of those tips.
Your resume is your story.
Right.
It should tell a story aboutwho you are.
Four page resumes I'm notinterested, right?
I really don't care how longyou've been in the industry.
There should be a way that youcan condense that to some solid
(05:49):
information, because now youhave AI, you know to get through
recruiting, You've got talentacts and then you still have me,
the hiring manager, and wedon't want to spend a lot of
time on the resume.
So make it pop out for us quickand easy, because you don't
have to put everything in there.
You'll be able to tell me yourstory, but give me some impact
(06:10):
and make your story really speakto who you are.
So my two is that and keepingit short and then interview.
Learn something about thecompany, right.
When people come in and theyhave never looked us up.
You know, with all the socialspaces people are in, you can go
find the YouTube.
You know you need to know alittle bit about the brand that
(06:33):
you're working for.
I don't need you to knoweverybody, but you should at
least have done a little bit ofhomework.
And then please, please, knowyour compensation strategy right
?
We know what the job is postedfor.
You should also know where youwant to be, and so you should be
able to have a very healthydiscussion about the salary.
(06:54):
I'm not saying make a decisionin the interview, but there
should be a space for you to askand talk about.
You know your desired salary.
So I just wanted to talk alittle bit about some HR resume
and interviewing tips before weget into today's show.
But now drum roll, please.
Who are you introducing?
Speaker 3 (07:15):
us to Shatima, Absolutely, TJ.
Well, I am excited we have awonderful guest today.
Her name is Whitney Harvey, CEOof Gen 38 and the self-coached
lawyer.
She is an esteemed businessstrategist, consultant and
motivational speaker whointegrates legal expertise,
(07:36):
wellness and practice.
And on top of all that let's goover these nice credentials
that she holds she holds herJuris Doctorates from ASU's
University Sandra Day O'ConnorCollege of Law and is pursuing
her doctorate in philosophy andgeneral psychology, with a
specialization in industrial andorganizational psychology.
(07:57):
Welcome to the let's Talk Aboutit podcast, Welcome, welcome.
Thank you, ladies, Thanks forhaving me.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
And looking beautiful as ever Very very appropriately
dressed for today's show, soI'm excited for you to bring
that big, big energy right.
Yes, so one of the thingsbefore we jump in, I do need to
know what is Gen 38?
I've not heard about Gen 38.
So tell us a little bit aboutthat.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
Yeah, so Gen 38 is honestly, you know, I have the
self-coached lawyer for lawyersand legal professionals and I'm
talking about breaking downbarriers and systemic barriers
on the legal side of things andI just found that people were
really gravitating towards thatmessage but they thought, well,
it's only for lawyers.
So I'm like, ok, I need alawyer, another company or
(08:47):
business that really matchesthat same energy for community
advocates, people that are doingcommunity building and you know
a lot of that is happening incorporations.
So Gen 38 was this kind of likebirthing process of me.
In this passionate era of thisis my true passion.
I want to talk about communityhealing and that's where I
(09:07):
really bring the breath work tocommunity events.
So that's where I really bringthe breath work to community
events.
Okay, so that's gen 38.
I do a lot and talk a lot aboutsimilar things, but this is
truly heavy on the healing andI'm leading with healing, not
just burnout love that.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
So we brought you out in June for one of our most
well-attended events, um DEItown hall, which we did
experience some of the work.
I take it that's Gen 38.
And then I also want to knowwhat is your thoughts on DEI now
, with everything that has, Isee the deep inhale.
I need to know, like you gotout in these streets and you
(09:41):
were doing the work explainingabout DEI, telling us why it's
so difficult for them to buy in.
And so now what is yourthoughts on what's happening,
whitney?
Speaker 4 (09:53):
Yeah, you know it's been difficult.
I even found myself like, at theend of you know the summer I
had done a whole round of panelson DEI and by the end of it one
of the last presentations wasliterally me like tearing up up,
getting choked up in the middleof it and I knew I'm like, okay
, this is time for me to take alittle pause, like I use the
(10:16):
summer to really take a breakaway from speaking on those
topics, from immersing in it,because you know that's our
lived experiences.
So then to try to process someof it and talk about it publicly
can be really difficult.
And then I'm teaching a classnow at ASU ASU and the business
law undergraduate program andit's legal aspects of diversity
(10:38):
in the workplace.
So I'm trying to teach that to,you know, 20 to 22 year olds
and that's been anotherchallenge for me of trying to
make it relevant to them.
So you know I don't have likeany pushback really on like that
we see socially around thetopics, but it's more convincing
to the relevancy because theyhaven't had any life experience.
(11:00):
So that's a whole nother level.
But I look at it as anopportunity because there isn't
such this resistance, there's anopen-mindedness around it and
just a curiosity and I can workwith that.
I can work with curiosity, butyou know people being completely
shut down to it.
I don't want to be in thebusiness of convincing.
Yeah so right now, I think mypersonally.
(11:22):
For my mental and emotionalwell-being, I want to go to
spaces where they recognizealready the importance of DEI.
I'm not trying to go intospaces to convince about it
Right.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
You know we were trying to lookat governance around.
You know, ai, to protect thework DEI has done.
We were very concerned that thebias is in there, and so you
know, we really still need topreserve what we have, and so I
like that strategy to stopfocusing on turning people and
(11:55):
focus on those who are alreadythere.
Maybe we can build enough, youknow, momentum in that space to
bring people in.
So really just needed to tapinto that a little bit.
I do want to jump into ouricebreaker call let's um or
let's talk about it, so we'llask you a question and just give
us the answer quick.
(12:15):
First thought that comes tomind um, this one favorite
hip-hop artist.
Who's your favorite hip-hopartist?
future oh okay, controversialover there, love that.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
To piggyback off of that, what's your favorite
hip-hop music video?
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Video, probably, and the song I can't think of, but
with Lil' Kim with the differentwig.
Oh yeah, crush on you Crush onyou.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Yeah, iconic, yes, wait isn't that the one DJ
Envy's daughter did forhalloween, which was
controversial?
She did all her looks she did,and so that was a big old um,
what's the best r&b album of alltime for you?
Um mary j blige oh, I love thatit's one of my favorites.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Yes, we've heard that it's still like a classic you
can play it Start to end.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
I am team Mary.
Yes Pop song that always getsyou dancing.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
Pop song, I would say Britney Spears Toxic.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Ooh Right, toxic, I heard it when you said it no, no
, no.
We won't dance, what's um heavyin rotation on your playlist um
(13:49):
, I like jt from the city girl.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Okay, um, doji.
Who else I like doji?
Yes, for sure she can dance.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
I feel like I'm late to discovering her, but I love
the music, yeah I've justdiscovered her too, so we might
be, but it's never too late,because she'd be out there
getting it yes, she is out there, yes in your opinion, what's
the most underrated artists?
Speaker 3 (14:08):
Ooh.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
You know I'm going to okay twofold.
So, doja Cat, I would saycurrent and then historical.
I was always a BoneThugs-N-Harmony fan.
And I just think they werevisionaries before their time
because I still listen to theirmusic.
I'm like that was so cuttingedge, but they didn't get the
credit.
Yeah, we weren't ready, yeah,we weren't ready.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Yeah.
What is your favorite genre ofmusic?
What's your go-to Hip-hop?
For sure Rap.
I would say Okay.
Speaker 4 (14:41):
So when did you first fall in love with hip-hop?
I would go back to fifth grade.
It was Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
I don't know what my exposurewas, but one of my best friends
in fifth grade.
That bonded us.
We would just stay up all nightplaying the music.
We had our crushes.
She liked Crazy.
Bones I always seem to like theones that are a little
(15:02):
rebellious.
That's our inside Right.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
I like that.
So then speak to that in termsof how you got into your career.
How did you break into yourcareer?
Speaker 4 (15:16):
Yeah, so on the lawyer's side, you know that was
definitely like a seed that wasplanted for my mom.
So it was like law school ormedical school pick one and at
first I thought I was going todo medical school and I don't
know where the shift reallyhappened, but I think it was
just some guidance along the way.
(15:37):
Some teachers, you know I woulddo mock trials and everyone was
like afraid to go up against mein class.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
I love that.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
And one of my teachers in high school it was a
criminal justice class.
He said have you thought aboutgoing to law school?
And at teachers in high schoolit was a criminal justice class,
he said have you thought aboutgoing to law school?
And I'm like yeah, I'm goingback and forth between that and
medical school.
So I think those nudges, thosekind of cues, got me thinking
like this is where I'm going toreally go.
So that's how I got started andI knew that going into college
(16:05):
that was my route, going to lawschool after this.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
All right, right.
So that's the intro to yoursong.
Uh, the song, the sounds ofwhitney.
When did the beat drop in yourcareer?
Speaker 4 (16:17):
when did the beat drop?
You know, probably okay.
So the beat drop, is thatsupposed to be a good thing or
bad?
Speaker 2 (16:24):
so the beat drop.
It follows the first 16 bars ofthe song.
I should have shared this withyou.
It would be that moment whenyour career took off.
When did the beat drop?
Speaker 4 (16:36):
You know, honestly, I feel like it took some time,
and I would say probably Eightor nine years in, and that was
because I had moved around acouple of times.
I had gotten more confident inbeing authentic in my workplace.
I went from a big firm to likesmaller, smaller smaller.
(16:57):
And I was getting more alignedwith the places I wanted to work
in and more confident.
So it was less of the impostersyndrome and more of.
I got this.
I know what I'm doing and I canbe strategic in the way I
navigate the space and the of.
I got this.
I know what I'm doing, yeah,and I can be strategic in the
way I navigate the space and theway I handle my cases did you
feel like firm was morecompetitive versus the small?
Speaker 2 (17:18):
that's what I felt, like this energy of I've got to
compete, so now you are, so theanxiety just increases.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
Then right, absolutely so competitive, um a
little bit like high school too.
You know, they can kind of putyou up against each other they
showed her what everyone'sbillable hours were.
They had a report that gotcirculated.
Oh yeah, uh-huh, you needed tobe on top, you did, and if you
had a bad month, you know nowyou have not just the partners
(17:44):
looking at it, you have yourfriends or peers like, oh okay,
we got her.
Yeah, so not the healthiest ofenvironments, especially, you
know, as my first place I workedor you know, first couple
places.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
So yeah, yeah, never thought about it like that
cutthroat it feels like it yeahwell, what about the verse?
So the verse is the part of thesong that's used to advance the
plot and make up the majorityof the song.
What was the verse on thispersonal soundtrack that we're
talking about?
Speaker 4 (18:18):
Okay, you know well, and I don't know what, the next
part of the song is.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
Maybe, that's not the verse.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
But I think it was during the pandemic, me deciding
that I really wanted to pivotand make this career my own.
I wasn't as afraid to go afterit.
So I was like, okay, I want todo a little bit of practice, but
I want to do some other things.
I want to teach, I want tospeak, you know, and have more
fun with work.
So that was kind of wherethat's what I keep coming back
(18:47):
to Anytime I'm doing things.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
I don't really enjoy.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
I'm like I need to get back to why I have evolved
anyways out of full timepractice.
I want to have fun.
I want to have more enjoyableexperiences in my career.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Can you share some of your most difficult career
challenges and how you navigatedthrough those?
We just talked about some ofthe competitiveness.
I can only imagine it wasmale-dominated.
What were some of those careerchallenges that you have to
navigate through?
Speaker 4 (19:16):
Yeah.
So I would say early on it wasbecause of the competition.
If there was a few of us women,you know, working for a male
partner, everyone's trying tovie for that attention like get
the you know glamour cases, getthe glamour clients.
So there was that.
And then after that I would say, you know, I was always working
(19:41):
in predominantly you know whiteenvironment, so I'm still
trying to navigate, showing upauthentically but not standing
out in a bad way, right.
So I think it was.
You know, when I got to a workenvironment where I had my first
black supervisor, I was superexcited because I'm like, well,
I've never, I've never seen this, especially us both being women
lawyers, and it just wasn't apositive experience.
There was some competitionthere and I think, unfortunately
(20:05):
, I grew a lot through that, butit was very challenging to have
to navigate that.
So that's unfortunate yeah, itwas, and now I look back at it
more with compassion because Isee just kind of that dynamics
of what we were up against.
So I don't think it was like ahurt thing or a me thing, it was
just situational environment.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Yeah, the environment environment and that's what we
have to remember when we aregoing through our lived
experience.
Our environment is going toimpact us, good or bad, and even
in that case, I'm sure outsideof work it would have been a
different dynamic, but in thatspace, being two black women and
all the yes we can only imagine.
(20:43):
So let's talk about the chorus.
It's the heart of the song.
It captures the main messageand the emotional essence.
It's the part most peopleremember and sing along to.
When you think about yourcareer, what has been the core
message and also your personallife, your core message in your
career and personal life.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Yeah, definitely not being afraid to pivot, like
don't being afraid to pivot,like don't be afraid to pivot.
I think a lot of times we, youknow, make decisions based on
information we have at the time,and we can always change our
mind, and I think I had to.
That's the core thing I've done.
You know, at first, when I wasworking with a lot of firms, I
(21:25):
was moving around pivoting, youknow, in work environments,
different practice areas.
Then I pivoted toentrepreneurship.
So then it was like okay, howdo I navigate this?
I've never been an entrepreneur, never desired it, didn't have
any entrepreneurs in myimmediate family.
So now I'm trying to figurethat out.
So you know, I think it's justalways being like I can change
(21:48):
my mind, it's okay and theskills are transferable.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Absolutely yeah, yeah .
Speaker 4 (21:54):
So you're not really starting over.
You're starting over, butyou're not really starting over.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
And you're only expanding right.
When you've done this and nowyou've done this, you're
transferring those skills, butas a person, you're expanding
your experience, and so I lovethat.
You also have the supportsystem to help you navigate that
.
I know your mom introduced ussaying you need to get out here
and meet people, and you knowwe've been hitting it off since.
(22:17):
We need to get our lunch daterescheduled, but it's a good,
good thing for us to know it'sokay to pivot right.
That pandemic too.
That was a pivot for Shatima,oh yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Yeah, the you know and I was thinking when you were
talking, being an entrepreneurmyself.
You know I have to remindmyself, I can make the rules,
you know.
So you're used to living andexecuting for someone else and
you know there was some SOP orstandard work.
Or you know, you've been kindof preconditioned to do this,
this, this, and then I'm like,well, hold on, you don't have to
start working until 10.
(22:50):
You don't have to wake up anddo this first, or, you know, do
that, you can make the rules,and that what that grind looks
like for you may be different,and it doesn't mean that it's
not right, right, so I candefinitely appreciate that.
And then I also, you know, oneof the biggest lessons I think
I've learned as an entrepreneuris you got to figure it out.
(23:11):
So, even though those skillsare transferable, you're tapping
into different aspects of thoseskills.
Right of negotiation, you know,reviewing the contracts,
networking looks a littledifferent as an entrepreneur, as
it did in other spaces.
Speaker 4 (23:25):
So I definitely can relate to that being kind of
that pivot and and continuallypivoting for sure, yeah, and
like the biggest challenge, Ithink, coming from corporate to
entrepreneurship is in corporatewe have more resources.
Right, you're working for this,this organization, and you know
you can print all you want anddo all these things, and when
(23:45):
it's on you and your dime it's,it looks very different, right?
Where's that qr code?
Speaker 2 (23:51):
well, it's you then, being in the restaurant as the
host, the waitress, the chef.
You go cook it, come serve it.
You know that's the differencebetween entrepreneurial, but you
get it done.
You know, to shatima's point,you shift and make it happen so.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
So the final piece of the soundtrack is the bridge.
The bridge helps break up therepetitiveness of the song.
It adds an element of surprise,often presenting a new angle to
the main idea.
What is the bridge to your song?
Speaker 4 (24:20):
Ooh.
So I would say I know we'vekind of talked about it a little
bit, but it's now me really,you know, starting to disconnect
more and more from just thatlawyer identity side and show
more of that black woman side.
And that's where you know,doing gen 38, doing community
breathwork events where we havehip-hop music, you lay down on a
(24:44):
mask, you're on a mat, put onyour eye mask and like have some
breathwork release around.
Hip-hop music is anunconventional right.
And then us like going on atour to do it city to city is
something that I don't thinkanybody saw coming for me and
I'm like why are you doing this?
I'm like I don't know I'm justjust where my heart is leading
me to go and having fun with it,and we're gonna turn it into
(25:08):
you hopefully being at musicfestivals, having you know yoga
instructors, like doing anelement of twerk you know to,
like twerk workshops in it, justreally like full body, like
embodiment for women, confidence, empowerment.
That's really where I'm headed,so I think that that's where
people are.
Didn't see that coming, butit's really at the top of my
(25:30):
focus right now.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
I would be in there dancing some hip hop breath work
.
Well, if they can do yoga withpigs and surely you can do, you
know, breathing with hip hop.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Absolutely.
I hear you saying I'm more thanjust a lawyer.
You know I'm more than just andI love that for you, you know,
just being able to express allthose things inside you want to
do, you want to be.
But look what is given to thecommunity.
I think that's where yourreturns going to come back and
you'll just be keep doing itbecause you love it and people
(26:05):
are being.
You know they're gettingsomething from that, so I love
that.
It's inspiring, it's communitychange agent.
So, um, what is the song, yourgo-to song, whitney, that helps
push you through those toughtimes?
Or, like in my case, when I'mready to go in and to work and I
know it's going to be war?
What's that go-to song for youthat you're gonna put on?
Speaker 4 (26:29):
um, you know I like right now it's a song by future
called crushed up and it's notheavy on the like war music, but
it's just very.
There's a lot of metaphors inthere and it's really about
envisioning and manifestationand like that's really where I'm
headed.
I've used to view manifestationin a very different way of like
(26:53):
just sit and wait, like okay, Iwant to manifest this, but
there is some activity around it.
Like you don't have to likehustle the hardest and you know
it doesn't have to look likeburnout, but you have to get
clear on what you want and thenyou have to make action towards
that, and so that song to me isreally inspiring for that.
So, even if you're going intothis work environment or a place
(27:16):
that you don't currently wantto be in, you're envisioning
what the ultimate goal is andhow you're going to get out of
there, so that's one of myfavorites what's the name of it?
Speaker 2 (27:26):
again, crushed up, crushed up.
All right, so it'll help us setour intentions when we're
manifesting and then move intoaction.
All right.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Love Future Crushed Up I know, I'm hearing it.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
We got to check out more Future.
I know.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
Who'd have thought.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Full of surprises.
Whitney said Right.
Whitney said Whitney said it.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
Whitney said it.
What album would you recommendfor our guests to listen to?
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Ooh, a start to finish, like if they haven't
already Start to finish.
We want to hear all of it.
Speaker 4 (27:59):
You know that is a good question.
I still love Chronic 2000 by DrDre.
Yeah, like.
That's one that I probably like.
That's what I'm trying to thinkof the last album, I mean West
Coast Baby over there.
Speaker 3 (28:13):
Yes, yes.
Speaker 4 (28:14):
And I'm sure there's some after that.
But that was like boom where mybrain went to of.
Even now I can hear it and I'mlike I love this Right, love
this song.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Love that, we'll take that West Coast.
So, this has been such a greatconversation.
The inspiration I mean I'mfeeling it.
I'm hoping the audience isgetting that too.
You are doing your thing outthere.
Tell everybody where they canfind you on social Whitney.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
Yeah, so thank you.
I love being here.
It's always so good to see you.
If you want to further connect,I'm on Instagram,
whitneymharveyesq, and I'm also,you know, on LinkedIn as well,
but you can find me on my othersocials for Instagram, on Gen 38
.
That's really what's going tobe taken off in the future.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Gen 38.
I'll make sure I follow.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Absolutely Well.
Thank you so much, Whitney.
It's always our pleasurehanging out with you here.
We're so glad that you tooksome time to give us some pearls
to think about, and we hopethat the viewers had a great
time listening to you as well,Thank you.
Thanks for having me Once again.
I'm Shatima Gresham.
I am the CEO of Procure TalentManagement Group.
(29:18):
We specialize in talentmanagement.
I'm also the VP of professionaldevelopment and membership with
the Black HR Society.
You can find Procure onInstagram, Facebook and LinkedIn
, and you can also find me atshatimawewantatalkaboutitcom.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
I'm Twani Vaughn, also known as TJ Laurie.
We want to thank you forjoining us.
We also want to thank oursponsor, the Black HR Society,
for making a meaningfuldifference in the lives of Black
HR professionals here in theValley difference in the lives
of black HR professionals herein the Valley.
You can find the black HRsociety on all social social
platforms at the black HRsociety, find us on IgE at black
(29:57):
HR society.
If you want to reach out to me,you want to be a sponsor, you
want to be on the show or youknow someone who'd make a great
guest, you can email me, TJ, at.
We want to talk about itcom,because we do.
We want to talk about it withyou.
We're so glad you came andjoined us today.
We look forward to you comingon back next time.
(30:18):
Until then, bye, bye, bye.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Thank you for tuning into let's Talk About it the
podcast.
We hope you enjoyed today'sconversation and found
inspiration in the stories andexperiences shared.
We trust that you wereentertained, learned something
new and felt inspired by today'sshow.
Be sure to subscribe, like,follow, share and join us for
(30:43):
the next episode.
Until then, keep theconversation going and let's
keep talking about it.
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