On the fourth episode of “Women Just Like You”, we are joined by a woman climbing the ranks of hospitality sales, who happens to be one of my best friends! Round of applause for Jennie Kaplan Woodson, a saleswoman thriving in the San Francisco hospitality industry. She can sell you room blocks, event space, and even sell the wine to pair with your food for your trip to the CIty By The Bay.
Jennie has spent the last 9 years working her way up the food chain in hospitality sales and taking ownership in her career growth. She juggled restaurant, catering, and event jobs down in San Diego before moving to Sonoma to sell the Hyatt from initial inquiry to closing the final tab at a hotel that was central to wine country tourism. Then she moved to San Francisco to sell her DREAM property, the Hyatt Regency on Embarcadero, before the pandemic took it all away 4 weeks later. She didn’t panic and instead used the covid layoff to learn more about wine, and is now combining her love for both industries into a fruitful career marrying Hyatt hotel sales during the week with wine sales in Sausalito on the weekend. Listen to our fun conversation between two besties chatting about hustling in their jobs and even how a good set of nails can define your day!
Our conversation is full of:
How to advocate for yourself in career conversations
Succeeding in both hotel sales and wine sales
Using layoffs to dial in on what you love
Dreaming big and setting your sights on what comes next
Bringing other women up the ladder with you
And doing what besties do - supporting each other along the way!
Chapters:
00:00 Childhood Dreams and Career Beginnings
09:13 Career Path in Hospitality Sales
20:08 Navigating Layoffs and Job Changes
24:29 Exploring the Wine Industry
26:17 Exploring Wine Certifications
27:21 Advice for People Facing Layoffs
28:08 Doing Something Exciting
29:17 Taking a Pause and Reflecting
30:31 Choosing Between Wine and Corporate Sales
33:01 Advocating for Yourself
34:03 Empowerment through Advocacy
36:20 Negotiating for a Promotion
39:59 The Impact of Hospitality Sales
42:44 Career Aspirations in Global Sales
45:22 Continual Growth in the Middle of Your Career
47:12 Being a Boss Lady
You can connect with Jennie at:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniekaplanwoodson/
You can find Audrey at:
linkedin.com/in/audreyutchen
@audreythecareerwoman on Instagram and YouTube
Join the distribution list to get behind-the-scenes content about the making each episode, along with monthly career development recommendations:
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"Women Just Like You" is a career advice podcast for women in the middle of their careers from women in the middle of theirs. Join Audrey on Wednesdays to hear from women just like you: not a new professional but maybe not a VP just yet, and learn what they are up to at this exact stage of their careers.
Theme music is “Dance of the Violins” by F-777, usable under Creative Commons.
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