Lauren McGoodwin, founder and chief executive of Career Contessa, an online platform designed to
help women win the best job opportunities

Lauren McGoodwin felt “stuck” till she landed a gig at Hulu as the US video on demand company’s university recruiter. McGoodwin said that working at Hulu in recruiting opened her eyes to the other side of the hiring table such as what managers thought about young candidates and how recruiters reviewed resumes and interviewed.

McGoodwin said the experience nudged her towards helping other women reach their career goals through actionable advice. In 2013, McGoodwin launched Career Contessa, an online career development platform that gives women access to tools, advice, companies, jobs, and even mentors.

Career Contessa “now helps over 1 million women navigate their careers each year,” said McGoodwin, the founder CEO of Career Contessa. She is also the host of the popular “Femails” podcast.

Her one-stop online career resource gives women access to even the people they need to help them move forward and gain clarity about their careers. Women can book a 50-minute session with one of the firm’s pre-vetted career mentors and get guidance on the topics they really care about. 

“I founded Career Contessa after experiencing a gap in career development resources for women who might be job searching, soul searching, leading and managing, or trying to find new ways to advance in their careers,” said McGoodwin.

Interestingly, McGoodwin earlier worked as an admissions counsellor at the University of Southern California’s Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry. She counseled applicants on the admission policies and procedures for undergraduate and graduate-level programs and handled nearly 700 applicants each year.

McGoodwin said recruiting students for the University of Southern California’s dental hygiene program also made her realize how “important” it is to get young people onto the “correct career path early.”

“This was really the catalyst into my obsession around what is recruiting, what companies use recruiters, what types of recruiters exist, what are the skills needed,” she told “LA Times.”

McGoodwin’s career development platform has helped women land jobs, ask for and receive raises and manage workplace relationships better.

Importantly, Career Contessa lets women learn what it’s like to work at a particular company before they apply, hire a career counselor to walk through their resume and read daily advice and interviews with other women in the workforce.

Last year, the company launched the “Salary Project,” a free online database of pay ranges by job type across the US and seniority level designed to help women determine what they could or should be earning. McGoodwinsaid she created the resource because knowing how your salary compares to others in your field is “power, plain and simple.”

McGoodwin shares a tip about how to make yourself more valuable to your employer.

“Aside from building a repertoire of soft skills — and a killer EQ — soft skill development allows an employee to recognize and play to her strengths,” said McGoodwin.