Learn how to get

anything you want.

Unapologetically

Five tips that will increase your influence

in your career…immediately.

ITSJENNYWOOD.COM
Hi! I'm Jenny

I’ve grown from entry-level to an executive role at Google in nearly 16 years with the
company, and I lead a large technical team that helps drive tens of billions of revenue
per year. In 2021, I started a passion project within Google called Own Your Career.
Through the program, I’ve trained tens of thousands of people on the following with 97%
positive feedback:
Acing a job search
Stakeholder management
Personal branding
Writing effective emails
Building a network
Maximizing workplace influence
Increasing confidence & reducing imposter syndrome

A former Harvard Business Publishing writer, I’m now writing a book about going above
and beyond to unapologetically achieve your goals. I am a zucchini bread connoisseur, a
recreational pilot, and I am forever curious about how people and organizations work. I
live in Boulder, Colorado with my two young children and my husband Jon – whom I met
by chasing him off the NYC Subway.

Follow me on social

itsjennywood.com
 TIP #1 TIDY UP

If you are writing an intro email to a prospective

customer, a new mentor, or a hiring manager, cut 70%
of your text and use bullets instead of paragraphs.
Keep it to three points and bold the first word of each bullet for easy-scanning. Here’s an example of
good vs bad when asking your manager for more responsibility.

HOW THIS HELPS YOU GET WHAT YOU WANT:

Your manager sees you can prioritize and focus; she reads the email vs archiving it.
You spend more of the meeting deciding the best fit vs brainstorming options.
You pick a project that most benefits your career – and the business!

Good Bad
Hi Manager, Hi Manager,

I’m looking forward to our weekly 1:1 tomorrow about my taking on
more responsibility within my role. Thank you for partnering with me to
impact the business and grow my career. Here are areas where I can
offer the most.
Data. I’m proud of my data and analytical chops and enjoy working in
spreadsheets.
Team. Our team is great, and I’d love to invest in our already strong
culture.
As you know we have a 1:1 tomorrow, and I've been thinking a lot about how
I can contribute more to the business and also to my career. There are a lot
of things I’ve been thinking about because I have a lot of passions and the
business has plenty of things going on. While these are not the only things
we could talk about tomorrow, here are some below.
There might be things you have in mind, but I figured I’d get us started with
some ideas here that we could discuss tomorrow. Thank you so much again
for investing in me, as I know there’s more I could be doing! This is what I’m
thinking…

Customers. With so much turnover our partners are facing, I can lean We could discuss strategy, insights, and data. I am pretty strong here, and I
into relationship-building. enjoy doing it. Given the changing tools we’ve all been experiencing so far
this year, there’s a lot of value I could add here.
I’ll follow your lead on which one we jointly invest in this quarter.
Another thing that might be useful for the team is for me to focus on people
Thanks, stuff. We have such a good team but as we all know, culture is so important
Direct report and shouldn't be overlooked. I want to make sure we don’t overlook it and
this is an area where I’d be happy to show my leadership skills.

Finally, there’s so much going on with our partners and customers right now.
They have turnover, competition is heating up, and we need to stay top of
mind for them. I’ve always been good at relationship building, and I could
leverage that skill here.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this, and of course, I can offer my
preference too.

Thanks,
Direct report

INTROVERT HACK:

If it feels uncomfortable to directly ask your

manager for more responsibility, try
Follow me on social
scheduling a general “career development”
conversation instead.

itsjennywood.com
 TIP #2 SUPERPOWERS

Know your three superpowers –

otherwise known as strengths or
passions.
For example, mine are:
People leadership
Stakeholder influence
Building programs from start-up
to scale

Practice your superpowers with a friend or colleague, so they are ready to roll off your tongue in any
mentorship meeting or coffee chat with someone who can influence your career. For example, I always
say this about my passion for stakeholder influence:

“I feel, at the end of the day, everything is stakeholder influence, or, sales, frankly. This could be
convincing my boss to let me lead the annual business plan OR convincing my husband to order
sushi vs Italian on a Saturday night!”

HOW THIS HELPS YOU GET WHAT YOU WANT:

When you know your superpowers and believe in yourself, others will too.
To influence, you must align your talents with others’ needs. You won’t know that alignment until you
know where you shine most.
When you play to your strengths, you win. And so do others. Double down on your strengths; don’t
water down your strengths by forcing improvement on your weaknesses.

INTROVERT HACK:

if the word “superpowers” doesn't

feel authentic or culturally
appropriate, consider “strength” or Follow me on social
“passions” instead.

itsjennywood.com
 TIP #3 GIFTS AND HOOKS

When pitching a new mentor, or any person of

influence from whom you can benefit professionally
or personally, be explicit about your Gifts and Hooks.
Also be specific about the timeframe.

Gifts are what you can offer them.

Hooks are what you need from them.

Wait, what? I can offer things to someone more senior, powerful, or influential than I am?

You bet! And it makes you stand out as a mentee or junior employee. Heck, even email your gifts and hooks
to this person before your first meeting.

HOW THIS HELPS YOU GET WHAT YOU WANT:

It shows your mentor you are strategic; you know what you need vs don’t need.
It allows them to evaluate if they are the best fit and recommend someone else if not.
It inspires them to say yes because they see the value you will offer them beyond what they will give you.

Good Bad

Hi Mentor, Hi Mentor,

Are you open to four 30-min mentorship sessions over the next I’ve always admired your leadership style,
four quarters? I admire your leadership style and think this Are you willing to be my ongoing mentor?
could be mutually beneficial.
Mentee
How you can help me:
Coach on how to grow from individual contributor to
people manager
Partner with me to establish myself as a budding leader in
our organization

What I can offer you: *Note this might seem in contrast to the “Tidy Up” tip above. The point
Share team context from the last four years. Given I’ve been of “Tidy Up” is to be structured vs long-winded. The point of “Gifts and
at Widgets Inc. for four years, and you’ve joined this year, I Hooks” to be specific vs vague.
can get you up to speed.
Offer my expertise on the European sales market given I
am in Paris and you are in Singapore.

Thanks for considering,

Mentee
INTROVERT HACK:

If you are uncomfortable cold emailing a

mentor directly, it is just as effective to ask a
Follow me on social
friend or colleague to make a warm intro.

itsjennywood.com
 TIP #4 HANDS HIGH

Ask a question during the Q&A when

you’re on a video call or in an in-
person meeting.

Heck, maybe even try to ask the first

question. That makes you
memorable and shows you are
confident and eager.

You can do this in your organization’s 50-person monthly VP-led Quarterly Connect, or you can do it at
your school’s parent leadership meeting. When Q&A time arrives, be bold and ask a question. If it’s on
your mind, it’s guaranteed to be on the minds of at least seven other people in the meeting.

HOW THIS HELPS YOU GET WHAT YOU WANT:

People need to know who you are to help you get what you want.
You have smart, interesting ideas and questions; the world deserves to hear them.
When you speak up, you build connections; maybe someone on the call wants to partner with you on
your idea or question and together you’ll make a powerful duo.

Fun fact: “hands high” is how I landed my literary agent and am on the path to publishing a non-fiction
book. I attended a free talk for aspiring authors. During the Q&A, I came off of mute and said, “I think I
accidentally wrote a book! What’s my first step to getting it published?” That made the agent laugh, and it
set me on my path to a series of conversations with well-respected literary agents. As a result, I’m writing
a book and helping thousands of people around the world get what they want.

INTROVERT HACK:

You can still have “hands high” through

different mediums. If it’s uncomfortable to
ask a question live, you could email or slack Follow me on social
the leader afterwards with your question.

itsjennywood.com
 TIP #5 UNMUTE MAGIC

When it’s your turn to talk in a meeting, state your

points clearly vs rambling. For example, if you’re in
a team meeting and your manager says, “Let’s go
around and each say our favorite books,” below is
what good vs bad looks like.

HOW THIS HELPS YOU GET WHAT YOU WANT:

When you ramble, people can’t follow you: they don’t know what you want.
When you're succinct, you sound more confident and convincing.
People with clear, structured communication skills often advance more quickly in their career or
community.

Of course in your actual team meeting, your manager’s question will be more business-related and less
book-related. Fear not! The same strategy applies if the question is, “What are your three priorities this
week?” It also works if you’re in a community or board meeting, and the question is, “What should our top
three budget goals be for next year?”

Good Bad

“My three favorite books are: Build For Tomorrow, Free Time,
and Radical Candor.
Build For Tomorrow because Jason Feifer helps you adapt to
change.
Free Time because Jenny Blake offers tips for decreasing
busywork.
Radical Candor because Kim Scott created the best way to
give feedback.
Those are my favorite three: Build For Tomorrow, Free Time,
and Radical Candor.”
‘Wow. What a great question. I love books. So many it’s hard to
pick! I like historical fiction, sci-fi, non-fiction, beach reads, and a
zillion other categories. How can I pick just three?! It’s like asking
me to pick my favorite child. Oh and then there are children's
books, which I love reading to my kids during snuggle time.
But back to my favorite books… I guess I’ll go with non-fiction. I
really like Build For Tomorrow because Jason Feifer offers such an
interesting framework for how to adapt to change. My second
favorite would be…blah, blah, blah.”

INTROVERT HACK:

If you get nervous to talk in meetings, try jotting down on a piece

of paper your three points before it’s your turn. Extroverts tend to
speak to think while introverts often think to speak. You can do
your thinking on paper. And don’t forget how important it is for Follow me on social
the meeting leader to be inclusive of introverts.

itsjennywood.com
 Let’s do this!
Together.

Here’s your challenge for the next seven days:

1. Try out one of these five tips: Tidy Up, Superpowers, Gifts and Hooks, Hands High, or
Unmute Magic.
2. Whether you succeed or fall short, tell me you tried it by tagging me at @jennywood
on LinkedIn or @itsjennywood on twitter.
3. Whether on LinkedIn or Twitter, use the hashtag #TheChase because all of these
help you chase what you want, deserve, and CAN achieve.

Chase what you want and achieve it. Unapologetically.

itsjennywood.com

BOOK FOLLOW LISTEN

a speaking engagement me on social to this podcast