Real stories

My Employer, Silicon Valley Bank, Collapsed Overnight – Now What?

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A week ago, everything fell apart for Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) – the 16th largest bank in the US, and my employer for two and a half year.  I was busy planning our team offsite a week ago.  Now we are in a whole new reality for all 8500 employees – the threat of permanent extinction.

  • I had to cancel the team offsite of course.
  • SVB no longer exists and the parent company filed for bankruptcy
  • Our office locations are all closed ‘temporarily’ but may actually be permanent.  who knows?
  • We are now employed by the bridge bank SVBB, Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, with a new CEO and we have been working like mad helping our clients access their money.
  • We are faced with 3 options that are from okay to ugly – stay independent as a much smaller bank, get acquired by a big players, or close our doors forever.

Only time can tell what will happen next! ...  read more

I Turned 50 and I Am Learning the Art of Not Giving a “F*ck”

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Hubby gave me a funny present for my birthday this year (see below).   He knows me well and it’s exactly what I needed.  I really cannot believe I am half a century old.  When I say I am 50 to others, I feel like I am talking about someone else.   I always thought that someone who is 50 years old is old and also have their sh*t together because they know how life works by this time. ...  read more

Should I Take a Leave from Work? Absolutely Yes and Here is Why

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should i take leave from work

Looking back, I have taken 5 leaves from work already in my 20+ year career.  Some happened unexpectedly and others intentional.  Each time it was a difficult decision or unexpected turn of events.   I want to share my story in case it can help you think about whether you should take a leave from work. ...  read more

A Good Example of Asking for What You Want and Getting It

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I just wrote about How to Ask for What You Want at work last week.  I happen to have a live example to share now which happened outside of work.  It is great to practice asking for what you want outside of work to help you better do it at work as well.   Here is what happened

Our Challenge at Hotel Registration

We just took a trip to Vegas to visit my husband’s godparents.  They are 87 and 89 years old.  We decided to stay at the Golden Nugget in downtown Fremont street vs staying with them just so we don’t trouble them too much.  We haven’t been to Vegas in 4 years but have stayed at the Golden Nugget before. ...  read more

The Gift of Covid was More than I Expected – Five Unexpected Gifts

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Am I being sarcastic?  Partly.  While there were definitely aspects of Covid that has been a huge pain to my family, there were truly also unexpected gifts.   Covid finally visited our household about 3 weeks ago.  First my husband and nanny got it and were quarantined and then a week later, my older daughter and I got it and switched places with them. ...  read more

Don’t Make These Fatal Mistakes in Your Job Search Communication

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For my full time job, I am hiring for 3 digital product managers to lead different aspects of end to end digital migration for our legacy private banking clients.  I wrote this post on Linkedin with some high level descriptions and asked those interested to DM me for a detailed job description.

A Real Example Of a Direct Message I Received

Below is a real message I received from a candidate interested in my posting.  I want to share it with you to help you avoid making the same fatal mistakes she made with her first communication to me, the hiring manager. ...  read more