Meet Helen Zhao

 

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Helen Zhao. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Helen below.

Helen, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

I developed my confidence and self-esteem through being honest and authentic with myself about my strengths and weaknesses. Acknowledging uncomfortable truths about my own character flaws has allowed me to grow and better myself as a person. I am confident and have high self-esteem because I know through the self-work I have done, that I am a good quality human being. That confidence gives me the courage to push my boundaries and comfort zone, in order to excel at new endeavors and challenges, which in turn builds more self-esteem.

Here is an example of a very uncomfortable truth I learned about myself, and how this self-awareness helped me to better myself and ultimately land my dream job.

Right out of college at the age of 22, I landed a coveted internship at a very prestigious media company. I thought my media career was set. But by the end of that internship, my boss told me I was literally quote unquote the worst intern she had ever had. Point blank. I left that internship with no job prospects, and was unemployed for the next 6 months. I felt embarrassed and ashamed, especially because I thought very highly of myself at the time that I landed this internship.

It turns out, I had the passion, charisma and potential that got me through the door. But I lacked the maturity, character and wisdom that would actually make people want to work with me longer term.

At the internship, I regularly showed up late. I rarely if ever asked my coworkers how I could help them. The internship didn’t come with much structure or many set duties, and I would often spend that time just working on the college radio show I was hosting. I cared more about the segments I was hosting for the college radio show, than I did about supporting the team behind the scenes at my internship.

I just didn’t care if the work at hand didn’t serve my immediate interests, which was spearheading the stories that I wanted to tell as a journalist. This attitude continued to bite me in the ass in future roles… until I was 27-years-old and suddenly realized exactly how I became the worst intern ever.

It dawned on me that much of the poor feedback I’d ever received at work was because I was selfish and not a team player. I was trying to get ahead in the wrong ways – by only caring about myself and about the work that I wanted to do. I realized that the way you grow your opportunities is by being an asset to other people and helping your team members accomplish their goals. By showing up for others, they become interested in you and supporting your objectives.

Thankfully I understood this about myself right before I landed an entry level position at CNBC. I started as a production associate on CNBC’s flagship morning TV show. Even though that role did not align with my ultimate goals, I was extremely dedicated to supporting my colleagues, even if it meant working really long hours. The vibe just felt different. I felt like people liked me and really enjoyed working with me. I got a lot of positive feedback and even got employee of the month and a “Going the Extra Mile” award. I took this approach with me during my time at CNBC, eventually landing my dream gig at the company as a digital video journalist spearheading stories that I was passionate about.

This process of self-awareness helped me to change my behavior and become a better person, and thus accomplish my objectives — building self-esteem and confidence along the way.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m a digital video journalist who covers all things money. I report, write, host, shoot, and edit 1 to 15 minute videos on personal finance, entrepreneurship, careers, wealth and lifestyle. That’s what I did for five years at CNBC, before quitting my job to travel the world for 1.5 years. I’m about to start a new job as a senior producer and fill-in host for a business news startup based in Dubai.

I am thrilled to be where I am today. But it was a tough journey to get here. Countless times I questioned my choices and felt consumed by uncertainty and doubt in the future.

But that’s how I found my passion for business news. I realized my struggles in the real world were rooted in an utter lack of real world survival knowledge, which tragically isn’t taught in school. I turned to content about the economy, personal finance, entrepreneurship, investing and the media industry, for empowerment and the courage to pursue what I’m doing today.

As a business journalist, one of my goals is to help empower other people in their quest for survival and pursuing their dreams, which I believe is the heart of business news.

I used to feel so behind in my career, when I compared myself with some of my peers. But my personal journey has made my career and professional identity what it is today. And it’s a journey that I think so many other millennials can relate to

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The three most important skills for me were adaptability, honest self-reflection, and empathy.

Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?

The challenge I’m currently facing is juggling everything I want to do without burning myself out. I have spent quite a bit of time this year freelancing, creating content for a YouTube channel, landing a new job, traveling and socializing. My challenge is making sure that everything I do is for the enjoyment of it, as opposed to obligation, for the sake of achieving more material success. I am constantly reminding myself that the purpose of life is happiness, not success and prestige.

Contact Info:

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Highlighter Series
What would your closest friends say really matters to you?

If you asked your best friends what really drives you—what they think matters most in

Highlighter Series
When do you feel most at peace?

In a culture that often celebrates hustle and noise, peace can feel rare. Yet, peace

Highlighter Series
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?

Almost everything is multisided – including the occurrences that give us pain. So, we asked