Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jake Thompson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jake, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I really owe it all to my superpower: being queer. I think anybody that falls under the LGBTQ+ umbrella has a real gift of strength, a bottomless vat of creativity and a willingness to exist in a world that doesn’t quite know what to do with us half the time.
One day I woke up and I was tired of code-switching (dressing a certain way to fit in, making myself smaller in the office, etc.) and just stopped caring what others thought of me and started expressing myself for who I really am. When you’re true to yourself, you can be true to every aspect of your life and that includes work. Queer people have the amazing flex to adapt, pivot and create as much beauty in the world as possible, simply from our lived experiences and shared perspectives.
I’ve been a working professional since 2007 and I know that what’s kept me in the game this long: myself. My ideas, work ethic and outlook on life have gotten me this far and I won’t stop anytime soon.
I also have a Filipino mother who’s middle name is resilience, so I think about her a lot when it comes to a challenge.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’ve been with a fantastic agency this past year: Q. Digital as their Social Media Producer. Our company aims to make meaningful connections between brands in the LGBTQ+ community through social campaigns, live activation events, philanthropy, interviews & more).
I oversee four major sites (Queerty, LGBTQ Nation, Into & GayCities) and fine-tune original content, strategy, mixed media and keep our brands conversation going online with our audience, as well as trying to expand our growth every day.
We just had a huge LA event for the Queerties Awards wherein Bianca Del Rio hosted, and we gave out awards to LGBTQ+ folks including Tiktok star Dylan Mulvaney. With over 1.9 million votes online, it was a spectacular evening! And we even got to make a potent donation to InterACT. (Look up their work, it’s rad!)
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Always make a paper trail! This might seem live an oversight, but this will save you time and time again. If you can’t have your own back, how the hell are you gonna have anybody elses?
2. Kill ’em with kindness. I’ve been in plenty of clique-like offices (believe me, they are everywhere) and people think treating people below you is like character-building or, have you heard “this is how we were treated when we started?” Honestly, eff that! Isn’t the whole point to inspire and make a better working environment for all? I’ll choose empathy or apathy any day.
3. Nobody really knows what they’re doing so make an impact and show them that you can. Whenever I would level up in my professional life, I’d get major imposter syndrome but you have to remember that everybody is feeling that way and there’s no how-to book for how to be a boss bitch. You just have to figure it out and know that you can do it.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I am lucky in that I have my best co-worker just an arm’s length away: my magical calico cat, Hermione. When I’m stressed, I just look at her Hollywood-couch life and all my troubles slip away.
But as far as strategies, I like to get physical: go for a long walk or bike ride (I live in Noho-it’s pretty safe, lol), dance to some vinyl records, make something good to eat. Most times when I’m overwhelmed or anxious it’s because I’m not taking care of my body so reminding myself to eat a banana or getting some Vitamin D is essential
I’ve also found that confronting a work issue head-on is the best and only way for your mental health. If you need clarity, if you need help with a project, don’t wait. It’ll only make you more miserable and most times, whatever you’re procrastinating will haunt you until you do it so you might as well finish it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jakegthompson.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakegthompson/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakegthompson1986/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakegthompson/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakeGThompson
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/jakegthompson
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