We were lucky to catch up with Riley James recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Riley, really appreciate you joining us to talk about a really relevant, albeit unfortunate topic – layoffs and getting fired. Can you talk to us about your experience and how you overcame being let go?
I used to work for Instant Pot Brands, and after two years of creating content for them they laid me off. When I asked the HR person, Winnie Luo, why they came to this decision, her response was, “it doesn’t matter the decision is final.” It was quite upsetting to me for an HR person to respond this way when she could have just simply given me the reason. After she gave me this rude response I realized I was better off not working for a company that treats their employees this way. I was able to build my portfolio, cooking + social media skills all while making new friends at this job, but it was definitely time for it to come to an end.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a multimedia creative who is passionate about sustainability, social justice, and animal welfare. I’ve been a vegetarian for more than half of my life and I love trying new recipes and local restaurants. I’m also avid traveler who enjoys experiencing different cultures, hiking, and meeting new people from all over the globe. I’m a professional photographer who recently moved out of Chicago so I could travel the world for this year.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think three most important skills are honest communication, generosity, and being creative + flexible. You’ll meet lots of amazing and not-so-amazing people in this world, and I think it’s important to know what you want and be able to communicate that. While being generous is important it is also important to have boundaries so people aren’t taking advantage of you and your skills.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Always! I love working on creative projects with others. I’m interested in restaurants or chefs that want their culinary creations captured, businesses that are in need of content creation, or hotels + other lodging who want stunning visuals.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Rileyjmedia.com
- Instagram: @rileyjmedia / @lilveggieeats
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rileyjmedia/
- Other: https://Rileyjroams.com
Image Credits
Photo of myself taken by Molly Eddington
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
