Full name?: Nikol Schiller
Position / Job title?: Account Executive at INK Public Relations
1. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I’ve always loved writing and wanted to write stories when I grew up. I loved fiction and was obsessed with Star Wars as a child, so I thought becoming the next George Lucas would be the end-all, be-all. Then, in high school, after Hurricane Katrina hit, I thought I wanted to be the next Anderson Cooper, reporting on all of the travesties in the world. Turns out, broadcast journalism wasn’t for me. I didn’t like being on camera as much as I liked actually writing the scripts and news.
2. Fast-forward several years/decades. How did you land (or create) your current position?
I ended up on the editorial journalism track and spent a LOT of time writing articles in college. After four years of studying traditional print journalism in a sleepy college town, I was ready for something a little more fast-paced and modern. I found myself at a social media startup in Austin, Texas managing social media programs for clients. Social media is a huge interest of mine, but I wanted to get back to somewhat long-form writing. I wanted to work in PR. I had my eye on INK for about a year and even applied to work there twice before they finally let me join the family. I haven’t looked back since.
3. What is the biggest career mistake you’ve ever made?
Not interning for a big brand! I recently tuned into a Levo League Office Hour where Seventeen Magazine’s editor in chief Ann Shokets told her story and gave career advice. One thing she said really stuck with me: students should intern for recognizable brands. While I’m past my internship prime, this tidbit of advice hit a sore spot for me: what opportunities have I missed because I didn’t intern for a big brand early on? While I’m still very green in my career and I’ve landed an amazing workhome with INK, I do regret not even trying to intern at big brand while I was still in school.
4. On that note, do you think women can have it all? Both the baller career, and the happy family?
I think you have to define for yourself what “having it all” means. To some, that means being a full-time mom, to others, that means balancing a kick-ass career with raising a family, and still to other it means being a career-minded lady with no kids or husband at all.
I recently read Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In and Debora L. Spar’s “Why the Woman Who ‘Has It All’ Doesn’t Really Exist” and while both ladies have different stances on whether or not women can have it all, both can agree on one thing: having it all isn’t easy. It’s not easy being the CEO of a Fortune 500 company and still make it home by 5:00 to have dinner with your family. But it is possible, and can be really rewarding. I’m lucky to work at INK where my bosses are the epitome of supermoms: they run an award-winning PR firm and still plan awesome birthday parties for their toddlers, make it to the first day of kindergarten and take care of sick babies. They’ve created a space where work and family can coexist – and happily, I may add! Define what “having it all” means to you, not what others’ think it should mean for you, and go for it. Girl power all around, right?
5. What is the best piece of advice that you have ever received – career-related or otherwise?
You have to open your own doors. My dad is always giving me work and career advice and he’s taught me that while you get lucky breaks, you truly have to create your own opportune moments by working hard, meeting the right people and asking for what you want.
6. Should you work for the money, or do what you love?
Let me preface my answer with this: I associate my purpose in life with my job. I’ve only realized recently that not everyone is like me. Some people like to separate their life purpose from their job. Some prefer to work a 9 to 5 so they can pay their bills and fulfill their life purpose outside of work (volunteering, traveling, running, etc.).
7. What is the single most important factor of a job?
Besides loving what you do (which I think should be a given), you absolutely must enjoy being around the people you work with. You’re with your co-workers for 40-60 hours a week. If you’re around people who drive you crazy more than 50 percent of the time, no matter what job you have, you will be miserable. Love what you do and love the people you’re with.
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