Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Chou.
Jessica, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I graduated from college back in 2011 during the aftermath of the recession. While most of my friends were pursuing careers in STEM, I felt like the odd one out – graduating as quickly as I could to move to LA and find a job in Hollywood. While my parents were supportive, they couldn’t provide much guidance. My friends cheered me on, but they couldn’t really relate. Eventually, I landed my first internship off of Craigslist, and I worked at a restaurant at nights to pay the bills. I knew I wanted to be a producer someday, but I didn’t know how to get there.
Fast forward to today — I’ve had an amazing and diverse career as a producer working in various fields like entertainment, advertising, and social impact. While I’m proud of my journey and grateful for the mentorship I’ve received along the way, I often wish I had more resources as a young woman starting out on her career.
So, this year, I started Girls’ Pit Stop to be that resource for my younger self and for all the Gen Z girls who are beginning to consider their careers and lives beyond school. Gen Z girls are increasingly self-educating, independent, and entrepreneurial, and the jobs they are pursuing are more unique and non-traditional. With this is going to come to a lot of questions…
My hope is that Girls’ Pit Stop will become the go-to resource for Gen Z girls when it comes to career and wellness. A place where they can get answers through online content and in-person workshops, meet-ups, and mentorship. A place where they can share their tools with each other, so the journey feels a lot less intimidating and so much more fulfilling.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not! I don’t think anyone has ever had a smooth journey transitioning from being a student to a working professional. My journey has been filled with twists and turns… and oftentimes, what feels like cliff dives leaving my stomach in knots!
There are so many things we’re not taught in school about the “real world.” We’re just expected to go to school, graduate, and work for the rest of our lives. If you’re lucky, you might find a mentor in your field who can guide you, but at the end of the day, there is a lot to navigate through.
Some struggles I encountered were imposter syndrome (not feeling like I was worthy of the role I had), lots and lots of self-doubt (whether I was on the right path, whether I enjoyed my work and the industry I was in), and a whole bunch of other mental and emotional stuff… which is largely what no one tells you about.
My advice for young women starting out on their journeys is that it is absolutely, 100% okay (and highly recommended!) to explore various roles until you find one that makes you excited to wake up every morning. My career has been sporadic, and while some may frown upon it (I once was ripped to shreds in an interview for jumping around too much in my early career), I’m proud of the path I’ve taken. I’m much happier today having explored different industries and creating my own path than staying on one that is unfulfilling.
Set your standards early on based on experiences you’ve already had. I can’t emphasize this enough. Take the time to reflect on previous work experiences – whether it was at an internship or paid gig. How were you treated? What did you like about the job? What didn’t you like? What could you improve on to make it a better experience? What issues were beyond your control? Knowing the answers to these types of questions will help you gauge your next work experience, and the one after that, and the one after that.
Please tell us about Girls’ Pit Stop.
Girls’ Pit Stop is a career and wellness platform for Gen Z girls. We provide online content, workshops, mentorship, and resources for girls who are motivated and curious about their careers and lives beyond school.
In October, we kicked off our in-person experiences with a 4-part workshop series in Downtown LA hosted by Gen Z trailblazers Jade Darmawangsa, Angela Chen, Karrie Comfort, and Greisy Hernandez. They each led engaging workshops covering important topics like side hustles, goal setting, team building, failing forward, and self-care.
What sets Girls’ Pit Stop apart is that we’re not only Gen Z focused, but Gen Z led. It’s important to us that our resources and content are intentional, useful, and above all, relatable. With so many resources out there for Millennials, we wanted to create a platform that truly caters to Gen Z girls and their needs.
Who have you been inspired by?
My girlfriends are my biggest inspirations. I’ve been blessed to have girlfriends who are crushing it at all kinds of professions, and nothing makes me more excited or inspired than to see them succeed in their careers and personal lives. My girlfriends are nurses, engineers, content creators, producers, social media managers, journalists, photographers, accountants, realtors, designers – how lucky am I to get to learn from such a wide variety of talented girls?!
Contact Info:
- Website: girlspitstop.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/girlspitstop/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/girlspitstop/
Image Credit:
Girls’ Pit Stop
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