Issa Rae Gives Career Advice On How To Be Successful
Issa Rae is a bonafide Hollywood star. The creator and executive producer of Insecure—a show that lived in a whole moment is fresh off being the President in the Barbie movie.
The multi-hyphenate star has partnered with delivery service Shipt to promote its new, discounted membership for kids on their way to college.
“I tell young people [just starting out in their careers] to search for other young people who are just as hungry as they are and collaborate with one another,” Rae said, according to InStyle. “I think there's such a power in working with the people next to you and building together.”
She recently mentored four students from Howard University and worked with them on a national ad campaign for the Shipt partnership.
“I come from a family of HBCU [graduates],” she explained. “My brothers went to an HBCU, and the Shipt leadership team went to HBCUs, so my support for [the schools comes] naturally. It was just an easy collaboration.”
She shared industry advice with the students, saying, "One piece of advice I've never forgotten from another woman is to not be afraid to be a b***h. That is such a worry of mine just even as a leader in how you come across, and that worry in the back of your mind can inhibit you from saying how you really feel," she explains, potentially leading to more harm than good."
"Black women tend to face added challenges in business when it comes to standing up for themselves — especially when placed in mostly white and male writers' rooms and negotiating tables. She added, "Obviously, you don't have to be mean about certain things, but that fear of speaking your truth shouldn't prevent you from doing it."
Ever a rule-breaker, one piece of advice that she offered was not to be afraid to break out from the crowd. "[The worst piece of advice I've ever gotten is] 'do it the traditional way.' That means following the rules, waiting for someone to choose you, waiting to break in with other people's permission, and that just ... that didn't suit me, so I'm glad I didn't listen."
The Shipt program is one of the way's that Issa has been keeping busy during the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes. “I'm manifesting fair wages. I'm manifesting the industry to respect the people who make the industry possible. I'm ready to just launch so many projects when the time is right. I have so much more to say and so much more to do.”
