Urban Girl Corporate World

How do you actually get promoted—not just work hard and hope for it?In this episode of Urban Girl Corporate World, Nicole celebrates six years of the podcast and kicks off Season 8 by answering one of the most common career questions she gets: how to land a promotion.She breaks down why strong performance alone isn’t enough—and what actually moves the needle when it comes to career growth.Nicole shares:What it really took for her to get promotedWhy clarity, communication, and visibility matter more than you thinkHow to align with your manager on the next levelHow to identify and close skill gapsThe role of stretch assignments and strategic exposureIf you’re ready for the next level but feel stuck, this episode will show you how to position yourself to win.📩 Have a career question? Email Nicole at UrbanGirlCorporateWorld@gmail.com🔗 Learn more: https://www.nicoledove.com/⭐ Enjoying the podcast? Leave a 5-star review, like, subscribe, and share.

Welcome to Season 8 of Urban Girl Corporate World!In this season opener, Nicole checks in from Shanghai, China as she celebrates Cybersecurity Awareness Month and reflects on what it means to lead global teams. She shares insights on building relationships across cultures, growing her business, and writing her first book, Learning Cybersecurity Fundamentals, a guide designed to help others navigate the cybersecurity industry with confidence.Nicole also gives us a look ahead at what’s to come this season, including short, powerful solo episodes answering your most frequently asked career questions.Want to read a sneak peek of Nicole’s upcoming book?Check out the first few chapters here.Got questions you want Nicole to answer?Submit them to UrbanGirlCorporateWorld@gmail.comJoin the Urban Girl Corporate World Facebook community:facebook.com/groups/urbangirlVisit Nicole’s website:https://www.nicoledove.com/ Enjoying the podcast?Leave us a 5-star review and be sure to like, subscribe, and share!

Nicole interviews Ashley, who she works with as an Executive Coach, and discusses their leadership philosophies on the final episode of season 7. ***Enjoyed this episode?Rate, review, and share with someone navigating their own journey in leadership. Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode!

In this episode of the Urban Girl Corporate World Podcast, Nicole sits down with Ervin McBride, a cybersecurity professional, mentor, and North Carolina A&T alum, to discuss his intentional journey into the tech world, the power of mentorship, and the importance of representation in cybersecurity.Ervin shares how intentional networking helped him break into cybersecurity and how internships during college gave him the chance to explore different career paths before discovering the "right fit" in cybersecurity. After meeting Nicole at AfroTech, he took the time to build trust and vet her before asking her to be his mentor—an example of how genuine connections can lead to powerful relationships.The conversation dives deep into how Ervin navigates imposter syndrome, especially as one of the few Black professionals in many cybersecurity spaces, and how he channels that experience into creating awareness content on social media and mentoring others as a way of giving back tothe community.Ervin describes why cybersecurity is a field he loves—it keeps him on the edge of his seat and demands that he always stay ready. With the landscape constantly evolving, continuous learning and adaptability are key.Follow Ervin on social media to keep up with his cybersecurity awareness content and professional journey.***Enjoyed this episode?Rate, review, and share with someone navigating their own tech journey or exploring mentorship. Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode!

In this episode of Urban Girl Corporate World, host Nicole chats with Christina, Producer at Riot Games, about her incredible career journey—from facing constant rejection to finally landing a job offer that changed everything. Christina shares her experience relocating across the country to a place she’d never even visited, navigating the workforce as a neurodiverse professional, and tackling her first big project at Riot: Tech Talks which you can watch here. They also get real about the misconceptions about introverted leaders and the power of self-awareness. Plus, Christina reveals why she keeps a “Brag File” and why you absolutely need one too!Loved this episode? Like, subscribe, and share to help others tap into these career gems! 🚀✨****

In this episode of Urban Girl Corporate World, host Nicole sits down with Adrianna Seeny, Data Scientist, for a powerful conversation on confidence, resilience, and authenticity in the workplace.Adrianna shares her journey of securing a job after interviewing at AfroTech, the challenges of navigating corporate culture as a woman of color, and how she balances managing emotions while breaking stereotypes. Nicole & Adrianna unpack the discomfort of talking about money, the athlete’s mindset of continuous learning, and why chasing excellence is the ultimate career move.If this episode resonated with you, like, subscribe, and share to help more professionals step into their power! 🚀✨***Interested in leveling up at work? Check out Nicole's LinkedIn Learning Course: Stand Out as a Power Performer for tips on managing your manager, leveling up your performance, and sharing your wins.

In this episode of Urban Girl Corporate World, host Nicole sits down with Cameron Johnson, Cybersecurity Manager, to break down the strategies that drive success in cyber. They dive into the power of networking, the importance of trust between teammates, and the formula they used to make magic as colleagues.Cameron shares his approach to influencing engineers, navigating unclear paths into cybersecurity, and making strategic career moves. They also explore how to find the right mentor (and why just asking isn’t enough), the concept of anxious action, and why sometimes not asking is the key to getting what you want. Plus, they discuss the art of strategic sniping and why chasing impact should be your ultimate career goal.If you found this episode insightful, like, subscribe, and share to help more professionals elevate their careers! 🚀✨***** Does the BISO career path sound interesting to you? Check out Nicole's LinkedIn Learning course, "⁠Cyber Careers: Becoming a BISO⁠"

Welcome to Season 7 of Urban Girl Corporate World! In the season opener, Nicole shares the inspiration for the new season, what listeners can expect and challenges us all to be clear on what it is that we are chasing. *****Got questions you want Nicole to answer? Submit them to UrbanGirlCorporateWorld@gmail.com*****Enjoying the podcast? Leave us a 5 star review! And be sure to like, subscribe and share.

Live from Las Vegas, Nicole shares reflections from her first Customer Advisory Board meeting, her motivations for goals of board service, getting board training and meeting the CEO who told Google that $23B just wasn't enough. * Join the Urban Girl Corporate World "Winner's Circle" for exclusive access to insider events, training, podcast updates, newsletters and more. Register here. * Interested in Board Training? Learn more about United Way's VIP Program here.

Nicole interviews Ellen Bailey (VP of Diversity & Culture @ Harvard Business Publishing) about her journey to leadership, successfully shifting culture through strategy, challenges she's overcome along the way and how they are working together to bring Harvard Case Studies into HBCUs across the nation. 

Nicole & Libby Herman (Business Security Officer, ADP) discuss what it takes to be successful as a Business Information Security Officer, how the role is often misunderstood, strategies we’ve used to influence decision makers and advice we’d give to practitioners interested in the role.

Nicole and Chris Magno (Fortune 500 GM & Columbia University Professor) discuss a course he co-created on cognitive bias, roles that helped him build intellectual curiosity, leveraging storytelling to drive influence, overcoming leadership challenges, the secret sauce to building great teams, and what organizations get wrong with risk management. 

In the opener of Season 5, Nicole talks her new job, board seat appointment, her LinkedIn Learning course on Supply Chain Security, what she's speaking about at RSA and new updates for this season of the podcast. 

Nicole & Caroline Wong (Chief Strategy Officer, Cobalt.io) discuss her book, "Security Metrics, A Beginner's Guide", winning the EWF Woman of Influence Award, challenges she's overcome and her upcoming LinkedIn Learning course on the OWASP Top 10. You can find Caroline's book on Amazon here. 

Nicole interviews RInki Sethi, CISO @ Twitter, about lessons learned along her path to CISO, the power of assuming positive intent, how to change hearts and minds and what she's most proud of accomplishing. 

Nicole and Samara Williams, Manager of Threat Operations @ Cardinal Health, discuss meeting through #ShareTheMicInCyber, how threat intelligence makes cybersecurity sexy, Samara's Ted Talk and what influences her leadership style. Follow Samara on Twitter and tune into her TedTalk here. 

Nicole talks to Chris Hymes, (VP IT, Security & Privacy @ Riot Games) about his leadership philosophy, why security is more than preventing incidents, his proudest moments and wisdom gained from lessons learned.

Nicole interviews Amy Bernstein (Editor, Harvard Business Review & Host, Women at Work podcast) about her path to leadership, balancing boundaries and grace, the secret sauce behind creating stories that inspire and what to expect on this season of the Women at Work podcast. 

Nicole and Greg van der Gaast (CISO @ Scoutbee) discuss how his curiosity saved a company millions, structuring upstream security programs, getting speeding tickets in a Lamborghini, how Angelina Jolie inspired him to be a hacker, the downside of hiring unicorns, and the importance of rethinking information security. Purchase Greg's Book "Rethinking InfoSec" on Amazon.

Nicole and Lauren Zabierek (Director, Cybersecurity Project @ Harvard & Co-Founder of #ShareTheMicInCyber) discuss the viral impact of #ShareTheMicInCyber, her non-traditional path into the industry, her most recent white paper on threat intelligence and how her campaign motivated (and helped) Nicole to study cybersecurity at Harvard University. Sign up to support or participate at https://www.sharethemicincyber.com/