Work According To Kiernan & Julia

Two exit interviews, a new career in Ireland, a vintage French sweater and the praying mantis of bosses.

This substack is dedicated to two very talented, quirky, courageous, capable and committed women who recently left Food52.

What will always stay with me about both Kiernan & Julia is how very hard they worked up until the end (a rare, memorable quality) and more importantly - the way they navigated change, caring for others (and their work) and capturing opportunity.

Here’s today’s episode of WORK. You can see more of Julia and Kiernan here.

Erika: Alright, Julia’s up. Julia - how long have you been at Food52?

Julia: Oh my God. How much time do we have? I've been here almost four years,which in Food52 lore equals about 5 generations. In that time I’ve seen three complete staff turn overs and three CEOs.

Erika: That sounds fun. So is that glass half full…or glass half empty?

Julia: I like to think it’s half full.

Through all that transition, I've seen alot of people become bitter, resentful and want to leave. But truly (and I’m not just saying this) it’s given me so many career and life lessons and growth opportunities. This experience has been an incredible part of the last four years of my life.

I started here as a social media associate at the bottom of the totem pole - with no authority at all. And then eventually my manager got laid off, which was really sad, but then I kind-of took over his job. So then I was the social media manager and after a time and a series of events, the video team dissolved and I became the manager of both video and social media.

Erika: So you basically ran the joint. You’re like the praying mantis eating your bosses’ jobs instead of flies.

Julia: I know right. It taught me a lot about resilience and a lot about attitude in the workplace. I felt that I could go in one direction and become bitter and resentful or I could look at this an opportunity to always be grabbing something and running with it.

Now I try to teach my team to take direction…but don’t necessarily always ask for permission. Come up with what you think the best, most successful idea is and start executing it.

Erika: I love this. Shit happens at work. You can go home every day and say YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE WHAT THEY DID TODAY. Or, you can get busy and start doing something of your own. It’s a choice. I like the idea of taking on stuff because it lands on you. It’s a good way to move quickly.

I have to say, you do a really great job of showing up with positive energy. You are sunshine at work. Not in a way that is fake or pretends that things are awesome when they are not. You are sunshiny in a way that says - ok, we can do this - let’s figure out how.

What are the lessons you take away from the four years? When you look back on this experience - what has it taught you?

Julia: When I started, I didnt know anything - but over time and little by little, I learned things. It’s not like anyone taught me. I just started doing stuff. I didn’t wait for a process or permission - I just started working. My work wasn’t great in the beginning but it got better and better. It probably wasn’t great in the beginning but it got better and better. When you break the barrier of waiting and you stop being paralyzed, great things can happen.

Erika: What makes you say - hey - it may not be perfect, and it’s definitely going to start kind-of ugly… but we are going to figure it out.

Julia: When I got to Food52, I was in a transitional time in my life. I was in my late 20s. I had some experience under my belt but not so much to be set in my ways. I was open to change.

The good thing about working at a start-up is that it teaches you that you can and should always be open to different paths - including the ones you don’t expect. I also didn’t have a specific idea of what I wanted my career to be so I was pretty much open to anything.

Erika: I like that. It’s a good lesson for people at any age, really. I think it’s understandable but also not particularly productive to be bitter at your company for what it is and also what it’s not. I think it’s also very easy to fall into this bitterness and resentment because work can be frustrating and a lot about work and a lot at work is beyond your control. I think you’ve done a really nice job of staying positive and finding the joy in work even when work is fucked up.

You’ve also never struck me as someone who is rigid. You’ve always come across as someone who is ready to jump in two feet and is happy to be part of a team to get things done. I really appreciate and admire this.