Stephanie T.
Networking Career Coach, Conference Speaker, Retreat Facilitator, Panel Moderator at Stephanie Thoma
Professional Training and Coaching
Education: University of California at Santa Barbara
San Francisco, CA, USA
Biography
Stephanie Thoma is an author and career coach known for her inspiring approach to confidence, self-acceptance, and community building. Her debut book, Confident Introvert, has been praised for empowering introverts to excel in social and professional settings by embracing their unique strengths. Her latest release, Not That Sweet, delves into modern relationships and self-discovery, encouraging readers to embrace authenticity through embodying personal standards, healthy boundary setting and deep self-knowing. Her podcast is called Holistic Ambition and showcases interviews with leaders who prioritize wellbeing, meaning and fun in their careers, business and relationships.
As a connector, Stephanie’s views around networking have been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, and Thrive Global. She has also been invited to speak at Harvard, Northeastern, and Boston Universities as well as internationally. To date, Stephanie has helped thousands of people celebrate their strengths, step into their authentic confidence, and make meaningful connections.
Awards: Solo Female Entreprenuer of the Year 2020 & 2021, Stevie Awards, Bronze Winner & #obo100 of 2020 recognizing human-centered business owners
Passion
Helping leaders and aspiring leaders reduce anxiety, cultivate authentic confidence and connect with others.
Featured Video
Featured Book
My Podcast
I am willing to travel
More than 100 miles
When it comes to payments
I always get paid for speaking
Topics
Best Story
I can speak about making a new connection and how it turned into a lucrative partnership years later.
Another story I share is about one article of clothing I wore that made all the difference in networking.
I can also speak to examples of regaining a sense of self and authenticity after being cancelled, as well as healthy boundary setting and the embodiment of personal standards.
Origin Story
I was painfully shy—one of five kids, the eldest daughter to an authoritarian police sergeant father, the black sheep of the family, a serial monogamist in friendship, and eventually a first-generation college student. I didn’t feel understood by many people and typically had one friend at a time. When I did connect with someone, I felt it was the exception, not the rule. I was grateful for the connections I had, although they seemed minimal at times, and told myself that one friend was enough.
While the rest of my classmates formed various friend groups, there seemed to be so much gossip, breaches of trust, and promises falling through. It just didn’t appeal to me. So, quality over quantity, right?
But still, I often felt so uncomfortable at school that I’d take a book into a closed restroom stall to read alone at lunch. The anxiety I felt when thinking about being seen alone overpowered the actual experience of sitting solo.
I felt like an outsider and didn’t believe it was possible to deeply and authentically connect with large numbers of people, so I rarely tried. The prospect of rejection brought more anguish than it was worth. Instead, I kept to myself. I assumed people wouldn’t like me and that I’d have to be fake to be popular. I wanted to be true to myself without judgment, so I hid.
But over time, I found a more outgoing part of myself starting to emerge, that was actually more authentic, especially when I began to step into leadership roles. And now, many years later, as a leadership coach helping others hone similar success.
Example talks
Networking Remotely
Bringing exclusive and often unlisted opportunities to you through networking takes more planning and nerve than cold emailing or submitting your resume into the black hole of the interwebs. However, being open to connecting and helping others – in good times and bad – can help you cultivate valuable connections in your chosen field, stay focused and motivated during your job search, and meet the people of your dream network.
But networking makes many of us feel awkward and uncomfortable. ‘What is my story? Should I talk about the elephant in the room… the pandemic? How can I get a new job, let alone make new connections while we shelter in place?’
You’ll leave this webinar not only with a game plan for your future networking experiences but also feeling more confident in yourself and your ability to make meaningful connections that will help you advance your career.
Networking for Female Leaders
Women face unique challenges at work, from imposter syndrome to the wage gap, this workshop empowers women to advance in their careers through the power of connection and community building. You don't even need to be an introvert to feel anxious at the thought of networking. Do you wish you felt more comfortable meeting new people, but feel like networking is too quick and shallow for you to do it right? Do you feel misunderstood, coming off as unfriendly without meaning to? If this sounds familiar, then I'm excited to invite you to be a part of this workshop.
The Networking for Female Leaders workshop has been designed to address those specific concerns and more. You'll leave this event not only having a game plan for your future networking experiences but also feeling more confident in yourself and your ability to make meaningful connections.
Networking for Introverts
You don't even need to be an introvert to feel anxious at the thought of networking. Do you wish you felt more comfortable meeting new people, but feel like networking is too quick and shallow for you to do it right? Do you feel misunderstood, coming off as unfriendly without meaning to? If this sounds familiar, then I'm excited to invite you to be a part of this workshop.
The Networking for Introverts workshop has been designed to address those specific concerns and more. You'll leave this event not only having a game plan for your future networking experiences but also feeling more confident in yourself and your ability to make meaningful connections.