Alexandra Levit

Last updated
Alexandra Levit
Alexandra Levit 2008.jpg
Levit in 2008
Born1976 (age 4849)
Alma mater Northwestern University
Occupation(s)Writer, journalist, consultant
Years active2004–present
Children2
Website alexandralevit.com

Alexandra Levit (born 1976) [1] is an American writer, consultant, speaker, workplace expert, and futurist. [2] She has written ten business and workplace books and writes as a syndicated columnist for the Wall Street Journal.

Contents

Early life and education

Levit was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and raised in Gaithersburg, Maryland. [3]

She graduated from Watkins Mill High School as the salutatorian of her class. During high school, she was active in environmental causes and acted in several theatrical productions.

In 1998, she graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in psychology. [4]

Career

In her early career, Levit worked in New York [5] as a public relations representative for a Long Island software company. [6] She went on to become a vice president at public relations firm Edelman, with a focus on creating online campaigns in the early days of social media. [7] She left Edelman in 2008.

In 2003, she used her workplace experiences to write a guide for young professionals navigating the business world. The book, They Don't Teach Corporate in College, was published in 2004, and started Levit's career as a workplace consultant, speaker, columnist, and author. [8] [7]

In 2004, Levit founded Inspiration at Work, a business and workplace consulting firm based in Chicago that advised universities, nonprofit associations, and companies. [9] [10] From 2009 to 2010, she wrote a nationally syndicated career advice column for The Wall Street Journal. [11] [12] From 2008 to 2011, she wrote The Corporate Freshman column for the Huffington Post .

She has written for Forbes , [13] [14] Fortune , [5] Business Insider , [15] Fast Company , [16] Mashable, [17] Business 2 Community [18] CityLab , [19] and The New York Times , including a 2013 report on global business competence [20] and a 2016 article about artificial intelligence in the workplace. [21]

She has written ten business and career books, offering guidance on getting a desirable job, [22] changing careers, [11] [23] managing a multi-generational workforce, and work habits to achieve success. [24] She has written about the intersection of technology and the workplace, [21] and consults with companies about preparing for the workplace of the future.

In 2009, Levit served on the Business Roundtable's Springboard Project, which advised the Obama administration on workplace issues. [24] The following year, she helped develop JobSTART 101, a free online course for college students and recent graduates to help them learn the necessary skills for success as entry-level employees. [5]

In 2011, she worked with the Department of Labor under the Obama administration to develop a new career-transitioning program for veterans. [7] Also in 2011, as a member of DeVry University's Career Advisory Board, she co-founded the Career Advisory Board's Job Preparedness Indicator, an annual study of the US job market that was issued for six years. [13] [16] The survey was designed to track the disparity between what hiring managers say they're looking for in candidates and the skills those candidates actually possess. [25]

From 2014 through 2017, she contributed to the Deloitte millennial leadership studies. [26] In 2016, Levit presented a five-minute Ignite-style talk on the future workplace at DisruptHR at 1871 in Chicago. [27] In 2017, she presented a TEDx talk on the future of work in Evanston, Illinois, [28] and spoke at South by Southwest alongside technology entrepreneur Randi Zuckerberg and DeVry University president Rob Paul.

In 2018, Levit published the international best-selling book, Humanity Works: Merging Technologies and People for the Workforce of the Future. The book was printed in multiple languages, and Levit presented corresponding workshops on five continents. In 2019, she started a podcast called Workforce 2030.

During the 2020-2021 coronavirus pandemic, Levit received a federal grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to create an app that uses cognitive behavioral techniques to alleviate the emotional distress caused by unemployment. Partnering with Northwestern University researchers, Levit demonstrated her product via a 2023-2024 clinical trial.

In 2022, Levit returned to the Wall Street Journal [29] to anchor a section and newsletter, The Workplace Report, which advises CEOs and CHROs on modern employment issues and features interviews with leaders including EEOC Commissioner Keith Sonderling and National Labor Relations Board Deputy General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo.

Levit formed a partnership with artificial intelligence HR technology company Eightfold AI, with which she co-authored her book, Deep Talent, in 2023. She is also a member of the HR think tank The Workforce Institute, [30] the Association for Professional Futurists, the Grey Swan Guild, and the Hacking HR [31] global community.

Honors

Bibliography

References

  1. Alexandra Levit, "The Hidden Reasons Why Gen-Xers' Career Prospects Are Rising," Fast Company , July 21, 2016.
  2. Amy Levin-Epstein, “New Job? 8 Tips For Your First Day,” CBS MoneyWatch, May 16, 2011.
  3. Levit, Alexandra (2007-09-25). "The Right Way to Quit a Job". ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  4. "The Hour - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  5. 1 2 3 "Scared straight: How Gen Y has benefited from the recession - Fortune Management". CNNMoney. Archived from the original on 2014-02-05. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  6. Villano, Matt (2005-08-21). "The Smallest Raise in the Office Was Yours". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  7. 1 2 3 Slim, Pamela. "Side Hustle and Flow Interview Series: Alexandra Levit | Escape From Cubicle Nation" . Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  8. "Cheeky Interviews Author Alexandra Levit | Cheeky Chicago". cheekychicago.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  9. Villano, Matt (2008-10-18). "Midcareer Rocket Fuel, Courtesy of an Internship". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  10. "Retention Coaching". www.astd.org. Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  11. 1 2 "Millennial moves easily into writers' constellation". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2012-03-10. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  12. Levit, Alexandra (2010-05-23). "Have Week, Want Job". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  13. 1 2 Council, Young Entrepreneur. "Is The Bad Job Market Just An Excuse?". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  14. Council, Young Entrepreneur. "Hold Those Perks: Why U.S. Workers Still Value Conventional Employment". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  15. Levit, Alexandra. "How To Survive A Cutthroat Workplace". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  16. 1 2 "These Three Job Skills Aren't Just For IT Workers Anymore". Fast Company. 2017-03-21. Archived from the original on 2023-10-22. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  17. Abbruzzese, Jason (2017-01-24). "Some things never change: 1996 career advice that's still solid". Mashable. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  18. Alexandra Levit, “Five 2014 Trends That Will Impact Your Career,” Business 2 Community, January 9, 2014.
  19. "Pressing Pause on a Career, Without Falling Behind". Bloomberg.com. 2017-01-12. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  20. Levit, Alexandra (2013-06-08). "Seeing the World as Your Stage". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  21. 1 2 Levit, Alexandra (2016-09-10). "A Robot May Be Training to Do Your Job. Don't Panic". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  22. Slayter, Mary Ellen (2008-04-13). "Mary Ellen Slayter - Cracking the Code on Landing Cool Jobs". ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  23. Stillman, Jessica (2010-02-11). "Career Change: Reinventing Yourself in a Recession is Possible - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  24. 1 2 "Career Hub Exclusive: Q and A with Alexandra Levit, Blind Spots". Career Hub. Archived from the original on 2017-06-16. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  25. "What Employers Want that Job Seekers Aren't Mentioning | Fox Business Video". Fox Business. 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  26. Dan Schawbel, "How Millennial Entrepreneurs Will Shake Things Up At Work," Forbes, February 28, 2014.
  27. "What Is HR's Role In the Future of Work?". ERE Media. 2017-03-01. Archived from the original on 2017-03-22. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  28. "2017: The Power of Intention," [ permanent dead link ] tedxnorthwesternu.com, 2017.
  29. "The Workplace Report: There's a Reason Traditional Organizational Structures Exist". createsend.com. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  30. Levine, Bryan (2022-07-26). "Four Truths of the 2020s Workforce We Should Embrace • The Workforce Institute at UKG". The Workforce Institute at UKG. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  31. "Hacking HR LAB". www.hackinghrlab.io. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  32. Carolyn Bigda, et al, “Best online career expert,” Money , May 12, 2010.
  33. Meghan Casserly and Jenna Goudreau, “Top 100 Websites For Women,” Forbes, June 23, 2010.
  34. Meghan Casserly and Jenna Goudreau, “Top 100 Websites For Women 2012,” Forbes, June 20, 2012.
  35. “11 Moments That Make Starting a Business Completely Worth It,” Archived 2014-02-02 at the Wayback Machine All Business Experts, August 8, 2013.
  36. , Chelsea Gladden, “14 Career Experts to Follow on Twitter,” Mashable, September 8, 2012.
  37. Jacquelyn Smith, “The Top 100 Websites For Your Career,” Forbes, September 18, 2013.