Sneha SrinivasanSara Eisen has accomplished much at just 33-years-old. She holds a master’s degree in broadcast journalism with a concentration in business reporting from the Medill School of Journalism. Below she shares how she’s managed to advance her career at one of the largest cable news channels in America.
Career
She is the editor of Currencies After the Crash: The Uncertain Future of the Global Paper-Based Currency System. The millennial mother has been co-anchoring CNBC’s “Power Lunch“, “Squawk on the Street” and “Worldwide Exchange.”
For nearly five years Eisen has focused on global consumer news at CNBC. Before CNBC, Eisen hosted the Bloomberg Radio program “On the Economy,” was co-anchor of “Bloomberg Surveillance” and served as a correspondent for Bloomberg Television.
There she covered global macroeconomics, policy, and business. During that time, she reported on European debt, the tsunami aftermath, and the Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan.
Eisen’s career debunks common stereotypes that millennials are lazy and lack loyalty to their employers, and that millennial moms work fewer hours than the average young employee.
Conversation with Sara Eisen
As a young woman working in the news, she was accustomed to being called out by older men who assume or suggest she isn’t aware of stories, events, or history because of her age.
Every day, I consider myself lucky to go to a job I love so much, that I want to devote so much to… but you’re always proving yourself, for the best and worst reasons.
Eisen was recently called out on TV for bringing up a period in 1992 in which Presidential politics interfered with monetary policy to compare it with President Trump’s current criticisms of the central bank.
I referenced President Bush openly calling on then-Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan to lower interest rates during an election year. In general, I think I have to fight the perception that men, particularly older men, deserve more trust. Being a millennial gives me a competitive edge and helps me understand consumer stories and trends in ways that are valuable to investors and our audience.
Eisen fought to cover companies and CEOs that had either never come on CNBC before or had been less covered.
I helped build relationships with important companies like Coke, Mondelez, and Nike—companies that are now prominent in the news cycle and that we now have more interviews with. Whenever I can contribute new ideas I feel that I am helping us win.
When asked about her motherhood, Eisen said,
Prioritizing my time is so much more crucial now than it ever was before motherhood. Parenthood can be so emotional—it is full of such highs and lows, and constant worrying—and I admire all of my peers who still manage to juggle their day job.
Sara Eisen’s inspirational words of advice for working millennial moms
You can do it. Absorbing the never-ending job of parenthood into your already overwhelmed schedule is a daunting prospect. It simply won’t be the same when you return to work. But that doesn’t mean you can’t deliver the same output and quality you always have. Value your time and don’t be afraid to ask for help—from your spouse, from your family, and from your personal and professional support groups.
Lastly, she advises you to study, do your homework, practice. Be smarter and overcompensate with preparation. Don’t let them realize you were eight years old when President Bush criticized Greenspan. Make them understand you know every detail about the event and consequences of that period.
It applies to so many jobs and situations. For millennials to compete, they have to shake stereotypes of entitlement and naïveté. However, you must prove that you’re hard-working, intelligent, and most of all, prepared.
Read Sara Eisen’s complete interview with Christine Carter on Forbes.
