Samina Virk is the CEO of North America for Vestiaire Collective, the rapidly-growing luxury fashion resale site. And Samina told us she attributes her rise in the fashion industry to strategic career mapping. Whether it’s engaging in a personal brainstorming session or proactively discussing career plans with mentors and higher-ups, Samina explained how setting intentions can yield big results.
In this episode, Samina shares:
Her approach to negotiating for what you want
How to get leaders and higher-ups thinking about your career path
Why you should lean on your friends more for career support
Her decision to return to Vestiaire, having previously worked at the company
How she conducts her personal brainstorming sessions
On Her Personal Brainstorming Sessions
Samina: I've done a few pivots in my career, and I've actually taken a break from working and taken the time to sort of network and think, “Okay, what do I want to do next?” And I've done quite a few personal whiteboard sessions where sometimes I'm not sure what I want to do next, and it's a matter of like, “What do I want? What do I like? What are the things about jobs that I've loved? What do I want to make sure I do in the next world?”
And then it's about sort of crafting what that vision would look like, what I want to do next professionally or personally, and then almost detailing it out. So I'm a big believer that if you write down your vision…and you start talking about it, you write it down, you ask people's advice, that you find a way for the universe to open doors that make it happen.
On Her Approach to Negotiation
Samina: The way that I've approached negotiation, sometimes it's been salary, sometimes it's been about moving into a team that I'm really interested in or taking on a new project, I've approached it more in the direction of sharing, “This is where I'd want to be and where I'd like to be. And this is where I am now. And if you can help me understand, or if you can share with me, how do I go from where I am now to where I am there?”
Because then…it's about getting a little bit more information about why you aren't where you want to be with [your] salary, and what it would take. And if you can walk out of that conversation with some actionable next steps, then you have a plan, right? I think it also forces the person on the other side of the table to really sort of think about, “Okay, what is my answer going to be to this ask?”
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