Interview with Cheryl Casone

Interview with Cheryl Casone

Cheryl Casone joined FOX Business Network (FBN) in September 2007 as an anchor. She also serves as a financial contributor on FOX News Channel (FNC), and provides weekly job reports.

Casone has years of experience covering finance, business and consumer news. She has reported on the economic impact of war on the economy, consumer fraud, global markets, foreign investment and corporate governance in addition to her work covering the U.S. markets.

Prior to FNC, she worked as a freelance business correspondent for CNN, primarily reporting from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and she worked for CBS Newspath as a general assignment reporter. Casone moved to New York to work as an overnight and early morning news anchor for MSNBC and NBC. Previously, she anchored a business show for San Francisco’s KRON-TV (MyNetworkTV) and served as a business and general assignment reporter. She began her career at CNX Media on the nationally syndicated program “Travel Update.”

Casone has served on the boards of the Associated Press Television and Radio Association, California and Nevada Regional Chapter, and American Women in Radio and Television, San Francisco Chapter.

A native of Dallas, TX, Casone graduated from Northern Arizona University.

For young women starting their careers and making decisions about their first or second transition up the ladder, what mistakes do you hear about them making?

Usually the biggest mistake is not staying in their first position long enough.  Your first job out of college needs to be a two to three year stint.  You need time to develop and grow in general when it comes to your career, and you don’t want to have that short employment history on your resume.  You are in resume building stage and every move you make is crucial.  After that, the other mistake is not building your network:  going to events, lunches, seminars that are geared toward your profession.  Not only do you learn from others, but you make valuable contacts, and when you begin to move up the ladder or transition either internally or to another firm, it really is about who you know, not what you know.  That saying is true!

What is your opinion about advanced educational degrees in the current job market – should women be pursuing master’s degrees and law school?

Master’s Degrees are still to this day profession dependent.  I would never advise anyone who didn’t need a master’s or doctorate degree to obtain one just “because.”  As for young women who want to be lawyers, I would advise going straight from a four year college to law school.  The OTHER thing, and I’ve seen this pay off for several female friends, is leaving college, working in a professional environment for a year or two, and THEN taking the LSAT and applying to law school.  Many schools put immense value on those with real world experience.  I’m not saying it’s right for everyone, but it could give you a leg up on the competitive world of law school acceptance and could also give you time to save some money before you return to the educational system.

In your career, what have been the best and the worst management styles you’ve experienced?

The best managers I have had were those that listened to their employees instead of dictating orders.  The best bosses are those that seem to care for the well being and professional development of their staff.  I remember my news director at KRON in San Francisco.  I was still rather green when it came to reporting the news and she was gracious with her guidance.  Even if I made mistakes on the air, she would point them out but not in an abrasive way.  I took her advice and remain grateful to her to this day.  I’ve had bad bosses, and probably one of the worst was someone who was hot-tempered.  If I go into more detail, you’ll figure out who it is!  Luckily, I haven’t seen that person in years.

What types of companies do you think are providing the best opportunities for young women today – any particular sector that is growing and exciting?

There are a lot of opportunities in healthcare and franchise ownership for women right now.  I am getting a lot of emails from women who want to re-enter the workforce after raising their children.  Home health aides are desperately needed, and women are natural caregivers.  The pay is very good as those jobs are in high demand.  These are not medical care jobs, they are more focused on helping the elderly with errands, bills, and general living challenges.

And here’s the question we ask all of our Mentors: If you had a chance to pass on to young women in the workplace the best three pieces of advice that you can think of, what would they be?

Love What You Do.  Love Who You Are.  Never Give Up.

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