It makes perfect sense that Aliza Licht’s first literary foray came to her via social media. Licht, Donna Karan Co.’s senior vice president of global communications, was one of fashion’s early pioneers of social media and built a remarkable following for the DKNY brand. “An editor from Grand Central Publishing had been following me on social media and reached out,” she recalled. “She said that I could write about anything, which of course made the idea even more daunting. I stalled for months. I didn’t want to do it just for the sake of being able to say that I wrote a book. I had to find a purpose for it.”
Enter “Leave Your Mark: Land Your Dream Job. Kill It in Your Career. Rock Social Media.” While thinking about the direction to take for her first book, it dawned on Licht that she had mentored people all over the world via Twitter for years.
“People would tweet asking for career advice and I would always respond, sometimes via email, sometimes even on the phone,” she said. “There were those in New York who asked to grab coffee. I wanted to help, but of course you can’t grab coffee with everyone who asks. I couldn’t make an impact at scale. That’s when it hit me. ‘Leave Your Mark’ could be my way of grabbing coffee with everyone who reads it, a virtual mentorship.’
And that is exactly what the book provides in chapters like “Writing a Killer Cover Letter and Rock-Solid Resumé,” “Surviving People and Politics,” “Text-Message Speak and Other Ways to Ruin Your Chances” and “When You Get to the Top, Don’t Be an Asshole.”
“Every person is their own brand, even starting as early as high school,” she said. “You have to start acting like a professional before you are professional. The skills you learn are only half the recipe. Your success also relies on how you are as a human. Knowing how to navigate human nature is an essential ingredient.”
And people in fashion talk to each other, so beware. “You can’t burn bridges,” Licht added. “They will come back to haunt you in your next job.”
Over a recent iced coffee at Lambs Club, Licht was buzzing about her next career move: Leave Your Mark LLC, the media and consulting venture she will focus on when she leaves Donna Karan by the end of the year.
Karan, who provided the foreword to the book, called Licht “the ultimate mentor because she’s the ultimate role model. She talks the talk and walks the walk. A self-starter, Aliza makes things happen.” In other words, a perfect prerequisite to leave one’s mark.
