Samantha Lomow, Senior VP of Hasbro Brands
For Samantha Lomow, senior vice president of Hasbro Brands, not having a five-year plan allowed her to seek out career opportunities as they came.
Typically those opportunities appeared to hold less responsibility, but Lomow found shewas able to succeed in those roles and further her career growth trajectory to the next level.
“A lot of women think they have to do more to prove themselves,” she says. “It’s not always about doing more. Sometimes you can do less and do it really well.”
Lomow climbed the ranks at toy giant Hasbro, where she has worked since 2001, and partially attributes her success to the network of supportive people she surrounds herself with, from Hasbro’s CEO to her husband.
“My very first boss was a female, and she really imparted the value on understanding someone from a professional and personal point of view, and she took an interest of me on both sides,” Lomow says. “She would call me every now and then to see how I was doing, and that taught me the importance of keeping those relationships. Sometimes checking in is enough to stay in touch.”
“First and foremost, find your ability to bring passion to your work because that will push you forward more than anything else.”
She says the key to succeeding at work is to find those mentors and like-minded people, and an organization that values diversity of thought — qualities that can be sussed out during the interview process.
“When you go through the interview process, you have to vet for that and ask the questions that allow you to figure out if it’s a right cultural fit,” she says. “If you're not getting that with the interview panel, ask to speak to more people. Read what’s out there publicly and how different things get talked about. I think you can glean a lot from just listening.”
But most importantly, Lomow says there’s one thing that will drive women to the top.
“Do something you love,” she says. “First and foremost, find your ability to bring passion to your work because that will push you forward more than anything else.”