\n
![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/GettyImages-2082126270-e1724063001609.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n [ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n
Aspiring Oprah Winfrey employees would be automatically culled if they let slip that they were a fan, a former staffer has revealed\u2014and even just inquiring about when they\u2019d meet their future boss was enough to land them in the reject pile.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s according to Jeff Boodie, commonly referred to as Boodie, who worked with Oprah Winfrey from 2007 until 2010.<\/p>\n
Looking back, the ex-business coordinator for Oprah Magazine (now Oprah Daily) revealed what it was like working for the journalist-turned-media mogul before becoming an entrepreneur himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were excited to be part of Oprah\u2019s team, but we weren\u2019t fans,\u201d Boodie wrote in a personal essay for Business Insider<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>\u201cI knew right away that there was intentionality on who was being hired.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI saw firsthand how anyone more concerned about how often she was in the office or when they\u2019d get to meet her would not make it to the final rounds of hiring,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n Boodie, who now runs his own media agency, ConnectUp Media Agency, said that the experience taught him the importance of not letting star power cloud your judgment\u2014and that \u201cit\u2019s crazy\u201d people would ask about the TV star at an interview stage.<\/p>\n \u201cI learned from Oprah that to work for someone like her, be great, but don\u2019t be a fan,\u201d Boodie concluded.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBe aware that you were a part of the team inspiring the world with life-changing messaging, but it wasn\u2019t your position to get so swept up in working for an influential person that you couldn\u2019t do your job.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Fortune<\/em> has reached out to Oprah Daily publishers Hearst and Oprah Winfrey for comment.<\/p>\n Winfrey, who has an estimated net worth of $3 billion<\/a>, has had viewers glued to their screens since the 80\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n She transitioned her hit talk show, which ran for 25 years until 2011, into a media empire spanning a TV network, magazine, book club, and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yet despite her success, Boodie claimed that Winfrey doesn\u2019t let her stardom get to her head.\u00a0<\/p>\n Having since worked with influencers and royals, Boodie wrote that \u201cit\u2019s rare\u201d to see a celebrity shine the light on others instead of themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOprah had and still can uplift experts and allow them to be stand-alone stars,\u201d Boodie wrote, while citing Suze Orman, Dr. Phil and Gayle King among others.<\/p>\n \u201cShe pushed experts up front and celebrated their findings on various topics for her and the audience,\u201d he continued. \u201cTo me, that was genius. Let experts be experts. No one knows everything, and witnessing her curiosity and ability to let others shine made me realize how special it was to work for her.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI carry this lesson with me still: lifting others up and not worrying about their stardom.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, Boodie didn\u2019t get a job at The Oprah Magazine by declaring how much he admired its founder. <\/p>\n In a previous essay for Business Insider,<\/em><\/a> he admitted that \u201cnot being a fan\u201d helped him secure the role\u2014and a thank-you note.<\/p>\n \u201cI always looked at interviews like dating,\u201d he wrote, adding that after his interview with Oprah Winfrey\u2019s then-business manager, Nancy Denholtz, in 2007, he put pen to paper and thanked her for her time.<\/p>\n \u201cI wrote the thank-you note to include specifics about the job description we discussed and expressed how and why I was prepared for the job,\u201d Boodie added.<\/p>\n \u201cI included the values I knew I could bring to the position and wrote about my excitement to learn from someone seasoned in their career. I included details we discussed about Nancy\u2019s family and my understanding of what it\u2019s like to work hard and build success for those you love.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking back, he said that the note \u201cplayed a pivotal role\u201d in landing that job.<\/p>\n \u201cNancy mentioned it two years later when I was finally comfortable enough to ask for the reason I was hired,\u201d Boodie concluded. \u201cWhile working for the company, I saw firsthand how candidates who wrote thank-you cards or notes stood out from those who didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\u201cLet experts be experts\u201d<\/h2>\n
How Boodie landed a gig in Oprah Winfrey\u2019s team\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Recommended Newsletter:<\/strong> CEO Daily provides key context for the news leaders need to know from across the world of business. Every weekday morning, more than 125,000 readers trust CEO Daily for insights about\u2013and from inside\u2013the C-suite. Subscribe Now<\/a>.<\/div>\n