We had the good fortune of connecting with Katie Nguyen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katie, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
As a previous recruiter, I often met with candidates who told me that work life balance was what they desired in a role and while I think employers say they honor that, I think many people are still trying to figure out what exactly it means. For me, it took leaving an entire city and transitioning my life to plant these boundaries.

The phrase “work life balance” means something very different these days than it used to. When I was first starting my career, I often remember hearing phrases like “there is always more work to be done.” Even though I understand why recruiting teams say this phrase and the context behind it, it’s one of the reasons why I don’t personally use the phrase “Always be recruiting” myself. At the time, I don’t think I ever really questioned it, but it wasn’t normal to have burn out be as glamorized as it was. The pandemic truly showed us just how much time we all had, but also that it couldn’t be entirely dedicated to work.

In my own situation, for me to make a move in my 30’s to a new city and start over wasn’t easy nor cheap. I had to make sure that if I was going to do this that I needed to be clear on what my goals were. The move itself was in some ways, making up for lost time, but also living out a dream to always live in Los Angeles. If I wanted to spend time meeting people outside of work, exploring the city, or attending more concerts and events, the structure of my day to day life couldn’t be the same as it was in San Francisco.. Luckily my manager understood this and we were able to have an honest conversation about my move and how this would or wouldn’t impact my work.

More than ever, these days I value my time. I’ve gotten very good at time blocking my calendar which also helps with prioritization. And on weekends, I make sure that my laptop remains shut so that I can give myself the break that I need before returning back to work on Mondays.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What I’m most proud of today is how far I’ve come with my content. I started my blog in 2009 and consistently kept it running for 12 years until I wrote my last blog post in December 2021. People start and stop creating content so frequently for a number of reasons: they’re only in it for the money or to go viral, they burn out, they’ve niched down too far, they realize how much time and effort it takes, etc.

I was always concerned about the day I would have to shut down Yow Yow! and in some ways I’m glad I didn’t have to. While blogging during the pandemic, I made a TikTok account and taught myself basic video editing. I’m not going to say that my content was always thriving because I had a year of what felt like misses, but I learned a lot through trial and error. Yow Yow! has now evolved in a way that let’s me be the face of my content through video. Even when I publish Instagram Stories, I see glimpses of my old blog in it whether it’s the layout of each story or through the content I’m sharing.

The misconception that content is easy couldn’t be farther from the truth. In the last year, I had people try to hack into my blog, which gave me so much anxiety because it feels like such an invasion of your privacy. On a daily basis, I have to read negative and mean comments left on my page and hold myself back from responding. And lastly, I have to keep myself in check about what I’m comfortable posting and putting out into the world. The landscape of social media and content is always changing and it does feel like a full time job for me in addition to my day job. To this day, I’m still trying to overcome these challenges because at times, it takes a major hit on my own mental health.

The best part about having my blog in college was that it spanned farther than my friend circle. It reached a community within my university and then broader to the city of Seattle. I hope that my content today can do the same, that it is useful and relatable. I have a few series that I’m hoping to spend more time on in the next couple of months that I wish I would have had when I was growing up or in my 20’s and I hope this will be helpful to others.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I have a feeling that I will never get tired of Los Angeles because there’s always so much to explore. I’m a downtown girlie so I generally stay mostly east!

If someone is going to be in LA for a week, then they should get out of the city for part of that time. I would recommend spending an entire day in Malibu and then another entire day in Orange County.

For Malibu, I’d recommend checking out one of the more secluded beaches that isn’t the main public one that everyone goes to. I’ve always enjoyed my lunches at Broad Street Oyster, but if you’re making it a day trip, I’d pick a nicer restaurant for the evening.

If you’re headed to Orange County, you need to have the best Vietnamese food in Garden Grove. My favorite spot is Quán Hỷ and they are known for their Bánh bèo and noodle soups. Afterwards, if you’re a K-pop fan, head over to The Source in Buena Park for some shopping and snacks.

What I find to be special about LA is that each neighborhood has its own personality and so much to offer. I find myself spending portions of my weekends in one neighborhood at times.

Griffith Observatory – I know it’s touristy, but I never get tired of it. It’s beautiful at all times of the day.
Koreatown – grab KBBQ, sul lang tang or my most recent favorite Jinsol Gukbap
Stop by one of the flea markets or farmers markets which are always happening every weekend
On any given night, there is always a concert happening and ones that you can get tickets for last minute
When it’s basketball season, you can check out the Lakers or the Clippers at Crypto.com Arena
Go thrift shopping at one of the many stores in Fairfax
Visit one of LA’s many museums ie) Getty Center, Getty Villa, LACMA, Academy Museum or The Broad
Spend a day eating, drinking, and shopping along Sunset Blvd through Silver Lake and Echo Park

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The Kirkland Teen Union Building will always hold such a special place in my heart. I’m not sure if they are still active today, but they were my first internship ever and I’m pretty sure at the time they didn’t have a real internship program and that I begged them to give me one. To this day, I can’t believe my mentor, Kelly Aiken, had allowed a 17 year old to plan and promote monthly concerts. It meant the world that him and the staff had put their trust and faith in me, but that experience ended up being invaluable. After that internship, I went on to plan more events and concerts throughout my college career, but I couldn’t have done that without this experience. When I first came into the space, I only saw it as a place to go after school had ended for the day. It truly shaped my early career and even though I had big ideas at the time and no budget, Kelly never made me feel like my ideas were out of reach.

Website: www.itsyowyow.com

Instagram: instagram.com/katieyowyow

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@katieyowyow?lang=en

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