Katie Thomas reached out to 30 to 40 executive assistants on LinkedIn to get advice on working in tech.

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• Katie Thomas is a senior executive assistant at Uber and a former assistant to Postmates’ CFO.
• She worked her way up in tech by networking and posting frequently on LinkedIn.
• She says coming prepared with smart questions and research on an executive is key for interviews.

Katie Thomas has been a senior executive business partner at Uber since March 2021, after the ride-hailing giant acquired her previous employer, Postmates, for $2.65 billion. Before that, she was the executive assistant to Postmates’ chief financial officer.

A self-described introvert who seeks out careers with “mission-driven companies,” Thomas worked her way into Big Tech after starting as a receptionist for a private-equity firm. She told Jessica Vann, the CEO of Maven Recruiting Group, on a recent episode of the podcast “Reach” that “taking a shot” with a good first impression — whether in real life or online — early in her career opened a lot of doors.

Her first piece of advice to anyone starting out is to be active on LinkedIn and connect with people whose career paths mirror your goals. Here’s how — and her tips for interviewing for a role at a big tech company.

Be honest, and be yourself

A few months after beginning her role at Postmates in April 2020, Thomas posted on LinkedIn about her “unusual journey” starting a job entirely remotely, expressing gratitude for “the chance to expand my horizons and challenge myself.” The post received more than 3,000 likes and 100 comments.

“That was an inspiring moment,” Thomas said on the podcast. Since then, she added, she’s grown her profile to more than 2,200 followers by “recognizing my value and the accomplishments I have made.”

For anyone trying to be more active on the platform, she warned against copying how others engage. “Be as authentic as possible in the things that you like and the things that you comment on, the people you connect with,” she said.

Send your message far and wide

Thomas’ position with Postmates was also her first time assisting anyone in the C-suite. So, eager to find a mentor who could guide her through this new challenge, Thomas messaged about 30 to 40 executive assistants who supported CFOs in the tech industry.

She said she told them it was her first time working in tech and for a C-suite and asked for any tips and tricks. She added that while she got only a few responses, “those few people that I was able to connect with, I still connect with to this day.”

These contacts, she said, remained some of her “biggest cheerleaders” as she transitioned to new roles in the industry.

Be bold in a way that works for you

Thomas said she often finds networking and work events draining, so it was crucial to find “that right method or tool that works for you.”

Once, when covering for someone on leave, Thomas had to reschedule an executive’s meeting with Salesforce. Thomas Googled the executive assistant at Salesforce and saw that she had an impressive background.

“She was where I wanted to be five or 10 years from now,” Thomas said. Getting a “good vibe” from email exchanges, Thomas said, she asked if the other executive assistant wanted to get a coffee or a drink.

“The worst they can say is no,” Thomas said.

Thomas said that they went for a drink a few weeks later and that the executive assistant “really helped me think through what my next steps would be.”

Thomas credited this experience with pushing her to be bolder when it came to LinkedIn and other networking opportunities.

Come prepared with talking points

Thomas said positivity is her superpower in interviewing for roles in tech. “People understand who I am right off the bat, and that sometimes that might not work for everyone,” she said. But by being authentic, Thomas added, she can “weed out” people she might not enjoy working for.

Asking smart questions is crucial, too. “It’s easy to be asked questions the whole time and not come prepared with ones of your own,” Thomas said. Some of her favorite to ask are “How much time do you spend with your direct reports?” “What are your priorities in your business as well as your personal life?” and “Are there are other executive assistants I may be working with?”

If the answer to the last question is yes, Thomas said, she’ll ask herself: “Are they also excited about their growth? Are they willing to help and help me understand what’s going on?”

She added that executive assistants should be prepared with “points of why you want to work there and what’s important to you and the things that are exciting to you about what that company is doing.”

She said that in her experience, interviewers want to hear about an interviewee’s ideas and goals — what they’re working toward, and whether they’re going to partner with the executive and match them in terms of hard work and care. “I always make sure that I am researching what they’re doing and the things I want to help with,” Thomas said.

Thomas said that finding the right executive to “grow with me” has been another key to her success. That means supporting someone who understands her goals — one of which, she said, is “working with other kind people.”

EU sanctions on Russian oil products are set to take effect on February 5.

Jason Kozlowski / EyeEm

• Oil markets may face headwinds in 2023 as fresh Western sanctions and a price cap on Russian oil come into effect. 
• Analysts expect a slump in Russian crude output to squeeze global supplies, putting upward pressure on oil prices.
• Demand from China is expected to pick up as zero-COVID restrictions ease, adding to the tightness in energy markets. 

Brace for a drop in Russian oil output and a spike in global crude prices next year as fresh Western sanctions against Moscow take hold and with China’s energy demand set to rebound, three industry analysts told Insider. 

The next round of European Union sanctions on Russian oil products are due to take effect on February 5. It comes in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine, and will affect refined petroleum products such as diesel.

It follows an EU embargo on seaborne imports of Russian crude effective December 5 and a G7 move to cap the country’s oil at $60 a barrel. Both measures aim to blunt Moscow’s export revenue while still keeping Russian crude flowing through global markets to prevent a supply shock.

According to analysts, the next round of sanctions — combined with a rebound in Chinese demand as zero-Covid restrictions ease — will likely squeeze oil markets and push prices higher. 

Russian crude output could fall by 1 million barrels a day

“We expect the European ban on seaborne Russian crude and refined products (to come into force on February 5) to result in a drop of Russian production of at least 1 million barrels per day in 2023, with Russia having difficulties in finding alternative markets,” said Giovanni Staunovo, a commodity analyst at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Indeed, Russia has threatened it would slash production by up to 700,000 barrels a day in retaliation to the G7 price cap, suggesting another potential hit to the country’s oil output. 

The nation has been rerouting increasing volumes of its oil to India and China amid rising political tensions with Europe, one of its biggest markets, due to the war in Ukraine. In the week leading up to December 9, Moscow sent 89% of its crude, amounting to about 3 million barrels a day, to Asia.

But shipments to Asia are now proving more difficult as European sanctions make it tougher for traders to find enough insured vessels to transport Russian crude.

According to Rystad Energy, however, the risk of a sharp decline in Russian crude production was more acute in mid-2022, when global supplies were tighter.

“As long as US shale performs and delivers growth, we see the market moving towards a more normal equilibrium,” Louise Dickson, a senior analyst at Rystad Energy told Insider.

Crude prices could climb past $100 a barrel 

With global supplies expected to get squeezed, crude prices will likely soar past $100 a barrel next year, according to Saxo Bank’s Ole Hansen and UBS Global Wealth’s Staunovo. 

“The embargo on seaborne crude from now and fuel products from February will likely have a price-supportive impact on markets,” said Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo. The supply disruptions should add to the “expected tightness when demand picks up in China following the current virus surge,” he added.

Those risks raise the likelihood of oil prices topping $100 a barrel, according to Hansen.

“Following a soft first quarter, I see the price of Brent returning to a $90-100 dollar range. What happens later will depend on the strength of an incoming economic slowdown,” he added. UBS’s Staunovo echoed his view. 

Oil prices have trended upward since mid-December after months of declines as supply comes under pressure following EU sanctions on seaborne Russian crude and threats by Moscow that it will slash production in retaliation to the G7-imposed price cap. 

Brent crude, the international benchmark, has risen by more than 10% from this year’s lows reached earlier in December, standing at around $83 a barrel at last check on Friday.

“The real test will come on 5 February with the implementation of a products ban,” Rystad’s Dickson said. “A loss of Russian refined products in Europe will pull extra on US products at a time when refinery dynamics are still quite tight, as evidenced by last summer’s gasoline price surge in the US and diesel crunch in Europe,” she added.

“Police apparently took DNA from the scene, ran it through a public database, and then used genetic genealogy techniques to connect the DNA to Kohberger through his family members, CNN said.”

Michael Novakhov’s favorite articles on Inoreader inoreader.com/stream/user/10…

Ukraine said on Monday it had shot down all Russian drones in a massive wave of attacks, after Moscow launched an unprecedented third straight night of air strikes against civilian targets, intensifying its air war for the New Year holiday.

Russian officials meanwhile were reeling from reports that large numbers of Russian troops had been killed in a strike on a dormitory where they were being housed in occupied Ukraine alongside an ammunition dump. Kyiv and Russian nationalist bloggers said hundreds of Russian troops died. Russian-installed officials spoke of high casualties without giving a number.

Russia has seen in the new year with nightly attacks on Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, hundreds of kilometres from the front lines. That marks a change in tactics after months in which Moscow usually spaced such strikes around a week apart.

After firing dozens of missiles on Dec. 31, Russia launched dozens of Iranian-made Shahed drones on Jan. 1 and Jan. 2. But Kyiv said on Monday it had shot down all 39 drones in the latest wave, including 22 shot down over the capital.

Kyiv said the new tactic was a sign of Russia’s desperation as Ukraine’s ability to defend its air space had improved.

Russia had been trying to destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for months but had failed as Ukraine obtained better defences, presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on Telegram.

“Now they are looking for routes and attempts to hit us somehow, but their terror tactics will not work. Our sky will turn into a shield.”

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised Ukrainians for showing gratitude to the troops and one another and said Russia’s efforts would prove useless.

“Drones, missiles, everything else will not help them,” he said of the Russians. “Because we stand united. They are united only by fear.”

Ukraine’s air defence systems worked through the night to bring down incoming drones and to warn communities of the approaching danger.

“It is loud in the region and in the capital: night drone attacks,” Kyiv Governor Oleksiy Kuleba said.

“Russians launched several waves of Shahed drones. Targeting critical infrastructure facilities. Air defence is at work.”

Russia, which has seized and claims to have annexed around a fifth of Ukraine, has turned to mass air strikes against Ukrainian cities since suffering humiliating defeats on the battlefield in the second half of 2022.

It says its attacks, which have knocked out heat and power to millions in winter, aim to reduce Kyiv’s ability to fight. Ukraine says the attacks have no military purpose and are intended to hurt civilians, a war crime.

Russian nationalist war bloggers seethed with anger on Monday after reports of mass casualties of soldiers housed in a dormitory alongside ammunition at a former vocational school in Makiivka, twin city of regional capital Donetsk in Russian-occupied east Ukraine. Unverified footage posted online showed a huge building reduced to smoking rubble.

Daniil Bezsonov, a senior Russian-installed official in the Moscow-controlled parts of the Donetsk region, said the building had suffered a “massive blow” from U.S.-made rockets on New Year’s Eve just after midnight. According to preliminary reports, it was being used as personnel quarters, he said.

“There were dead and wounded, the exact number is still unknown,” Bezsonov said on the Telegram messaging app. “The building itself was badly damaged.”

Russia’s TASS state news agency said at least 15 people were injured. Ukraine’s defence ministry said as many as 400 Russians were killed there “as a result of ‘careless handling of heating devices'”.

Igor Girkin, a former commander of pro-Russian troops in east Ukraine who has emerged as one of the highest profile Russian nationalist military bloggers, also said the death toll was in the hundreds. Ammunition had been stored in the building, which detonated when the barracks was hit.

“What happened in Makiivka is horrible,” wrote Archangel Spetznaz Z, another Russian military blogger with more than 700,000 followers on Telegram.

“Who came up with the idea to place personnel in large numbers in one building, where even a fool understands that even if they hit with artillery, there will be many wounded or dead?”

A source close to the Russian-installed Donetsk leadership told Reuters the casualty reports were exaggerated and the death toll appeared to be less than 100.

Ukrainian troops saw in the New Year on the front line in the eastern province of Donetsk. One soldier, Pavlo Pryzhehodskiy, 27, played a song he had written on a guitar after 12 of his comrades were killed in a single night.

“It is sad that instead of meeting friends, celebrating and giving gifts to one another, people were forced to seek shelter, some were killed” during the New Year holiday, he told Reuters.

“It is a huge tragedy that cannot ever be forgiven.”

In a nearby trench, soldier Oleh Zahrodskiy, 49, said he had volunteered after his son was called up as a reservist. Now, his son is in hospital, fighting for his life with a brain injury, while his father mans the front.

“It is very tough now,” he said, holding back tears.

Russia has flattened Ukrainian cities and killed thousands of civilians since Putin ordered his invasion in February, saying Ukraine was an artificial state whose pro-Western outlook threatened Russia’s security.

Ukraine has fought back with Western military support, driving Russian forces from more than half the territory they seized. In recent weeks, the front lines have been largely static, with thousands of soldiers dying in intense warfare.

In a stern New Year’s Eve message filmed in front of a group of people dressed in military uniform, Putin vowed no let-up in his war.

“The main thing is the fate of Russia,” Putin said. “Defence of the fatherland is our sacred duty to our ancestors and descendants. Moral, historical righteousness is on our side.”

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