The anchor of Fox News Channel's The Kelly File shares what it took for her to get to the top. Want to hear more from her in person? She'll be at Cosmo's Fun Fearless Life Weekend. Buy your tickets at FunFearlessLife.com.
In just more than one year's time at the helm of her show The Kelly File, Megyn
Kelly has catapulted to the top of the ratings and the top of her
network, co-anchoring election coverage this week for Fox News. But as
she tells Cosmo, that "overnight success" was the result of years of intense preparation. Here's how she preps for the big moments.
Why is preparation so valuable to you?
I've always relied on it. When I was practicing law, I felt that I may have been playing above my pay grade. You wonder, Do I belong here? Am I smart enough to do this? Am I good enough to do this? My security blanket was overpreparation. I could be going against somebody who was at the top of his class at Harvard Law School, and I couldn't wait to beat him because I would overprepare. I knew there was no way anybody would out-hustle me. That was my ticket to leveling the playing field.
In journalism, I don't have quite as much self-doubt as I did practicing law, but I still feel that the key to most things is preparation. I almost never feel nervous, even on big nights, because I usually know what I'm doing. There's comfort in being prepared. I try hard to provide myself with that.
What advice do you have for people gearing up for a big ask, whether it's asking for a raise or a job?
I think the key is to know yourself, to have a keen self-awareness. If you don't, that's a deficiency you will suffer from in life. You need to find somebody who you trust to tell you the truth about yourself if you don't feel you know yourself well. You have to know what your greatest asset is and you have to know what your weaknesses are. You have to know how to sell your assets.
I think most people can smell a phony. When you go in there and say, "I deserve more money," or, "I deserve a promotion," or, "I deserve this job, because…" you better be inserting the right information after that word "because." It shouldn't just be what you think they want to hear because they're going to know if it's not true. It better be something that's true and authentic and that you can really sell. I think that's number one.
You also need to ask for the job. In job interviews, so many people ask questions, say nice things about themselves, say what they're qualified to do. They forget to say to the employer, "I really want this job. If you hire me, I will work my tail off for you." As somebody who's done hiring, I can tell you what an impact that makes, especially when so few people say it. The one person who stands out to you is the person who looks you in the eye and asks for the job — it helps immensely.
Do you have a pre-show ritual that helps you get into the right frame of mind?
No. I work up until the last possible moment. I study and read and review up until the last possible moment, and then I go out on the air.
Although, I will say this, before we launched The Kelly File, the biggest show and job I've had yet, we were all feeling nervous the day of the launch. There was a big spotlight on us. I put on a song and insisted that everybody dance around. It actually did lower the temperature. It relieved some of the stress. You're just smiling and dancing and laughing. It's good for the soul. Even if it doesn't keep the calm, it's nice to have a five-minute break from the stress.
How much of your career moves are about having had a plan and executing according to that plan?
Almost none. There hasn't been a five-year plan, and I don't really believe in that. I know many people do. What I believe is, if you keep your nose down and your mouth shut and work hard, opportunities will present themselves.
It goes back to outhustling everybody. Take all that energy you're putting into looking at the woman who got promoted next to you and thinking, She didn't deserve it! Why didn't I get it? and in the cattier circles, She must be sleeping her way to the top! and put all that energy back into yourself. You take all that energy that you put into sometimes negative thinking and put it back into yourself. Ask, How can I get this job? How can I do better? How can I be better?
You may not be the smartest. If you're in a job that is in any way focused on appearance, you may not be the most beautiful. You may not have the best academic pedigree. You may not be the one who has the strongest résumé in terms of experience. But what do you have? What can you get? You can get smarter. You can get more informed. You can round out your skills in other ways to make yourself shine. That is so empowering, once you realize that. You throw yourself into it, and then you see rewards start to come.
Don't get me wrong: When I go in for a contract negotiation, I have to ask my boss for things. It's not like he just regales me with wonderful raises and opportunities. "I saw all your hard work and here are the rewards!" But over time, he understands who you are. He understands your work ethic, and the proof is in the pudding. He sees the results, he sees the interviews, he hears about your reputation. My boss never hears that I'm a diva who's running around being bad to people. He hears that I'm a kind person who treats other people respectfully. He sees interviews get a lot of pickup. He sees me do a tough interview, and he hears the subject of said interview call him up and say, "I thought it was fair." Over time, cream rises to the top, and the spoiled stuff gets thrown out. You have to try to be that cream.
Why is preparation so valuable to you?
I've always relied on it. When I was practicing law, I felt that I may have been playing above my pay grade. You wonder, Do I belong here? Am I smart enough to do this? Am I good enough to do this? My security blanket was overpreparation. I could be going against somebody who was at the top of his class at Harvard Law School, and I couldn't wait to beat him because I would overprepare. I knew there was no way anybody would out-hustle me. That was my ticket to leveling the playing field.
In journalism, I don't have quite as much self-doubt as I did practicing law, but I still feel that the key to most things is preparation. I almost never feel nervous, even on big nights, because I usually know what I'm doing. There's comfort in being prepared. I try hard to provide myself with that.
What advice do you have for people gearing up for a big ask, whether it's asking for a raise or a job?
I think the key is to know yourself, to have a keen self-awareness. If you don't, that's a deficiency you will suffer from in life. You need to find somebody who you trust to tell you the truth about yourself if you don't feel you know yourself well. You have to know what your greatest asset is and you have to know what your weaknesses are. You have to know how to sell your assets.
I think most people can smell a phony. When you go in there and say, "I deserve more money," or, "I deserve a promotion," or, "I deserve this job, because…" you better be inserting the right information after that word "because." It shouldn't just be what you think they want to hear because they're going to know if it's not true. It better be something that's true and authentic and that you can really sell. I think that's number one.
You also need to ask for the job. In job interviews, so many people ask questions, say nice things about themselves, say what they're qualified to do. They forget to say to the employer, "I really want this job. If you hire me, I will work my tail off for you." As somebody who's done hiring, I can tell you what an impact that makes, especially when so few people say it. The one person who stands out to you is the person who looks you in the eye and asks for the job — it helps immensely.
Do you have a pre-show ritual that helps you get into the right frame of mind?
No. I work up until the last possible moment. I study and read and review up until the last possible moment, and then I go out on the air.
Although, I will say this, before we launched The Kelly File, the biggest show and job I've had yet, we were all feeling nervous the day of the launch. There was a big spotlight on us. I put on a song and insisted that everybody dance around. It actually did lower the temperature. It relieved some of the stress. You're just smiling and dancing and laughing. It's good for the soul. Even if it doesn't keep the calm, it's nice to have a five-minute break from the stress.
How much of your career moves are about having had a plan and executing according to that plan?
Almost none. There hasn't been a five-year plan, and I don't really believe in that. I know many people do. What I believe is, if you keep your nose down and your mouth shut and work hard, opportunities will present themselves.
It goes back to outhustling everybody. Take all that energy you're putting into looking at the woman who got promoted next to you and thinking, She didn't deserve it! Why didn't I get it? and in the cattier circles, She must be sleeping her way to the top! and put all that energy back into yourself. You take all that energy that you put into sometimes negative thinking and put it back into yourself. Ask, How can I get this job? How can I do better? How can I be better?
You may not be the smartest. If you're in a job that is in any way focused on appearance, you may not be the most beautiful. You may not have the best academic pedigree. You may not be the one who has the strongest résumé in terms of experience. But what do you have? What can you get? You can get smarter. You can get more informed. You can round out your skills in other ways to make yourself shine. That is so empowering, once you realize that. You throw yourself into it, and then you see rewards start to come.
Don't get me wrong: When I go in for a contract negotiation, I have to ask my boss for things. It's not like he just regales me with wonderful raises and opportunities. "I saw all your hard work and here are the rewards!" But over time, he understands who you are. He understands your work ethic, and the proof is in the pudding. He sees the results, he sees the interviews, he hears about your reputation. My boss never hears that I'm a diva who's running around being bad to people. He hears that I'm a kind person who treats other people respectfully. He sees interviews get a lot of pickup. He sees me do a tough interview, and he hears the subject of said interview call him up and say, "I thought it was fair." Over time, cream rises to the top, and the spoiled stuff gets thrown out. You have to try to be that cream.
