This week’s edition of our Coworking series features another fabulous new reporter. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.
Mikaela Cohen joined HR Brew in August to cover HR strategy and all things work. Before joining the Brew Crew, she covered business news for CNBC.com and CNBC Make It. Her reporting has also appeared on AARP.org. Cohen graduated from the University of Georgia with a master’s degree in journalism in 2022.
While she’s dubbed herself an avid reader, runner, and ’round-the-clock foodie, her friends would probably say she’s the most inactive active person they know. Depending on the day, she could be training for her next half marathon, locked into a reading sesh, or be gobbling up Chinese takeout.
What are you most interested in exploring as you begin reporting for HR Brew?
Some people expressed that HR feels “boring” to them, so I’m excited to prove them wrong with interesting and informative reporting that not only engages our HR audience but captures readers outside of the HR profession. (Yes, I’m looking at you, Mom!)
What’s the most interesting personal experience you’ve had with a HR professional?
I was interviewing a source in a previous role over the phone for a story about AI and compliance, when our conversation pivoted completely to how she and I both struggle with mental health-related issues in the workplace. It was a genuine moment that reminded me how we’re all only human behind the article and words on our screens.
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What’s the biggest misconception people might have about your job as a reporter?
People, sometimes peers in the journalism industry too, think an HR reporter can only report on what goes on within HR departments in an org, but as the HR Brew team knows, our reporting finds tentacles in all areas of the workplace.
What’s the most fulfilling aspect of your job?
As I’m reporting on issues and phenomena, I found myself thinking about how I wish I’d had HR pros or managers in some of my prior jobs that knew this information, so I find great meaning in reporting on topics that help leaders be better for their workers.
What is your favorite book, film, television program? Or all three!
If given the opportunity to blab about pop culture, I’m here for it. My favorite book from this year was White Ivy by Susie Yang. (Suspenseful and thrilling!) My favorite film was Triangle of Sadness. (I think Woody Harrelson is hilarious.) My fave TV show was probably a tie between Abbott Elementary and The Bear. (You have to watch both, for very different reasons.)
What’s something you want readers to know about your life outside being a reporter?
I’m a foodie. I’m always on the hunt for a new cuisine that I haven’t tried before.