Beth Pittman's dad gave her advice early in her career that she's spent the last two decades respectfully disagreeing with. He told her to keep her head down, work hard, and the company would take care of her. What actually happened was that a client she used to support in a legal capacity looked up one day and said, I think you'd make a really good recruiter. She didn't even know what that meant. She looked into it, interviewed, got the job, and found the thing she was built for.

Now, after 20-plus years in recruiting and as the co-founder of Skills Lab Training, she spends her days helping other people find that same thing. And along the way, she noticed a pattern: women keep hitting a ceiling not because they aren't qualified, but because nobody taught them how to ask for what they've already earned.

In this episode of HerStory, Sami sits down with Beth Pittman of Skills Lab Training to talk about the winding road from paralegal to recruiter to entrepreneur, what she sees from the inside of the hiring process that most candidates never know, and why investing in yourself is the most underused career tool most women have. She also shares a goal nobody saw coming. In this episode, we get into:

• How a client's offhand comment changed the entire trajectory of Beth's career
• What 20 years of recruiting has taught her about the gap between what women are worth and what they ask for
• The coaching moment that helped one woman walk into her boss's office and ask for a promotion, a raise, and more responsibility in one conversation
• Why starting a business is hard in ways nobody talks about, and what Beth did about it
• The secret goal that nobody in her life knew about until this conversation

Beth talks about the difference between heads-down work and career growth, why your network is gold even when you can't see it yet, and how Skills Lab's free Business Owners Roundtable came directly from her own startup growing pains. She also makes a case for investing in yourself the same way you'd invest in a tutor for your kid's math test, or a piano teacher, or three years of travel soccer. The skills that get you promoted don't happen by accident.

She also says something about the glass ceiling that is worth hearing. As a recruiter who sees exactly what companies pay men and women for the same roles, she is not speaking in theory.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Beth is a past attendee and she loved it. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Skills Lab Training: skillslabtraining.com
• Skills Lab Business Owners Roundtable (free, held every other month)
• Kristi Martin, co-founder of Skills Lab Training
• Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas (Skills Lab coaching partnership)
• Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Beth:

• Website: skillslabtraining.com
• Email: beth@skillslabtraining.com
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/pittmanbeth
• Instagram: @skillslabtraining
• Facebook: facebook.com/skillslabtraining

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.