Aspiring Oprah Winfrey employees would be automatically culled if they let slip that they were a fan, a former staffer has revealed—and even just inquiring about when they’d meet their future boss was enough to land them in the reject pile.
That’s according to Jeff Boodie, commonly referred to as Boodie, who worked with Oprah Winfrey from 2007 until 2010.
Looking back, the ex-business coordinator for Oprah Magazine (now Oprah Daily) revealed what it was like working for the journalist turned media mogul before becoming an entrepreneur himself.
“We were excited to be part of Oprah’s team, but we weren’t fans,” Boodie wrote in a personal essay for Business Insider. “I knew right away that there was intentionality on who was being hired.”
“I saw firsthand how anyone more concerned about how often she was in the office or when they’d get to meet her would not make it to the final rounds of hiring,” he recalled.
Boodie, who now runs his own media agency, ConnectUp Media Agency, said that the experience taught him the importance of not letting star power cloud your judgment—and that “it’s crazy” people would ask about the TV star at an interview stage.
“I learned from Oprah that to work for someone like her, be great, but don’t be a fan,” Boodie concluded.
“Be aware that you were a part of the team inspiring the world with life-changing messaging, but it wasn’t your position to get so swept up in working for an influential person that you couldn’t do your job.”
Fortune has reached out to Oprah Daily publishers Hearst and Oprah Winfrey for comment.
“Let experts be experts”
Winfrey, who has an estimated net worth of $3 billion, has had viewers glued to their screens since the 1980s.
She transitioned her hit talk show, which ran for 25 years until 2011, into a media empire spanning a TV network, magazine, book club, and more.
Yet despite her success, Boodie claimed, Winfrey doesn’t let her stardom get to her head.
Having since worked with influencers and royals, Boodie wrote that “it’s rare” to see a celebrity shine the light on others instead of themselves.
“Oprah had and still can uplift experts and allow them to be stand-alone stars,” Boodie wrote, while citing Suze Orman, Dr. Phil, and Gayle King, among others.
“She pushed experts up front and celebrated their findings on various topics for her and the audience,” he continued. “To me, that was genius. Let experts be experts. No one knows everything, and witnessing her curiosity and ability to let others shine made me realize how special it was to work for her.”
“I carry this lesson with me still: lifting others up and not worrying about their stardom.”
How Boodie landed a gig in Oprah Winfrey’s team
Of course, Boodie didn’t get a job at Oprah’s magazine by declaring how much he admired its founder.
In a previous essay for Business Insider, he admitted that “not being a fan” helped him secure the role—and a thank-you note.
“I always looked at interviews like dating,” he wrote, adding that after his interview with Oprah Winfrey’s then-business manager, Nancy Denholtz, in 2007, he put pen to paper and thanked her for her time.
“I wrote the thank-you note to include specifics about the job description we discussed and expressed how and why I was prepared for the job,” Boodie added.
“I included the values I knew I could bring to the position and wrote about my excitement to learn from someone seasoned in their career. I included details we discussed about Nancy’s family and my understanding of what it’s like to work hard and build success for those you love.”
Looking back, he said that the note “played a pivotal role” in landing that job.
“Nancy mentioned it two years later when I was finally comfortable enough to ask for the reason I was hired,” Boodie concluded. “While working for the company, I saw firsthand how candidates who wrote thank-you cards or notes stood out from those who didn’t.”
