Career Cloud Radio - Elevate Your Career Journey: Recent Episodes
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Entrepreneur Michael Gardon is on a mission to help people get intentional about their career journey, and there's never been a better time to take control. Hear from hiring managers and CEOs at cutting edge firms about what it takes to get ahead. Hear from side hustlers who are building more resilient work lives, and hear from entrepreneurs who invest in themselves in pursuit of a more fulfilled, more sane life. Plus learn tactical skills for finding and landing the best job. Skills like how to write a better resume, better networking, interviewing and communication.
538- Ashley Bright is a former advertising creative director turned entrepreneur and co-founder of Makertank, a platform designed to help founders build sustainable businesses with the right systems and support.
After spending 15 years in the agency world working with major brands like Microsoft and Amazon, Ashley began to question the traditional path of success, especially after a pivotal career setback and the perspective shift that came with becoming a parent. That turning point led to a deeper exploration of storytelling, communication, and ultimately entrepreneurship, where Ashley has spent over a decade navigating the highs and lows of building a business.
In this conversation, Ashley shares honest insights on identity, emotional intelligence, and what it really takes to move from external success to meaningful, self-directed work.
537- Leila Entezam is a neuroemotional intelligence expert, executive coach, and author of The Heart of Peak Performance. With a unique background in neuroscience, business, and psychology, she helps high performers understand the deeper patterns behind their behavior so they can make more intentional decisions and perform at a higher level.
536: Richard Boyatzis is a distinguished university professor at Case Western Reserve University and one of the world’s leading experts on intentional change and emotional intelligence. With degrees from MIT and Harvard, he has spent nearly six decades researching how people and organizations can create lasting, positive transformation.
Richard is the author and co-author of ten books, including the international bestseller Primal Leadership, Helping People Change, and his newest release The Science of Change. His work blends neuroscience, psychology, and organizational behavior to uncover how vision, renewal, and resonant relationships drive real growth - making him a go-to voice for anyone looking to reimagine their career, leadership, or life.
535: Jill Schulman is a former U.S. Marine Corps officer turned leadership development expert and founder of Breakthrough Leadership Group.
Drawing on a deep background in psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral science, she blends rigorous research with practical strategies to help individuals and teams cultivate resilience, increase performance, and enhance well‑being through the science of bravery.
Her upcoming book, The Bravery Effect, offers accessible, evidence‑based tools to help you develop a courageous mindset, take bold action, and build meaningful support systems.
Jill’s philosophy is simple yet powerful: “Courage over regret”—embrace discomfort, start with the hard stuff, and live a life led by bravery, not comfort.
534: Chason Forehand is a mission-driven leader who turned a turbulent childhood, addiction, and homelessness into a blueprint for building a life of impact. After a pivotal moment of compassion from a chef who helped him get clean, Chason committed himself to paying it forward.
In this episode, he shares the practical steps and lessons he’s learned, from overcoming adversity and silencing your inner critic to creating sustainable change through his nonprofit, Transformation Kitchen. As host of the Time to Change podcast, Chason continues to spotlight strategies for making a difference in your own life and community.
533: Scott Raven is a former Fortune 500 executive turned liberation expert who helps overwhelmed entrepreneurs escape the cycle of burnout and build businesses that support their lives, not consume them. After experiencing his own breaking point and trading one “prison” for another in his first business venture, Scott developed the Liberation Framework: a strategic system rooted in the Six Dimensions of Freedom, from time sovereignty and operational independence to sustainable success. Through Corvus Empowerment Solutions, Scott now guides founders in designing work that aligns with who they are, not just what they do, so they can lead with purpose, reclaim their time, and create lasting impact.
532: Joe McKay is an Australian business coach and solopreneur mentor who helps founders and solo business owners build thriving, opportunity-generating brands.
After leaving a secure government job in Australia, Joe relocated his family to France, where he grew a six-figure solo business by overcoming his own fears of posting online and sharing his voice.
Today, he specializes in helping busy founders and consultants create high-impact thought leadership content, while coaching solopreneurs to move from content to conversations to conversions.
Joe’s clients have landed six-figure deals, booked keynote speaking engagements, guested on top podcasts, and secured board and advisory roles — all through the power of strategic content and personal brand growth.
531 - Henna Pryor, CSP is a dynamic Workplace Performance Expert who speaks and writes about performance mindset, interpersonal dynamics, high-impact communication, and embracing bumps in a world that keeps optimizing for smoothness.
She is a regular Expert Columnist for Inc. Magazine, 18x award-winning author of Good Awkward, and an in-demand global keynote speaker. Her playful personality and insightful talks blend 2 decades of working with corporate leaders and teams with a fresh, science-based approach to taking more strategic risks and boosting social and mental fitness for success at work.
Her clients call her their “secret weapon for impossible change” — a title she wears proudly.
In addition to speaking for TEDx, SXSW, and being frequently tapped by media outlets like Business.com, FastCompany, INSIDER, HuffPost, NBC, FOX, and more, she’s a SUCCESS Magazine Woman of Influence, LinkedIn Learning Instructor, and Glassdoor WorkLife Pro. Her book was also named a Kirkus Reviews’ Best Book of the Year.
530: Katrina McGhee is a Career Break and Sabbatical Expert, creator of the Break Blueprint, BreakSpace and the author of Taking a Career Break for Dummies. As a certified master coach with an MBA, Katrina helps mid-career professionals create happier, more fulfilling lives by designing bold and transformational breaks. Her clients return from their breaks recharged, inspired, happily-employed and forever changed. On their time off, her 60+ clients have traveled the world, launched a business, changed careers and more.
Katrina's work was inspired by her own 20-month career break where she saved $40,000 in just 18 months to quit her corporate job to travel the world. She's now an enthusiastic world traveler and digital nomad. Her advice on career breaks, money, and travel has been shared across various outlets including Forbes, Smarter Travel, Thrive Global, and Yahoo.
529: Matt Doan is a transformational coach and entrepreneur dedicated to helping senior professionals break free from the constraints of corporate life and build sustainable, purpose-driven businesses online.
After spending a decade climbing the corporate ladder in management consulting, he faced a personal crisis that forced him to reevaluate his path. Determined to reclaim his life, he immersed himself in entrepreneurship, coaching, and high-level mastermind programs, ultimately developing a proven system for transitioning from corporate roles to entrepreneurial freedom without unnecessary risk.
Since 2019, Matt has guided hundreds of professionals through this life-changing journey, offering structured strategies and real-world insights to help them achieve autonomy, financial stability, and a fulfilling career beyond the traditional workforce.
528: Sigute Zitikyte is a passionate advocate for multi-potentiality, helping ambitious individuals embrace their diverse interests and build careers that evolve with them. After spending a decade in the "multi-passionate shame cycle," feeling constrained by traditional career expectations, she broke free from a linear path and turned her creative pursuits into a thriving business. Through personal experience, she understands the struggle of balancing ambition with societal norms and now empowers others to confidently forge their own paths, integrating passion, purpose, and financial success.
Sigute’s journey from the tech industry to entrepreneurship was fueled by a desire to live life on her own terms—one that values experiences as much as achievements. She now coaches multi-passionate professionals on building an online presence and expanding their income streams with clarity and confidence. By unlearning the need to conform and tuning into their inner voice, her clients gain the courage to create fulfilling careers beyond the conventional 9-to-5. Through her writing, coaching, and personal brand framework, Sigute inspires others to step boldly into their ambitions and craft a life they truly love.
527: Kasey Jones is a renowned personal brand consultant, business growth strategist, and advocate for personal and professional empowerment. She specializes in transforming overworked and underpaid solopreneurs into profitable CEOs of businesses they love, using a bespoke blend of strategy, branding, systems, and mindset development.
With nearly two decades of experience in early-stage growth strategy, B2B sales, demand generation, personal brand development, and relationship building at scale, Kasey excels at helping CEOs and C-suite executives amplify their unique strengths to drive business growth and build impactful brands.
Over the years, Kasey has collaborated with startups like Sila, Ripcord, and Dealpoint (acquired by Clari), and has worked alongside brands such as Gwen Stefani’s GXVE, accelerators like PIE, and venture capital firms like True Venture Partners. Her expertise has guided hundreds of entrepreneurs, executives, and teams in finding their authentic voice, building authority, and reshaping their professional journeys to achieve more income, meaning, and purpose.
Kasey’s guiding principles—empathy, generosity, resilience, honesty, and a commitment to doing the hard work—are at the core of her coaching philosophy. She believes in the power of authenticity and vulnerability, encouraging her clients to embrace their unique stories and transform them into powerful tools for connection and growth.
526: Dr. Benjamin Ritter, founder of Live for Yourself (LFY) Consulting and award-winning author of "Becoming Fearless," is an international leadership and career coach, Sr. Talent Management Consultant, Top LinkedIn Voice, global speaker, and host of The Executive, and the Live Fearlessly Podcasts.
Ben has coached over 500 leaders with a strong focus on senior-level executives across multiple industries and geographic regions, within organizations that varied in scale from 50 to over 250,000 employees and have included names such as Amazon, Coursera, DoorDash, Google, Fiserv, Northwestern, Mayo Clinic, Pinterest, Yelp, and more.
Ben’s passions include working with Better for You CPG organizations, small business founders and minority-owned companies, for which he offers pro-bono coaching services.
Ben possesses a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership with focus on value congruence and job satisfaction, an MBA in entrepreneurial management, and an MPH in health policy administration.
Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Ben now resides in Austin, Texas, with his partner, Tiffany, Squirt, a “rebel in a shell” turtle, Elwood, a scruffy rescue pup, and Sima, the kitty queen of their kingdom.
525: Nicole Greene is a Business and Lifestyle Strategist for badass women founders and executives who are committed to high performance in multiple non-negotiable roles (think executive, founder, mom, caretaker). Her actionable strategies and systems help these women step out of survival mode and achieve success, in life and business.
Nicole’s passion for this work comes from her own experience making herself small (and eventually burning out) across a highly successful career, from defense intelligence to artisan chocolates, CPG and Health Tech, during which she founded three companies and built several others from Seed to Series B.
Nicole describes herself as a recovering workaholic and forever high performer. She’s a classically-trained pastry chef, perpetual learner and dedicated mentor, as well as a mom of two boys (and an Australian Cattle Dog), living in Miami, FL. Nicole has a BA and MA from the University of Chicago and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University and is currently an Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Miami.
524: Brian Ondrako is, first and foremost, a dedicated Dad to an amazing young boy who keeps him energized and young at heart. As the host of the Just Get Started Podcast for over six years, Brian has built a platform for meaningful conversations and personal growth. Alongside his podcasting journey, he writes blogs three times a week, has published two children’s books with a third on the way, and serves as a Sales Mentor to B2B Founders and their teams.
The past several years have been transformative for Brian, looking very different from the life he once knew. His current pursuits are rooted in a pivotal decision to take control of his life. Overcoming childhood challenges of poor confidence, low self-esteem, and a fear of judgment, Brian reshaped his path by embracing bravery, delayed gratification, and connecting with influential people.
Through these steps, he discovered a sense of purpose that realigned his life's direction. Brian identifies as a NAVIGATOR, with his “North Star” guiding him to help others take control of their own lives. He believes that true fulfillment begins from within, by understanding that happiness is only achievable when we fully discover ourselves.
As we explore who we are, Brian emphasizes, we uncover a COMPASS within us, one that guides us toward a more appreciative and purposeful life. This inner compass, according to Brian, forms the foundation for a happier and more fulfilling existence.
523: Jason Silver is a multi-time founder of kids and a multi-time founder of companies. He gets his biggest thrill helping modern employees and their teams unlock a better way to work—surfing is a close second.
He was an early employee at Airbnb and helped build an AI company from the ground up back before AI was the cool thing to do. Today, he advises a startup portfolio valued in the billions on how to build great, lasting companies that people actually enjoy working for.
He’s a sought-after public speaker, instructor, and advisor on how to transform work into one of the biggest drivers of positivity in your life. When he’s not busy helping people solve their hardest workplace challenges, Jason’s kids are busy reminding him just how much of a work in progress he still is too.
522: In 2020 when the pandemic hit, Alex and his wife Michelle took their kids to Wisconsin to visit his parents. What was supposed to be a 3 month trip ended up being a family move as the Comptons could not get back to the Philippines and decided to migrate to the US.
It was during that time that Alex was exposed to business in the US, when he was asked to be CEO of a small company. It was a significant time of learning that eventually ended up leading Alex to spending more time talking with a good friend of his, Todd Marinshaw. Todd and Alex had been friends for decades and both had deep ties with the Philippines. It was out of these discussions that Valor Pro Global emerged as Todd and Alex both realized they could provide a great service to businesses in the United States.
521: Julie Bee is the founder of TJB Media (2021) and BeeSmart Social Media (2008). She’s an award-winning podcast host, a leader, a professional speaker, and an entrepreneur. Julie is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program (10ksb) and a proud alumnus of West Virginia University.
Julie started her career as an accountant but quickly discovered that path was not a good fit for her creativity. After losing her job in 2008, Julie founded BeeSmart Social Media. Julie continues to serve as the founder of BeeSmart, leading her remote team and supporting them in delivering services to the clients.
Today, Julie focuses most of her time on helping business owners prevent burnout and achieve success. She does this through Momentum calls, workshops, delivering original content online, speaking engagements, and short-term coaching services.
520: In 2021, Alli Rizacos took the leap and left the corporate world to pursue her dream of building a coaching business while traveling the world. In less than 3 years, she has built a recognizable brand on LinkedIn and a successful coaching business nearing $1M in revenue.
Tune in to learn how Alli transitioned from corporate work to becoming a coach and her journey to entrepreneurial freedom.
519: Amy L. Riley is an internationally renowned speaker, author and leadership development consultant. She’s worked with organizations such as Deloitte, Cisco Systems and Aon Hewitt and has over 20 years of experience working with leaders at all levels.
Amy earned a Masters of Science in Training and Development (MSTD), with an emphasis in Organization Development (OD), from Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois. She is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA), a certified Tiara International LLC Coach and certified in the Meyers-Briggs Type Instrument. Amy’s second book, The Courage of a Leader: How To Inspire, Engage and Get Extraordinary Results, was released on March 3, 2021 and immediately reached #1 international best-selling status.
518:
I dove headfirst into finance for one reason.
Money.
As a 20 year old I simply neglected who I was, and looked to go to the place I could make a lot of money.
How ignorant.
I ignored my real talents.
Despite natural skills in writing, speaking, and presenting, I chose the expected path.
Here’s the truth: Our system, from college to career, often buries our genuine strengths under a pile of “shoulds.” It took me too long to listen, to unearth those dormant skills, and truly embrace them.
Why share this? Because you, too, have untapped potential, overshadowed by what you’ve been told to pursue.
Let’s challenge that. It’s time to dig deep, uncover our real talents, and redefine our paths.
517: Welcome, everyone, to another episode of The Break podcast, where we delve into the depths of resilience, flexibility, and overcoming life's obstacles. I'm your host, Mike, and today's conversation promises to be nothing short of enlightening.
Today, we're exploring a topic that resonates with each and every one of us - setbacks. Life's unexpected twists and turns can knock us off course, but it's how we respond to these challenges that defines our journey forward.
You know, we often envision our paths as linear journeys, guided by societal norms and expectations. But what happens when life throws us off course? That's where our resilience truly shines. And today, we have a special treat for you - a glimpse into the world of setbacks and how they can propel us forward.
Our guest has authored a captivating book titled "The Setback Cycle: How Defining Moments Can Move Us Forward." Through her extensive journalism career, she's discovered a common thread among leaders and founders - the ability to rise from setbacks with renewed vigor.
So, what exactly is a setback? It's not just a bump in the road; it's a reversal of progress, a check on our journey forward. But it's within these setbacks that we find the fuel for growth, the resilience to navigate life's twists and turns.
Today, we'll explore the concept of setbacks with our guest, delving into the neuroscience, psychology, and real-life stories that illuminate the setback cycle. From the squiggly, misshapen S of our journeys to the realization that success isn't always a linear path, we'll uncover the secrets to becoming unbreakable in the face of adversity.
So, buckle up and get ready to embark on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment. Because after today's conversation, you'll see setbacks not as obstacles, but as stepping stones toward a brighter, more resilient future.
If you want to connect with our guest, Amy Shoenthal, you can find her on Instagram and LinkedIn.
516:
In chasing “success” we forget what it is to just be human.
I feel like my struggles have been about getting back to just being a person.
I don’t want to just succeed at some line of work that no one will remember.
I don’t want to just save for retirement that might not ever come.
I don’t want to be one dimensional.
I want to be a Full Stack Human.
What does that mean?
515:
Heyooo,
So The World Economic Forum recently released their top 10 "skills for the future of work."
Guess what made the list: flexibility, adaptability and resilience.
Why are those so important to the WEF?
Because the WEF knows that the future is changing rapidly, and companies need employees who can thrive in a rapidly changing environment.
The job market and the world at large are changing quickly, and what served you yesterday likely won't serve you in the future - especially if you're already thinking about how you can make a change NOW.
I talk about being unbreakable as a state where you are ready, or at least ready to handle, anything that comes your way.
So I created a free 5 day mini crash course on how to become unbreakable. Right now all new subscribers are getting it, so I wanted to kick it out to everyone here for a chance to check it out as well.
514:
You can do anything, but you can’t do everything. You must choose your path with the best odds.
Look there's 2 places people start when creating options:
- "I have no options. I can't imagine what else I could do."
- "I can do anything! How do I choose?"
It's work to realize that neither starting point is reality, but once you do you begin to see that the path to creating options starts with thinking about our odds.
513: Welcome back to another episode of The Break podcast, the space where we unpack the remarkable stories of individuals who've faced life's challenges head-on. I'm your host, Mike, and today's conversation is one that you don't want to miss.
Our guest today is Danielle Cobo, a powerhouse in resilience, courage, and unwavering determination. Before we dive into the heart of her story, a little sneak peek caught my attention recently – Danielle's truck. It's not just a vehicle; it's a symbol. We'll unravel the story behind it in just a moment.
Now, for our audience, if you're seeking inspiration and insights into overcoming life's hurdles, you're in the right place. Connect with us on our social media platforms for more exclusive content, and don't forget to check out Danielle's podcast, the Unstoppable Grit Podcast.
But back to Danielle's journey. The heart of today's conversation delves into her mission – helping people discover the power of resilience, courage, and determination. We'll explore her experiences, her mission, and the unexpected twists that make her story truly compelling.
So, buckle up!! We're about to embark on a conversation that goes beyond the surface, exploring the depths of grit and resilience with Danielle Cobo.
512:
I got fired in the middle of a meeting. Well, I was told the next day, but it happened in that meeting.
I knew it.
What a terrible feeling. I was up all night, walking the streets of Seattle in the dark by myself.
My mind racing between panic and planner modes.
I need a job
Can I even get a job?
Why did this happen?
Who do I reach out to?
How much runway do I have?
What do I tell my wife and kids?
Fortunately, my terror was short lived and I pivoted into a FT, highly paid consulting role within 30 days.
Because I was ready and flexible.
Here’s how to pick up on the signs you’re about to be laid off and how to pivot with precision.
511:
FUD = Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt.
The triad that keeps us from betting on ourselves.
And keeps us on the incremental path to nowhere.
I used to be a FUD.
I grew up in a very fiscally conservative household.
My parents are well off, but massive penny pinchers.
This isn’t bad, in fact it’s noble.
However, saying no to even the slightest risk of losing isn’t great for personal growth.
So naturally I was extremely risk averse for the first 20 years of my life.
Until I learned about the BARBELL strategy.
Here it is, and how it can help you take more bold action (that seems risky) to go after what you want in life.
510:
I'm back and energized, to dive into something that's been on my mind – and probably on yours too: the messiness of Career Change.
I know, just reading those words can send a flutter of anxiety through your chest, as it has for me many times - 6 to be exact. Yes I've made no less than 6 major career changes.
And not the "I'm changing companies" kind.
More like the "I'm changing industries, roles, skill sets, going to build a business then go back to corporate and then build a business to get me out of corporate" kind of changes.
I know a lot about the anxiety of change.
You feel it, right? Each week, another tick-tock in the background, a subtle reminder that you're yearning for something more, something different. If it's been months, or even years, and you're still ruminating about a change, it's not just a fleeting thought – it's a siren call.
Lets not let "life" waste another 6 months of progress we could be making towards our future.
Instead, use the 5 steps in this episode to get moving in the next 7 days.
509:
I thought a lot about how we can build our capacity to take action towards what WE want.
That can seem scary because we fear what other people will think, and we think we are RISKING a lot.
After all, if what we want is different than our peers, doesn't that make us an outsider? Weird? A loner?
We've all heard the expression “no risk no reward.”
But if you’re not learning to take risk, you’re missing out on much more:
No risk no confidence.
No risk no growth.
No risk no learning.
No risk no momentum.
No risk no change.
No risk no freedom.
No risk no happiness.
Somehow our society has stripped away our ability to do bold things.
Helicopter parents
Politicians
Professors
Bosses
“Advisors”
Counselors
They’re all well meaning, but conditioned by their own programming. Still reliant on their evolutionary brain: avoid danger at all cost.
508: We're delving into the profound topic of reinvention, exploring how to pursue our passions, even when it means taking a leap of faith.
In today's interview, I had the privilege of sitting down with Roger Osorio, a remarkable individual who embodies the essence of reinvention. We unravel his personal journey from a corporate job to becoming a math tutor and eventually a teacher. Roger shares his insights into the transformative power of finding fulfillment and happiness in one's work, even if it means diverging from the conventional path of financial success.
He stresses the importance of taking small steps and running experiments in our lives to test different paths. Roger encourages us to discover what brings joy and fulfillment, emphasizing that it's okay to challenge societal norms and redefine success on our own terms.
Throughout the conversation, Roger advocates for considering our unique circumstances and values when making decisions about our careers and overall happiness. His wisdom resonates as a guide for anyone seeking a more meaningful and fulfilling life.
So, without further ado, let's dive into this enlightening conversation with Roger Osorio on reinvention and the pursuit of passion.
But before we do, make sure to learn more about Roger and his incredible journey by visiting his website at https://rogerosorio.com/. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogerosorio/.
507: Our guest, Arun Gupta, brings a unique perspective to the table, one that challenges conventional notions of purpose and profit in one's career.
We're about to dive into a topic that could reshape how you think about your own professional journey. But before we get into that, I want to share a thought-provoking student testimonial from Arun's website, which perfectly sets the stage for our conversation. It goes like this: "Rather than thinking about your career decisions as a series of trade-offs between profit and purpose, look for mission opportunities where you can have the most catalytic impact."
This approach challenges the traditional binary thinking that many of us have been taught, where you're either doing good in the not-for-profit sector or making money in the private sector. Arun believes there's a middle ground, a space where you can align purpose, profit, and mission in a for-profit way.
Arun Gupta is a venture capitalist, Lecturer at Stanford University, and Adjunct Entrepreneurship Professor at Georgetown University. He is CEO of NobleReach Foundation, which is focused on catalyzing and inspiring a renewed spirit of national service through innovation.
So, without further ado, let's jump into this fascinating conversation with Arun Gupta and explore how a mission-driven career can redefine success.
506: Ok, so 2024 is knocking at the door and I just learned a new word.
Actually 2 new words.
First, my kids taught me the word "rizz" which means something about flirting or having game. Lo and behold rizz is Time Magazine's word of the year! I couldn't believe it!
The second is "career pathing", as in the act of figuring out your path.
I never really knew this term existed, but it makes sense.
The core problem we have in "career pathing" is that individuals have much more autonomy in and responsibility for creating their own career paths now. That responsibility is often unaided, and untethered to any organization, industry or way of working.
Honestly this kind of research makes me yawn because I don't care about the theory, I want to know HOW we take action to build these skills
This is why The UnBREAKable Community exists - to support careerists making bold decisions in the arena, and not on the sidelines.
So I want to share 3 decision making frameworks we just talked about on our group call this week.
505: Henna Pryor, PCC is a highly sought-after Workplace Performance Expert and an award-winning 2x TEDx and global keynote speaker, virtual presenter, author, and professional executive coach. She’s known for her science-backed approach to improving the performance, habits, and actions of hungry high achievers – in her fun, no-nonsense, no-jargon way – to move them from their first level of success to their next one.
She has been invited to speak twice for TEDx in New York City and Wilmington, DE and brings her expertise to a variety of global organizations including Google, Workday, FIS Global, and Johnson & Johnson. She has also been featured in top TV, podcast, and print media including Forbes, NBC, Washington Post, Fast Company, and more.
Henna founded Pryority Group – a fast-growing performance growth firm – to expand on her belief that the key to most people’s success is leaning into awkwardness a little bit longer to skyrocket strategic risk-taking and be braver in the work that we do.
Her best-selling book, Good Awkward, published in September has been endorsed by NFL Quarterback Russell Wilson, former HBR Editor Karen Dillon, and received the rare Kirkus Star for excellence in writing.
504: The only way to crush the uncertainty we feel about the next steps in our careers is to get comfortable not knowing. Which is a huge shift Paul had to make. I believe this is the single greatest skill we can learn if we want to achieve our hopes and dreams to get what we want out of life. This is why The UnBREAKable Community exists. So I want to share our 5 core principles that we live inside the community.
503: I am beyond excited for today's conversation. We've got a guest who's not only a fantastic individual but has an inspiring journey to share.
I want you to meet Paul Dircks. Now, Paul and I go way back. We connected earlier this year when he reached out for some coaching during a pivotal moment in his life. Today, we're going to dive into his transformative journey and discuss how he navigated some tough decisions, ultimately leading to where he is now.
For those of you curious about personal transformations, career pivots, and the nitty-gritty of making life-altering decisions, you're in for a treat. Paul's story is packed with insights, inspiration, and a sprinkle of motivation that could very well be the push you need.
Now, here's a sneak peek: Paul embarked on a health journey that saw him shedding over 50 pounds, and trust me, the lessons he learned along the way extend far beyond the gym. We'll touch on the parallels between health and career, those breakthrough moments that catalyze change, and the nitty-gritty details of what it takes to redefine your path.
But before we dive in, let me remind you that you can learn more about Paul on his website. And hey, don't forget to connect with him on LinkedIn. There's so much more to discover, and I can't wait for you to hear the wisdom Paul is about to drop.
502: Last week the world lost a legend. Charlie Munger passed away at the age of 99. Charlie was (and still is) deeply influential on me. If you’ve taken my course, Advantage Mapping Foundations, you’ve seen and heard from Charlie.
I’ve learned more about life and reality from studying this man than I did in all of my schooling, easily.
In honor of his passing, here are 10 key lessons from a life well lived.
501: Our conversation today revolves around life-changing moments and the remarkable power of personal transformation. Get ready to be inspired as we introduce our guest, Justin Brey, who has a remarkable story to share.
On December 19th, 2020, Justin faced a life-altering decision. He had driven out to the mountains with a suicide note, ready to end it all. But at that pivotal moment, a text message from his brother-in-law changed the course of his life forever. We'll delve into the details of that message and how it had a profound impact on Justin's perspective.
Justin's story is a testament to the strength of the human spirit. It's not just about hitting rock bottom; it's about finding the courage to climb back up. We'll take a deep dive into his journey, discussing the struggles he faced, the battle with addiction, and the arduous path to healing. This conversation may get intense at times, but it's filled with hidden gems and valuable lessons that can inspire all of us.
Before we embark on this compelling dialogue, I encourage you to connect with Justin Brey on various social media platforms. Follow his journey and gain insights from his experiences – it's time well spent.
Now, let's journey into the world of personal transformation, resilience, and the profound impact of discovering one's purpose in life. Join me in this eye-opening conversation with Justin Brey on The Break podcast.
500: Today's conversation is all about belief and purpose, two essential elements on our life's journey. But first, let me share why this topic is so important. When I first reached out to today's guest, I realized how much his journey resonated with my own experiences.
Many people, like me, sometimes struggle with finding our true purpose and building belief in ourselves. The journey can be a winding road, filled with ups and downs. In today's conversation, we'll explore how to build that belief, even if it doesn't come naturally.
I'll also reflect on my own upbringing, the challenges I faced, and how I began to discover my purpose. It's a journey that many of us can relate to, filled with twists and turns that ultimately shape who we become.
But before we dive in, I encourage you to connect with our guest, Danny Miranda, on LinkedIn and Instagram. His social media profiles are packed with inspiration and valuable insights. You can follow him to learn more about his incredible journey and stay updated on his thoughts and experiences.
So, without further ado, let's delve into the world of belief and purpose, and see where this conversation takes us on The Break podcast.
499: I heard this from a former colleague yesterday. Let me know if this sounds familiar:
"After the events of last fall, I've adopted an "always on" career search mindset. I'm doing a lot of shameless self-promotion to attract people to my brand, in case my current gig goes to crap like the last one did. Not going to get caught with my pants down again." This feeling is what I'm on a mission to banish.
I believe the way we can "always be ready" is to learn the principles of adaptability and resilience, and then apply those in our lives.
As someone who has changed careers 6 times, I know how to stay on my toes, and I have a lot to teach on this topic which I'll share in this epsiode.
498: We're about to dive into the remarkable journey of a man who's no stranger to carving his own unique path in the world of technology, entrepreneurship, and creativity.
But before we get started, I'd like to extend a warm 'thank you' to all our listeners for tuning in. Your support and enthusiasm mean the world to us, and it's what keeps 'The Break' going strong.
Now, let's talk about our guest today. His name is Tim Noetzel, and he's not your average entrepreneur. Tim's story is a testament to the power of following your passions, embracing creativity, and never shying away from change and self-discovery.
In our conversation today, we'll take a deep dive into Tim's fascinating journey. From his humble beginnings scooping ice cream at Baskin Robbins to founding and eventually selling a marketing company in the beer industry, Tim's story is one of resilience, determination, and a relentless pursuit of his passions.
We'll explore his early influences, including struggles with reading and writing that ultimately led him to discover his love for both coding and literature. It's a story of how seemingly unrelated interests can converge to shape a one-of-a-kind career.
But that's not all. Tim's journey also highlights the importance of taking a portfolio approach to your career. Whether it's exploring various industries in consulting or taking the plunge into entrepreneurship, Tim's willingness to adapt, learn, and grow has been instrumental in his success.
So, without further ado, let's jump into this engaging discussion with Tim Noetzel. Get ready to be inspired and gain valuable insights into freelancing, entrepreneurship, and much more. Stay with us as we embark on another exciting episode of The Break Podcast.
497: Every single day I hear from people trapped in their current version of work-life. They WANT to make a change, but their overwhelmed by the complexity of the problem and don’t know where to start “figuring it out.”
So here are the 5 layers of making a work-life transformation, that nobody explains. #1 is where 90% of people need to start.
496: A portfolio approach to your career is all about thriving in the uncertain future.
The truth is:
We don’t know.
We don’t know what’s going to change in the outside world.
We don’t know how we are going to change in our inside world.
A portfolio career is the antidote to uncertainty
495: We've got an incredible guest in the house – a friend from the past who's has broken himself on purpose, and undergone an extraordinary journey of reinvention. But before we dive into this conversation, don't forget to hit that subscribe button and share our podcast with your friends and family. We've got a lot of inspiration coming your way.
Let me set the stage for you. Sean Sweeney and I go way back. We attended high school together, shared memories, and then life took us on separate paths. For over 25 years, we didn't cross paths, until one day, Sean's intriguing Twitter feed caught my eye. He'd reinvented himself multiple times, and that got me thinking. What led him down this transformative road?
Today, many know Sean as a successful real estate developer and Twitter influencer. More on that later. But we're not delving into real estate. No, today, we're talking about how he went from a 23-year-old actor to receptionist at 27 to becoming a big real estate developer with over $200M portfolio. I’ll give you a hint as to how he did it – he overcame the same mental roadblocks and hurdles that can hold you back from realizing what your true purpose is.
You can check out more of what Sean is all about by following him on Twitter (@SeanDsweeney) and checking out his substack called The Bright Build. A weekly design-driven and community-focused newsletter mapping the moves and mindset that are crucial for both the seasoned and aspiring real estate developer.
I hope you enjoy this episode with Sean Sweeney.
494: In this episode, I am sharing the tactics I implored to not only gain some separation, but carve out autonomous time to design my way out of corporate altogether.
If you want to change the trajectory of your career, you need to get some space first.
This is Pillar 1 in my Advantage Mapping Foundations course - Detach from work.
493: How does a working mother of 4 go from climbing the ladder to EVP in the most competitive real estate market in the world, to saying, whoa I need a break, to then founding a corporate wellness company?
By tapping into a burning problem that she finally realized she had unique advantage to create.
Patrice Meagher, founded MilkMate a unique workplace service that solves the problem young mothers face when needing to breast pump at work.
She's a mother of four who deeply felt this problem and was uniquely positioned to solve it. She just needed to figure out how. Ultimately instead of accepting the status quo, she decided to be a catalyst for change, and thank God she did.
Because she was entrenched in a 15+ year career in the corporate world, she could have packed it in and lived the good life. But she forged ahead driven by the purpose of empowering working mothers in the workplace.
Patrice's journey is one of resilience, innovation, and unwavering dedication to the well-being of working mothers everywhere. Her creation, MilkMate, is a testament to her commitment to positive change in the workplace.
So, stay tuned, folks! In our conversation with Patrice, we'll delve deeper into her journey, the incredible work of MilkMate, and the impact it's making on the lives of working mothers and their employers. You won't want to miss this inspiring discussion.
492: Imposter syndrome. We all know it. I know it too well. In a nutshell, it's the (irrational) feeling that sets our own limits.
It tells us we don’t belong. We’re not worthy. Why start? There’s someone else out there ahead of us. What’s the use?
And we retreat to our nice little comfortable box. We stop trying to do heroic things. In this episode, we chat about how I broke 25 years of Imposter Syndrome.
491: Dakota Robertson (@WrongstoWrite on Twitter) bet it all on himself and went from Dominos delivery driver to the internet's pre-eminent ghostwriter in under a year. He has an incredible story of transformation and resilience to share.
If you remember Dakota’s name, it's probably because a previous guest, Taylin Simmonds, credits Dakota with single-handedly changing his life.
So now it's time to get the master’s story.
He hails from Kelowna, Canada, a place that seems to have an uncanny knack for nurturing remarkable creators and innovators, as you'll soon discover.
Dakota grew up with drug addicted parents, and lost his mother to the addiction at a pivotal age. Despite his childhood, or maybe because of it, Dakota knew he was destined for greatness, but hadn’t a clue where it would come from. Sound familiar?
One of Dakota’s BREAK moments came on September 24th, 2020, a date that he's not only marked in his journal but has also proudly displayed on his Twitter banner. It was a pivotal moment in his life when he made a life-altering decision which we get into.
In just three short months, Dakota transitioned from a college student with a part-time job at Domino's Pizza to someone fully immersed in the world of entrepreneurship. He made a bold choice to leave college, quit his job, and start fresh on Twitter. This decision was fueled by a burning desire for something more, a fear of living an average life, and the realization that life was too short for regrets.
Dakota's journey is a testament to the power of resilience, self-belief, and the incredible transformations one can achieve when they are driven by purpose and a deep desire for change. In our conversation today, we'll explore his upbringing, the challenges he faced, and the pivotal moments that led him to where he is today.
We'll delve into the power of belief and how small wins can set the stage for significant life transformations. We'll also discuss the importance of self-awareness and the role that community and mentorship played in Dakota's journey.
So, without further ado, let's jump into this incredible conversation with my new friend with an old soul, Dakota Robertson.
490: Kelli Thompson is a women’s leadership coach and speaker who helps women advance to the rooms where decisions are made. She has coached and trained hundreds of women to trust themselves, lead with more confidence, and create a career they love. She is the founder of the Clarity & Confidence Women's Leadership Program, and a Stevie Award winner for Women in Business—Coach of the Year. She is the author of the critically acclaimed book, Closing The Confidence Gap: Boost Your Peace, Your Potential & Your Paycheck.
489: When the richest man in the world tells you something, generally you should listen.
Warren Buffett is famous for talking about finding your own "Circle of Competence". I listened. Heck, my entire Advantage Mapping philosophy is based off this concept.
But, I realized after talking to many people struggling to find success, that CoC is incomplete, and that's where Warren and I have issues.
488: Jacob Morgan is the international best-selling author of 5 books, keynote speaker, and professionally trained futurist. His passion and mission is to create great leaders, engaged employees, and future-ready organizations. Jacob is also the host of "Great Leadership With Jacob Morgan," one of the world's most popular leadership podcasts. His work has been endorsed by the CEOs of: Unilever, Cisco, Mastercard, Nestle, Best Buy, SAP, KPMG, T-Mobile, Audi, Kaiser Permanente, and many others. He lives in Los Angeles, California with his amazing wife Blake, their two kids, and their two Yorkie rescue dogs. You can learn more about Jacob, contact him, and get access to his content by visiting TheFutureOrganization.com.
In this episode Jacob and I talk about quitting his job, how a cup of coffee changed his life, and we really go deep on vulnerability. How being vulnerable can help build trust, but also how leading With vulnerability is an entirely different skill set.
In fact, Jacob wrote a book on the topic called Leading With Vulnerability comes out October 3.
487: Career change, fear and money.
Those concepts are tightly interlinked. Much of my work is trying to break the traditional conceptions of this trinity, so we can step boldly forth on our path. I’ve wanted to get the financial perspective nailed down for some time, but haven’t found a financial expert that could really smash the way we think about money in times of change. Until now.
Richard Archer is a Chartered Financial Analyst and Certified Financial Planner for ambitious, driven, and intentional professionals. He helps people make big financial decisions and transitions with confidence. Richard believes money is a tool and he helps his clients use their money to live authentic lives, not just save it for retirement. In fact he says, “if you die with $5M in the bank, I’ve failed.”
Richard is here for all the exciting and courageous conversations around money, fear, risk, investment and using it as a tool to intentionally design your life. Welcome to the show, Richard of Archer Investment Management.
486: How do you get yourself to do hard things that you don’t have to do? We all want to make big changes, but we often falter with the execution piece. Whether that’s changing careers, losing weight or or completing our first triathlon. I think this is the central problem everyone who’s ever attempted to start a side hustle faces. You want to do something new, but you don’t HAVE to.
My friend Kathleen Elkins know a little bit about this problem. Kathleen’s job as a correspondent at Insider, covering investing and the path to financial freedom is to get the stories behind every day people who gain financial independence. And to get to that point, you gotta do some hard things whether that’s buckling down on debt, starting a side income stream or investing in real estate without knowing anything about it.
Also, Kathleen recently completed her first Ironman triathlon with a friend. Completing an Ironman is a master experience in getting yourself to do really hard things. Since I love Ironman, I wanted to have Kathleen on to detail her experience and what she’s learned about herself and about the habits of everyday people who put themselves through the race to financial independence. I hope you enjoy this masterclass on embracing the process with the one and only Kathleen Elkins.
She started her career as an editorial intern at Business Insider in 2015, covered personal finance at CNBC Make It for four years, and returned to Insider in 2021.
She graduated from Williams College in 2014 and currently resides in Los Angeles.
485: You well know that feeling of being trapped. I need to do something else, but I can't because . . .
Well, I'm going to let you in on a secret. That dread and anxiety goes away the minute you are confident in another option.
You don't even have to leave your job or get a new boss. All you need to believe is that you can say "adios" whenever you want.
So, here's 5 ways to increase your options so you don't have to give AF at work.
484: I talk a lot about risk and uncertainty, but one of the most counterintuitive lessons I learned from my time in finance, entrepreneurship, and design is that there is an upside to uncertainty.
Sometimes chance encounters we never would have expected break our path and launch us in a better direction. These are our happy accidents.
Dennis Geelen is an accidental solopreneur.
After being laid off from his corporate job in 2018, he decided to bet on himself and launched a business consulting company, Zero In. Through Zero In, Dennis helped companies ‘solve indifference’ by implementing strategies to build a more customer-centric and innovative organization.
Author of the best-selling book ‘The Zero In Formula’, Mr. Geelen has worked with companies in several industries, spoken at countless events, conferences, workshops, and webinars, with dozens of guest appearances on international podcasts.
And now? Dennis also helps other solopreneurs get started. His latest book, ‘The Accidental Solopreneur’, and online course ‘The Solopreneur Playbook’ provide strategies and tactics for success.
Dennis is also the author of the Happy Accidents weekly newsletter and co-founder of the Solo Creator Summit. The Solo Creator Summit will take place September 20-21.
483: Learn about how a laugh may have broken Mark Twain's suicide attempt and how this applies to you.
#481: Today I’m going to show you the three step, cycle of change you can use to make a habit out of changing yourself to hit your goals and transform your growth.
482: Imagine hearing growing up and hearing metal shell casings hit the street. Imagine being abandoned by your father, and then later your step father.
Then imagine creating over $50M in sales for a niche finance company, only to create your own business so you could travel around the world and work from anywhere.
This is Jermane Cheathem’s story. He could have been a victim like so many others in his early life. But he broke that identity. Instead he learned to trust himself, engineered his environment and built a bulletproof mindset that he could accomplish anything.
Today Jermane helps others find freedom and entrepreneurship by teaching them the niche world of equipment finance sales.
Jermane just blew me away with his enthusiasm and impenetrable mindset. This conversation definitely made me want to level up in many ways, starting with my mind!
480: Sometimes all it takes for a break moment is a conversation with an old friend.
Gabe Marusca, was born in Romainia, and started on a typical life. Low paying job, dreaming about doing something else. Then a friend shared his entrepreneurial knowledge and changed broke Gabe path and changed his life forever. Now Gabe is known as The Nomad Solopreneur, was a freelancer for nearly 6 years. In 2016, inspired by a new outlook, he started his solo web design business, Digital Finest, becoming a solopreneur.
For over 4 years, Gabe has managed his business while exploring the globe.
He has lived in 10 different countries and visited 26, giving him a unique perspective on remote work, which he believes is the future of work.
Gabe's mission is to help 10,000 freelancers escape the "time-for-money" trap. He shares actionable resources on that through his social media channels and weekly newsletter. In January 2023, he launched The Nomad Solopreneur Show. A podcast where he challenges his guests to find solutions to freelancers' everyday challenges.
479: We all dream of making a big change. We wonder how others do it. At the heart of making any change is the battle in our minds between belief and fear.
Having some fear is healthy, but too much paralyzes us. Having too much belief can lead us to make big mistakes. We need to be in balance, and the key to balance is seeing risk clearly and putting it in its place. We can’t escape risk, but we can become comfortable with it.
In this episode, we will cover:
- How your biases affect risk
- Top biases to be aware of for better risk-taking
- Tactics for overcoming biases
- Top questions to ask to take better risks
478: Bret Barrie was a Hall-of-Fame and President’s Club-winning sales rep and has been a top-producing sales leader in multiple industries. He is also the author of The Selling Edge: How to Reach the Top In Any Sales Industry, and his newest book Promoted: The Proven Path to Career Advancement. We talk about how Brett became the leading knife salesman in the country, how sales is a very under-appreciated skill to learn early, and how he wants everyone to get promoted.
#477: We tend to think of luck as completely random and out of our control. However, every action you take has uncertainty in it, so there is an element of “luck” in everything we do. Here's what we will cover in this episode:
- Luck is a spectrum and can be influenced
- Some luck is out of our influence
- But some luck is within our influence
- Activities to get lucky
476: So I made a new friend. We’re kindred spirits. My new friend is called the fairy godmother of career breaks and sabbaticals.
Katrina McGhee is a Career Break and Sabbatical Expert, creator of the Break Blueprint and the author of the upcoming book, Taking a Career Break for Dummies. As a certified master coach with an MBA, Katrina helps mid-career professionals create happier, more fulfilling lives by designing bold and transformational breaks. Her clients return from their breaks recharged, inspired, happily-employed and forever changed. On their time off, her 60+ clients have traveled the world, launched a business, changed careers and more.
Katrina's work was inspired by her own 20-month career break where she saved $40,000 in just 18 months to quit her corporate job to travel the world. She's now an enthusiastic world traveler and digital nomad. Her advice on career breaks, money, and travel has been shared across various outlets including Forbes, Smarter Travel, Thrive Global, and Yahoo.
We obviously jammed on this idea of a career break and how we both come at that word from different points of view. Katrina has an amazing life story spanning heartache and triumph, and she shares it all.
I look forward to having her on again when her book comes out, but for now, I hope you enjoy this episode with Katrina McGhee.
475: What is it like to turn a debilitating weakness into your life’s work?
Ty Hoesgen grew up on a farm in Canada where the closest town was only 800 people. He was terrified to talk to other people, but once he got his first job, he realized that communication was a huge weakness that needed to be overcome. So he made communication his life’s work.
Today, Ty is a top communication coach, #1 best-selling author, and the Founder of Advanced Growth Institute. He helps professionals from around the world communicate with confidence, charisma, and clarity — so they can get more respect, become stronger leaders, and advance their careers.
Motivated by his past struggles, Ty has spent many years and thousands of hours researching, practicing, and experimenting in order to master the world of communication.
Determined to make others’ journeys less painful than his own, he’s dedicated his life to figuring out the success formula for communication skills.
Ty now uses this formula to help people make progress as quickly as possible — introverts, extroverts, and professionals of all skill levels. With an ever-growing list of client success stories, more people are becoming elite communicators every day!
When he isn't working, Ty enjoys lifting weights, playing piano, experimenting with breathwork, and seeing how long he can last in saunas and ice baths.
475: I’ve gotten a lot of questions recently about people needing to switch roles or career tracks. Lots of uncertainty out there that people are grappling with.
But being nimble and adaptable are key skills to living a life of resilience, and ultimately carving your own unique path to success.
Building experience in a new field is daunting.
The BREAK framework makes it incredibly simple.
So here’s how I have built experience in a new field and how I advise others do the same.
In this episode, we will discuss:
- How do you build experience in a new field?
- You need to think outside the box and demonstrate how you learn
- Use this process to do it
474: What does it feel like to bet on yourself? In this episode, we will discuss:
- How it really feels to bet on yourself
- The psychology of why it feels scarier
- My big announcement on the future
- How you can participate in our vision
473: In this episode, learn how to ensure positive momentum tomorrow.
- We need to create momentum when we tackle any change
- That's our "Belief Flywheel" so we can have confidence to take the next step
- Momentum starts the night before
- Follow this simple 5 minute evening routine to guarantee momentum tomorrow
- Don't forget to pick up a Father's Day gift!
472 - What happens when you start to notice the invisible scripts that tell you the keys to “success” are be good in school, get a good job, work hard and chase status and accomplishment?
Most people continue to push for those things on the default path. But when you start to notice and question these scripts, you can create a wildly different and more fulfilling path for yourself. But you have to acknowledge the uncertainty, and actually decide how you want to live.
My guest today is Paul Millerd. Paul was a studious management consultant on the “Default Path”, but he started to question that path and ended up opting out entirely. Paul gave up a $150,000 salary at the prestigious McKinsey consulting company in NYC, to travel the world and make ends meet through freelancing.
Then he wrote a book about it, self-published and that book has sold over 20,000 copies in the last 12 months!
I devoured his book, The Pathless Path on Audible over the course of a week in the car rides home from dropping my kids off at school or practice.
It is an absolute masterpiece on taking control and living a life on your terms, not anyone else’s. I’m extremely proud that I got to talk to Paul and bring our conversation to you today. I hope you enjoy this episode on taking The Pathless Path with Paul Millerd.
471 - The rub with taking a "pathless path" is that we have to figure out our way, which means trying things.
When we try things we split our attention and can get trapped in the overwhelm of flailing without seeming to make progress.
All the gurus tell us to "focus" and buckle down. But we can only do that when we have high confidence that the path we are on is the right one.
So we have to constantly balance how many options we give ourselves with a system for deciding when to press on and when to kill an idea.
Tune in to this episode to learn more and to learn a hack to deal with overwhelm.
470 - I have a secret . . . I’ve been stuck more times than I care to count or remember.
I’ve had weeks and months go by with no progress, and worse, not knowing what I should even do. It’s a terrible feeling of helplessness.
So, I’ve been dedicating a lot of my time thinking about momentum, how we start to change and how we build belief to deal with uncertainty in life, but particularly at work.
In this episode, we will discuss how to get unstuck by working on your life force.
469: If you’ve ever wondered how a teacher stuck in a classroom making $40k per year can transform into a world-roaming remote nomad making over $100k inside 12 months, well you’re in the right place. Taylin Simmonds was a music producer and college educator who broke his career and now helps founders and leaders of high-growth companies grow their personal brands.
And he does it while traveling the world. In fact, we recorded this episode while Taylin was in Panama where he has decided to live for a few months. I just love connecting with young folks like Taylin who are thinking hard and deep about their future and taking bold steps to transform their lives to work with purpose.
If you have doubts that you can make a gigantic change to your circumstances in a short amount of time, you need to tune in to this amazing episode with my new friend Taylin Simmonds.
468: Disruption and change are all around us, and happening faster and faster. I consider the ability to deal well with change to be the single most important skill for young people to learn. To dive into this topic, I’m talking today with MJ Reiners. MJ is an organizational change management consultant. She launched her company Summerland Education in 2011 to enable organizations to leverage internal resources and develop high performing work teams in order to reach their business goals.
She’s an expert in change management and has lessons from helping organizations with thousands of employees get buy in for change.
We discuss the skills necessary to get better at change, why we resist change, and what we can do to get better. I hope you enjoy this chat with MJ Reiners.
How we view failure is intricately linked with how we view uncertainty. Our normal view of failure tells us that it is something to avoid. Everybody in that control room should be angry, crying frustrated, mad or whatever, but that wasn't the case, right?
Whatever you think about Elon Musk, in this particular example, is great a lesson in how he relates to failure, and how he's pushed that view into the culture of the company.
466: What happens when you’ve reached “the top”, but you find it isn’t everything you thought it would be? How does being in the C-suite change the way you think about success, achievement, and happiness?
My guest this week is Clint Murphy. Clint rose to the top and became CFO of a large real estate development company based in Vancouver Canada. But I found Clint not in real estate circles or financial accounting circles, but rather, we connected around personal growth, entrepreneurship, and yes, career breaking.
The past few years, he’s been building out his future path, which is on its way to transition from a CFO to a full-time creator, coach and consultant and PE | RE investor and owner.
It's about teaching people how to get to the top in one area, to realize what their true passion and path is and how to move from one to the other without burning the boats or taking a ton of risk.
After all, Clint is first and foremost a husband and father to two young boys, now 14 and 11.
What does his Pivot look like? He started taking content creation seriously in August 2020, and now has over 270,000 followers on Twitter and a combined 300,000+ followers across all his social media platforms.
Clint is also the host of The Growth Guide Podcast, which he started as a hobby in 2020 during the COVID pandemic, and will be celebrating his 100th episode in 2023.
Most recently, he started the weekly Growth Guide Newsletter in February 2023, and already has 7,000 avid readers.
Clint is a lifelong learner and growth fanatic with a goal to help 1 billion people be better, achieve more, and become financially free. He does this by sharing lessons from millionaire mentors, expert authors, and his own life.
465: This episode at a glance:
- The only thing holding us back from having the life we want is the errors in how we view our own reality
- These errors are called Cognitive Distortions in psychology
- Understanding them and mitigating them is key to making better decisions, being happier and having better relationships
- Listen to the end to find a helpful tool I've used to get over my own distortions
464: For those of us who have zig-zagged our careers, we often feel misplaced, misunderstood, and feel like we come across as scattered. But the truth is there’s magic in our intersections, and the key is excavating the unique value that comes from your intersection.
This has worked wonders for me as I now describe my own intersection as a coach who uses principles from human-centered design, investing, and entrepreneurship to help people unlock creative career paths that make them come alive.
My next guest says instead of shunning your disparate interests, embrace them and learn to live a Portfolio Life. HMMM, that portfolio phrase is something I very much ascribe to!
A self-described “human Venn diagram”, Christina Wallace has crafted a career at the intersection of business, technology, and the arts. She is currently a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School, where she teaches entrepreneurship and marketing. Her most recent book is The Portfolio Life: How to Future-Proof Your Career, Avoid Burnout, and Build a Life Bigger Than Your Business Card (Hachette, 2023).
A serial entrepreneur, Christina has built businesses in ecommerce, edtech, and media. She also co-authored New To Big: How Companies Can Create Like Entrepreneurs, Invest Like VCs, and Install a Permanent Operating System for Growth (Penguin Random House, 2019) and was the co-host of The Limit Does Not Exist, an iHeart podcast with millions of downloads over 3 seasons and 125 episodes.
In her free time, she sings with various chamber choirs, embarks on adventure travel, and is a mediocre endurance athlete. She lives in Cambridge with her husband and their two children.
461: In this episode, we are talking about how each of us is a unique intersection of ideas and experiences. Your ability to see that intersection and provide your POV is a superpower. But, uncovering that intersection is the hard part. Tune in to learn more!
462: Welcome to the new members of The Break! I’m in Florida this week on Spring Break with my family.
In between chasing kids on the beach, playing catch and having some nice meals, I’m thinking a lot about that feeling.
461: Last week we talked about how a lot of our excuses are simply lies. That was a big perspective shift for me when I really took it to heart.
That got me thinking about how powerful a perspective shift can be, and how one sentence, one phrase or one book can completely BREAK your path and change your life.
In this episode, I’m detailing the 5 perspective shifts that completely exploded how I viewed my self and the world.
460: My next guest is Josiah Goff, Vice President of Product at Tune, a technology for partner marketing programs and affiliate networks.
Josiah has been on both sides of the entrepreneurial journey. He believes that only after leaving behind the safety net of corporate life could he truly concentrate on achieving success on his own terms. Additionally, he stresses that personal transformation is crucial to becoming ready to start one's own business.
We get real deep and real on personal transformation leading to career transformation. Josiah shares the two questions that changed his life (#2 is amazing)
You won’t want to miss Josiah’s journey and how he found his break by leaving entrepreneurship and going back to work for a company - a journey he said he never could have made if he hadn’t struck out on his own and learned some valuable lessons working for himself. Keep listening, and if you dig the convo please leave us a 5 star review so others can discover these conversations.
Please enjoy Finding Yourself with Josiah Goff.
459: In this episode, we are diving into the biggest lie that is holding you back from the path you want.
458: All productivity hacks are just noise. Nothing comes even close to the output you get when you align who you are with what you do. NOTHING.
Alignment means becoming who you were meant to be (your purpose). It’s deep, but it is really simple. There are only 4 big questions. Discovering how to systematically answer the questions is the difficult part.
No one ever taught you how. “Find your passion” isn’t good enough. There’s no roadmap.
In this episode, I’m going to show you what the 4 big questions are, and how I answer them with clients.
457: How do you find passion? What's the difference between passion and purpose? In this episode, we will walk through a simple 4-step process to help you find your purpose. We will also share how Advantage Mapping can increase your odds of finding your purpose.
456: The biggest mind blowing moments in my life have come from tiny perspective shifts that broke the way I looked at the world.
Here are a few:
- Investment in loss
- money is a tool, nothing more
- Every person has two lives and the second begins when he realizes he only has one - Confucius
I use the term “perspective” separately from “mindset” because perspective comes from the outside. It’s a shift to a new way of seeing through a new lens. Mindset implies it’s your mind that needs to change.
I believe you can change your mindset by changing your inner beliefs about yourself, but that journey comes from perspective shifts.
455: Imagine being a pudgy, bullied high school dropout going nowhere, then miraculously, building a successful business, selling it, and then going on to coach thousands of high-performing executives and entrepreneurs on fitness and energy.
How did he do it all? Dan’s remarkable story starts with one simple decision - his BREAK moment. He decided to get in shape, and little by little Dan transformed the way he looked, but more importantly, he transformed how he thought of himself and what he was capable of.
Dan is now THE fitness coach to high-achieving entrepreneurs. He's spent the past 20 years coaching thousands of clients, helping them lose over 100,000+ pounds while growing one of the most successful gyms in Toronto. In 2018 he left the gym world to help high-achieving entrepreneurs improve their health and build world-class bodies.
This episode is packed with wisdom on getting in shape and transforming your psychology. I was particularly keen to ask Dan about the parallels between getting in shape and career performance.
454: Last week I wrote about the Hero’s Journey I think we are all on, and how it is in The Unknown that anything worth doing resides.
The Unknown is risky. But what most people miss is that The Known is also risky. How can that be? Because most of what we think is certain, actually isn’t.
Your career is riskier than you think. Learn how you can manage it.
453: We all have a voice that is calling us to be a hero. We all have a voice that is telling us why we can’t be one. Who are we going to listen to?
452: Teddy is a former D1 athlete. He played baseball at UNC, then took his two passions: sports and writing, and built a career in sports media starting with ESPN. Somewhere along the line, as most of us come to find out, Teddy realized how he was using his talents wasn’t as impactful as it could be. He worked for a startup for a while, where he built the confidence to later go out on his own.
Today Teddy combines his unique skills to help executives become better digital writers and build powerful brands online.
Pulling lessons from the worlds of athletics, leadership, and the military, Teddy has built quite a following of his own digital writing.
What enabled Teddy to parlay his experience into a business where he is creative, fulfilled, and in control? He says it’s consistency. And consistency is all about the process.
This episode is packed with great insights about adversity, courage, and being consistent. Plus Teddy shares from his experiences training with Navy Seals and climbing the equivalent height of Mt. Everest.
451: Most of us:
- don’t know where we are - we’re lost
- know where we are but don’t know where to go
- know where to go, but don’t know how to get there
I’ve been in all three stages - too many times for me to even count, but I’ve managed to find my way again.
I’ve navigated change, not through blind trial and error, but through a systematic process of feedback.
Your path is not set. Your destiny is not fixed. You don’t have to choose the default path laid out in front of you.
You can chart a new course to a destination you don’t even know exists yet.
Are you ready to become a career wayfinder?
450: Eliana Goldstein is a Certified Professional Coach who works with ambitious individuals to create the necessary mindsets, learn the key strategies and set the goals needed to move to the next level in their careers whether that’s growing where they are or moving into an entirely different career path. We spend over 90,000 hours of our lives working so her goal is to teach people how to build careers where they don't completely dread Monday morning.
This episode is packed with great insights from a woman who took control of her career and had the courage to forge a new and better path. I’m so happy I’ve gotten to know Eliana and proud to call her a new friend.
As a bonus for listening Eliana is giving you $100 off her amazing course. Use the code THEBREAK to receive your discount today.
449: I was not born a risk taker.
I still don’t consider myself one.
But I’ve made A LOT of progress. That progress is probably the single achievement that I am most proud of in my life.
Being in a position to take risks is vitally important to your growth.
Because all of your dreams and desires are on the other side of a series of unknowns.
In this episode, you'll learn:
- To grow, you need to take better risks
- The 3 phases of becoming a better risk taker
- How to set the right conditions for more risk-taking
448: Brian Gallagher is a Corporate American turned Global Citizen. Brian did what many bright and talented people do right out of college. He went into finance. But a few years in he had his BREAK moment where he realized the money, the status, the “dream” wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
He got out. He owned a fitness studio for a while and then did something even more drastic. He gave away 99% of his belongings and left the traditional path to see the world and live life on his own terms.
He created Simple Man Guide, a personal brand dedicated to helping others leave the corporate world behind, simplify their lives, and regain power over their most precious asset - time. Brian currently lives in Amsterdam.
In this episode, Brian and I talk about his Break moment. How he got over what other people think, and how the key to building your own future is about prioritization.
You’ll take away some great tips and examples from Brian’s story on how to choose yourself, and how you can really do just about anything if you’re willing to say no to traditional advice that often ends up being a trap.
Get started with ZipRecruiter: https://ziprecruiter.fdcm73.net/YAYaK
448: I made a big investment in an expensive coaching program this year.
I was scared, but did it anyway. The old me never would have done this.
But I figured out how to trick my mind, and I want to share my process with you. Keep listening to learn about The MEMO Approach.
447: In this podcast episode, we are discussing the number 1 factor that separates long-term success from failure that I've learned the hard way. We will also cover how to build your belief flywheel. Tune in to learn more!
446: Jennie Blumenthal is the founder of Corporate Rehab where she coaches executives to re-engineer their relationship with work to grow in their current career or in a new opportunity.
Jennie’s “break moment” came in the midst of covid with kids at home and huge responsibilities at her consulting job. Like a lot of us, she got some space to re-evaluate and realized the amazing career she built over 20 years overseeing 250 employees and consulting with some of the biggest and best Fortune 500 companies in the world still wasn’t utilizing her skills talents, and energy in the ways she wanted. So she put herself through her own Corporate Rehab. Check out her story, it’s a good one.
445: In today’s issue, we’re picking my Advantage Mapping System up again starting with the second source of advantage: Your Personality.
444: Alexis Grant is founder & CEO of They Got Acquired, a media company that helps entrepreneurs sell online businesses.
Previously, she was EVP of Content at The Penny Hoarder, a personal finance media brand, where she worked alongside the founder as the third employee to scale the company’s content operations. She also founded The Write Life, an online community for writers she sold in 2021.
Lexi began her career as a reporter at the Houston Chronicle and U.S. News & World Report, before growing a boutique content marketing agency, which was acquired by The Penny Hoarder in 2015. She lives with husband and two young kids in Harpers Ferry, WV.
443: In today’s issue, we’re going to explore the most underrated approach to solving a career decision:
Inversion.
I'll show you how looking at a problem backwards is often more effective than trying to solve it forwards, and I'll show you how I used inversion to define my Break path. You’ll be able to immediately apply it to whatever you do.
Let’s dive in.
442: We are all thankful this time of year - or at least, we try to be.
Have you ever sat down and tried to articulate what you are thankful for?
I’ve started gratitude journals with my kids and we’ve also had a tradition of saying three things we’re thankful for about the current day before we go to bed. Tune in to learn more!
441: “I don’t know what I’m good at.”
It’s a phrase I hear from people in all walks of life - included highly driven, growth minded individuals.
Tune in to this episode to learn why it's so hard to percieve our own abilities.
440: Should you ever go backwards in your career? If you’re a long term listener of the podcast, you know I think the answer is absolutely yes. Sometimes the quickest way to get out of a problem and get oriented on a solution is to go back up.
But it’s not for the faint of heart. You have to have some faith and confidence in yourself and the path you choose.
Here to help us understand all of this and share her own stories is Kelli Rae Thompson.
439: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Adam C. Bandelli. Founder & Managing Director of Bandelli & Associates, Dr. Adam C. Bandelli is an organizational psychologist and seasoned leadership advisor with over twenty years of corporate consulting experience. Adam's calling and purpose in life is to help the leaders identify, embrace, and unleash their true authentic selves. In his latest book Relational Intelligence, he details the five essential skills he has found to create life-changing relationships.
439: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Adam C. Bandelli. Founder & Managing Director of Bandelli & Associates, Dr. Adam C. Bandelli is an organizational psychologist and seasoned leadership advisor with over twenty years of corporate consulting experience. Adam's calling and purpose in life is to help the leaders identify, embrace, and unleash their true authentic selves. In his latest book Relational Intelligence, he details the five essential skills he has found to create life-changing relationships.
438: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Sara McElroy. Sara McElroy is an ex-chief marketing officer and former hustle culture devotee who reinvented her career and reimagined the way she works after unexpectedly becoming The Wall Street Journal’s poster girl for pandemic burnout.
Tune in to leanr how to quit a job that's taking more than it's giving!
437: I have a tough time with expertise, I’m betting you do too.
Last week I did an overview of the Advantage Mapping Strategy. I view this exercise as fundamental to choosing what you do and how you spend your time for the greatest chance of success.
In short, Advantage Mapping is integral to designing your work-life.
Deeply understanding where your advantages lie, set you up for success and focus your energy on activities that have the highest odds of success.
This week I dive into the first source of advantage - your expertise.
436: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Rebekah Bastian. Rebekah is a creator. She’s created a startup, a tech movement, a book, multiple written, visual and aerial art pieces, and two humans. She is the CEO & co-founder of OwnTrail and was previously vice president of product and vice president of community and culture at Zillow. Rebekah is the author of the award-winning book Blaze Your Own Trail, a board member of JPEG Morgan and Bellwether Housing, a contributor to Forbes and an investor and advisor to AuthenTech and Web3 companies.
435: One of the biggest lessons I learned as a trader is that great traders, gamblers and investors only play - or only bet big - when they have an advantage.
Sometimes they win, and sometimes they lose, but over the long term, if they adequately understand their advantage, they will win.
Taken to personal development, the key to investing in yourself is understanding where your competitive advantage lies, then using that advantage for growth.
It needs to be your life’s mission to understand your advantage, no matter how small, and press it.
Tune in to learn more!
434: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Joel Bein. Joel Bein is passionate about self-driven learning, creativity, personal growth, and human consciousness. Joel is the CEO at Career Hackers and Founder of New Orleans Chamber Players.
433: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Alex Oliveira. In this episode we track Alex’s career. We discuss how he found his superpower, and how he leveraged that power to make leaps into completely different industries. We also dissect how he transitioned his business to fit into his life instead of sucking the life out of him.
Finally, we discuss what skills he is trying to teach his 4 kids for the future. Heads up! These are important for anyone to have now and into the future.
432: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Tareka Wheeler. Tereka Career & Mindset Strategist that helps ambitious Women of Color and Working Parents advance in their careers, and learn how to discover their defined natural abilities to level up professionally while achieving work life harmony.
432: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Tareka Wheeler. Tereka Career & Mindset Strategist that helps ambitious Women of Color and Working Parents advance in their careers, and learn how to discover their defined natural abilities to level up professionally while achieving work life harmony.
431: Theres a natural progression in how we frame choices or “options” as I tend to call them (it’s the finance guy in me).
Welcome to decision overload, or what I call option overload.
In the context of any change, option overload is a killer zapping your mental energy, motivation and limited willpower.
The ones who make it through option overload, and successfully navigate a BREAK from traditional work learn how to manage the Paradox of Options.
Tune in to this episode to learn more!
431: Theres a natural progression in how we frame choices or “options” as I tend to call them (it’s the finance guy in me).
Welcome to decision overload, or what I call option overload.
In the context of any change, option overload is a killer zapping your mental energy, motivation and limited willpower.
The ones who make it through option overload, and successfully navigate a BREAK from traditional work learn how to manage the Paradox of Options.
Tune in to this episode to learn more!
430: Why do most people (including me) fail to stick with a change or even start something new?
I try to make changes every single day of my life. It’s a constant fight.
I mostly fail.
But I sometimes succeed.
Tune in to this episode to learn how to make a change and stick to it.
430: Why do most people (including me) fail to stick with a change or even start something new?
I try to make changes every single day of my life. It’s a constant fight.
I mostly fail.
But I sometimes succeed.
Tune in to this episode to learn how to make a change and stick to it.
429: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Matt Doan. Matt Doan is the Founder and CEO of Transcendent Media. He’s passionate about helping people live “Uncaged,” which means taking control of your work situation to unlock your dream lifestyle. He does this as a coach, course instructor, and content creator.
Before becoming an entrepreneur, he spent over 15 years consulting with executives at Global 2000 companies and national security agencies on their technology and cybersecurity strategies. His writing has appeared in Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, and The Atlantic. He’s also the host of the Uncage Yourself podcast and a frequent speaker.
428: You don’t need to make a major change today. You just need to be open. Start thinking of your income source as revenue, and a world of possibilities will open up.
427: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Barry Shore. Known as the “Ambassador of JOY,” Barry Shore is a mental wellness activist, philanthropist, multi-patent holding entrepreneur, speaker, author, podcaster, and former quadriplegic who is now swimming around the world!
After a rare disease paralyzed Barry from the neck down, he created the JOY of LIVING Community™, The Keep Smiling movement that has reached multiple celebrities and distributed millions of “Keep Smiling” cards worldwide, and a philanthropic platform featured in Oprah’s Magazine.
426: Success is a tricky subject. Life, health wealth, family. I’m not going to define it here, other than to say, for me, all of it matters. That’s why I’ve rejected the corporate ladder and 9-5 rat race. But no matter how you define success, there’s really only a handful of things that ever make up the lions share of progress. I’ve found there’s only 3 levers that determine your ability to succeed in any way you define success. If we focus on these three levers, understand how they work and how they work together, we can succeed at anything we want.
Tune in to learn the 3 levers that determine success!
425: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Manoj Jonna. Manoj Jonna is the Co-Founder & CEO of Ramped, a skills-based hiring platform that is revolutionizing the job search. Prior to Ramped, Manoj served as Chief Strategy Officer of Reservations.com and as Vice President and Founding Team member at YayPay. Before YayPay, he worked as an investment banker at Deloitte Corporate Finance where he focused on mergers & acquisitions. Manoj holds a JD from Georgetown Law School.
424: I’m in constant re-evaluation mode. Stuck floating between seeing the field and playing on the field.
At least every 6 months I hit a "reset" moment where I question everything I'm doing.
Here are the 5 questions that you need to ask to take ownership of the changes that you want to make.
423: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Susan Hamilton Meier. Susan is a personal branding expert who helps women untangle the zigzags of their careers to find a clear, shiny thread of their story and design the next steps for the professional journey.
For more than 20 years, Susan has helped Fortune 500 companies define brand strategy and create distinctive messaging. She uses these tools, along with what she’s learned on her own zig-zag career path across business, art, and parenting, to empower women to craft their personal brand and discover a roadmap toward a life of purpose.
An alum of Harvard Business School and the Boston Consulting Group, Susan is on a mission to empower professional women to own their stories and unlock their promise.
422: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Grant Baldwin. Grant made a career change when his wife was 5 months pregnant with their first child. It was scary, but he set himself on an unmistakable path toward a meaningful and rewarding career.
As founder and CEO of The Speaker Lab, Grant Baldwin has helped thousands of people build successful and sustainable speaking businesses. Over the last 15 years, Grant has become a sought-after speaker, podcaster, author, and accomplished entrepreneur. Featured on the Inc. 5000 list, Forbes, Inc. Entrepreneur, and The Huffington Post, he has committed his expertise and insight to equip others to share their meaningful message with the masses. His leadership and dedication to creating a one-of-a-kind organizational culture are evidenced by the impact of the team he leads. Grant lives near Nashville, Tennessee with his wife, Sheila, and their three daughters.
421: Investment in loss simply means that we often need to take a step back in order to make a giant leap forward, and that step backward is an investment.
Keep listening to learn more!
420: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Tom Brunskill. Tom Brunskill is the co-founder and CEO of Forage, a job simulation platform that helps students bridge the gap between education and work opportunities. On a mission to make education-to-workforce pathway more equitable, Tom co-founded Forage in 2017 to provide the ability to preskill through virtual job simulations produced by the world’s top companies, including J.P. Morgan, Lyft and Walmart, to name a few. By breaking down barriers to gaining workplace-specific skills, Tom hopes to level the opportunity playing field and empower anyone to pursue their dream career. Tom started his career as a corporate lawyer at a multinational law firm in Australia before moving to San Francisco and has been featured in Business Insider, Financial Times and TechCrunch, among others.
419: Right now we’re experiencing the highest inflation in 40 years which is impacting our wallets, our companies’ profit margins and our jobs.
Technology changes fast rendering entire industries obsolete. The stock market is in the tank.
But we can still succeed - and that’s not coming from a natural optimist.
How?
By adapting and methodically setting up our lives to weather the storm. Keep listening to learn more!
418: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Mike Podesto. Mike Podesto is the CEO & Founder of Find My Profession, Inc. After years in sales and recruiting roles, Mike knew that it was time to begin his journey with Find My Profession. On October 3rd, 2015 Find My Profession was born. The inspiration came from a lack of satisfaction in the recruiting industry and the huge need for help on the job seeker side. Having job candidates come second and hiring managers come first always seemed backward. With more “recruiting rules” than ever, Find My Profession evens the playing field by using their recruiting knowledge to benefit job seekers. With the job seeker in mind, Mike quit his job as a recruiting manager to devote his full attention to providing a solution exclusively for job seekers.
417: Learn how to network with the people you admire! Your network determines your level of success - your ability to find a better job, pivot careers or find clients. Tune in to learn how to network with anyone on the internet!
416: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with David Kline. Dave is a former Chief Operating Officer of several different divisions at Bridgewater Associates, the worlds largest hedge fund with over $200M of assets under management headed by Ray Dalio, whose book Principles is a must read.
I met Dave on Twitter (@dklineii) and was fascinated by his career pivot. He successfully transitioned out of the high stress world of high finance, and is currently the owner of Skillscouter, a website that helps people find the best courses for upskilling their abilities. Dave also teaches cohort classes for growing managers. Having hired, trained and managed hundreds of high performers in the high stakes jobs of finance, Dave has seen it all, and he’s codified his management principles in what he calls the Management Accelerator.
415: Your runway is basically the amount of time you have to complete whatever pivot you are trying to execute.
Learn the best ways to extend your runway in this episode!
#414: Change happens: either we choose it or it is forced upon us. I want more people to choose to change rather than be forced.
Whether you want to change jobs, change companies or blow it all up and work for yourself, change takes some thought and planning.
How you go about breaking your career depends on your risk profile, just like with investing. The more risk tolerant you are, the bigger, faster change you can make. If you have more obligations, children, expenses, the slower and more planned out this should be.
Listen to learn more about the anatomy of a career pivot.
413:
In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Dave Fano. David Fano is a serial entrepreneur, former WeWork executive, and ex-architect who has made it his mission to help people navigate their careers with confidence. His latest venture, Teal, helps people optimize their job search by providing the level of tooling and infrastructure that companies have but for the individual professional. In just over a year, Teal has grown to a community of over 40,000 users committed to advancing their careers.
In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Mark Herschberg. Mark Herschberg is the author of The Career Toolkit, Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You. From tracking criminals and terrorists on the dark web to creating marketplaces and new authentication systems, Mark has spent his career launching and developing new ventures at startups and Fortune 500s and in academia. He helped to start the Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program, dubbed MIT’s “career success accelerator,” where he teaches annually. At MIT, he received a B.S. in physics, a B.S. in electrical engineering & computer science, and a M.Eng. in electrical engineering & computer science, focusing on cryptography. #412: At Harvard Business School, Mark helped create a platform used to teach finance at prominent business schools. He also works with many non-profits, currently serving on the board of Plant A Million Corals. He was one of the top-ranked ballroom dancers in the country and now lives in New York City, where he is known for his social gatherings, including his annual Halloween party, as well as his diverse cufflink collection.
411: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Jeff Rose. Jeff Rose is a devoted husband and father of four. He's made millions as an internet, entrepreneur and YouTuber with a following of over 340,000, but it wasn't always like that. Jeff didn't know what he wanted to do with his career when he was young, but a key to Jeff's evolution is he's always followed his curiosity. He's ran experiments when he was unsure of the next apps and he was humble enough to seek help along the way. Jeff's story starts with his own thirst for knowledge on how to manage money. He became a certified financial planner, got into blogging in order to differentiate himself in his practice and wound up building an online media site (GoodFinanciaCents.com) that made him way more than his practice, which he had been grinding at for over five years. None of it happened on purpose yet. None of it happened by chance either. Jeff's story proves the point that you don't have to have it all figured out as long as you stay curious and make decisions to continuously invest in yourself.
410: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Ty Reed. Many individuals escaping the adverse circumstances of addiction, homelessness, and past criminal justice involvement have difficulty finding employment, a key component of rebuilding lives. Ty Reed offers no-cost career coaching to individuals working to overcome these challenging backgrounds through his nonprofit, Recovery Career Services. He also educates employers and the public about the importance of providing second-chance employment opportunities.
In addition to walking his own journey in recovery, Ty has an MBA from the University of Washington and holds credentials in human resources and workforce development. He has been a featured speaker for Amazon, Comcast, The University of Washington, and many more.
409: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Ross Dzikovsky. Ross is a native of Kyiv, Ukraine and is the co-founder of Bilberrry, a software development firm with its development team based in the Ukraine. Mike and Ross briefly worked together back in 2013-14, and have kept in touch ever since. Mike wanted to catch up with Ross to chat about the software development path, how he evaluates talent, the team’s approach to remote work and of course, his perspective on how things are going in Ukraine. Ross has over 15 years of experience in the IT industry with a strong background in Software Engineering, Product Management and Business Analytics. As a co-founder of Bilberrry Ross oversees the team of 40 engineers and has led several large scale development engagements for brands such as Deloitte, Impinj and David's Bridal.
408: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Will Smith. Will founded Acquiring Minds in 2021 shortly after discovering acquisition entrepreneurship, a love-at-first-sight moment. Prior to Acquiring Minds, Will ran partnerships & business development at two SaaS companies in the Bay Area. Earlier in his career he founded multiple online businesses, some of which were acquired, some of which continue to thrive.
407: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Sonja Price. Sonja “Dynamo” Price has 15+ years of experience in Career and Leadership consulting. She has worked with a wide range of clients including Amazon, AT&T, Facebook, Google, HBO, Microsoft, Nordstrom, Starbucks, T-Mobile, and numerous other organizations.
406: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Matthew Kennedy Stewart.
Matthew is co-founder and CEO of National Service Group (NSG), which operates College Works Painting, Empire Community Construction, Home Genius Exteriors, and SMJJ Investments. NSG has grown from a small Southern California-based business into an international company located throughout the United States and Canada.
405: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Lisa Gevelber. Lisa founded and leads Grow with Google (grow.google.com), which is Google’s $1 billion commitment to economic opportunity for all. Since 2017, Grow with Google has helped over 6 million Americans and tens of millions globally grow their skills, careers, and businesses. One of her most significant contributions is the creation of Google Career Certificates, which provide access to in-demand, high paying jobs for people without college degrees. These certificates have provided significant upward mobility to tens of thousands and counting. Lisa also leads Google for Startups, which levels the playing field for underrepresented founders and helps startups thrive across every corner of the world.
404: In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Patrick Tannous. Patrick is the co-founder and President of Tiesta Tea Company. Tiesta Tea is a tea company inspired by a passion for great-tasting loose leaf tea beverages. Tiesta Tea was started in 2010 while Patrick and Dan Klein (CEO & Co-Founder) were seniors in college. Since starting the business, Tiesta Tea has become the fastest-growing company in the specialty tea industry with over 8000+ points of distribution (according to Nielsen). In 2018, Patrick and Dan were featured by Inc. Magazine as 30 Under 30 Rising Stars. In 11 years at Tiesta Tea, Patrick has worked with or currently works with companies like Costco, Safeway, Target, Meijer, Amazon, Office Depot, Walmart, Kroger, Whole Foods and many other Fortune 500 companies. Patrick has secured four rounds of equity financing totaling $5.2mm. Patrick is a people-focused business person and believes in doing business with high respect, morals, and values. He has a strong passion for entrepreneurship and loves helping other people chase their dreams. Patrick believes anyone can do anything if they truly care and put the effort into it.
403: Teresa Sande Author of Find Your Fierce: Interrupt Imposter Syndrome and Own Your Success has some insightful research from studies and hundreds of interviews that transform this topic into a book. Host Justin Dux reveals his biggest fear as a podcast host and Teresa shares her story as well feeling like the biggest imposter to set out to write a book about imposter syndrome.
402: In this episode, Michael Gardon chats with Dr. Amy Beacom and Sue Campbell.
Dr. Amy Beacom is the Founder and CEO of the Center for Parental Leave Leadership, the first consultancy in the US to focus exclusively on parental leave. Drawing on over 25 years in executive leadership development and coaching, Amy consults with Fortune 100 companies, international organizations, and working parents, transforming the way our companies and our country engage with the parental leave transition.
Amy created the first evidence-based parental leave transition coaching model and distilled it into this book, the first of its kind to provide step-by-step guidance for navigating this complex life transition. She has trained and supervised parental leave coaches both in the US and Australia and the manager-focused training program she created can be found in over 80 countries around the world. She regularly appears on expert panels, conferences, and podcasts and has been quoted in such publications as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Working Mother. Amy holds a BA in Sociology/Anthropology with a minor in Gender Studies from Lewis and Clark College, an MA in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University, and a doctorate, also from Columbia University, combining Organizational Psychology, Women’s Leadership, Work/Family, and Applied Anthropology. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and their son and daughter.
Sue Campbell is a writer, author, and coach who has worked with the Center for Parental Leave Leadership since its early days, helping to communicate the transformative impact of their core mission. Her professional background includes twelve years in public service, seven of those as a business systems analyst leading projects and teams to deliver process improvements through technology. Her writing, often focused on issues important to parents, has been published in many outlets, including Prevention, Good Housekeeping, Scary Mommy, and Mamalode. She is also the author of, The Cat, the Cash, the Leap, and the List, a novel for middle grade readers. Sue lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and two children.
401:
In this episode, Justin Dux chats with Noa Shaw. Noa Shaw is a certified life coach who guides his clients to become better versions of themselves by helping them identify and understand their purpose and achieve what they want in life. Whether you’re searching for more meaning or fulfillment in your personal life and relationships, or seeking to establish the confidence and accountability to realize your business, career and leadership goals, Noa can help you chart your path and develop the tools you’ll need to grow. With over 20 years of experience working in addiction treatment and helping clients rebuild their lives in the aftermath of trauma, Noa specializes in helping guide his clients from the depths of darkness into a life filled with beauty and light.
400: In this episode, Justin Dux chats with Kelly McClellan. Kelly is a Career and Leadership expert with over 20 years of experience in training and developing people, leaders, and teams. With more than 3000 coaching hours, she is on a mission to help people create a life and career they love.
Equal parts coach, consultant, and cheerleader, Kelly works with clients in financial services, healthcare, CPG, and technology who are looking to take themselves and their teams to the next level.
399: In this episode, Michael Gardon chats with S. Chris Edmonds. S. Chris Edmondshelps leaders create and sustain purposeful, positive, productive work cultures. He is a speaker, author, and executive consultant who is the founder of The Purposeful Culture Group. He's one of Inc. Magazine’s 100 Top Leadership Speakers and was a featured presenter at South by Southwest.
Chris is the author of the Amazon bestseller The Culture Engine and is co-author of the new title, Good Comes First. Chris' blog, podcasts, and videos are at DrivingResultsThroughCulture.com.
Chris’ short, rich Good Comes First and Culture Leadership Charge video episodes can be found on YouTube.
398: In this episode, Michael Gardon chats with Mark Babbitt. Mark S. Babbitt is President of WorqIQ, a community and change management consultancy that helps organizations understand leadership's impact on culture and the company's collective level of Workplace Intelligence (WQ).
Mark is also CEO and Founder of YouTern, a career-focused community enables college students, recent graduates, and young professionals to find their first or next internship or job with the right organizational culture for them. In addition to writing the upcoming Good Comes First (September 28, 2021 | Matt Holt and BenBella Books), Mark co-authored the bestseller A World Gone Social: How Companies Must Adapt to Survive. Followers also find Mark's advice in Entrepreneur, Inc., Forbes, and many other publications. An in-demand speaker, Mark was named one of Inc. Magazines' Top 100 Leadership Speakers.
397: Jeffrey Moss solved a problem, the answer to the question for recent grads from college; how do I get experience?
His company Parker Dewey has a program for employers to leverage the excitement of a recent grad without all the hassle of hiring a full-time intern. Instead, they have a shorter-term small internship which he calls a "Micro-internship".
We talk about the problem from both perspectives; the employers hiring these candidates and the candidates looking for experiences while also getting paid to learn.
https://www.parkerdewey.com/
396: Peter Economy has written over 100 books and his latest is a field guide to toxic coworkers. He offers some great advice on how to deal with this toxicity and move into a new job quickly to out-maneuver these bad actors in your career.
Peter has written over 11 books in the for dummies series, but he's no dummy when it comes to identifying a toxic coworker, handling the situation or person, and consequences these people have on a company and your career.
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In this episode, Michael Gardon chats with Ray King. Ray is the Global Head of Sales at Devbridge, a digital product and technology consultancy. A first-generation immigrant from The Gambia, Ray migrated to the US as a teen and has gained experience building and leading high-performing teams since. He has successfully led digital product delivery for Global 2000 clients in the US, Europe, and the UK. So when the opportunity to build out Devbridge’s UK practice came up, Ray accepted the challenge and grew the practice into a thriving $8M operation in just over three years. He recently transitioned from his post as the Managing Director of the London office back to the US to build a global sales team responsible for generating $20M+ a year in new business revenue for Devbridge. Soon to be a first-time dad, Ray lives in Chicago with his fiancé Megan and their dog, Crede.
In this episode, Michael Gardon chats with Joel Bein. Joel Bein is passionate about self-driven learning, creativity, personal growth, and human consciousness. He is a content marketer and job hunt coach at Crash.co, a startup on a mission to help people discover and do what makes them come alive. He is a writer for The Daily Job Hunt newsletter, host of the Career Crashers Podcast, host of the Exponentially Empowered podcast, and, as a classically trained musician and conductor, he is Founder and Artistic Director of the New Orleans Chamber Players.
393: Valerie Patrick is a PhD chemical engineer who worked in multi-national organizations for 25 years where she gained over 10,000 hours of experience leading teams to achieve a wide range of objectives. Valerie founded Fulcrum Connection LLC in 2013 to provide instructional design, training, consulting, and facilitation for a broad range of topics related to teamwork, innovation, and sustainability. Valerie also has over 10,000 hours of experience as a Certified Professional Facilitator and is certified with distinction in the foundations of neuroleadership by the NeuroLeadership Institute.
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In this episode, Michael Gardon chats with Raman Chadha. Raman is a Founder and Managing Partner of The Junto Institute, which has been in business since 2012. Junto is the only place for bootstrapped companies to get flexible, affordable, and high-impact training and development for their remote workforce. Membership includes live weekly roundtables, women-only discussions, leadership mentoring, and emotional intelligence coaching.
Prior to Junto, Raman was founding director of a university entrepreneurship center where he was also on faculty. He holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a BA from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. A native Chicagoan, Raman is now a digital nomad, exploring wide open spaces like rural towns and the mountains. He is a highly devoted father of two adult daughters, and passionate about longevity, solitude, personal growth, and emotional intelligence.
In this episode, Michael Gardon chats with Ken Rusk. Ken Rusk is a blue-collar construction entrepreneur and founder of Rusk Industries, Inc. who has launched multiple successful endeavors over the last 30 plus years. He has made it his mission to hire, train, and coach first-time job seekers, particularly those like himself who don’t have college degrees. His training programs help young people to set achievable goals through visualization and sound financial planning. He believes that anyone can realize their dreams and live a comfortable life regardless of their educational background or past. Rusk lives in Sylvania, Ohio with his wife and daughter.
This coach works with job seekers at a high level in one of the most competitive markets in the world. Silicon Valley has earned him a reputation that keeps in demand through word of mouth and an excellent reputation. You might not be able to afford an appointment with him but Kyle gave us some great insight on today's episode. However, if you are seeking multiple six-figure salaries anywhere your probably need to figure out what your fabulous is, and Kyle is the best coach to find it.
In this episode, Michael Gardon chats with Danny Leonard. Danny is currently a Co-Founder at Ramped. He's also a sales advisor, consultant, and investor with over a decade of success at various VC-backed startups. He's built sales teams from scratch, bringing them through initial traction and onto scale/profitability. He's closed deals upwards of $2M on his own and managed all sales functions. Currently, he's a Co-Founder of Ramped, a career discovery platform for early-career sales talent.
In this episode, Michael Gardon chats with Dane Jensen. Dane Jensen is the CEO of Third Factor, an instructor at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University, and is affiliate faculty with the UNC Executive Development at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At Third Factor, he works to help leaders be more effective, creative, and resilient under pressure. His work has spanned twenty-three countries on six continents. In addition to his corporate work, Dane works extensively with athletes, coaches, leaders, and boards across Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic sport system to enhance national competitiveness.
In this episode, Michael Gardon chats with Rachel Neill. Rachel is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Carex Consulting Group, Shenanigan Kids (The Figgy), and Talent Bandit. She is passionate about the startup space, scaling companies, raising capital, and women in tech.
Stephan Aarstol, founder and CEO of Tower Paddle Boards built a company with over 30M in sales. But we're not here to paddle around the topic. He implemented a 5-hour workday for all of his employees and we get to ask him how it went. Ditch your 9-5 for a 10-3 the 8-hour workday might be a thing of the past in 20 years. Or will it? Listen now to find out how his experiment turned out when it came to employee retention and employee engagement. Host Justin Dux
In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Kara Kaplan. Kara is currently the CEO of Moonrise. Prior to Moonrise, Kara spent her early career working in finance at Mesirow Financial and at Angel Street Capital (a boutique private equity and Investment Banking Firm). She then helped to spearhead the Business Development efforts at ShopTalk, a $30M venture-backed start-up delivering a direct marketing voice portal with 500,000 users. She also co-founded Giftbar, the largest high-end, semi-closed loop digital gift card marketplace representing thousands of SMB’s in 27 markets across the country until it was acquired in 2016. Kara resides in Chicago with her husband and three children.
In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Patrick Klas. Patrick is an investor with Maschmeyer Group Ventures (MGV). MGV is a seed stage fund located in San Francisco primarily focusing on InsurTech and Fintech. Previously, Patrick was a founding member of American Family Ventures (AFV) where he helped deploy over $300m across 100+ insurtech and fintech deals. Patrick also served as the Head of Operations for Bunker (an Insurtech startup located in San Francisco) where he helped to raise their Series A round as he gained operational experience. Patrick lives in Oakland with his wife and graduated from the University of Wisconsin. He enjoys fly fishing around California and learning to surf.
In this episode, Mike Gardon chats with Jim Butman, President and Chief Executive Officer at TDS Telecom. Jim has been with TDS Telecom since 1985. During his tenure with TDS Telecom, Jim has held numerous leadership positions including Chief Operating Officer and Group President of Marketing, Sales & Customer Operations. He also served as president of TDS Metrocom, which became a $250 million business under Jim’s leadership. Jim earned a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire.
Have you ever wondered what it would take to go from a corporate job to freelancing? In this episode, Laura Gariepy shares how she transitioned from corporate HR to a freelance content writer. If you dream of more freedom, this episode is one you need to hear!
Our journey to find meaningful work. Our journey to find a meaningful life. Most of us have been climbing the wrong mountain. Sometimes it seems like the harder we climb, the further we rise, the less we have. There’s a better way. Author Scott Shute walks us through his journey and others as the Head of Mindfulness and Compassion Programs at LinkedIn. Scott makes mindfulness mainstream and has to tools to operationalize compassion.
Karen Tiber Leland has three names but 1 main expertise- Personal Branding. Karen is a frequent guest expert on personal branding, CEO branding, executive presence for radio, television, print, and online media. She has been interviewed by The Today Show, MSNBC, Fortune, Inc, Fast Company, NPR, CNN, Bloomberg, Oprah, and others.
So you get people to your LinkedIn profile. But will they convert? As a job-seeker, we need to think about the desired goal of our media presence. If you don't think you have a media presence, then you need to listen to this episode.
Spark Your Resume was founded by Leander Howard II on January 9, 2020, and was officially launched on March 20, 2020. Spark Your Resume is a Resume Writing and Career Advancement Services Company helping REAL people obtain REAL results serving Undergraduates/ Entry-Level and Mid Career/Executive job seekers and professionals. We specialize in Resume Enhancement, LinkedIn Profile Development, Interview Coaching, and Career Consulting.
Leander believes all professionals deserve to be happy in their careers and we help you make it a reality. His team has helped over 200 professionals land interviews and job offers at top-tier companies.
You wrote your LinkedIn profile. You wrote your resume You wrote a post on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit. And you have zero training. That doesn't make you better at writing. It means you might be making a huge mistake when your "writing" is now intended to get you hired for a new job someday. The age of media made by the masses brings with it new challenges for novice writers like you and me. I sat down with professional copywriter Nicki Krawczyk and discuss the future of job search writing from the perspective of an expert. Bonus, we compare it to Dungeons & Dragons because I'm a level 7 Wizard Rock Gnome now.
She’s a badass adventurer who loves humanity and is loved back by many Jobseekers, Friends, and family. She lives one hell of a life blazing trails where no one has gone before. A passionate swimmer, cyclist, and kayaker. She loves dogs and cats. She wrote books and spoke all over the world, inspiring millions of people to take risks, put their self-esteem issues in check, and dare to go for broke. Author of the book "Coming Back" from career setbacks.
Author of Over Achievers Guide to breaking all the rules.
You have nothing to prove. Learn how to go from "Am I enough?" to "I am enough". Let go of beliefs holding you back or making you do more.
Are you in control of your mind? Are you really? Most people can't focus on one thing for more than 8 seconds. Your resumes rarely get that much time from the hiring team. In a job interview losing control of your thoughts can get in the way of presenting your best self. Guest Brett Hill is an expert on mindfulness and he helps us see some things clearly in our world and our careers. Mindfulness is a secret weapon for modern jobseekers. Give this episode a chance and open new possibilities for your career. Mindfulness might be easier than you think.
Today's guest B.J. Schone worked in Human Resources (HR) for 15+ years at several large, notable companies, and has been a manager for 10 of those years. He regularly speaks with other managers and HR team members about employees’ performance, growth, and promotions. He is one of the dreaded "Powers That Be" or the ones that decide who gets promoted. This means that B.J. has first-hand knowledge of the characteristics and behaviors are valued most, and he knows what factors typically lead to a promotion. B.J. has written a 38-page guide available right now at;
howtogetapromotion.com
"I'm not a cat" the now infamous viral story of a lawyer's mistake on a zoom call in front of a judge. Cats have a way of getting into everything. Including this interview with a CEO. Stick around for the end of this episode and you'll get to hear the CEO of ZipRecruiter mention how a cat interruption to your job interview could be a memorable moment. Ian has authored a book during the last year that he hopes will help job seekers get hired now. Not later, not next year, but follow his instructions and you could be looking at job offers instead of cat pictures on the internet. I really wanted to name this episode cat butt but it's not 2020 anymore.
Brenda Bernstein, Founder and Senior Editor at The Essay Expert LLC, is the author of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile, a book that held #1 best-seller spot on Amazon for 2 years (Business writing Skills category). Former lawyer that got her start helping other lawyers apply to law schools now is a sought after certified resume writing master. Host Justin and Brenda discuss how LinkedIn is different than a resume you might submit online as well as go into other tips regarding the recent changes to the LinkedIn platform.
Lesley is an expert Career Coach with a novice niche. Co-Founder of Early Stage Careers she guides college students and recent graduates to internships and post-graduate jobs. I interview her for advice for graduates today and tomorrow as they navigate a challenging job market. Host Justin Dux
Claudia has helped job seekers advance their careers or secure job offers for new roles. The right preparation can lead to a big raise or salary that is 20%-40% bigger than their previous salary. In this episode, we talk job interview preparation mindset and get into some topics around the career path. Listen now to hear why you should be changing jobs/employers every two years. Host Justin Dux. Editor RJ A production of CareerCloud.com
“You don’t want to avoid it, and you don’t want to go down the rabbit hole of negativity, you want a balance between identifying the situation and then answering it with actionable positivity” - Max Chan on answering negative job interview questions
After 11 months of searching, and several failed interview attempts, Max Chan finally landed his first job out of college, and he hasn’t looked back since. With a background in digital marketing, and experience working for a company that went through an acquisition, Max eventually founded his career coaching company, Chan With A Plan, where he offers a combination of resume creation, cover letter writing, LinkedIn optimization, and interview preparation. There is also a newsletter, which is 100% free.
Today Max and Justin do something a little differently, and go over potential interview questions by giving both good answers and bad ones. The emphasis is on identifying questions that are meant to trip you up by opening doors to negative answers. Max and Justin do a great job of answering with examples from their own careers and experiences.
“It’s normal to be nervous. Nervousness is really just energy and what you do with that energy can differentiate yourself in the interview process” - Frank Blake
Frank Blake has experienced more in life than most. He served as an army captain in Iraq, and was awarded the Bronze Star. After his tour, Frank hit the ground running in corporate america where he gained leadership positions in Fortune 15 companies, non-profits, universities, and start-ups. It was in those positions that Frank developed his knack for selecting, training, and developing the most talented members of high-performance teams. Armed with nearly 20 years of successful experience teaching individuals Frank decided to launch a course so he could impart his wisdom to even more job seekers around the world.
https://myjobology.com/
If his course were a book, this interview would be a synopsis which is found on the back cover or inside flap. Frank delivers with specific examples from his own life, and actually gets into some of the themes that he teaches in the course. Listening will inspire you to prepare because, as we learn in the interview, the more prepared you are going into an interview, the more confident you will be in it.
Promo code: careercloud - Career Cloud listeners get 50% off the course!
As a veteran himself, and in light of this year’s Veteran’s day, Frank is also offering the course 100 percent free to veterans. Simply fill out the contact form on Frank’s page informing Frank of your status, and you’re in.
“Assume for now that this will be the status quo for another year” - Tara Haelle (@TaraHaelle)
Freelance journalist, Tara Haelle has been published in just about every major media outlet. Her specialties include vaccines, pediatric and maternal health, parenting, public health, mental health, medical research, and the social sciences. She has authored two books, The Informed Parent and Vaccination Investigation (linked below), and even given a Ted Talk.
Almost every episode on Career Cloud Radio leaves you with practical advice on how to successfully gain employment. But if you’re too tired, or you can’t focus enough to execute the strategies you’ve learned, what good is the advice?
If you’re searching for a job, you’re either out of work, or not happy where you are currently. Many people are experiencing the same dilemmas and frustrations. So if you take away nothing else from this episode, know that you’re not alone. The bad news is that, whether you like it or not, the constant thoughts, fears, and doubts associated with gaining employment will stack the deck against you over time. They crop up, and slow you down. Sprinkle in a global pandemic, and you’ve got a horrendous period in history that is exponentially worse for job seekers.
The good news is that there are ways to cope, which is precisely why we wanted to have Tara on the show. Her background aligns perfectly for this topic and if you listen, you will leave with a much better understanding of what you’re experiencing and what you can do to feel better.
The first six minutes of this episode are a preface by Justin reflecting on how your well being is being affected by the pandemic and an introduction to Tara’s article which this recording focuses on: Your ‘Surge Capacity’ Is Depleted - It’s Why You Feel Awful.
“The longer you avoid your salary negotiation, the higher your price goes and you can drive away your competition” - Ellis Chase
Career Cloud Radio is filled with advice on how to
- Find jobs
- Apply to jobs
- Interview for jobs
It’s definitely a process and in some cases, can get quite lengthy and stressful.
There is, however, one topic that is often overlooked in the job search stratosphere, that people tend to skip over because it makes them uncomfortable, and that topic is salary negotiation.
Enter Ellis Chase, who could be one of the most experienced and distinguished guests we’ve had on the show. At ellischase.com you can see what he’s done, what he’s doing, and what others have said about working with him.
His site is quite minimalist in nature and is actually a nice break from the bells and whistles we have become accustomed to online.
Every episode is different, and the best ones generally sound more like a conversation than an interview, and that is exactly what we have here. If you listen to this episode in its entirety you will leave with four main takeaways: how to deal with the anxiety that almost everyone experiences during this stage in the hiring process, what to do, how to do it, and perhaps most importantly, what not to do.
Ellis mentions during the recording that he loves what he does, and it shows.
“What a lot of people don’t realize is that 95 percent of the job search is marketing” - Marty Gilbert
Marty Gilbert is the Founder and CEO of NSENG, which stands for North Shore Executive Networking Group (Chicago based). Over the past 10 years, Marty has helped over 1,700 people find jobs as of this writing, by encouraging job seekers to think outside of the box when it comes to the application process. Prior to NSENG, Marty led a successful career in B2B technology with Motorola, STATS Inc, and Dentsu Inc. His award winning writing has been published in:
- Time
- Newsweek
- Business Week
- Fortune Magazine
In the interview Marty says “you don’t decide to buy something from a TV commercial after seeing it once, but maybe after the 10th time.” It is this mindset that Marty will instill in you as you embark on your own job search. How to successfully allocate your time, navigate LinkedIn, penetrate companies, and applying even when there is no job posting are all addressed. In addition to introducing job search strategy you might not be accustomed to, he is very inspiring, and will without a doubt give you confidence as you move toward your own job.
“It’s all about putting yourself in their shoes and how you make them look good” - Beth Handler - Grunt (@bhgrunt)
Beth Hendler-Grunt is a career coach that specializes in helping recent college graduates gain employment. Her resume includes consulting across the gamut; from start-ups to the fortune 500, so it is safe to say that she knows how to ‘wow’ in a job interview. Beth’s company, Next Great Step has helped hundreds of recent college grads successfully gain employment, and have been featured in several major media publications throughout the country.
Given this trying time, Beth talks about the hurdles recent college grads are facing as they are entering the job market, and gives examples of what you can do to cope with the fast changing job search environment, as well as what you can do to prepare and successfully execute job interviews.
She also discusses the role parents have taken to assist in the job search process. This is a terrific interview from someone who has their finger on the pulse of job searching strategy in 2020.
“Fail fast, fail forward, and fail cheap” - (@SeanCastrina)
Sean is an entrepreneur who previously held a self described dream job, but was unexpectedly let go. It was then that he arrived at the conclusion that he didn’t want his fate to be in control of anyone but himself. He ended up starting so many businesses that you could call him a serial entrepreneur - a term you may have heard before. These businesses (many of them successful) ended up to be a starting point for Sean’s coaching, speaking, and writing career talking about, you guessed it, entrepreneurship.
If you’re listening to this podcast you may find yourself in the same shoes that Sean did, and questioning whether or not you should start a business, and that is specifically who this interview is for. Sean discusses what he has seen in his own career that may or may not yield a successful business venture. As we learn, entrepreneurship takes a certain determination, and competitiveness, that not everyone is cut out for.
“I encourage clients to go back through their careers and think about where they felt they belonged” - Ben Anderson
Ben Anderson is the second coach we have had on from The Handel Group and brings a wealth of experience to the show. A native of New Zealand, Ben is the only Career Cloud Radio guest who has successfully started, and brought a company public (wow).
Ben primarily works with executives, so this interview is littered with examples from executive job search processes so you can get an idea of what it’s like on both ends of the spectrum (both getting hired and hiring). Ben breaks down exactly what he does with his clients in order to help them find the proper career path, as well as prepare for interviews. He also discusses the landscape of digital communication, and how it continues to evolve. Exercises, examples, and anecdotes, it’s all in this interview, and we’re sure that you will enjoy it.
https://bit.ly/careercloudradio-IU is the Inner.U link referenced in the show.
“I weave in language that eludes to pain points together with details that are unique to an individual” - Virginia Franco
We enjoyed having Virginia Franco on so much as a guest the first time around, that we decided to invite her back for another episode. Virginia is an accomplished writer whose work has been published in just about every type of medium. In addition to her past publications, she is also certified by the National Resume Writers Association, Career Thought Leaders, and the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches. She has a podcast of her own, too, which can be found on virginiafrancoresumes.com.
In this episode, Justin and Virginia get into the nitty gritty of resume composition and what you can do in order to stand out. Once you feel you’ve got a polished document, ready for submission, they discuss a variety of ways you can think outside the box in order to get your resume in the hands of a hiring manager.
Just a great, practical interview, no matter where you are in the job seeking process.
“They don’t want to take a risk” - Richard Eisenberg on employers’ hiring process
Richard Eisenberg is the Managing Editor of Next Avenue, a site that is geared towards baby boomers in the workforce where the slogan is “where grown ups keep growing.” Throughout his career, Richard has been an editor at Money Magazine, Yahoo! Finance, and Good Housekeeping. He has also authored two books: How To Avoid A Midlife Financial Crisis and The Money Book of Personal Finance.
In this interview Justin and Richard break down what it means to be a baby booming job seeker, and how being an employee has plausibly changed forever in a post pandemic world. Richard gives examples on what his own team does to cope with working remotely, talks about the ideality of phased retirement, and focuses on the importance of referrals for job seekers and the stress that comes with the job seeking process.
Side note You don’t have to be a baby boomer to come away with actionable job searching tips from this episode. However, if you are* a baby boomer you will get a little extra sympathy throughout the episode.
“We say people don’t have habits, habits have people” - Andrew Sykes
Andrew Sykes knows a thing or two about habits, and after listening to this interview, you will, too. An accomplished author, and lecturer at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business, Andrew has made a name for himself over the past several decades by getting people to perform at optimum levels by helping them recognize different habits in their lives. He’s so good that companies like Google, Pinterest, and Microsoft have enlisted his services.
Andrew’s personality really shines through in this episode, and you can tell that he is coming from a genuine place. He uses the analogy of his own experience with probably the most notorious bad habit there is; smoking, and how he coped with it. He talks about how your surroundings have a great impact on the habits that you form, and how habits are a result of your priorities in life.
If you’re looking zero in on making an impact, either in your job, or while you’re on a job search, this episode will help.
“Anything and everything that you do has to be about making someone successful” - Anjana Karumathil
Anjana Karumathil is a fresh perspective for the show. She hasn’t been featured on any media outlets (she doesn’t try to) and the interview is being conducted from Bengaluru, India. Rather than getting an interview from the perspective of a career coach, or resume writing expert, Anjana gives the point of view of a job seeker. She has successfully gone through the interview view process in the past, and gives examples of what you can do in order to boost your chances once you’re in the interview phase, with a touch of her background in academia.
Always learning, and always striving to be better being the underlying focus, you will get advice on how to differentiate yourself from others and how and why you need to bring value to potential employers.
“When you’re solid on your commitments, it makes decision making easier”
Going from “stuck to unstoppable” is what Tracy Timm specializes in, and she speaks from experience. Now a successful career coach, and author, Tracy realized she wasn’t being fulfilled early on in her career and decided to take a step back so she could find out what would.
This interview is enlightening because it probably resonates with the majority of people who listen to it. You often hear the term “follow your passion,” and Tracy explains how this is easier said than done. She breaks down exactly what "follow your passion" means and gives actionable advice and examples how to find out what will really do it for you. This is difficult, and often scary for many who are seemingly be at a crossroads in their life, but it's comforting to hear that others have been faced with the same dilemma.
“As the fairy Godmother of job seekers, like a pumpkin to a carriage, I write resumes and LinkedIn profiles, and transform them into job seeker tools” - Lynne Williams
Lynne Williams is a resume and LinkedIn extraordinaire. If you’re looking to make a superfluous LinkedIn profile, just use Lynne’s as a template. She helps with resumes, too, specifically how to tailor your resume for a specific position, and get past the ATS, which more and more companies are starting to use.
In this episode Lynne dives into her niche and walks you through specific steps (with examples) that you can and should take for both your resume and LinkedIn profile. If you could sum up this interview in one word, it would be “prepared.” Perhaps her most eye opening piece of advice is shedding light on the fact that it is easier to get a job, if you already have one, and exactly what you can do today, if you currently don’t have a job, but are seeking one.
“The more you learn about someone else’s culture, the more you learn about your own” - Marc Miller
Marc Miller, of CareerPivot.com specializes in his companies namesake. Marc can talk the talk, because he’s walked the walk - and as we learn in the interview, he’s walked further than most.
This could very well be a two parter, but we kept it as one, meaty episode. The first part is for those of you thinking about living abroad, and Marc gives you a first hand recollection of what it’s like to live abroad and gives you tips for doing so successfully. He practices what he preaches, too, currently living in Mexico, and renting out his condo in Texas.
The second part gets into our current pandemic, and Marc talks about the trickle down effect and how the upswing or downturn of one industry can affect another. Marc also gets into what you can and should be doing while so many companies and industries are rethinking the way they do business.
If you like this episode, we encourage you to check out his website where Marc hosts his own podcast and continually posts relevant and timely articles in the realm of career transitions.
Chrisa Boyce is an Executive Coach at Handel Group, a renowned corporate consulting and life coaching company. Her experience building brands, working alongside executives from a variety of different sectors, and managing large teams have helped Chrisa to serve as an executive coach at Handel where she leads workshops and corporate retreats, and works privately with individuals and teams.
In part II, Justin and Chrisa get into the three actions people take when they experience fear, and how they adapt to it. Chrisa also discusses goal setting by answering ‘how high do you want to set the bar’ when you look back on your life? And once you have laid out what you think are achievable goals she discusses the proper steps to take in order to fulfill them.
“I get to help people figure out how to reframe change and how to act in spite of being scared” - Chrisa Boyce
Chrisa Boyce is an Executive Coach at Handel Group, a renowned corporate consulting and life coaching company. Her experience building brands, working alongside executives from a variety of different sectors, and managing large teams have helped Chrisa to serve as an executive coach at Handel where she leads workshops and corporate retreats, and works privately with individuals and teams.
In this part 1 of this two part episode, Chrisa talks about two words that happen throughout many people’s careers: react and pivot, and how you should be navigating accordingly. Adapting your career to the pandemic, dealing with diversity in the workplace, and coping with change are also highlights.
“Don’t think of it as “I’m trying to find a job,” think of it as “I’m trying to make friends”” - Ramon Santillan
Ramon Santillan got his start as a tax consultant working for some of the largest companies in the world. From there he founded Persuasive Interview, a one-on-one job coaching service that breaks down the process into five steps, the last of which is accepting a job offer.
Ramon has been featured on numerous media outlets that include Yahoo! and CBS, he reads about a book a week (which he discusses in the interview), and is a graduate of University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business.
Ramon’s specialty is working with recent graduates, and young professionals, but he has also carved out a niche working with people with aspergers and autism helping them get jobs at companies like Google, Diebold, and GE.
In the interview Ramon breaks down the entire job searching process and what you can do to separate yourself at the very start of it. He challenges the definition of experience, and explains why most people sell themselves short when they think about how much experience they actually have. He explores creative ways to go about contacting companies you’re interested in applying to, and explains why you need to be comfortable bragging about yourself in a job interview.
All in all this is a great interview for job seekers. It will give you the confidence you need to really go after the positions that you desire.
Ashley Stahl is one of the more accomplished career coaches we’ve had on Career Cloud Radio. She offers both private coaching and online courses through her website, ashleystahl.com, in addition to a continually updated blog, and podcast. She’s been featured on just about every media outlet and even given a Ted Talk. As of this writing she has 516,000 subscribers to her weekly email, over 6,300 clients spanning 31 countries, and 341+ private clients.
In this interview, Ashley breaks down the job interview into four parts: story, cuff, skill, and goal. If you’ve got a job interview coming up, this is an episode you’ll definitely want to listen to in preparation. By giving numerous examples from her own life, as well as hypothetical ones, Ashley gives practical advice like being able to tell an employer “what your superpower is” and or how to successfully explain gaps in your resume.
If you listen to this episode you won’t be nervous going in for a job interview, you’ll be excited for it!
“Do the first job for the money, and the second job for the passion” - Bobby Davis Jr. (@ctBobbyDavis)
Serial entrepreneur Bobby Davis Jr. started his first software consulting company in 2002 when he founded Core Techs. He has since gone on to launch Advanced Fraud Solutions, which operates in nearly 1,000 companies across 48 states, and finally Coder Foundry, a coding bootcamp which he and Justin focus on in the interview. Bobby is also the author of the book, Breaking The Code, which walks you through five steps to obtaining a life changing software development job.
If you’re in the midst of a job search, you may have seen ads for coding bootcamps near you. If you’re interested, this episode should answer any questions you may have. Bobby and Justin get into the benefits of being a coder, how to break into the industry with no experience, why diversity plays a critical role in problem solving, and many other topics about the longevity of a successful career as a programmer.
“Do the first job for the money, and the second job for the passion” - Bobby Davis Jr. (@ctBobbyDavis)
Serial entrepreneur Bobby Davis Jr. started his first software consulting company in 2002 when he founded Core Techs. He has since gone on to launch Advanced Fraud Solutions, which operates in nearly 1,000 companies across 48 states, and finally Coder Foundry, a coding bootcamp which he and Justin focus on in the interview. Bobby is also the author of the book, Breaking The Code, which walks you through five steps to obtaining a life changing software development job.
If you’re in the midst of a job search, you may have seen ads for coding bootcamps near you. If you’re interested, this episode should answer any questions you may have. Bobby and Justin get into the benefits of being a coder, how to break into the industry with no experience, why diversity plays a critical role in problem solving, and many other topics about the longevity of a successful career as a programmer.
“When we go to talk about tough issues our first goal is to put the other person at ease if we want the conversation to go well” - Ana Marvales
Ana Marvales is the author of Creating A Drama Free Workplace, and operates the company thera-rising.com where she teaches companies how to create the namesake of her book though keynotes, seminars, and conflict resolution projects. She has been featured in MSNBC, Forbes, The New York Times, and many other media outlets for her work.
In this episode, Ana and Justin get into the nitty gritty of what Ana does, by relating it to the job searching process. Ana offers a fresh perspective on the interviewing by talking about the mindset you need throughout the search all the way up to the interview by talking about ways you can truly connect with people.
“At the end of the day there is no ‘ahead’ and ‘behind’ - everybody’s journey is so unique” - Meredith Stoddard
Life Events Experience Lead, Meredith Stoddard, has been with Fidelity Investments for 16 years. The interview focuses on life events (both positive and negative), and how you can equip yourself to handle changes as they arise. One of the most negative life events is being laid off, and Meridith discusses not only how to handle that situation, but how to bounce back from it as well by giving practical interview and preparation advice.
fidelity.com/lifeevents for more information. Also, Meredith pointed out that Fidelity is hiring, and you can search for employment, here.
“At the end of the day there is no ‘ahead’ and ‘behind’ - everybody’s journey is so unique” - Meredith Stoddard
Life Events Experience Lead, Meredith Stoddard, has been with Fidelity Investments for 16 years. The interview focuses on life events (both positive and negative), and how you can equip yourself to handle changes as they arise. One of the most negative life events is being laid off, and Meridith discusses not only how to handle that situation, but how to bounce back from it as well by giving practical interview and preparation advice.
fidelity.com/lifeevents for more information. Also, Meredith pointed out that Fidelity is hiring, and you can search for employment, here.
“You’d be surprised at how many leaders you can engage with, directly ” Steve Kahan
If you’re looking for a job in the startup world, look no farther than Steven Kahan. Steve is a serial entrepreneur and author who has successfully helped to grow seven startup companies from early-stage development to going public or being sold, resulting in a total value of more than $3 billion. You can tell he’s passionate about what he does and and if you listen to this interview, his passion and excitement will rub off on you.
In this interview we learn about Steve’s background, and why he favors working at startup companies compared to large organizations. If working at a startup is of interest to you, he lays out several different ways to go about seeking employment at one. It is different to gauge how successful or secure a startup may be, so he also talks about ways to see whether or not a startup is worth applying to.
Enjoy!
Aggie Pulfer (@YourCoach_ie) is an experienced career, life, and business coach with over 500 coaching hours in both individual and group settings. She holds a Master’s Degree in Personal & Management Coaching which she completed at University College Cork. In addition to coaching she also makes various speaking appearances to touch on everything from personal branding to job seeking techniques and strategies.
Justin and Aggie not only give practical advice on how to prepare a job interview, and what to prepare for, they also get into the psyche that goes into the job searching process, and what separates the haves from the have nots. You can learn more about Aggie, or contact her on her website, https://yourcoach.ie/ - They’re Kickstarter campaign, which is discussed in their interview is linked below.
Scott Miller is the Executive Vice President of Thought Leadership at FranklinCovey, a consulting and training company that focuses on lasting changes in human behavior. He’s been with the company for 20+ years and in that time he has become a seasoned speaker, podcaster, and author. His podcast, On Leadership With Scott Miller, is the world’s most subscribed to and largely distributed leadership podcast. He’s also a frequent contributor to Inc. Magazine.
It is the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, that birthed FranklinCovey and a lot of the methodologies in the book are discussed in this interview. Particularly, Scott sheds light on what “thought leadership” is and identifies different traits that go into becoming a good leader. Specifically these traits are listening, and recognizing your need to interrupt people in conversations and how to correct that need. Managing emotions, minimizing conflict, and making decisions are also discussed. This interview is perfect if you’re looking to become a better communicator with your colleagues or looking to become a more effective manager.
Carma Baughman is a business, career, and life coach that helps ambitious people move forward. She’s led numerous workshops and seminars to help individuals do just that. A seasoned podcast guest in her own right, Carma was nice enough to spend some time with Justin, diving into her process.
Carma’s interview is jam packed with advice for people who might feel a professional void in their life. She goes into detail about how she analyzes people at different stages in their careers and helps them to make decisions on where and how to go about making a change. With a background in software, and a passion for impactful coaching, Carma makes a point to encourage listeners to “live life by design,” and she tells us exactly how and why.
“Your doubts and hesitations will affect your execution” - Ronan Kennedy (@KennedyRonan)
Ireland based Ronan Kennedy is a career coach who has worked with thousands of professionals at just about every level - from interns to CEOs, and everywhere in between. Because of this, Ronan has been able to develop a unique set of skills to help just about anyone get results from their job search.
In this episode, Justin and Ronan discuss the career path that Ronan took, and as we learn, it was a journey that could (and should) instill hope for you as you embark on your own career. They touch on job seeking in Ireland vs. the U.S., and the difference between the two cultures as it relates to the business world. They wind down the interview by talking about both emotional and gender intelligence.
If you’re thinking about hiring a career coach, this is a perfect episode for you, because it serves as a taste of what it is like to work with one. Ronan gives plenty of examples of clients he’s worked with as well as actionable tactics you can use to help in your interview process.
“It feels like stagnation, like our forward progress has been arrested, and the path we were on has been erased” - Mo Perry (@MoMoPerry) on the pandemic
Our host, Justin Dux, was able to roundup Minneapolis based Mo Perry and Bryan Miller to discuss how the pandemic is affecting our lives and careers. Mo is a freelance writer and actress who, with her husband, founded Logosphere Storysmiths, a boutique writing and editing agency. Bryan (@realbryanmiller), is a comedian and writer. He has done stand up on CBS’s The Late Late Show, and is the head writer for the nationally syndicated radio segment and podcast Quick Snaps.
The anchor of the interview is an article Mo wrote for Medium called Essential Work for Inessential Workers - The search for purpose when purpose seems lost. The article talks about the void that the current pandemic has left in our lives and the question of how to fill it.
Laura Garnett, of Garnett Consulting, and author of The Genius Habit, started off in the corporate world, working at companies like Capital One, Google, and IAC, before transitioning into corporate consulting and writing. She has given a Ted Talk, and been featured in popular media outlets like Time, Inc, and Forbes.
In this interview, Justin and Laura get into the nitty gritty of something that Laura calls “The Zone of Genius,” which she discusses in her book. Together, they dive into the art of finding a career path that you’re comfortable with by identifying what works well for you, and what doesn’t. They also touch on being able to diagnose what’s wrong with your current career if you're unhappy, and finding a good mentor.
Kelly Hensler is a design leader and workplace strategist at the global architecture firm BWBR in Madison, WI. She is an NCARB certified and registered architect, and holds a masters of architecture degree for University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign. She was recently appointed as an honorary fellow at the center for design and interior culture for her innovation and dedication to the future leaders at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, where she also received her bachelor degree in interior design. She sits on the UW -Madison interior architecture advisory board, along with intermittently teaching design studio courses there.
In this episode, Michael Gardon and Kelly get into how this COVID situation is impacting the future of workplace design, and whether or not there will ever be a time where we have to go into the office again. They also discuss how design thinking, and the skill related to design thinking are critical to all of us as we pursue our careers now, and into the future.
“In order to get any job it’s experience and education, but one thing people miss is the initiative you can take”- Nissar Ahamed
Nissar Ahamed owns and operates a website called careermetis.com, a site that aims “to be the primary destination for job-seekers and freelancers to find useful advice, insights, resources and inspiration for starting & growing their professional and freelance careers.”
In this episode Nissar and Justin touch on just about everything someone going through a job search can relate to. You’ll find a lot of practical advice and examples from Nissar’s own life and career transition, as well as inserts from Justin that talk about how the topics of the podcast relate to the current pandemic we are experiencing. careermetis.com
After getting his start in technology sales, Jon Selig thought he’d give stand up comedy a try. What evolved was a teacher/comedian who now trains salespeople how to get a laugh and be memorable on their sales calls. His advice is relevant to professional networking. In this interview, we learn that jokes do indeed have formulas, and really, anyone can be funny if they know how to dissect the material. The little-known secret of comedy is that once you find a great joke you can use it over and over again. Jon inspires us to be creative with our stories looking for opportunities in the narrative to insert a punchline and thus punch up our first impressions as well as make meeting new people easier.
"I say this respectfully, never forget this one thing" I wanted to title the episode with that quote when I heard it. It was direct and clear. We're missing the point on Informational Interviews and it is costing you career to avoid learning this life lesson. If you don't have time to listen to the whole episode, here's the summary, "Do more informational interviews." They make job hunting so much easier but people don't do them because their hard to schedule or don't know who to ask, and the excuses continue. Stop the excuses listen to this episode for a crash course on professional networking. Host, Justin Dux. Editor Cameron Barrett Stewart. Producer, Omar Elkoton.
Shapr believes that meeting new people is the best way to find inspiration & new opportunities. So they set out to make professional networking simple, efficient and enjoyable for everyone. In this episode, I interview Mandy Menaker from Shapr. She explains how this app is getting many people as possible into the habit of meeting one new person every week. Networking is a common topic on our show because it is an important part of the job search. This is one of the few tools I recommend to assist the networking process. Produced by CareerCloud.com, producer Omar Elkoton, Host Justin Dux, Editor Cameron Barrett Stewart.
We'd all like to short cut our careers. Advance faster than seems humanly possible. But how do we get those opportunities? In this part 2 episode, we talk with Kelsey who quickly took on more responsibility with Beeya until earning the coveted title of Cheif Operating Officer. If you have not heard it already, go back and listen to Beeya Founder in part 1. Otherwise, enjoy this followup interview with Kesley to learn how she was open to networking while in school. Her professor was right, "There are three main pillars to success, you, me and what we can accomplish together". Host Justin Dux, Producer Omar Elkoton, Editor Cameron Barrett Stewart.
Guest Ladan Davia founded an online recruitment company. She shares some hard-earned wisdom for Job Seekers. Setting out to start a company is hard enough but Ladan also strives to change the recruiting industry. Edited by Cameron Barret Stewart, Produced by Omar Elkoton, Host Justin Dux. Recorded in 2018.
Unemployment is at a 10 year low, It's time to bring up salary negotiations. In this episode, Kate White gives us the tips she learned from her career becoming a powerful female executive. She offers advice about how to approach your boss, or a hiring manager, with a higher salary request. Whatever you get out of this episode, whether you're a woman or a man, just take away that you have to ask. If you didn't ask for a raise in 2018, you're definitely not alone; it is not too late to ask in 2019. Guest Kate White is the author of The Gutsy Girl Handbook: Your Manifesto for Success. You better sit down because Kate hits hard with great ideas on how to be Bigger, Bolder, and more Badass. Host Justin Dux. Producer Omar Elkoton. Edited by Cameron Barrett Stewart
Allie hall is a linguist and data scientist for Textio. Employers use this tool to write better job descriptions and emails to candidates. You may have seen one of their client's postings or replied to one of their emails already! In this episode, we discuss how her findings from the employer perspective can be used by us job seekers to find the best postings possible. Host Justin Dux, Producer Omar Elkoton, Edited by Charles Dike
Guest, Scott Anthony Barlow from Happen to Your Career podcast shares what his team calls designing career experiments. These low risk tests help you try-out a new skill. Get the sense of a completely different role. Or even just form new relationships without the performance pressure that your actual job demands. Listen to this episode to get inspired with creative ways to find a path that fits you without quitting your day job. Host; Justin Dux. Producer; Omar Elkoton
Guest, Scott Anthony Barlow from Happen to Your Career podcast shares his philosophy to prevent clients from settling on their next role. Of course, figuring out what you want is still the first step but Scott brings a unique clarification to the discussion by explaining that part of relieving stress and getting more of what you want is being okay with the roles you start to ignore because they are just not good enough. Host; Justin Dux. Producer; Omar Elkoton
Sorry, no magic in this episode, instead a highly structured thinker with a love for optimization determined the most effective, quickest path to career clarity through her work with hundreds of professionals. Host Justin Dux asks guest Alison Cardy to share her journey, insights, and offer advice for the modern job seeker to find their best career. Favorite moment: "I have a lot of smart people try to think themselves in circles. Hoping that if they think about it long enough the answer will just come to them." Check out this episode to hear her explain her signature process, or "Spell". The C.L.A.R.I.T.Y process breaks through career confusion in even the smartest clients. Producer, Omar Elkoton
Hatem Hanoun works for Bayt.com the #1 job site in Dubai and surrounding region. He shares with us his advice for the job hunt. Since that region is facing 20-30% unemployment for young people we focus on strategies for gaining experience that you can leverage in your job interviews. It may be an unpaid, volunteer, experience but if it gives you relevant experience to talk about in an interview then it may be worth it. For Some in the middle-east, volunteering might be the only way to gain valuable experience and stop staring into the abyss of rejection caused by not having any experience. For listeners in the US, it may be a 'long game' strategy worth a try. Host Justin Dux.
In the first episode of 2018, Guest Evangelia LeClaire and, Host, Justin Dux explore the concept of Dissonance. Holding two thoughts that seem contradictory can be fine in everyday life but disastrous in a job interview. Evangelia is a Career Coach with experience helping clients rock their career and Justin brings in some audio help from a couple musicians to help demonstrate how dissonance sounds. The reason Dissonance is used in music is the same reason we need to address it in our careers. Dissonance can be very powerful once it is resolved.
Machines reading resumes sounds like the beginning of a science fiction thriller but most of us job seekers know the truth. Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are a reality we all need to master in order to get resumes seen. James Hu founded JobScan.co , a web service that reads your resume as an ATS would so that it can provide you feedback about what a machine sees when it compares your resume to a job posting.
Lori Williams has dual insights with a unique perspective as a recruiter and career coach. As a Recruiter, she has interviewed thousands of candidates looking to become college Nannies or Tutors. As a Career Coach, she has enhanced hundreds of resumes and is becoming a sought out resource with her company Unstoppable Communications. No matter what your industry, you can find multiple tips in this 30-minute episode hosted by Justin Dux and guest Lori Williams. We started with the goal to discuss Interviewing pitfalls but a different conversation emerged. In this episode, we have advice for candidates that may have almost no experience coming into their first interview. But we quickly move to lessons about resume writing. then finishing with some important advice for women in the job hunt.
Navigate a career change smoothly with realistic expectations and wisdom from someone who has changed careers several times. Marc Miller, Founder of CareerPivot.com, shares his insights into planning a career transition. Marc's clients successfully pivot their careers into something completely different. Aside from coaching, Marc has also been a guest writer on Mashable, Next Avenue, Forbes, and LifeHacker. Host Justin Dux.
Lee Schneider founded a branding agency and enjoys upgrading a job seeker's personal brand. Within each step of your career it is important to create discoverable media that influences your branding narrative. If you don't, then potential employers will fill in the narrative gaps on their own. If you do, then you'll want to hear how Lee describes the make up, or DNA, of a strong personal brand. Hosted by Justin Dux.
In this first episode since Chris's farewell, The author of The Golden Resume, Brian Robben, offers his tips for a winning resume. The interview continues from there covering interview advice and eventually landing on a theme to "sit in silence" for a moment to be more strategic in your search. Save your most calculated tactics for the positions that fit you the best. CareerCloud Radio welcomes a new host for this episode Justin Dux.
Chris Russell announces he is leaving CareerCloud. A new owner is taking over. Hear his goodbye and what's in store for the site and this show.
My guest today is author and career coach Stephanie Brown. Her new book is called Fired: why losing your job is the best thing that can happen to you. Stephanie held senior roles at Nike before leaving to take a chance on a job at a smaller company, who subsequently fired her. Knowing that amazing jobs at companies like Nike are not advertised on the internet,she spent seven months hustling and sniffing out the best jobs in the city with her own unique networking strategy! She approached me about sharing this advice and experience with the CareerCloud audience. QUESTIONS Why is Losing your Job is the Best thing that can happen to you? What did you learn in your 7 months of job hunting that you think are valuable lessons for people to take into their careers? You have previously worked for some of the worlds most recognisable brands. From your experience of hiring top candidates, what is the key to standing out both on a resume and in an interview? What do you think is the most important phase of the job hunt? And how do you recommend your clients approach it? In your book you mention a networking technique and a phrase you used that resulted in interviews with Google, Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Asos, TopShop and Bacardi…. what was the phrase and how can my listeners use it to get meetings with the top companies that they want to work for? What is the best way to stay in contact with people once you have meet them through networking? Any top tips? How can my listeners who haven’t been fired but are looking for a new job use some of the techniques you advocate in your book to help them find their next role? Last words of advice Stephanie thanks for joining me today where can people go to learn more about you?... that will do it for this edition of CareerCloud Podcast, find us online at careercloud.com, itunes or stitcher. Follow Chris on twitter @chrisrussell ... and please tell your friends and family who are in the job hunt to tune in if they want to be better job seekers…..thanks for listening and we’ll see you next time on CareerCloud Radio.
Scott Love shows managers how to be the boss nobody will leave. With over 20 years of empirical research, he gives managers tactical ideas to lead in a way that increases employee retention, reduces turnover, and attracts high achievers. He is a successful entrepreneur, professional keynote speaker, the author of Why They Follow, and is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. “If you lead, they will stay…” on your website...great quote...reminds that people often quit their bosses, not their jobs...right? My other fav quote about management is by Peter Drucker where he says ‘much of so called management consists of making it difficult for people to do their work” 1. The book is call Why They Follow: How to Lead with Positive Influence, what was the motivation behind the book? 2. There are tens of thousands of leadership books available. Why is this one different? 3. Tell me how the reader will see benefits to reading this book. 4. You speak on a very personal level when you write. Why is this? 5. Tell me more about this response level of employees. You talk about a sliding scale. What does that mean? 6. When you speak at conferences, you talk about the first cardinal rule of human behavior. Can you describe this? 7. How can a manager improve as a leader? 8. What tactical exercises can a manager do to build his or her own personal leadership 9. One of your chapters talks about Leadership Development on a budget. What are some economical ways an organization can develop the leadership skills of its managers? 10. Recruiting...is this the tighest market you have seen? 11...last words of advice job seekers?? Scott thanks for joining me today where can people go to learn more about you? scottlove.com ... that will do it for this edition of CareerCloud Podcast, find us online at careercloud.com, iTunes or stitcher and Google Play. I’m chris russell, follow me on twitter @chrisrussell ... and please tell your friends and family who are in the job hunt to tune in if they want to be better job seekers…..thanks for listening and we’ll see you next time on CareerCloud Radio.
Welcome to another career podcast my name is Chris Russell, founder of CareerCloud.com. The site that offers most practical tips, tricks and tools for today's jobs search...if you want to become a modern job seeker...join over 40,000 other job seekers on careercloud.com who use the site to stay up to date on todays job search. Viriginia Franco is one of approx. 60 Executive Resume writers certified by the National Resume Writers Association as a National Certified Resume Writer) and hold a Certified Professional ResumeWriter certification with the Professional Association of ResumeWriters and Career Coaches. Hello Virginia welcome to CareerCloud Radio Where are you today? Whats a typical day in the life of a resume writer like? 1. Why Must a Resume Pass a Screen Test 2. How do Readers Read Differently When Looking at Something Online versus In Print? 3. What Should Job Seekers Do to Get their Resumes Screen Ready? 4. Whats the Difference Between Reading on a Desktop versus a Mobile Device? Is there such a thing as a mobile friendly 5. What Fonts Work Well for Online Reads? 6. How Else Can Resume Formatting be Tweaked to Appeal to Online Readers? 7. What Can Job Seekers Do to Make their Resumes âÂÂPopâ Online? 8. Are There Things a Screen-Ready Resume Can Do that CanâÂÂt be Done With One Written for Print? format??? 9. Do you remember a time when one of your resume made the difference in a client getting a job offer? Virginia thanks for joining me today where can people go to learn more about you?
Thea Kelley has more than 20 years' experience in coaching, career services, writing and editing, and holds several relevant certifications including Certified Employment Interview Consultant. She provides coaching on all aspects of job search, from resumes to interviewing, serving everyone from senior executives to recent graduates, nationwide. She is the author of a new book Get that job the quick and complete guide to a winning interview Tell me your favorite job interview story where a candidate you either coached or heard about really sold themselves to get the job? 1) What are key selling points & why do they matter? 2) Can you give me an example? 3) How would a job seeker use this? 4) Why not just let the interviewer decide for himself what makes you stand out? 5) How does a job seeker figure out what their selling points are? 6) What makes one selling point more effective than another? 7) What do you mean by Relevant? Exceptional? Verifiable? 8) So once they have their REV Points list, when would candidates emphasize those REV Points in the interview? 9) What if the interviewer has a different view of what makes you stand out? 10) How do u know its going well are their signs?
CareerCloud.com is the site that offers most practical tips, tricks and tools for todayâs jobs search...if you want to become a modern job seeker...join over 40,000 other job seekers on careercloud.com who use the site to stay up to date on todays job search. With me today is Lisa Rangel, Lisa is is the Managing Director of Chameleon Resumes, As a recruitment professional for over 13 years, she has held management and recruiter roles for international recruitment conglomerates and private search firms. She knows first-hand what resumes win interviews and are awarded offers from reviewing thousands of resumes over the years and helping hiring managers seek talent for their premier organizations. She speaks of how to stay consistently employed at her podcast The Pretend You'reFired Today podcast, found at pretendyourefiredtoday.com and offers free resume samples and training at resumecheatsheet.com. Topics Didcussed: -What did you learn from the 2016 job hunt? -What was your favorite client success story from 2016? (about how they got a job) A listener emailed me to say she was being deemed overqualified for the jobs she was applying to and asked if we could do a podcast on the subject. Overqualified generally means you are a CFO applying for a controller job or a Director of Marketing of a $20 million firm applying for a Marketing Manager job of a start-up company ... you bring more experience to the table than the job needs and employers get afraid that you will be bored or will leave when a better job comes along. -How to deal with being overqualified with your search? -How do you advise people to craft their resume if they want to apply to a job that might be overqualified for? -Is it wise to dumb down your resume to appear less qualified by removing certain duties and roles? -Career changer? -What can you do in the interview to lessen the perception of being overqualified? -Last words of advice? Follow Chris Russell on twitter @chrisrussell ... and please tell your friends and family who are in the job hunt to tune in if they want to be better job seekersâ¦..thanks for listening and weâll see you next time on CareerCloud Radio.
Welcome to another career podcast my name is Chris Russell, founder of CareerCloud.com. The site that offers most practical tips, tricks and tools for todayâs jobs search...if you want to become a modern job seeker...join over 40,000 other job seekers on careercloud.com who use the site to stay up to date on todays job search. Well ...Itâs time for another end of year job search roundtable where we discuss news and topics with some of our favorite career coach friends. Welcome back to the show Hannah Morgan and Chris Fields -How was 2016 for both of youâ¦? Were you busier than ever? -What was your favorite client success story form 2016? -Any resume or hiring trends that you noticed...good or bad? -Are your clients being found more often online via profiles? -Frustrations: not hearing back from employers -Driverless cars/trucks, robots taking jobs -Millenials largest sector of workforce and they are having an impact (from how managers review to how people apply) -Is everyone gearing up for the gig economy? Apply for a job from your mobile? Really? -Employers using storytelling (videos, employee stories and more) to sell company---jocast Last words of advice? Hannah Morgan can be found at careersherpa.netâ¦.Chris Fields can be found at resumecrusade.com... that will do it for this edition of CareerCloud Podcast, find us online at careercloud.com, itunes or google play. Iâm chris russell, follow me on twitter @chrisrussell ... and please tell your friends and family who are in the job hunt to tune in if they want to be better job seekersâ¦..thanks for listening and weâll see you next time on CareerCloud Radio.
I wanted to start off the new year with a quick update on what is happening on CareerCloud and what you can expect in the new year. But first it is the start of the job hunting season, time to dust off that resume and hit the job search button...as I speak, recruiters are busily getting ready to post lots of new jobs this month and open up the resume floodgates. January is the like the christmas season for online job search. The job market will tighten even further this year which means candidates will have more leverage. Don't be afraid to negotiate if you get an offer. Also Remember when applying online to customize your resume as much as possible for each job you apply to. One resume does not fit allâ¦.Be patient with the hiring process as recruiting departments will be extremely busy in the first few months of the year. If you have been to CareerCloud lately you may notice some design changes to our various micro sites. CareerCloud is made up of 4 main sections Careercloud.com is home to our articles and podcast Tools.careercloud.com is home to our growing database of online job search tools from salary sites to job boards Leads.careercloud.com is home to our state by state database of hiring annoucnements across the USA and Canada. This section has a new look, we used the same template from the Tools section to try and standardize the user experience. Finally Job.careercloud.com is home to our national job board. All logos across the site for each section are now standardized as well to reflect one brand. Iâd like to also invite you to contribute to CareerCloud in the coming year. Would you like to write an article to boost your personal brand? We are always on the lookout for interesting content so if you have something to say why not get it up on CareerCloud and have it read by 40,000 monthly readers. To submit your article go to careercloud.com, mouse over the About link in the top nav and choose âContributeâ. As we head into 2017 if you know someone who is looking for a new job I urge you to send them our way. Our mission has always been to educate, inform and empower people through their job hunt. To that end, CareerCloud will always be on your side.
Amie Thompson is the founder and lead coach at of Sound Interview Professionals. Which she started after receiving lots of requests for help with resumes, holding practice interview sessions, and career coaching. Amie has more than 11 years of Human Resources experience and a Masters from Penn State University. She holds both the PHR and SHRM-CP certifications. Topics include; Where are you located? Tell me first, of your last few clients how are they landing jobsâ¦did they see it first on a job board or other channel (be specific)? Why does the hiring process take so long? Have you ever seen anything that made a candidate really stand out as an applicant? What's the biggest mistake you see on resumes? What are the best questions to ask a hiring manager during an interview? What should I do if I can't answer an interview question? Last words of advice...
Jason Nazar is one of the most active tech entrepreneurs and investors in southern California, and is a popular contributor for Wall Street Journal, Forbes, INC, Fortune, and Business Insider. Currently he is co-founder/CEO of Comparably.com, an online platform that monitors the job industry and makes workplace compensation and culture dramatically more transparent. Prior to Comparably, he founded Docstoc -- the largest small business content site with over 50 million members -- before he sold it to Intuit in 2013 for a reported $50M. Named one of the most admired CEOs by the Los Angeles Business Journal, He is also Entrepreneur in Residence for the City of Los Angeles Topics from this show: What's the state of the job industry today and what does it mean when people talk about transparency in pay and workplace culture? Quote from Jasons blog: âWhen an entrepreneur starts a company, the culture is a reflection of her personality. And in itâs formative years Culture is simply a function of those early employees. Fast forward and large organizations try and make culture a pyramid of ideas that fit on posters and an arms race of perks vs their competitors. But those are paper & plastic symbols. Culture is always people. Itâs the values, work habits & personalities of the people servicing the product and customers.â Is creating a culture simply a matter of hiring the right people? What is the future of company cultureâ¦? It seems to be tech company driven...will large companies ever learn? What are some dos and don'ts of salary negotiating listeners should know about? A lot of people talk about pay gap -- is it real and if so, how do women need to negotiate differently than men? Other than salary, are there other benefits people should negotiate for? (Paid time off, flex schedule, equity, perks, etc) What wisdom can you impart for millennials and first-time job seekers in terms of negotiation power? Do they have any? CareerCloud Radio, find us online at careercloud.com, itunes and google play. Follow Chris Russell on Twitter https://twitter.com/ChrisRussell Follow Jason Nazar on Twitter https://twitter.com/JasonNazar
I recently attend the HR Summit in Bucks County, Pennsylvannia. One of the activities during the day was breaking up into groups to discuss how employers can improve the job search process. Listen in as we have a frank discussion about the job search.
Today I’ll be speaking with Janna Kefalas….Janna is a Certified Professional Career Coach and former recruiter who helps frustrated job seekers find a job they love. She works one-on-one with clients, providing them job search and networking strategies that tap the hidden job market. Aside from career coaching, she has a background in recruiting and HR in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. -Tell me first, of your last few clients how are they landing jobs…? -What are the most common mistakes unemployed job seekers make? -What are the first steps you need to take when you're unemployed? -How do you address your unemployment status on LinkedIn? -How do address it on your resume and cover letter? -What steps should you take to find the right opportunities? -How can you stay up-to-speed in your industry? -How can you use social media in your search? -How can in-person networking help your search? -How do you stay motivated when your search is slow-going? -Favorite story?
Brian Howard is a Certified Career Management Coach, a Certified Job Search Strategist, a Certified Professional Resume Writer, and an actively practicing executive recruiter. He has helped thousands of job seekers over his 24 year recruiting career. It is from this experience and knowledge that he wrote The Motivated Networker. He’ joins me on the phone now from Kansas City MO Of your last few 2 clients who landed jobs...how did they get them? (tell us the story of how they found the job & got hired) In your book, The Motivated Networker you provide a definition for networking that I’d like you to comment on. You defined networking this way: Professional networking is developing and maintaining reciprocal relationships with other professionals that over time could result in career or business opportunities. The power of your network is measured by the number and quality of relevant relationships you have. 2. You write about a Networking Mentality and you identify several attitudes that can make your job search networking more effective. Can you talk about those attitudes? 3. It’s a well-accepted fact that networking is one of the most effective methods to land a new job. ...why is networking so effective? 4. In your book, you talk about two levels of networking connections – one is your “Cabinet”, the other is your “Sales Company.” Can you talk about both, starting with your Cabinet? What is a Cabinet? 5. What is your Sales Company? 6. What are somethings a job seeker needs to do to prepare for successful networking? Elevator speech, exit strategy...what lse 7. In your opinion, what are some fertile networking groups?
Recruiter Pete Radloff joins to talk about mistakes that he looks for on resumes that will kill your chances of getting an interview. This is a MUST listen! Bio: Pete Radloff has 15 years of recruiting experience in both agency and corporate environments, and is the Principal Technical Recruiter at comScore, as well as a Lead Consultant for exaqueo. Pete’s experience stretches across several areas of talent acquisition, including recruitment and sourcing, social media, employment branding, recruitment operations and the training and mentoring of recruiters. He's known for his pioneering sourcing techniques, exceptional knowledge of the college market and his honest writing in numerous recruiting publications. You can find him on twitter @pjradloff -I think the key phrase in all that is “all resumes look alike” right? -What/s the first thing that turns you off….(missspellings) -Bolding without borders…? -One page lifetime? -How do you feel about those who get creative and add logos, headshots or other unique designs to their resume? -What’s the most memorable resume that has ever come across your desk...can you describe it? -Who’s better at writing resumes...recruiter or a resume writer? -How can job seekers make sure their resume is seen by a human when applying online? -Last words of advice?