Cutting Through The Noise: Recent Episodes
Jon Kwan & Joanne Koo
The #1 mistake that people make in their careers is making uninformed decisions. With so much noise out there today, and critical thinking so low, it's hard not to.
We want you to avoid the typical pitfalls by getting you informed about the latest & hottest trends in careers today, as well as what's coming up, so you can stay ahead of the game.
Most importantly, we promise to always give it to you straight, sharing with you the Good, Bad & Ugly. So plug-in and join us, Jon & Joanne, as we help you Cut Through The Noise.
Jon is a recovering ex-management consultant turned career coach focused on the under-40 crowd, and a trusted career advisor to some of the world's top B-schools. He's fascinated by the idea of applying Design Thinking principles to individuals in their careers which will be a game changer in re-imagining how careers take shape in the future. After 15yrs in Singapore, he's excited to be back home in Toronto.
Joanne is a professional certified career and life coach. She enjoys applying tools in positive psychology and neuroscience to help individuals discover strengths and hopes to write a richer life story. A former diplomat, Joanne's career spans management roles in executive search, national workforce development and a global top-B school in Asia.
In today's new world of work, the old debate of a generalist vs. a specialist still remains as relevant as ever.
In this episode we'll look at both sides of the issue:
Topics covered:
- Which profile is more desired by hiring managers?
- How would you build a team from scratch?
- How should you start your career?
- What makes a good generalist?
- Siloed Thinking vs. System Thinking
Music: "I'm on a Roll" by Grace Mesa
This is a continuation from Part 1, where we go into even more detail about some of the dirty secrets b-schools don't want you to know.
Topics Covered in Part 2:
- The Real Costs
- Calculating your payback/ROI
- What they don't tell you about rankings
- 2yr programs aren't as expensive as you think
- Supply & demand of talent
- The Top 3 considerations for an MBA
Music: "I'm on a Roll" by Grace Mesa
If you're thinking of heading back to school, the MBA is a degree that's most likely on your list. But there's so much noise out there about B-School, and it's definitely not a cheap proposition.
Since we both have MBAs and have been on the inside as staff for Top 10 B-schools, we'll take you behind the scenes and share as we always do, the Good, Bad & Ugly.
What are some of the major considerations and things they don't tell you? We've got so much good stuff, we'll be breaking this into 2 parts for you!
Topics Covered in Part 1:
- Macro trends in post-graduate education
- Is the 2yr MBA model dying/dead?
- Online vs. in-person
- The importance of your WHY
- The Case Study Method: What the classroom is really like
- "Being in the Centre" is undervalued
- The networking fallacy of B-School
- You must have the end in mind
Music: "I'm on a Roll" by Grace Mesa
Welcome to our FIRST episode! Recorded during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic with fear, layoffs & uncertainty all around the world, we tackle one of the questions on many young people's minds right now: Is now a good time to go back to school?
Topics covered:
- Pros to going back now
- What programs are hot
- Traditional in-person Master's vs. Online Learning
- The value of your classmates
- What you need in the workforce
- How employers view degrees today
- A view from the C-Suite
- If we had to do it all over again...
Music: "I'm on a Roll" by Grace Mesa