I have recently finished Jen Sincero’s book, You Are a Badass. One of the chapters in the book is on “The Almighty Decision,” and I wanted to dive into this topic for this episode. We’ll talk about the process of decision-making, what stands in your way, and Sincero’s tips on this topic.

This week my guest is Marcelle Yeager of Career Valet, and we’re talking about navigating remote work. Our focus is on managing and being managed in “the new world order” with in-office, remote, and hybrid employees all working together. We also cover how to ensure you are setting yourself up for success as a remote worker — and how, if you are a manager, you can set your employees up for success in a remote environment.

Our guest today is Katrina McGhee, and we are diving into the idea of taking a career break. NOT a run-away-as-fast-as-you-can because you hate your job, but a planned, strategic break with goals. Katrina tells us her career break story and how she has coached more than 50 clients to have successful career breaks. We also delve into how to successfully “re-enter” your career after your break.

A question recently came up about 30/60/90-day plans, so today, I’d like to convey this information to you. These plans are fairly common at the director level and above. There are two possible scenarios for such a plan: When you are in the interviewing phase, and when you are new in the position. We’ll discuss both and break down how to outline and present this plan in a professional environment.

Today, we’re talking about the basics of networking. This is especially for those of you who a) avoid networking like a root canal, b) describe your networking skills as “terrible;” and c) those of you who think networking is not necessary to land your dream job or advance your career. Here’s a quote I used on a previous podcast: “The opposite of networking is NOT working.”

You have connections on LinkedIn – LinkedIn calls these 1st-level connections. The people you are already connected with. Each of your connections has connections – LinkedIn calls these 2nd-level connections. Why would you want to do this? Because it significantly expands your network. And, because these people are connected to someone you may know, you can reach out to your mutual connection and ask them to introduce you. So, today, I’ll be explaining this technique so you can leverage your connections’ connections.

I came across this concept of Ikigai recently – the Japanese answer to a life of purpose. In practice, this concept of Ikigai is a lifestyle, which the Japanese live somewhat instinctively. Today’s podcast is drilling down on this a bit further. I recommend journaling your answers to these questions if you are seeking your professional purpose…thinking about a significant career shift but you aren’t sure to what…looking for your Ikigai.

Today’s episode is on how to ask for interview feedback. I hear from you about your frustration in not getting feedback from your job interviews. Without concrete information, you are left to make assumptions – and for some of you, that means you beat yourself up for your “failure.” The message I intend for you to hear in this episode is this: Waiting until after you’ve been eliminated as a candidate is too late to ask for feedback.

Let’s face it: we’re navigating uncharted waters when it comes to the job search these days. So much has changed, and we’re seeing clients struggle to be successful in their job search.

Presenting this information in a Problem/Solution format, today we’ll cover what’s tripping up job seekers up and my recommendations for how to address each issue.

Each leadership style has its strengths, although some are seen as more desirable. It’s important to understand and harness the strengths of your leadership style so you can communicate effectively and motivate your team. That’s why this week we are diving into the 9 leadership styles and how to use the strengths of each to boost your leadership skills and, in doing so, helping your team succeed.

The usual cadence of hiring is this: The biggest push of the year occurs mid-January through March; the second-biggest push occurs after Labor Day until early- to mid-November. So let’s go with there being one more chance to get hired in 2022. This episode will help you get in good job-searching shape for if you’ve been searching for a while, or even if you just started looking, by providing some active job search options you can throw into your search strategy.

This week, I’m talking about the stages of group development — what is necessary (and inevitable) for a team to grow, face up to challenges, tackle problems, find solutions, plan work, and deliver results. This work is based on the research of Bruce Tuckman from 1965, who hypothesized that, along with these factors, interpersonal relationships would create an effective group function.

A difficult employee is a term used to describe a person who acts in a careless, unprofessional, or irresponsible manner in the workplace. It is easy to get into a victim/villain mode with a difficult employee—thinking that they are intentionally doing the things they are doing to “get you” as the boss. This type of thinking puts you as the supervisor in a helpless, disempowering position with the difficult employee having power over you. So, how do we manage difficult employees? Let’s talk about it.

I recently read “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brené Brown, and her section on Hope and Powerlessness really resonated with me! I wanted to translate her concepts to the job search and give my take on her concepts through outlining what helps build hopefulness, what hopeful self-talk might look like, and providing some reframing thoughts that can help manage the inevitable rejections we all receive during a job search.

My guest this week is Robert Jordan, and we’re talking about the four leadership styles his team has identified. Robert shares how to make sure you land in a “leadership match” position – and how best to leverage your leadership style once you are in your new role.

My guest this week is Tracy Hooper, and we’re talking about words to use and words to lose in your next job interview. Tracy gives us techniques for identifying the less-than-ideal words we may be using and how to replace them with better word choices.

Mac Prichard, of Mac’s List, is a third-time guest on the podcast! In this episode, we do a deep dive on how to conduct an informational interview, including the three things you MUST do during this conversation.

This week, my guest is Sonja Price. Our parents and grandparents often worked for the same company their entire career – many times, even in the same position. This model doesn’t serve most of us today, and there are financial, developmental, and other reasons to change jobs every few years. Sonja Price and I talk about how to create short- and long-term career goals that will serve as our guideposts for making decisions about career changes, when to look inside your organization and when to look outside, and the indications that it is time to leave your current job.

This week I'm excited to share a "Best of the Exclusive Career Coach podcast" episode — I speak with Mark Danaher, founder of Mark Danaher Training and Coaching. Mark and I discuss the seismic shift in people’s work because of the pandemic – especially the large number of people who are rethinking their career direction. Mark gives us the signs that you may be ready to make a career shift, as well as strategies to help you make that shift.

This week I'm excited to share a "Best of the Exclusive Career Coach podcast" episode — I speak with Laura Browne on the 7 Raise Rules for Women Who Want to Make More Money. Men and women approach salary issues very differently, and Laura and I dive into these differences and how women can ask for what they want. Laura provides us with some of her best tips for asking for a raise and negotiating a salary and compensation package.