The Career Switch Podcast

The pandemic has been a journey (to say the least) for teachers, who have had to deal with so many emotionally, mentally, and physically in caring for their students remotely and then dealing with the change of going back to school. For many teachers, this time has forced them to re-evaluate their lives and careers in this new context – and who can blame them? That’s why Daphne Williams does what she does. A former teacher herself, Daphne has built the Teacher Career Coach platform and podcast to help current teachers transition into new careers that they love. After struggling to identify careers she was qualified for with her own transition, she created the community she wished she had for other teachers. On her podcast, she shares stories and advice for teachers looking to find other career options, and on her platform, she shares a free quiz, along with courses and resources to help teachers identify potential new career paths. Today on the show, we talk about the unique obstacles and options for teachers looking to find a new career.  A timely episode for back-to-school season full of great tips and resources for anyone looking to make a career transition. Check out the Teacher Career Coach’s resources here: www.teachercareercoach.com/careerswitch

Jemma Zoe Smith began her career as a strategy consultant, working across companies such as Proctor & Gamble, KPMG, and Credo Business Consulting. A 3-time Oxford graduate, Jemma worked during her studies to expand access to education for underrepresented sectors, and realized a passion for the education space. Now, Jemma works as an international tutor and education consultant through her tuition agency, The Education Hotel, where she focuses on students ages 11-18 – and she recently launched her second business, Top School and Uni, offering advice on UK schools and universities. On this episode, we talk about overcoming imposter syndrome and taking the leap into doing something you love – even if everyone around you is doing the “normal thing.”

Our guest this week is Margaret Becker, a community health nurse and lactation consultant based in Spain. Before going full-time to pursue her passion for maternal health, she worked as a Contracting Officer for the military for more than 5 years. In addition to her clinical and consulting work, she also hosts the Mobile Milk Maid Podcast, where she shares stories and conversations about women’s and infant health. I left this conversation with Margaret feeling inspired, empowered, and more relaxed knowing that it’s okay to slow down. We put so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect, to know exactly what’s next, and to have a sense of direction, when all we really need is to take a pause, do some reflecting, and let our intuition guide us.

For this latest episode, I wanted to try something a little different. We have so many entrepreneurs on the show – people who have made a huge career change to start a business in a field they’ve never worked in, or those who took a risk to hang their own shingle after years of experience in the corporate world. Today, I wanted to dive a bit deeper into entrepreneurship by talking to someone who has made his whole career out of it. Hikari Senju is the founder of Omneky, a platform that helps businesses reach their most valuable customers using deep learning algorithms to generate, test and manage ads. A Harvard graduate in computer science, Hikari began his entrepreneurial career with his first startup, Quickhelp, which he sold to Yup.com before creating Omnekey. Today on the show, we talk about what it takes to build a career as an entrepreneur.

This week is all about getting used to the idea of taking risks – even making risk-taking and change-making a habit in your daily life. That’s something that Raechel Lambert, founder of the Founder’s Marketing Playbook, has done really well – from moving to San Francisco from the East Coast sight unseen with no plan, to taking the leap from finance, to marketing, to entrepreneurship. Her philosophy on life, learning and change is something we can all learn from, and I hope you’ll be inspired by her bold and fearless approach to life! You can learn more about Raechel and the Founder’s Marketing Playbook at https://thefmp.io/. 

Our guest today is Ambika Nigam. She is the Founder of Zeit, a career discovery platform that empowers the multi-skilled generation to traverse their ultimate career path. After a nonlinear career that included stints at finance company OppenheimerFunds, ad agency Ogilvy and Mather,  famous product company Ideo, and head of product at Bloomberg, Ambika set out to build a platform to help others find a career that aligns with their unique skills, talents, and interests. Today, we talk about how storytelling and demonstrating how past experiences are transferable can help convey that you are more than your resume. I love this interview for so many reasons, but mainly because this episode embodies what the Career Switch Podcast is all about – normalizing regular career change and helping to show that people with broad experience can provide immense value.

Addison Perrymond is the Chief Product Officer at Vivlio Health, a health tech startup focused on getting mission-critical data into the hands of caregivers to improve patient care. He’s also a strategic advisor at metafour, a consulting and creative agency he started with his wife after realizing he was becoming “too comfortable” in his previous career. Now, he’s living a fulfilled career as a leader and entrepreneur with well-rounded expertise in product and strategic management. Today on the show, we talk about doing what you are uniquely designed to do, no matter what context it’s in. Find out more about metafour at https://www.metafourconsulting.io/ Find out more about Vivlio Health at https://vivliohealth.com/

Marissa Cole began her career in finance within a division of the private equity firm Blackstone group. After a transformative experience with meditation – something she had fallen out of touch with during her studies and early career – she followed her passion and is now founder and lead instructor of Mind Guided Meditation. Her company partners with corporations to teach individuals and teams a modern, secular, research-based approach to meditation, focusing on the science behind what meditation does to our brains and bodies, to empower them to create their own meditation practices and reach their greatest potential. Today on the show, we discuss the major shift that happens in our careers and our lives when we realize something fundamental about ourselves. I hope you enjoy this inspiring conversation.  You can find out more about Mind Guided Meditation and Marissa’s practice at https://www.mindguidedmeditation.com/

One of the things I’ve learned most throughout all of these conversations on this show has been that in order to make a career change, you have to also re-evaluate your identity. We grow and evolve so much throughout our lives that we actually become different people – so much so that sometimes, making a career change is inevitable. A wonderful example of this is my latest guest, John Sovec, a therapist and coach who works with clients on career transitions, goal setting, and motivation. After a thirty-year career in theater and managing entertainment for a large corporation, he realized that what made him feel most fulfilled was applying his natural affinity for empathy and caring to helping others, and made the decision to transition into his new career. Today on the show, we talk about letting go of one identity to make room for another, creating space to become who you want to be, and setting goals while allowing yourself the flexibility to adapt to new situations and opportunities.

Part of the reason I do this podcast is because it is so inspiring to speak to people, not only about how they made the courageous leap into a new field or industry, but about how they realized that their skills are so applicable across such a wide range of potential careers. Even if you think your skills are too specific – or even if you’ve spent years getting a deep education in one particular area, such as our guest today – it’s still worth looking around to see if there are unconventional applications of your skills. Remember, what seems “easy” or “common sense” to us might not be as obvious to another person. We all have something unique to offer. My guest on the podcast today is Richelle Delia, PhD. Richelle is an award-winning scientist who spent the first ten years of her career as a chemical engineer in research and development, before realizing she wanted to build something fully her own. Now, she and her husband are co-founders of Housing Joint Venture, a real estate education and development firm helping professionals explore income property ownership as a safety net, to diversify or create wealth. Today on the show, we talk about overcoming the “sunk cost fallacy” and breaking through mental barriers to own the story of your career.