Get clear on who you are and what you have to offer so you can attract the right opportunities and maximize your career potential.

Erin Thomas is a career and executive coach who helps high-achieving leaders land their ideal jobs and maximize their peak earning years. A former HR exec, Erin is a social justice advocate and ally who has been named a top career coach and a 50 under 50 change maker.

She believes that people should not have to choose between a job that makes them feel good and one that makes them good money.

“When I was young, I had a very well-intended family member tell me that I needed to pick either a feel-good career…or a job or career that made me really good money and that it was a clear decision point and I needed to pick. And I remember having this conversation with him thinking, wait, this just intuitively doesn’t make sense. I don’t understand. Why should we have to pick?”

Erin has since been on a mission to debunk this belief. She believes that anyone can have a career that they love and still make the money they want. She has five steps to help people achieve this, including understanding their unique value proposition, crafting their professional story and brand, and tailoring it to their audience.

In this episode, you will learn:

1. The importance of understanding and articulating your unique value proposition and professional brand.
2. The importance of being authentic and aspirational in your personal brand.
3. The importance of networking and building relationships with people who are aligned with your brand.

Resources:

Erin’s website: careerupgradecoaching.com

Find Erin Thomas on LinkedIn

…and on Instagram: @erinthomascareercoach

Other episodes you’ll enjoy:

What’s Next? Your Journey to An Authentic Career with Carole Dupre

Work from the Inside Out with Tammy Gooler Loeb

Personal Branding: Establishing Your Digital Dress Code™ with Jacqueline Peros

Connect with me:

Loved this episode? Follow Career Cohort on Apple, Spotify, and other major platforms—or sign up to get monthly tips delivered right to your mailbox (I guarantee no spam!).

“The future of work has arrived, and it’s powered by empathy. We need to orient ourselves differently to be successful, shifting from transactional to human-centric management, mindsets, and methods to deal with the faster pace of business developments, continuing uncertainties, more complex issues, and an increase in multidimensional projects.”—𝐒𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐝𝐞, 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝑬𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔

I had a great conversation with Sophie Wade about why we need to cultivate empathy in the workplace, specifically if we hope to unleash the power of Gen Z.

…and it’s not just so they can coach us on the latest tech tools…

HIGHLIGHTS of our conversation…

🌟 Bidirectional mentoring is the foundation for bridging gaps and fostering greater understanding between generations—because mutual understanding is what ultimately cultivates mutual respect.

🌟 The meaning of *lifelong employment* and *hard work* are just two examples of phrases that can hold very different meanings depending on the person—especially across generations. We can no longer take for granted that traditional workforce ideas hold the same meaning from one person to another. Let’s dig in and have more direct cross-generational conversations to uncover (and acknowledge!) the differences.

🌟 It’s time to accept that younger employees will likely leave sooner for new opportunities, even if we invest in their development. The upside? Our connections with those employees don’t have to end when they leave, and they can serve as valuable ambassadors for our companies (and for us as individuals!)—if we’ve helped nurture their careers.

🌟 Interns are a great resource and are often eager to contribute. Harnessing that energy with an intentional integration plan so they’ll feel a commitment to our company is a worthwhile investment.

🌟 Building trust early and when things are going 𝑠𝑚𝑜𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑙𝑦 will prepare our team for when a crisis hits. Studies show that oxytocin is needed to help generate trust. Studies 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 show that stress is an inhibitor of oxytocin. So mid-crisis isn’t the time to expect teams to quickly come together to meet our challenges if we haven’t laid the groundwork. 

Sophie’s latest book, Empathy Works, provides essential insights and knowledge to adapt, thrive, and grow―no matter what the future holds―and is an invaluable resource for both established and rising leaders and professionals in any field.

Sophie is a work futurist, international keynote speaker, and an authority on future-of-work issues. She is the host of the widely popular Transforming Work podcast and over 450,000 learners have taken her four LinkedIn courses which cover empathy, future-of-work skills, and gen Z. 

She’s the Founder and Workforce Innovation Specialist at Flexcel Network, a Future-of-Work consultancy. Sophie’s executive advisory work and transformative workshops help companies adapt and update their work environments and attract, engage, and retain their multigenerational and distributed talent. She helps corporations maximize the benefits and minimize the disruption in their transition to talent-focused, digitalized work environments.

You can learn more about Sophie and her new book, Empathy Works: The Key to Competitive Advantage in the New Era of Work, at www.sophiewade.com and connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter @ASophieWade. You can also learn more about her at her company website.

My guest this week is Lynda McDonell.

Lynda is a Certified Financial Coach and Life Coach, specializing in empowering female professionals and business owners.

She helps clients take control of their money AND their thoughts to reduce their anxiety around finances by teaching them how to think abundantly, to plan, and to use money as a tool to level up not just wealth but all aspects of their lives.

Lynda works one-on-one with her clients to truly understand where their money is going. She empowers clients to see what’s possible by reducing debt, saving for the things that are important, and planning ahead in a personalized and sustainable way.

Lynda works one-on-one with her clients to not only understand where their money is going, but also what’s been holding them back. She empowers clients to see what’s possible by reducing debt, affording and saving for the things that are important to them, and planning ahead in a personalized and sustainable way without ever losing focus on their “why” and their personal values.

To read more about our conversation, click here.

Connect with Lynda here:

Website: www.piqueprosperity.com 

IG & FB: @piqueprosperity

LinkedIn: lyndamcdonell

For ideas from Consumer Reports on saving on streaming services, click here.

Terry Cralle is a registered nurse, Certified Clinical Sleep Educator, and Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality who specializes in sleep health and wellness. As Better Sleep Council’s spokesperson, frequent speaker and guest lecturer on the topic of sleep for schools, universities, sleep clinics, U.S. corporations, and employee wellness companies, Terry educates audiences on the importance of sleep to physical and psychological health, growth and development, safety, optimum functioning, productivity, peak performance, and quality of life.

How does sleep loss impact job performance? The American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that just an hour or two of sleep loss contributed to a 19% drop in productivity. Not to mention an inability to concentrate, memory loss, irritability, and weight gain…YIKES!

How can we establish a good work-sleep balance? Terry shares evidence-based advice on how to improve your ‘sleep hygiene’ by adjusting light, noise, and temperature in the bedroom; shutting down electronics well before bedtime; and separating work and sleep environments.

Feeling tired at work? Ditch the caffeine and take a power nap. The shift to remote or hybrid work has changed America’s daytime sleep habits to include sleep breaks at work. Terry believes that midday power naps—when done right—are a quick and efficient way to recharge during the day.

Terry also shares great tips for ending the vicious cycle of work anxiety, stress, and lost sleep. 

Connect with Terry and follow other sleep experts here:

www.terrycrallern.com

www.bettersleep.org

www.instagram.com/bettersleeporg/

www.facebook.com/BetterSleepOrg/

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine: www.aasm.org/

Carole Dupre’s commitment to helping her clients find their way to careers where they can bring their whole, authentic selves is inspiring and this episode is a must-listen. The best guide for such a journey is someone who’s been there, and Carole knows the struggles and the joys on the road to a meaningful career.

Carole is a nationally awarded marketing director turned certified career coach. At the peak of her 20-year corporate career, Carole launched a self-named side hustle that evolved into a full-time career coaching business for women, called HerNature®. Today, as an ICF-certified coach and certified personal brand strategist, Carole partners with clients to create their unique value proposition for roles that offer greater work-life balance, increased pay, and opportunities to make a positive impact.

Carole shares road-tested ideas that include:

💡 Steps to take to identify a career that fits your values and relevant strengths.

💡 Why we need to let go of our corporate brand and replace it with our own if we want to find meaningful work.

💡 How to identify those transferable skills that will land you a role in a new industry or field.

Connect with Carole at:

ItsHerNature.com

LinkedIn Profile: CaroleDupre

Twitter: @caroledupre

Access the resources Carole mentioned:

CliftonStrengths

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®

Via Character Survey

Hi there! 

After a season packed with amazing guests who shared their wisdom about everything from compensation, building connections, getting the compensation you deserve, boosting your confidence and energy, and finding the career that suits you, I’ll be taking a short break and preparing for season 6.

We’ve got another great line-up of guests coming beginning October 24th, that you won’t want to miss. In the meantime, I encourage you to revisit my episodes from Season 5 and beyond.

One more thing: If you need a boost to get you moving on your job search…

Click here to grab your FREE Guide to Get Moving and Launch Your Job Search.

Until then, I’ll be cheering for you!

Emily

You can also connect with me and/or follow me here:

⭐ linkedin.com/in/emilysfwong

⭐ Twitter: careersemily

⭐ facebook.com/careersemily/

Beth Benatti Kennedy brings more than 20 years of experience to her role as a leadership and executive coach, resiliency-training expert, and speaker. Her Benatti Resiliency Model® has helped thousands of people develop the resilience to adapt to changing career circumstances, take responsibility for their career and personal growth, and remain productive, engaged, and committed to their organizations’ success.

Companies hire Beth to coach high-potential individuals on how to fine-tune their leadership styles for maximum impact, positively influence the people they work with, build effective teams, and develop resilience skills to support peak performance.

As a motivator and speaker at conferences, seminars, and symposiums, Beth has presented her Benatti Resiliency Model® across the globe. Her interactive style coupled with her infectious enthusiasm has engaged audiences and galvanized them to take steps to recharge their careers.

She is the author of 🌟Career ReCharge: Five Strategies to Boost Resilience and Beat Burnout🌟, which continues her mission of recharging individuals in their careers and lives so they have the energy needed for today’s world.

Beth shares her 5 strategies in this episode and 🔥 definitely walks her talk during our high-energy conversation🔥. 

Connect and follow Beth here:

⭐ linkedin.com/in/bethbenattikennedy

⭐ Twitter: coachbkennedy

⭐ facebook.com/BenattiLeadershipDevelopment/

⭐ Tedx Talk: www.ted.com/talks/beth_kennedy_reset_career_resilience_to_reverse_burnout

⭐ Website: bethkennedy.com/

⭐ From Beth’s website, scroll down to the 🌟Resilience Benchmark assessment 🌟 and find out how you’re doing in each area.

Remember when everyone was talking about the great resignation, and how it was a seller’s market (the seller being the job seeker)? Now the hot topic is layoffs. If your head’s spinning, you’re not alone. Join Mark Anthony Dyson and me as we:

👉 try to make sense of job reports in the context of specific industry realities.

👉 discuss tactics for educating ourselves to ensure we understand the market as we target specific roles.

👉 share ideas for creating our own success, regardless of the economic environment.

Mark and I don’t claim to be economic experts, but we do know that the most important way to navigate the bad news is to keep it in context when it comes to our own industry and that there are always ways to increase our own opportunities for success.

A job seeker’s advocate, Mark is a prolific writer, thinker, and speaker. He hosts the award-winning blog and podcast, “The Voice of Job Seekers.” 

Mark’s been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Inc., Fast Company, and Sirius XM. He’s written for Lensa.com, The Financial Diet, Payscale, Job-Hunt.org, and many other career sites. 

Connect with Mark here:

thevoiceofjobseekers.com     

linkedin.com/in/markanthonydyson

Don’t miss my conversation with author, speaker, and podcast host, Tammy Gooler Loeb, on how we can find the job we love by working from the inside out if we:  

👉 Understand that success is not a destination. 

👉 Turn our fear into curiosity.

👉 Tap into and nurture our network.

👉 Remember that careers are iterative and that experimenting will take us closer to our ideal role.

Tammy is the author of Work from the Inside Out: Break Through Nine Common Obstacles and Design a Career That Fulfills You. She’s a career and executive coach, speaker, and facilitator with expertise in career transitions and leadership development. Her weekly podcast, Work from the Inside Out, showcases career transition stories. 

Tammy’s clients represent many sectors and industries and her expertise has appeared in Forbes, Fast Company, The Boston Globe, and Harvard Business Review Ascend. 

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗧𝗮𝗺𝗺𝘆:

Website: www.tammygoolerloeb.com

tammy@tammygoolerloeb.com

Twitter: @tammygoolerloeb

Linkedin: in/tammygoolerloeb

What a great conversation with author and speaker Kelli Thompson on how we can gain more confidence—whether we need it to stand out in meetings or to better connect with our audience as a presenter.

Kelli covered:

👉 Presentation prep (it may be easier than you’re making it!)

👉 Overcoming imposter syndrome (own your strengths!)

👉 Speaking up confidently during meetings (asking thoughtful questions is a great start!)

3 Quick Takeaways:

💡 Being nervous is healthy, so embrace the feeling and go forth!

💡 Make clarity—not more info—the guiding principle of your presentation.

💡 Think of yourself as in service to others. How do you want your listener to feel? 

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. 

Kelli holds an MBA, has served as an adjunct management professor and has more than ten years of senior leadership experience in financial services and technology organizations. Her thought leadership has been featured in Forbes, MarketWatch, Parents Magazine, HuffPost, and Working Mother. Kelli is from Omaha, Nebraska, and her favorite roles are wife to Jason and mom to Hailey.

She is the author of Closing The Confidence Gap: Boost Your Peace, Your Potential & Your Paycheck, releasing fall 2022.

Learn more and connect with Kelli:

Website: Kelliraethompson.com 

Book: closingtheconfidencegap.com/book  

Instagram: @kelliraethompson 

Linkedin: in/kelliraethompson