How We Got Here - Career Stories

In this episode I chat with Mike Johnson. He's a fellow podcast host who also appeared on Tea with Gary V. We chat about how he came up with the idea for his podcast, what challenges he's faced, and why it's so important for you to put yourself out into the world. 

You never know who's listening, reading, or scrolling, and we live in an era where anyone of us can reach the world with a phone and an internet connection. 

We also talk about the importance of figuring out your overarching goals and not tying your success, identity, or self-esteem to a singular vessel of delivering on that goal. Listen for more details. 

Enjoy! 

Today's episode is my full-length interview with Pauleanna Reid. She is a motivational speaker, millennial mentor, celebrity CEO, ghostwriter, and critically acclaimed author of her fiction novel Everything I Couldn't Tell My Mother. 

This interview is all about how someone who failed her 11th and 12th grade English classes monumentally succeeded in the art of writing. Pauleanna shares exactly how she got from point A to point B with unique and practical advice. 

Pauleanna offers a lot of insight in this interview on topics that affect all of us: we talk about why our culture and generation struggles so much to fulfill ourselves through work and how to fix it. We talk about how she took the leap from dropping out of college to starting her own businesses. 

And we also talk about how to reframe your past experiences and how to navigate things like mental health, networking, mentorship, etc. 

Pauleanna is a rock star and there's so much to learn from her in this interview! 

In this short clip, I chat with Pauleanna Reid, an accomplished author, public speaker, and mentor about passion and purpose.  If you're struggling to figure out your sense of purpose or what you're really passionate about this episode is for you. Not only does Pauleanna give examples from her own career, but she also makes some really important practical distinctions about passion and purpose in today's culture. Pauleanna really nails it when describing why our culture and generation really struggle with fulfilling ourselves through our work and how you can overcome that challenge! 

In this short clip, Pauleanna Reid talks about how she got her first client for celebrity ghostwriting. It came by way of a mentor and further demonstrates how important it is to have mentors and sponsors in your life. because if you execute against their advice, they can connect you with the right opportunities. 

Pauleanna also worked as an executive assistant in an early part of her career. She didn't realize it, but she was actually doing ghostwriting for the CEO's that she was assisting. You never know how a previous job can contribute to a new opportunity, so it's really important to reexamine your past experiences and not be afraid to reposition them to figure out how they might fit something that's been presented to you. 

In this short clip, I chat with Pauleanna Reid, an accomplished author, public speaker, and mentor about how she vaulted herself into the world of professional writing. 

The story she shares is really important for everybody to hear. She met with a mentor. She executed the mentor's advice over a long period of time and it turned into a bigger opportunity for her. She talks about the distinction between self-worth and market value.  You may know that you're a really strong writer, programmer, etc. but if the market doesn't know about your capabilities, you're not going to get connected with the right opportunities. 

There is another layer to building the skill set: it's exposure and it's putting yourself out there to the world and giving the market a chance to adopt you for whatever skill set you have.  

In this full-length interview, I chat with Tom Levine. Tom is an author, teacher, and speaker. He's written for Spawn, he's published novels, and one of his books just got picked up for a movie script. 

In this conversation, we talk about how Tom got to where he is today and how it's a little bit difficult to be a creative when you're putting out work into the world. We talk about overcoming challenges and finding vessels for your overarching goals. Tom talks about a day in his life, and he gives a lot of really great practical advice for young writers, experienced writers, and people who are just interested in creative endeavors. 

Tom's been doing this for a long time and he's found a lot of success so I'm really excited for this episode. 

In this short clip, I chat with author Tom Levine, about how one of his books got picked up for a movie script. He talks about how that came about, but more importantly, he talks about how he doesn't expect this to be a big box office hit. What he is trying to do is just pilot and test something new to see if it might be an opportunity for him in the future and our full interview we talk about how his overarching goal is to be a storyteller. 

Tom is really good at is executing a number of different formats for that storytelling to see if something will catch on and to leverage that experience. 

I love Tom's perspective when it comes to meeting his larger goals and it can be applied to any field. Always be testing. Always be learning. Always stay humble. 

In this short clip, I chat with author Tom Levine, about how he came into a gig writing for the comic book Spawn. This gig was a really big deal and reveals a very important career growth trick hack tip: what's important about Tom getting this gig is it was partially because of someone he knew, but it was mostly about the fact that that person knew Tom's abilities, and knew what he was interested in. 

You could be the best author or the best anything in this world, but if nobody knows your intentions and your goals, they're never going to think of you when an opportunity arises. 

Tom's story is such a practical example of that working out in his favor. 

In today's short clip. I chat with author Tom Levine. Tom has been really successful in his career so far - he's written for Spawn, he's published novels and one of his books just got picked up for a movie script.  One of the narratives that emerge in my conversation with Tom is that he's always adapting to new environments and he's continually testing different channels and formats. This is unique advice that I don't hear a lot from creatives and I think anybody who's aspiring to be an author, a communicator, or a content creator needs to hear this advice. 

In today’s episode, I chat with Cassidy Petit, a recent UVM graduate who’s working for Hula, a new co-working space and tech accelerator being constructed to build a community that fosters economic growth in Burlington, Vermont. The company has a big mission: to put Burlington, Vermont on the map as a hub for start-ups and technology companies.

Cassidy is at the center of this as she’s responsible for marketing and operations and making sure the existing community of Burlington and its students know what opportunities are available.

We share her story of how she found herself in this position after originally intending to go into social work. The opportunity for her to contribute to her community in a slightly different way presented itself and she took it on.

Her story is one of focusing on the process, not the outcome, and of not being afraid to take on new challenges.

We talk about how Burlington, VT is a great place to work and live, and how we both share the goal of spreading that message to retain more students and attract more people to the state.

In this short clip, I ask Cassidy about her challenges working at Hula. The way she responds is the exact way you want to respond to a question like this in an interview.

She talks about how being on a small team in fluid roles can be challenging, especially when it requires her to take on work she’s not familiar with, but she repositions it as an opportunity for her to grow.

It’s this type of growth-mindset and not fearing new challenges that will help her grow in her career, and if you take on the same mindset, it can help you grow, too.

In this short clip, Cassidy and I talk about Hula’s mission and the benefits of living in Burlington, Vermont. For students out there listening, there is a vibrant technology scene in Burlington and offers a quality of life that is unrivaled in most other areas. 

Dealer.com, the anchor tech company in Burlington, was acquired for $1 billion and has seeded the ground for the second wave of new companies and economic growth. In a city of just over 40,000 people, that’s a big deal.

Cassidy points out that many entrepreneurs who move to Vermont are living their “second life” after living in larger cities, and are enjoying having quality careers and quality of life outside of those careers.

In today’s episode, I chat with entrepreneur Gabriel Appleton, co-founder of Vumonic, a market intelligence tool used by the world's leading strategy teams.

We talk about how authentic curiosity led him to his first venture at a storage company, one he joined despite having accepted an offer at the Economist. He helped to grow the storage company and eventually he and his business partner sold it. After the sale, Gabriel moved to India and met his future business partner to co-found Vumonic.

His story is one of tenacity, staying true to yourself and is a great example of how authentic curiosity can open doors for you in your career.

In this short clip, Gabriel talks about how he validated the business idea for Vumonic and what he did to get the company off the ground. New companies are always faced with the chicken or the egg problem of needing investment to launch a product but needing a product to get the investment. In this case, Gabriel and his business partner applied to a start-up accelerator, got in, and got their company off the ground.

In this short clip, Gabriel shares a story of how he ended up working at his first start-up, All College Storage. When he got on the phone with the company founder, he didn’t do anything fancy, he just showed up, asked thoughtful questions and a door opened for him.

Gabriel mentions that his curiosity has opened other doors for him in his personal and professional life as well, citing that it led him to co-founding his current company, Vumonic.

In today’s episode, I chat with Jacqueline Cardoza who currently works at the CDC and is soon to be taking on a new role at FEMA.

Jacqueline had intentions of being a change maker starting back in college and she’s living up to that dream. She shares her story from undergraduate experiences to attending graduate school at the University of Michigan, and ultimately ending up at the CDC.

She also talks about how it’s okay to not know your path and the importance of trying things to help give you more clarity.

Enjoy!

In this short clip, Jacqueline shares how her proactivity and networking skills opened the door for her at the CDC.

The more you put yourself out there, the more likely you are to connect with people who can help you achieve your goals.

Enjoy!

In this short clip, Jacqueline talks about her application to a graduate program. As she went through this process, her undergrad professors asked her why she wanted to choose this path.

Her answer was that she wasn’t if this was right for her, but she was interested in it and needed to pursue grad school to validate or invalidate that interest.

The lesson for us all here is that we don’t know what we don’t know. Sometimes, you just have to try something, you never know if it’ll be a fit.

Jacqueline also talks about struggling when she first got into the program and learning how to ask for help from her professors. This has served her well in her career so far because she learned that you don’t need to know everything, you just have to be resourceful in being aware of those gaps and identifying how to find the answers or help you need.

Enjoy!

In this short clip, I chat with Yvonne Prang about her experience as a mentor and she offers specific advice on how to find a mentor.

What I really like about this episode is that we get the perspective from a mentor - why she gives back, and how she benefits from it too. A lot of us think mentorship is a one-way street, but it really is a mutually beneficial relationship.

Enjoy!

In this short clip, Yvonne gives some really great insight into how she approaches maintaining work-life balance. She is very self-aware, and that helps to inform her strategies for coping with a busy schedule and a busy lifestyle.

What works for her might not necessarily work for you, so we both encourage our listeners, to be honest with themselves to figure out what works for them, and what doesn’t.

Enjoy!

In this short clip, Yvonne talks about her approach to handling stress. She's had her fair share of people coming to her looking to solve major problems. She talks about making sure that you see the whole picture, how to manage expectations, and how to make sure that you learn from these challenges and improve in the future.

In this short clip, Yvonne talks about the traits of a good leader - inspiring others, accountability, and leaving ego aside.

In this short clip, Yvonne and I talk about the differences between men and women in the workplace, how societal views of women have evolved and where they need to go, and she provides detailed advice for young women starting their careers.

In this short clip, I chat with Yvonne Prang about her experience as a mentor and she offers specific advice on how to find a mentor.

What I really like about this episode is that we get the perspective from a mentor - why she gives back, and how she benefits from it too. A lot of us think mentorship is a one-way street, but it really is a mutually beneficial relationship.

Enjoy!

In this short clip, I chat with Yvonne Prang about how she handles career challenges, something that is very relevant for all of us today.

It’s useful to reposition these challenges as an opportunity to learn and push ourselves outside of our comfort zone while balancing what needs to be done today with our longer-term goals.

Enjoy!

In this episode, I’m joined by Meghan Rowe, co-founder of White Leaf Provisions, an organic regeneratively farmed food line.

Meghan is an entrepreneur creating a new category, but it took time for her to figure this vision out.

She went from being unhappy at an advertising agency, to moving to Key West, Florida and staying there for 4 years working side gigs and launching a photography business, to eventually starting a business.

Things to look for in Meghan’s story:

Honest signals that New York City was not the right city for her

How she knew that Charleston, SC was the right place for her and her husband to relocate

Life leads you if you listen to it

What is was like during a  7-hour meeting with a potential investor

Coming up with the brand behind White Leaf and creating the narrative

Getting her product distributed by WholeFoods, Wegmans and other Natural Grocers

In this short clip, Meghan talks about the origin of her idea for a business. Like many other business origin stories, Meghan was facing a problem with seemingly no solution.

We talk about what she did immediately after the idea struck to further validate her concept.

That business now sells products distributed by Whole Foods, Wegmans and other natural grocers. 

Make sure to check out her full episode for the full story :)

In this special clip, Meghan Rowe, co-founder, and co-owner at White Leaf Provisions shares her story of visiting Charleston, South Carolina, and knowing she wanted to move there not even 8 hours after arriving!

After she made that decision, things just fell into place for her.

We talk about the larger lesson from this story - if you are pursuing something and things just start to fall into place for you, lean into that.

Conversely, if you are constantly hitting dead-ends, it might be time to rethink your approach or make a pivot.

Be sure to catch her full episode for her full story about how she started and grew her business!

In today’s episode, I am joined by documentary filmmaker Serene Meshel-Dillman. Serene has directed Getting to The Nutcracker and The 5th Dementia with more documentaries on the way.

We share her story as she was on the path to becoming a lawyer, but decided it wasn’t the right fit for her.

By wild circumstance, she was able to land her first job as a production assistant in Los Angeles.

We discuss her rise through the ranks in commercial film, her favorite commercial she helped to produce and how she ended up directing two documentaries.

Serene offers advice for those looking to break into commercial film as well as general advice for students today.

Enjoy!

In this short clip, documentary filmmaker Serene Meshel-Dillman talks about her favorite experience working in television commercial production - a Miller beer commercial that featured a group of athletes, musicians, and other famous people. 

The reason Serene enjoyed the experience so much is that she didn't know who most of those people were and was able to interact with them normally. 

There's a key lesson here - at all times of our career, we're going to meet people who we are fans of, who may be very well-known and might even be famous. It could even simply be interacting with an executive or senior leader at the company you work for or a key stakeholder for a large client. 

It's important to remember that they are people, too, just like us, and want to be treated as such. Going into those interactions with this mindset should reduce any performance anxiety you might have. 

Enjoy! 

In today’s preview episode, Serene and I chat about how she was on the path to becoming a lawyer but decided it wasn’t for her.

Like something out of a movie, Serene experienced an earthquake while visiting Los Angeles, and happened to land her a production assistant job because of it!

Serene shares that story and gives advice for those trying to find production assistant jobs and how to prepare for those interviews.

Be sure to catch her full episode to see how she eventually became a documentary filmmaker, directing films such as Getting to The Nutcracker and The 5th Dementia. 

Enjoy!

In today’s episode, I chat with Yvonne Prang, a Senior Director at McDonald’s who oversees teams across 19 countries!

Yvonne and I cover a range of topics in this episode, including how to maintain a work-life balance, mentorship, career challenges, traits of good leaders, and advice for young women starting their careers.

She also gives us her secrets to success :)

It’s rare to get the opportunity to chat with a Senior leader and get their perspective on a range of topics in this setting. 

In this short clip, I chat with Yvonne Prang, a Senior Director at McDonald’s who oversees teams across 19 countries!

Yvonne talks about how she defines success and why she specifically feels successful today.

She also sheds some light on what her secret ingredients are to be successful. These are things you can start applying in your life today!

You don’t want to miss this one!

In this special edition episode, Matt and I spend the next few minutes talking about how he goes about marketing a healthcare technology company. The strategies are very similar to other verticals, but the tactics he takes given his industry are much different. He details that and more in our chat.

We also give advice that applies to students, alumni business owners and marketers about how powerful joining the conversation can be. This is something you can do RIGHT NOW. Listen for more details :)

Enjoy!

In this short clip, Melanie and I discuss her experiences seeking full-time permanent positions after taking the summer off post-graduation. During this time, she interviewed at numerous companies, facing a lot of rejection, but powered through, taking an internship initially, and eventually landing the full-time role she was seeking.

This is incredibly important for students to hear - you will face rejection. Melanie talks about the biggest differences between college and the real world, and simply having this awareness can leave you better prepared than you otherwise might be.

Enjoy!

In this special edition episode, Matt and I spend the next 4 minutes talking about how he took his company from idea to reality. It’s always tricky for start-ups, and especially healthcare start-ups. Do you get funding first? Do you build the product first? How do you do either of those activities without the other in place? Matt and I talk about that, and more!

Enjoy!

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Matt Buder Shapiro, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Medpilot, a 40-person healthcare technology company based in Cleveland, Ohio.

Matt shares his career journey from early entrepreneurial aspirations to landing his first advertising internship with no experience, which helped him realize he had a passion for sales and marketing, to founding a technology company focused on easing the burden of billing for healthcare providers, patients, and insurers.

We talk about Matt’s interviews at big marketing firms in New York City - some went well, some didn’t.

We talk in detail about how his company got initial funding, found their first client and built their first product.

We also dive into what marketing activities he leads as CMO that are specific to healthcare to help build awareness and trust for his company.

Matt talks about how mentors sought him out, why he thinks that happened, and how it can help you attract mentors in your own career.

We also talk about honest signals to look out for to figure out if you are truly passionate about something or if it just sounds cool / is trendy.

As a bonus, Matt talks about some of the political campaigns he worked on for familiar faces - Elizabeth Warren, Andrew Cuomo, and Rahm Emanuel.

Enjoy!

In this special edition episode, Matt Buder Shapiro, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Medpilot, and I spend 4 minutes talking about how Matt discovered his passion for advertising and marketing. We talk specifically about what behavioral changes occurred that validated his realization of the skill-set he wanted to pursue.

Matt's example should give you some practical examples to understand what actions to look for in yourself if you are truly passionate about something. Sometimes we get caught in a false positive - thinking we like doing x, y or z because it's trendy, sounds cool, or that it will impress our parents, peers, and teachers. 

Staying honest with yourself will make you happier in the long-term and I think this will help you more clearly see the signals of honesty in your life. 

Stay tuned for Matt's full episode next week where we talk about his journey founding and growing a healthcare technology start-up.

Enjoy!

In today’s episode, I am joined by Alex Litwin. This episode is an hour in length, but I promise you, it’s worth every single minute.

Alex embodies two really important qualities young people should strive for:

Listen to, and be honest with, yourself.

Give yourself permission to pursue your honest intentions.

Throughout this story, you’ll hear a lot about Alex listening to himself and not being afraid to share his goals.

Whether it was choosing his major, taking time off from school, wanting to live in San Francisco over New York City, or recognizing burn-out, Alex stays true to himself and lets others know in a professional way.

Alex started his career at VaynerMedia and received mentorship from both CEO Gary Vaynerchuk (look him up if you don’t know him) and now Chief Heart Officer Claude Silver.

We talk about how he got there, what the conversation was like to ask to live in SF and not company headquarters in NYC, and what it was like to move on from the amazing opportunity to a bigger calling.

He moved to Israel for some time and took on a demanding job, where he learned why doubling down on your strengths is important.

He now works at one of the biggest tech companies you’ve never heard of.

Enjoy!

Time Stamps (a few highlights for easy reference): 

23:35 minutes - getting a job at VaynerMedia, sitting down with Gary Vaynerchuk, and expressing wanting to move to San Francisco instead of New York City 

27:23 - Alex talks about a mentor at Vayner Claude Silver Chief Heart Officer - she helped Alex realize to pursue what he loved

29:24 - How Gary’s advice helped me and why Google founder Larry Page looked for passions in people

31:15 how the Chief Heart Officer at Vayner Media became Alex’s mentor

32:31 - Alex Gary’s authenticity and receiving mentorship from the CEO 

In today's special edition episode, I'm featuring a clip from a previous episode with Christopher Sikora, MD '11 who now works in sales. 

Christopher was a biology major at UVM and went on to get his Medical Degree. 

He made a career pivot into sales and we talk about how he did that, starting back with his experiences recruiting for a fraternity while in college. 

We break down some of the core tenets of what sales is and how you don't necessarily need a sales job initially to learn the ropes and be successful at it in the future. 

Enjoy! 

In this short clip, Sara talks about how she landed an internship in college at WCAX, a local news station. It wasn’t only landing the job that set her on a path toward becoming a reporter in Michigan, Connecticut and eventually Los Angeles, but what she did when she got there.

Sara’s story is interesting because she was a Political Science major, but her internship and early career experiences were effectively like a grad school for her, teaching her the skills to make it in broadcast journalism.

You’ll learn valuable lessons about how to make the most of your internship and other career positions.

Enjoy!

In this short clip, Melanie and I discuss the Catch-22 of applying and interviewing for a job that requires experience but you need that job to get experience.

Melanie talks specifically about what she did in this situation, how she succeeded and what you can start doing today to have some success.

She did two really important things that can help you, even if you haven’t had any internships: she looked back at the experiences she had (going back to high school), repositioned those experiences to fit the job she applied for, and practiced interviewing so she came across as sharp and prepared.

Enjoy!

In this special 4-minute preview episode of the show, Alex and I talk about the mentorship he received while at VaynerMedia from CEO Gary Vaynerchuk (look him up if you haven’t heard of him) and now Chief Heart Officer Claude Silver.

We talk about finding a mentor, what’s important in mentorship, and whether or not you should formally ask someone to be your mentor.

I’ll be doing more snack-size podcast clips like this going forward!

Be sure to look out for the full episode airing next week. 

In today’s episode, Melanie Lewis ‘17 joins me to share her story of early leadership and internship positions in school, studying abroad and challenging herself, and her push to land a full-time job in New York City.

As a recent grad, Melanie brings a lot of detail to her story and I’m so excited for students and other alums to listen.

Melanie is a rockstar reflected by her career thus far, and while she held internships early on in her college career, her path to full-time work in New York City was humbling. She talks about having to effectively take on another internship post-graduation to help get her footing and eventually find her way back to Viacom after holding an internship there while in college.

The most important advice Melanie gives in this show is about the distinction between college and the real world.

For the most part, college is fairly formulaic - the more work that you put in, the higher the grade you can expect. While hard work certainly pays off in your career, you may find times where you are putting in the work and doing all of the right things, but it’s just not happening for you.

This is where you want to stay strong, hit up your UVM alum network and be patient. Melanie went through about 19 interviews across 8 companies in 10 months. Ultimately, a fellow UVM grad she interned with at Viacom posted on LinkedIn about a job opening and Melanie reached out and earned the position on that team.

Enjoy!

Today’s episode is a very special one for me. Sara Welch ‘90 Reporter at KTLA joins the show to talk about her career journey.

The reason this episode is so special is that it’s just as much about the UVM community as it is her story of moving from smaller TV markets to a large one in Los Angeles.

In preparing for our interview, Sara and I also discovered that we lived in the same apartment on Buell Street just some years apart.

If there were ever a sign from the universe that this podcast is a good idea, I’d have to think this sign is it. And not just that, Sara and her husband visited that apartment while I was living there!

UVM alumni are full of small-world stories like this one, and we talk about how our friend groups from UVM are still influential in our lives.

We also talk about Sara’s internships that helped her develop a career in broadcast journalism. She credits her success to WCAX and it’s fascinating to hear her story about taking leaps of faith to ultimately end up in LA.

In this episode, I’m joined by Shannon Deegan, Senior Director of Google to share his career journey - from a professional hockey career cut short to advising the Prime Minister of Canada, to his current role managing one of Google's biggest projects in finding and creating innovative workspaces for its employees.

This interview really hit me differently - Shannon has held leadership roles at one of the best companies in the world, with very high-level responsibilities.

And do you know what we talk about the most on this episode? Empathy. Being a good human. Kindness.

Sometimes there is a perception of needing an aggressive “get ahead at the expense of others” mentality to succeed, but there is a strong movement of emotional intelligence proving otherwise, and Shannon really embodies that.

If I still haven't sold you on this episode yet, Shannon talks about how he used to have to send Larry Page an e-mail of all the proposed new hires before offers were finalized. He shares exactly what Larry Page looked for in reviewing those candidates.

Does it get any better than that?

On today’s episode, Mandy Sugrue, Communications Manager, Health at Facebook joins me to share her career journey - one that started with her struggling a bit as a high school student, to trying a variety of different paths - from wanting to become an actress to a social worker, ultimately ending up in communications.

Mandy embodies trying different things to figure out what you truly enjoy and want to do. She also shares a story of pursuing graduate school because she trusted her gut, and it opened new doors for her she couldn’t have pictured before.

We cover a lot of topics in this episode, including: 

• Mandy’s story of how she got to Facebook - despite being very hirable, she had to deal with some rejection in the process and a past connection helped her get a foot in the door w/ Facebook
• A day in the life for Mandy and what her role is like 
• A unique way of networking that can help you today 
• How to identify companies you want to work for and how to get in touch with the right people
• Recognizing when you’re climbing the wrong career ladder, how to get off it and move to another one 
• How trusting your gut for things that seem fun and curious can open new doors you never could have dreamt up 
• Self-assessments are critical - how to do them and how they help you make decisions 
• You can create connections with people anytime, anywhere - Mandy did it while working as a cocktail server
• How working in school makes all the difference
• You’re always making impressions, good or bad 
• Some tips if you’re working in hospitality to take action and do some marketing work or other work beyond your responsibilities

Moving to a new country, trial, and error and why context matters with Maya Perry, marketing manager at cnvrg.io in Jerusalem, Israel. 

In this episode of the show, we talk about how Maya became in charge of marketing for a company that just received $8 million in funding despite not having all the prior experience required. She was employee #3 at a now 30-person company!  

We also talk about the following topics: 

Exposure to different roles and responsibilities early on can help you figure out what you like and don’t like.

Context matters - Maya struggled in one type of economics class but did really well in another.

Landing a job being a summer camp counselor through a parent.

Opportunities don’t always look like what you thought.

Maya and I talk about how we’ve both cried after meetings and how trying sales let her know that it’s not for her, and that was a great experience.

How Maya made a big move to another country.

Strategies for finding answers/resources on your own.

“What do you want to do?” can be the best question in the world, or the worst question in the world if you aren’t prepared to answer.

Knowing your strengths can help set your company up for success because they can go get what you need to compliment your skillsets.

The importance of leaving your comfort zone, pushing through negative feedback and fighting for your goals with Christopher Sikora, MD. A 2011 grad, Christopher majored in Biology, went on to medical school in a different country, and never gave up on his dream of improving medicine by pivoting his career into sales. 

In this episode, we talk about a number of topics: 

Pushing past negative advice and feedback.

Why one bad grade (and sometimes more) won't ruin you!

Packing a bag with two weeks of clothes to interview at a school in a foreign country to find out you’re staying for four years.

When you want something bad enough, sometimes you act on the only option. This requires making tough decisions and being persistent.

How to address the high emotions of being far from home.

Why studying abroad is important.  

One thing Chris wish he did differently in college.

How Christopher networked in an ER (fast-paced, without LinkedIn).

How to learn how to sell.

How to know if you’re pushing yourself enough.

Don’t box yourself into a career - just because you are an MD doesn’t necessarily mean you have to practice medicine. 

And MUCH more. Enjoy!  

 

Networking with your professors, overcoming rejection and being clear about what you want with Gina Frontino, a 2016 Nutrition and Food Science graduate of the University of Vermont. 

Gina is a Food Safety and Quality Manager for Fresh Local Produce of Ohio. 

Her story is one of tenacity and she brings a really interesting perspective to her career journey. We talk about a lot of very tangible strategies including: 

How to talk about your extracurricular activities in an interview

How the extensions office at UVM (not a lot of people know about) helped Gina land an internship by connecting her with people in her field 

Networking with your professors during AND after school 

Overcoming interview rejection and how it led to another opportunity for Gina

Being clear about what you want and sharing your goals whenever possible - this led to Gina's financial advisor connecting her with her current job 

A day in the life of a Food Safety and Quality manager

and much more!