Career Can Do

In this episode of Career Can Do, Mary Ann Faremouth chats with Christopher Saye. Chris is Managing Director of MarcWhittaker, a CPA firm dedicated to providing highly personalized, strategic guidance and support to entrepreneurs in their business, personal and family lives. Chris shares insights for living your best life he has gleaned from his recent journey. 

Chris spent the last year visiting the blue zones - geographic regions that are home to some of the world’s oldest people. He picked up three life lessons common in each area that contributed to the longevity of its inhabitants: God, beans, and finding your ‘why’. 

Religion, spirituality, and community were part of their cultural identity - it seemed less about specific beliefs and more about the religious institutions providing a regular place for gathering and building relationships. In addition, each culture had plant-based diets, of which beans were an integral part. Finally, they lived life very purposefully. In Costa Rica, there’s a phrase called plan de vida, which translates to ‘plan of the day.’ Everyone wakes up in the morning with an idea of their purpose for the day.

Resources

Chris Saye on LinkedIn

MarcWhittaker

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In this episode of Career Can Do, Mary Ann Faremouth chats with Jubee Vilceus. Jubee is Managing Partner at Yellowtail.tech, an organization that helps interested career seekers without an IT background get jobs in the industry. Jubee shares how Yellowtail.tech prepares its students with training and real-world experience.  

In recent times, many companies have been reorganizing, cutting back, and even closing down, which have left many people without jobs. People are now trying to decide how they’re going to transfer their skills or get into something else entirely. The demand for skills in the IT industry is very real and very high in this digital age, and Yellowtail.tech is helping close the gap by training interested persons with no IT background or education to speak of. 

Certification at Yellowtail.tech can take 6 to 9 months depending on which program you choose. However, Jubee advises, it’s a year long commitment. Not only do you need certification and skills, but you also need hands-on experience to apply the knowledge you’ve gained. For this reason, Yellowtail.tech also supplies its students with access to internships.

Resources

Jubee on the web | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

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In this episode of Career Can Do, Mary Ann Faremouth chats with Liz Kislik, management consultant, executive coach, and President of Liz Kislik Associates. A frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review, TEDx and Forbes, Liz has helped family-run businesses, national nonprofits, and Fortune 500 companies solve their most challenging problems for 30 years. Liz discusses growth, resilience, and how changing your mindset affects the workplace.

You can learn a lot by observing what’s happening around you, says Liz, even if you are not taking action. It’s important that you understand your surrounding landscape before you try to change it. The way people behave has a lot to do with their environment, so to make a significant, lasting impact, you need to identify situational factors in addition to individual behaviors. 

Resilience is a necessary variable for growth. Rather than products of our circumstances, we are products of our decisions - things can happen to us, but what matters is what we do about it. There are two types of resilience: one is when we decide to take action over external things we can still control, and the other is when we accept the things not within our control and keep moving forward anyway.

Resources

Liz Kislik on the web | LinkedIn | Twitter

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In this episode of Career Can Do, Mary Ann Faremouth chats with Michael Wenderoth, an executive coach who has helped thousands of aspiring leaders to leverage their power and ascend. He is a coach at Stanford Exec Ed, associate professor at IE Business School, and a sought after keynote speaker. Michael has worked with Harvard Business Review and Forbes. He talks about bringing value to your organization, and how to get promoted. 

Michael’s book, Get Promoted: What You're Really Missing at Work That's Holding You Back, shows readers how to build their power. There are things you can do to move the needle - whether that’s within your company or as you’re transitioning into new spaces. The new work world has shifted a lot, but some of the principles remain the same. You have to be in tune with how you can help others be in tune with the leaders’ agendas. 

We essentially have two goals in life, Mary Ann adds, and they are to be loved and to have purpose. At the end of the day, it’s about work-life balance. If you’re in the right job, you’re going to go home and be a better parent; if you’re a good parent and have a good home life, you're going back to work to be a good worker.

Resources

Michael on the web | LinkedIn | Twitter

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In this episode of Career Can Do, Mary Ann Faremouth chats with Dr. Khawar Aizaz, Campus Director of the College of Health Care Professionals (CHCP). The CHCP has been doing some great things to facilitate the demand for health care professionals since the pandemic. Dr. Aizaz talks about the different curriculums the CHCP offers, and their duration.

Even before the pandemic, the Bureau of Labor Statistics was projecting a 16-20% increase in the demands for allied health professionals. “Our mission is to prepare future professionals in the healthcare industry,” Dr. Aizaz shares. One of the short programs offered by the CHCP is a medical assistant program - the day program is 32 weeks, and the evening program is 48 weeks. Their nursing program is a short four-week program that prepares students for working in nursing homes, taking care of patients, and is a stepping stone to becoming a vocational nurse in the future.

Dr. Aizaz has successfully transitioned his career from cardiothoracic surgeon to educator. After working for over 20 years, he decided to retire early and make an impact via education. Due to his background, he has been able to relate to his students’ goals and share his experiences with them.

Resources

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Texas Health School

In this episode of Career Can Do, Mary Ann Faremouth chats with Freya Krishnan, who is Leadership Development Manager at Women of the World Network. Freya is a visibility and confidence coach, speaker, and best-selling international author with a background in software development and a broad understanding of computer environments. As the founder of Chasing Happy Mondays, she is passionate about living a balanced life, empowering women, and advocating for small businesses. Freya talks about her personal and professional journey and shares insights about how she helps women entrepreneurs.

As a business coach, Freya focuses on giving women the confidence and the tools to become more visible in their business. Both success and failure build confidence, she claims - not the failure itself, but how we overcome it and develop the skills to help us be better in future attempts. “It’s about progress and not perfection,” she says. She talks about her experience as President of the Society of Women Engineers, and how she coaches women to overcome their fears.

There are so many entrepreneurs who have the most amazing ideas, the best services, and the greatest products, but there’s something stopping them, Freya says. They either don’t have the confidence or don’t know the right strategies to get themselves seen. Freya helps them identify which visibility channels work best for them.

Resources

Freya Krishnan on the web | LinkedIn | Facebook

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In this episode of Career Can Do, Mary Ann Faremouth chats with Jill Peplinski, who is Adjunct Professor of Business Communications, and Success Center Specialist at Walsh College. Walsh College is a private and prestigious institution recognized for one of the top 15 MBA programs. Jill talks about Walsh’s unique educational approach to the professional development of their students.

At Walsh, it’s all about networking. Many of their adjunct professors work in the fields they teach, so students are easily able to make connections through them. Walsh’s phenomenal career services department hosts internships and career fairs for their students, as well as a mentor program that matches any interested student with a mentor that helps them develop professionally. Allowing their students to work with polished professionals helps them build the confidence they need to help them in various ways along their career journey. 

When she first started at Walsh, Jill had intended to only stay for about five years and then move on. Twenty years later, she’s still there helping students grow day by day. “I like teaching best,” she shares, “building up our students is tremendously rewarding… I love being able to bring prior experiences that I’ve had to [my] students.”

Resources

Jill Peplinski | LinkedIn

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In this episode of Career Can Do, Mary Ann Faremouth chats with Elizabeth Ruiz, a prolific leadership and communication consultant with four decades of experience in coaching, training and development. Elizabeth is a board member of several organizations, including the Columbia University Alumni Association. She is also an author and speaker at EAR Enterprises, and a member of the leadership team at District56 Toastmasters - which catapulted her into the lifelong journey of mastering the art of listening. Elizabeth discusses how Toastmasters has impacted her life, and how it continues to impact the lives of others in positive and powerful ways.

Toastmasters’ conferences are wonderful opportunities to build connections while learning and having fun, even presenting attendees with the chance to win prizes. They not only help you hone and polish your public speaking skills, but also enhance your listening skills, and your ability to conduct meetings and present yourself both virtually and in-person. The networking is the icing on the cake - whoever you meet there will undoubtedly enrich your personal and professional lives. The conferences also provide a neutral ground for employers and job-seekers to mingle with each other.

The organization’s Pathways program is a gold mine for personal and professional development, equipped with up to 11 interesting paths - from coaching, to leadership, to digital public speaking - with five levels in each. You can spend anywhere from 6 months to 2 years on completing a Pathway, and you go at your own pace. 

Resources

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ToastmastersHouston.com

In this episode of Career Can Do, Mary Ann Faremouth chats with William Bernhardt, a best-selling author of over fifty books which have sold millions of copies worldwide. He is the founder of the Red Sneakers Writers Center, an organization dedicated to mentoring aspiring writers and providing them with resources to help build their careers. He discusses a myriad of topics, including striking a work-life balance, determination, and writing. 

William knew from a young age that he wanted to be a writer. Despite the obstacles in his way, he persevered, and eventually his determination paid off. He ended up going to law school, which was originally just a way to pay the bills, but his industry knowledge enhanced his courtroom thrillers. After writing over 20 books, William decided to use his platform to make the path to success a little easier for the next generation of writers. He founded the Red Sneakers Writers Center for that purpose, which bloomed so much that he now hosts a writer’s conference annually. 

Writing is a critical skill now more than ever, Mary Ann comments, especially when it comes to sending out resumes. Things like proper spelling, sentence structure and formatting are incredibly important for communicating your skills and raising your prospects of being hired and staying hired. Many firms are realizing that the best and brightest college graduates they employ can’t write because they weren’t taught to, William shares.

Resources

William Bernhardt | Website | LinkedIn

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In this episode of Career Can Do, Mary Ann Faremouth chats with Breeda Miller. Breeda is an author, trainer, and playwright, and CEO of Breeda Miller Speaking, where she uses the power of story to reach, teach, and provide a memorable framework for lasting change. She has used her professional experience serving clients in many industries, including healthcare, academic institutions, and nonprofit communities. She shares how we can take life’s numerous changes and transform them into meaningful experiences that help others.

Breeda came to understand the value of self-care when she cared for her mother for nearly six years. Through that experience, she learned profound life lessons that she was able to translate into impactful and humorous stories. She dedicated herself to becoming a professional storyteller, but just when she was in the thick of it, the pandemic hit. Despite the setback of no speaking events and things not being quite the same in Zoom, Breeda rose to the challenge and wrote a one-woman show under the advice of a storytelling coach.

“We can find ways to connect our humanity; to share these experiences and then turn them into really powerful opportunities,” Breeda remarks. “We've felt so isolated for so long and [Mrs. Kelly’s Journey Home] is a way to feel connection.” She talks about her method for maintaining focus. “I thought to myself: if I knew I couldn’t fail, what would I do?”

Resources

Breeda Miller | Facebook | YouTube | LinkedIn 

Breeda Miller Speaking

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