Career Cravings

This week's episode is unlike any other.

With just one week until the launch of The Career You Crave, Irina shares a deeply personal reading from the introduction of her upcoming book—the story that changed everything.

She opens up about the life-altering cancer diagnosis that forced her to stop ignoring the questions she'd been avoiding for years. After finally landing what she thought was her dream role, she found herself asking a question so many ambitious professionals quietly wrestle with:

Is this really it?

In this vulnerable episode, Irina explores the pursuit of fulfillment, why success on paper doesn't always feel fulfilling in reality, and the powerful reflection questions that ultimately led her to leave corporate HR and build Career Cravings.

If you've ever felt like there's more waiting for you—even if you can't quite explain it yet—this episode is your invitation to stop pushing those thoughts aside and start listening to them.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why your dream job can still leave you feeling unfulfilled
• The one question that completely changed Irina's career and life
• How "golden handcuffs" keep high achievers stuck longer than they should be
• Why you don't need a crisis to start creating a career you actually love
• The first step to building a career that's aligned—not just impressive

Mentioned and helpful links

Get my book for free by joining my VIP launch team: https://www.irinaposan.com/VIP
Book tour tickets: https://www.irinaposan.com/tour
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/careercoachirina/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/irinaposan/
Website: http://www.irinaposan.com/

The job market may have changed, but one thing hasn't: the best opportunities don't go to the most desperate candidates. They go to the professionals who know how to position themselves as the solution.

In this episode, Irina sits down with career strategist Anna Belyaeva to unpack what it really takes to stand out in today's AI-driven hiring landscape. Together, they explore how mindset influences every stage of the job search, why rejection feels so personal, and how shifting from "pick me" energy to strategic confidence can completely change your results.

Anna shares practical strategies for navigating today's competitive market, building meaningful relationships, communicating your value, and approaching your career like the high-impact business decision it truly is.

If you're feeling discouraged by the job market or preparing for your next career move, this episode will help you regain confidence, refine your strategy, and take back control of your career.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why great candidates still get overlooked
• How to ditch "pick me" energy for good
• Why rejection isn't as personal as it feels
• The job search strategy most people miss
• How to position yourself as the obvious choice

About Anna Belyaeva

Anna Belyaeva is a career strategist and founder of The Career Diet. She works with high-achieving mid-to-senior professionals who are successful on paper but struggling to make their next move in today's AI-driven market.

She helps professionals land $150K–$300K+ roles by shifting how they approach their careers through strategic relationships, clear positioning, and communicating their value effectively.

Anna has experienced every side of the hiring process—from navigating competitive job searches herself while pivoting industries and building a career in a new market, to leading recruitment for top employers in Canada.

Today, she teaches these strategies to thousands of professionals through her 300K+ online community, LinkedIn Learning courses with more than 70,000 learners, The Career Diet Podcast, and features including LinkedIn's official Get Hired Podcast.

Get my book for free by joining my VIP launch team: https://www.irinaposan.com/VIP
Book tour tickets: https://www.irinaposan.com/tour
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/careercoachirina/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/irinaposan/
Website: http://www.irinaposan.com

Mentioned and helpful links

Anna Belyaeva's website: https://thecareerdiet.com

The Career Diet Podcast: https://thecareerdiet.com/podcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecareerdiet/

The biggest dreams are rarely the ones you announce confidently.

They are the ones you write privately in your journal, think about for years, and immediately talk yourself out of because they feel too ambitious, too unrealistic, or too far away from where you are today.

In this episode, Irina is sharing the messy middle of pursuing three dreams that scare her enough to say out loud: becoming a bestselling author, creating an unforgettable five-city book tour, and becoming the kind of speaker who can carry the message of The Career You Crave onto bigger stages.

This is not the polished story told after everything works out. It is the behind-the-scenes reality of investing before you feel ready, learning skills you have never needed before, managing imposter syndrome, and taking tangible action toward goals you cannot fully control.

Inside this episode:

• Why your biggest dreams should scare you
•  The hidden cost of waiting until you're "ready" 
•  What becoming a bestselling author has really required 
•  How to stop letting imposter syndrome make your decisions 
•  The question that can completely change what's possible for your future

You do not need to know exactly how your biggest dream will happen. But you do need to stop treating it like a private fantasy and start taking the first action that makes it real.

Mentioned and helpful links

Get my book for free by joining my VIP launch team: https://www.irinaposan.com/VIP
Book tour tickets: https://www.irinaposan.com/tour
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/careercoachirina/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/irinaposan/
Website: http://www.irinaposan.com/

You've probably heard the advice to become your "best self." But what if that's the very thing keeping you stuck?

In this episode, Irina sits down with Carly Ottaway, founder and CEO of Web of Words, bestselling author of Coming Home, and host of The Favourite Self Podcast. Through her work helping founders build authentic brands and her own journey of rebuilding after life's hardest moments, Carly has discovered that the most powerful version of yourself isn't some future destination. It's the version of you that already feels the most alive.

Together, they explore what it means to stop performing, start trusting yourself, and build a career and life that's rooted in authenticity instead of perfection.

Inside this episode:

• The difference between your best self and your favorite self, and why it changes everything
• How showing up authentically creates confidence in interviews, networking, and career conversations
• Why over-preparing and scripting can actually hold you back from making genuine connections
• How to trust the unknown when your career path isn't unfolding the way you expected

If you've been waiting until you feel more confident, more qualified, or more ready before going after what you want, this episode is your reminder that the version of you you're looking for may already be here.

Mentioned and helpful links

Buy my book here: https://www.irinaposan.com/book 

Free Book tour tickets: https://www.irinaposan.com/tour
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/careercoachirina/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/irinaposan/
Website: http://www.irinaposan.com

Carly Ottaway's website: https://www.carlyottaway.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itscarlyottaway/

You landed the role you wanted. The title looked right on LinkedIn. The pay was better. The path made sense.

So why does it feel like something is missing?

That feeling, the quiet I thought this would feel better than it does isn't a sign you made the wrong move. It's a sign you evolved and your career didn't evolve with you. And it's the single most common pattern I see in clients who have done everything "right" and still feel stuck.

In this episode, I'm breaking down the two factors most professionals miss when planning their next career move. The two filters that determine whether the next role will actually feel meaningful, or whether you'll be back here in six months wondering what's wrong.

I'm also sharing the story of the promotion I almost talked myself out of. I was a month pregnant, terrified, and convinced I couldn't handle it. What happened next reshaped how I think about career alignment and what it actually takes for work to feel fulfilling.

Inside this episode:
 ✔️ The two factors most people skip when choosing their next role
 ✔️ Why career fulfillment isn't a job problem, it's an alignment problem
 ✔️ The story of the promotion I tried to give back to someone else
 ✔️ How your season of life changes what you actually need from work
 ✔️ Why your values at 25 won't fit your career at 35
 ✔️ How to use season and values as decision filters for every career move
 ✔️ Journal prompts to map who you've become and what you want next

If you've been quietly wondering whether the next promotion is really going to fix what's missing, this episode is for you.

Mentioned and helpful links

JOIN THE OFFER ROOM, BONUS ENROLLMENT:  https://www.irinaposan.com/room

Get my book for free by joining my VIP launch team: https://www.irinaposan.com/VIP

Book tour tickets:  https://www.irinaposan.com/tour 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/careercoachirina/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/irinaposan/

Website: http://www.irinaposan.com/

This is a different kind of episode.

I turned the mic on the moment it happened. I'd just gotten off a call with my coach, I'd been crying for 15 minutes straight, and I had this knowing in my body that everything in my life was about to change. Not a hope. Not a wish. A certainty.

So I documented it.

In this episode, I'm sharing the practice I've used during every quantum leap in my life. The one that helped me move from poverty in a war torn country to the life I'm living now. The one I used when I was diagnosed with cancer and knew I'd be in perfect health again. The one I used to manifest a million dollars in our bank account, to attract my dream director role without applying, and now, to know with absolute conviction that I'm becoming a best selling author in the next 90 days.

This is the practice my own coach took me through this week. It's the same one I write about in The Career You Crave. And it's the reason I no longer wait for evidence before I believe.

Inside this episode:
 ✔️ The moment I felt my next quantum leap arrive and what it looks like in my body
 ✔️ Why certainty has to come before the evidence, not after
 ✔️ The 100 Reasons exercise that builds unshakable belief in your biggest dream
 ✔️ How I've used this practice through cancer, career changes, and business launches
 ✔️ Why most people wait for permission they're never going to get
 ✔️ How to live as if your biggest dream has already happened

If you have a dream that feels too big for the path you can currently see, this episode is for you.

Mentioned and helpful links

Join my Free Masterclass: https://www.irinaposan.com/livetraining 

Get my book for free by joining my VIP launch team: https://www.irinaposan.com/VIP

Book tour tickets:  https://www.irinaposan.com/tour 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/careercoachirina/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/irinaposan/

Website: http://www.irinaposan.com/

"Just be yourself in the interview."

It's the most repeated career advice on the internet, and it's quietly costing people job offers every single day.

Because here's the truth: the interview process isn't designed to reward the most honest candidate. It's designed to find the person who can communicate their value most clearly in a very small window of time. And there are six specific questions where being too transparent will move you backwards, not forwards.

In this episode, I'm breaking down the six interview questions where honesty hurts you, and the exact reframes I teach my clients to use instead. This isn't about being fake. It's about understanding what each question is actually trying to assess, and answering in a way that keeps you in the running.

Inside this episode:
 ✔️ Why sharing your current salary can cost you tens of thousands in your next offer
 ✔️ How to talk about a difficult boss without making yourself the red flag
 ✔️ The push vs pull reframe for why you're leaving (and why pull always wins)
 ✔️ How to answer "where do you see yourself in five years" without scaring the hiring manager
 ✔️ What to say when they ask if you're interviewing elsewhere (hint: never say no)
 ✔️ How to position your experience for a more senior role without inflating your title
 ✔️ The difference between authentic interviewing and oversharing

If you've ever walked out of an interview thinking I was too honest in there, this episode is the strategy shift you've been missing.

Mentioned and helpful links

Join my Free Masterclass: https://www.irinaposan.com/livetraining 

Get my book for free by joining my VIP launch team: https://www.irinaposan.com/VIP

Book tour tickets:  https://www.irinaposan.com/tour 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/careercoachirina/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/irinaposan/

Website: http://www.irinaposan.com/

You're landing interviews. You're just not getting invited back.

If that's where you are right now, this episode is the one. Because here's what most job seekers don't realize: if you're getting phone screens but not converting them to the next round at least 80% of the time, the problem isn't your resume, your qualifications, or the market. It's the first 60 seconds of how you answer that very first question.

In this episode, I'm breaking down the exact pitch framework I teach inside my coaching programs, the same one that takes my clients from being ghosted after phone screens to generating real options. You'll learn why "tell me about yourself" is the most important question of the entire interview, why walking someone through your resume is the fastest way to lose them, and how to lead the conversation instead of waiting for a question to react to.

Inside this episode:
 ✔️ Why phone screens are being lost in the first 60 seconds
 ✔️ The 80% conversion benchmark every job seeker should be hitting
 ✔️ How to answer "tell me about yourself" so they invite you back
 ✔️ The three ways the pitch question shows up and how to handle each
 ✔️ The exact framework: opening, journey, future facing close
 ✔️ Why showing up as a leader in the interview beats reacting to questions
 ✔️ How to stand out as the human candidate in an AI heavy market

If you've been ghosted after interviews you thought went well, this episode will change how you walk into the next one.

Mentioned and helpful links

Join my Free Masterclass: https://www.irinaposan.com/livetraining 

Get my book for free by joining my VIP launch team: https://www.irinaposan.com/VIP
Register for my book tour for free:  https://www.irinaposan.com/tour 

 Work with me: https://www.irinaposan.com/work-with-me
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/careercoachirina/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/irinaposan/
Website: http://www.irinaposan.com

You had the vision. You wrote it on the board. And then you hit the part where you couldn't actually see how it was going to happen.

That's exactly where I was at the end of last year. The manuscript was almost finished. The book had a release date. And I knew I wanted a launch that did this book justice, something bigger than anything I'd done before. I just couldn't see the path to get there.

In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on the announcement I've been teasing for a month: The Career You Crave is going on a five city book tour across Canada and the US. New York, DC, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto. Free to attend, thanks to an incredible sponsor I'll tell you all about.

But this episode isn't just the news. It's the full backstory of how a dream that felt out of reach in December became the biggest manifestation of my career so far, and what it taught me about trusting the process when you can't yet see the path.

Inside this episode:
 ✔️ The full announcement and how to attend a tour stop near you
 ✔️ The behind the scenes story of how the tour came together
 ✔️ Why the opportunity felt impossible at first and what shifted
 ✔️ How vision boards actually work when you stop forcing the how
 ✔️ What to do when your dream is bigger than the plan you can see
 ✔️ Why the biggest career opportunities rarely arrive how you expect

Tour details and free registration are linked in the show notes. I would love to celebrate with you in person.

If you've been holding a dream that feels too big for the path you can currently see, let this episode be your reminder that the how is not your job. Showing up is.

Mentioned and helpful links
Get my book for free by joining my VIP launch team: https://www.irinaposan.com/VIP
Register for my book tour for free:  https://www.irinaposan.com/tour
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/careercoachirina/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/irinaposan/
Website: http://www.irinaposan.com

Most interview advice tells you what to do. This episode shows you what it actually looks like when someone does it in real time.

This is a behind-the-scenes look at a live coaching call inside HR Star, Irina's group program for HR professionals. You'll hear real clients working through real challenges, from a director-level candidate building out her cost savings story for a total rewards interview, to a senior HR leader navigating the overqualification question, to someone waiting on a final round offer and wondering when and how to negotiate.

No scripts. No rehearsed examples. Just the raw, practical work of turning your experience into the kind of answers that make hiring managers say yes.

Inside this episode:

• The confidence statement technique that reframes any behavioral question before you answer it
• How to structure a cost savings story so it lands at the executive level
• What to do in the first 30 seconds of receiving a verbal offer and why most people get this wrong
• How to handle the head count question when you're targeting larger organizations
• The right way to talk about your personality in an interview without sounding like you're reciting a job description
• Why your pitch answers more than "tell me about yourself" and how to use it strategically
• What final round interviews are really evaluating and how to shift your energy accordingly

If you're in the job search right now or preparing for what's next, this episode is the closest thing to having a seat inside the room where the real prep happens.

Mentioned and helpful links
Free training for HR professionals: https://www.irinaposan.com/HRMasterclass
Free training for all corporate professionals: https://www.irinaposan.com/get-hired-fast-webinar
Work with me: https://www.irinaposan.com/work-with-me
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/careercoachirina/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/irinaposan/
Website: http://www.irinaposan.com