We all know networking is a big part of making a career change. But does it feel like work to you? My guest today can help make it easier.

Karen Wickre is the author of Taking the Work Out of Networking. Karen has spent 30 years in tech as a writer, editor, and communications professional, and has been called “the best-connected Silicon Valley figure you’ve never heard of" because of her superpower—connecting people. 

If you’re making a career change and dread the idea of networking, especially if you're an introvert, Karen offers a fresh perspective. In this episode, she shares practical strategies and mindset shifts to help you connect with others more naturally at in-person events, on LinkedIn, and within your current company. 

Episode Highlights:

• Why networking feels like work for many of us, especially introverts

• Organic ways to network at in-person events, like conferences

• Knowing what works for you and what doesn't

• Low-key ways to follow up with people you've met 

• Accessing your "brain trust" to change careers

• Small peer groups for career changers

• Reaching out to new people on LinkedIn so it's non-transactional

• The perfect amount of time to chat with someone new

• Embracing your quiet side and strengths

• Changing your mindset about networking to make it easier

• How to network within your company for new career paths

Find Karen Wickre at:

Website: https://karenwickre.com/

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

Book: Taking the Work Out of Networking: Your Guide to Making and Keeping Great Connections

Resources Mentioned: 

Never Search Alone: https://www.neversearchalone.org/

Want more advice? Check out these additional episodes: 

Ep 50: An inside track to a career change

Ep 24: Using your quiet strengths as an introvert to change careers

Music credit: TimMoor from Pixabay

Podcast info:
What's your career switch? What do you think about this episode and the show? Tell us at careerswitchpod.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Zayda Rivera is a Reiki Master who made her career change her own—by bringing together her Puerto Rican heritage and her teachings. 

In this episode celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, Zayda shares the calling she felt to take her career in a new direction after years of covering entertainment, politics, and breaking news as a professional writer. She opens up about the self-doubt she had about launching her spiritual business Mindful Living with Z and how she grew her clientele by infusing Puerto Rican indigenous traditions into her Reiki practice. 

If you're second-guessing yourself about your career switch, Zayda's story can inspire you to take those first steps and believe in yourself along the way.

Episode Highlights:

• Answering a call to study Reiki

• Becoming a Reiki Master

• Finding initial clients 

• Expanding into other spiritual content

• Growing up with a mix of religious and spiritual rituals

• The link between Reiki and Puerto Rican ancestral practices

• Fear and self-doubt about starting a spiritual business

• When your partner doesn't support your career change

• How to believe in yourself 

• Growing a business without advertising

• Networking in the Reiki world

• Taking small steps that lead to big change when making a career change

Find Zayda Rivera at:

Website: https://www.mindfullivingwithz.com

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

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mindfullivingwithz

Book: Being Bruja: A Young Mystic’s Guide

Reiki Master 8-week Certification Course: https://www.mindfullivingwithz.com/fall-classes

Zayda’s Spiritual Content:

PS Juntos: https://www.popsugar.com/author/mindfulz 

Parents Magazine: https://www.parents.com/zayda-rivera-8419597

Resources: 

Learn more about Reiki: https://www.reiki.org/

The Reiki Association: https://www.reikiassociation.net/

International Association of Reiki Professionals: https://iarp.org/

More episodes for Hispanic Heritage Month:

Ep 41: Pursuing your passion at any age

Ep 33: Leaving corporate to lead a non-profit

Ep 14: How a passion project led to a career change

More episodes for starting a business:

Ep 37: Starting a business after corporate burnout

Ep 29: The ups and downs of building a business

Ep 6: Starting a woman-owned small business

Music credit: TimMoor from Pixabay

Podcast info:
What's your career switch? What do you think about this episode and the show? Tell us at careerswitchpod.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

When friends began offering to pay him for his photos, Anthony Randazzo started thinking his hobby could become more than just a creative outlet. 

In 2012, Anthony made the bold decision to leave behind his Wall Street law career after he realized it wasn't for him. Eventually, he made the switch from corporate attorney to professional photographer. 

In this throwback episode, Anthony shares how he turned a hobby into a career, the doubts and resistance he faced along the way, and the practical lessons he learned about running his business, 1028 Photography.

If you’ve ever wondered whether your hobby could become your next career, this conversation will give you the inspiration—and the real-world advice—you need.

Episode Highlights:

• Growing up with limited career options
• Discovering your profession isn't a good fit
• Deciding to leave a "dream job"
• Facing initial shock from family and friends 
• Transitioning out of law
• How to get good at photography 
• Researching what it means to be a professional photographer
• Handling doubts about starting a business 
• Getting your first paid gig
• Growing through word of mouth
• Setting up a business
• Learning how to market your business
• Making it through the pandemic
• Learning how to deal with clients (customer service)
• Anthony's advice if you're thinking about breaking out on your own

Find Anthony Randazzo at:

Website: www.1028photo.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/1028photo

Facebook: www.facebook.com/1028photo

Resources Mentioned:

Professional Photographers of America: www.ppa.com

Other photography associations:
https://csus.libguides.com/photography/associations

Want more advice? Check out these additional episodes:

Ep 37: Starting a business after corporate burnout

Ep 29: The ups and downs of building a business

Ep 6: Starting a woman-owned small business

Music credit: TimMoor from Pixabay

Podcast info:
What's your career switch? What do you think about this episode and the show? Tell us at careerswitchpod.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

When her longtime boss passed away in 2022, Lisa Pollione found herself at a crossroads with her career—in her 60s. 

In this episode, Lisa shares how she reinvented her professional life after two decades as a trusted chief of staff and executive assistant to a pharmaceutical advertising executive.

Lisa recalls the actions she took: signing up with temp agencies, exploring new paths, and staying open to opportunities. After trying out a few different roles as a temp, she’s now thriving in a new career as a compliance officer.

If you're wondering, "what's next for me?", maybe temping is the way to go. Lisa offers honesty, humor, and practical advice for all career changers, especially those over 60.

Episode Highlights:

• Having a stressful job as the right hand to a busy executive

• Facing a crossroads after losing a longtime employer

• Why temp agencies can help you explore different paths

• Learning new skills while working as a temp

• Taking on responsibilities beyond the job description 

• Why being proactive and flexible wins out over credentials  

• What to look for in company culture before committing full-time

• What to tell temp agencies when you’re not sure what you want

Resources:

Top 10 U.S. Temp Staffing Firms:

Manpower: https://www.manpower.com/

Kelly: https://www.kellyservices.com/

Robert Half: https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en

Adecco: https://www.adecco.com/en-us

Randstad: https://www.randstadusa.com/

Express Employment Professionals: https://www.expresspros.com/

Aerotek: https://www.aerotek.com/en

PeopleReady: https://www.peopleready.com/

MRINetwork: https://mrinetwork.com/

Staffmark: https://staffmark.com/

More temp agencies:

2025 America's Best Temp Staffing Firms by Forbes Magazine

Want more advice? Check out these additional episodes: 

Ep 4: Aged out: Making a career switch at over 50

Ep 16: Breaking into a new industry in your 50s

Ep 18: The pros and cons of being a full-time author

Ep 21: From side hustle to a new career

Ep 23: How being bilingual helps your new career

Ep 32: How to make a career change after 50

Ep 41: Pursuing your passion at any age

Ep 48: Tuning into your younger self

Music credit: TimMoor from Pixabay

Podcast info:
What's your career switch? What do you think about this episode and the show? Tell us at careerswitchpod.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Do you want to make a career change, but you feel stuck? Do you keep procrastinating, thinking you’ll get started next week, month, or year? 

Here to get you going is executive coach and leadership consultant Ellen Whitlock Baker. As the founder and CEO of EWB Coaching, Ellen helps midlife professionals reclaim who they are and what they want to do next in their careers.

In this episode, Ellen shares why it’s so hard to get started even when you know it’s time for a change. She reveals how you can identify those conscious and unconscious blockers that are keeping you from switching to a new career and the tiny, low-risk steps you can take to start anyway—even if you’re scared, unsure, or don’t have a plan yet.

Episode Highlights:

• Why it's hard to get started with a career change

• Your biological wiring that resists change

• Perfectionism and other common blockers that keep you stuck

• How your upbringing and past work experiences influence your thinking

• Taking action even when you don't feel ready

• Small "experiments" to investigate new career paths

• Reframing failure as learning

• Using AI to generate insights for possible next steps

Find Ellen Whitlock Baker at:

Website: https://ewbcoaching.com/

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

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

Podcast: The Hard at Work Podcast

Start Anyway Workshop on 9/18/25: https://ewbcoaching.com/startanyway

Discount code for 15% off: SWITCH25

Resources Mentioned: 

Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey

Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career by Herminia Ibarra

Want more advice? Check out these additional episodes:

Ep 34: 3 signs it’s time for a career change

Ep 19: Here’s why you’re procrastinating about your career change

Ep 7: Lost with what career change to make?

Music credit: TimMoor from Pixabay

Podcast info:
What's your career switch? What do you think about this episode and the show? Tell us at careerswitchpod.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Jim Fina made his career switch in the late 90s when new media was becoming more mainstream and integrating itself into our daily lives. Jim, a textbook editor at Scholastic, gradually transitioned into project management at a time when it was relatively new in tech. 

Jim's experience from 20-plus years ago mirrors where we are today with artificial intelligence. Just like the web in the 90s, AI is quickly going mainstream and reshaping how we live and work. 

In this episode, Jim shares how he paved his way in a new field and how you can do the same in AI or any other growing industry. 

Episode Highlights:

• Exploring new media after a layoff

• Telling colleagues you're interested in other areas

• Defining a role when it's still new in an industry

• How to switch into a field that's still being defined, like AI

• The skills you need to get your foot in the door

• Working through comparing yourself to others 

• Do certifications help?

• The one thing every interview question boils down to

• What a hiring manager really wants to hear from you in an interview

• How to answer a question if you don't know that answer

• Using a layoff to get out of a rut

• Making a career switch in multiple steps

Resources Mentioned: 
What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard N. Bolles

Want more advice? Check out these additional episodes:

Ep 38: How to transition from corporate to non-profit

Ep 16: Breaking into a new industry in your 50s

Music credit: TimMoor from Pixabay

Podcast info:
What's your career switch? What do you think about this episode and the show? Tell us at careerswitchpod.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

If you need a pep talk today, this episode is for you! Wherever you are in your career change journey, my guest has you covered with practical tools and soulful guidance.

Robyn Moreno is a spiritual coach and author of Get Rooted. In this episode, Robyn shares how you can manage those fears and doubts that often come up with making a career switch—by tapping into your intuition and staying in the present. 

Robyn also reveals the four pillars you can always count on to stay grounded and motivated to keep going with your career change.


Episode Highlights:
• What it means to get rooted
• Feeling unrooted where you are
• Acknowledging your inner voice (or “ser”) that guides you toward change
• Accepting the newness of switching industries or professions
• Networking in a whole new way 
• How to reframe your past experience as fuel for your next chapter
• Four pillars to handle the ups and downs of a career change
• The concept of "susto" and how unprocessed work trauma can hold you back
• Trusting and valuing yourself as you transition into a new field   

Find Robyn Moreno at:

Website: https://www.robynmoreno.com/

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

Book: Get Rooted

Need more encouragement? Check out these additional episodes:

Ep 52: Figuring it out as you go

Ep 43: Trying to change careers now

Music credit: TimMoor from Pixabay

Podcast info:
What's your career switch? What do you think about this episode and the show? Tell us at careerswitchpod.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Any career change has its risks. That’s why a major goal of this podcast is to encourage you to TAKE ACTION. Nayan Patel exemplifies this mission perfectly. 

Recently, Nayan went from working as a banking executive to managing a horse farm. As the new owner of Horse Shadow Run, he now oversees a 16-acre horse farm that offers boarding, riding lessons, and summer camps in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In this episode, Nayan walks us through how he is figuring out his career transition into entrepreneurship. Nayan’s attitude that he can learn anything required to operate his business—by asking or finding the help he needs—has him optimistic that his career switch will work out. 

Nayan shares how he’s navigating year one of his new venture, the calculated risks he’s taking, and his plan if things don't pan out. 

Episode Highlights:

• Feeling overworked and wanting to slow down
• Deciding to buy a business 
• Responsibilities of running a horse farm
• How to learn on the job
• When to outsource
• Why Nayan isn’t afraid to ask for help 
• Tackling the worst case scenario
• Taking calculated risks 
• Giving yourself a time frame to figure things out
• Managing people, a transferable skill that supports entrepreneurship 
• Working alongside your spouse
• Horse Shadow Run boarding, riding lessons, and summer camps info
• Working on expanding the business
• Nayan's advice for taking risks

Find Horse Shadow Run at:

Website: https://horseshadowrun.com/

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/horseshadow.run/

Mentioned in this episode:
Charlotte is a growing city:
Number of People Moving to Charlotte Area Every Day Climbs to 117 by Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, August 2024

Other episodes about starting a business

Ep 37: Starting a retail business after corporate burnout

Ep 29: The ups and downs of building a business

Ep 25: Is your hobby your next career?

Ep 6: Starting a woman-owned small business

Music credit: TimMoor from Pixabay

Podcast info:
What's your career switch? What do you think about this episode and the show? Tell us at careerswitchpod.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Let's face it, career changers aren't typical job candidates. You've got the extra hurdle of having to convince a hiring manager that you can do the job you're applying for in a new field.

To better understand what a hiring manager is thinking—and feeling—I’m speaking with Dawn Graham, PhD, a licensed psychologist and author of Switchers: How Smart Professionals Change Careers and Seize Success.

Dawn is a leading career switch coach, TEDx speaker, LinkedIn Learning instructor and the former host of the popular show, Dr. Dawn on Careers, on SiriusXM Radio.

In this episode, Dawn takes us on a psychological deep dive into what’s really going on when a hiring manager evaluates a career changer. She reveals which pain points you need to address, the mistakes you could be making without even realizing it, and how to reframe your approach to win over the person who'll likely be your boss.  

Episode Highlights:
• The psychology aspect of a job search
• Loss aversion and red flags
• Incorporating emotion in hiring
• Elimination vs Selection
• How to counter bias with networking
• Closing the gap as a career changer
• Pros and cons of cover letters
• Identifying a hiring manager's pain points
• How a hiring manager is likely feeling
• Addressing concerns a hiring manager has about career changers 
• How to show that you are serious about your career switch
• Deciding if you need to go back to school
• Mistakes you could be making when applying for a job in a new field
• Match first, stand out second
• The benefits of a stepping stone switch

Find Dawn Graham, PhD, at:

Website: https://execpsyc.com/

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

Book: Switchers: How Smart Professionals Change Careers and Seize Success

LinkedIn Learning Courses: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/instructors/dawn-graham

TEDx Talk: Your Next Job is One Conversation Away

SiriusXM Radio show: Dr. Dawn on Careers

Music credit: TimMoor from Pixabay

Podcast info:
What's your career switch? What do you think about this episode and the show? Tell us at careerswitchpod.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Sometimes you don’t have to go far to make a career switch. My guest today is a great example of how to change careers without changing companies. 

Mia Villarreal went from social media strategist to product marketing manager—within the same organization—in only a couple of years. 

In this episode, Mia shares how she first got into VMware, a global software developer, in 2020 as a contractor—a move that gave her access to the company culture and cross-functional teams before she was even a permanent employee. 

Mia walks us through the inside track she took to change careers within VMware—from leveraging in-house platforms to tapping into her internal network. 

She also recalls how her mentors and trusted colleagues helped her navigate her impostor syndrome about transitioning to product marketing when she had no direct experience. 

Episode Highlights:

• Getting your foot in the door as a contractor

• Is your company culture conducive to a career change?  

• Accessing in-house resources

• Getting help with impostor syndrome 

• How to ask your manager for support with switching roles

• What to keep an eye out for possible openings within a company

• Setting up coffee chats – how to approach people and what to cover

• What to do in the first 30, 60, and 90 days in a new role

• Leaning into your strengths when making a career switch

Resources Mentioned: 

Product Marketing Alliance: https://www.productmarketingalliance.com/

CliftonStrengths Assessment: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/252137/home.aspx

Career coach Alicia Wolfe: https://www.integratewell.co/

Additional Episodes:

Need more help with impostor syndrome? Check out these episodes:

Ep 49: Need some A.I.R. with your career change?

Ep 11: Impostor syndrome and other roadblocks to a career change

Music credit: TimMoor from Pixabay

Podcast info:
What's your career switch? What do you think about this episode and the show? Tell us at careerswitchpod.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.