Career Switch Podcast: Expert advice for your career change

Did you know? 48% of U.S. employers offer undergraduate or graduate tuition assistance as a benefit? This means you can start making your career change NOW while you’re still at your current job! 

When Weavy Garcia’s company offered an MBA program to their employees, he went for it. It was an opportunity to learn about business, get his master’s, and switch from IT into sales, a more lucrative option for him. 

In this throwback episode, Weavy recalls what it was like to go back to school for 18 months while working full-time and how it affected his family life. 

Weavy shares how his MBA and IT experience have secured his future and how networking played a key role in making his career change. 


Episode Highlights:

• Applying for an employer-sponsored degree program
• Earning a degree to diversify
• Going back to school while working full-time
• Staying motivated
• Leaving to grow your career
• How to network socially
• Networking to open doors
• Pros and cons of alternating between two fields 
• Securing your future with a higher degree

Weavy’s podcast: The Uncanny Coconuts

Weavy’s drone business: FlyTechGuy Drone Services

48% of U.S. employers offer tuition assistance:
Press release for 2023 SHRM Employee Benefits Survey

Resources:

10 Best Master’s Degrees for Career Changers: 

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/best-masters-degrees-for-career-change

These Fortune 500 companies will help pay for employee MBAs:

https://fortune.com/education/business/articles/2021/07/15/these-fortune-500-companies-will-help-pay-for-employees-mba/

50 Companies with Amazing Tuition Reimbursement Programs:

https://myscholly.com/50-companies-with-amazing-tuition-reimbursement-programs/

25+ Companies with Tuition Reimbursement Programs:

https://getschooled.com/article/5206-companies-with-great-tuition-reimbursement-programs/

How to Use—and Ask For—Employer Tuition Reimbursement Benefits:

https://extension.harvard.edu/blog/how-to-use-and-ask-for-employer-tuition-reimbursement-benefits/

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 switch will have its ups and downs. I speak with recovery coach Gerardo Matamoros about some potentially harmful behaviors you may start relying on to help you handle whatever is going on right now with your career change.

Gerardo is the owner of consulting firm 7RM7 and a group facilitator for Smart Recovery, a nationwide nonprofit which offers free support groups to individuals who want independence from any type of addictive behavior. 

In this episode of Career Switch Podcast, Gerardo tells us what’s really behind whatever behavior you may be using to cope, whether it’s too much eating, spending, drinking, smoking, sleeping, TV watching, gaming, pill taking—anything that can be harmful when done in excess. 

Gerardo explains how your thoughts affect your actions and offers 3 keys to how you can better cope with making a career change.

Episode Highlights:

• Warning signs that can lead to unhealthy behaviors
• Why people start turning to potentially harmful behaviors to cope
• Stress and control
• Cognitive distortions that affect your actions
• Questioning your thoughts 
• Using cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT
• Stages of change
• Reducing anxiety with acceptance and patience
• Taking action to reduce stress

Find Gerardo Matamoros at:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/gerardo-matamoros

Learn more about Smart Recovery at:
English: www.smartrecovery.org
Spanish: https://smartrecovery.org.es

Resources mentioned: 

How to Make Stress Your Friend, TED Talk by Kelly McGonigal

Ep 5: How to handle uncertainty while making 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.

When making a career change from corporate to non-profit, who wouldn’t want that HR perspective? The chance to find out from a Human Resources manager what they’re looking for when hiring. Thanks to nonprofit consultant and coach Niki Lomibao, that’s exactly what you’ll get in this episode!

Niki has 10 years of HR experience in the non-profit world and she’s hired plenty of career changers. As the principal CEO of Desert Blue Consulting & Coaching, Niki gives us the inside scoop on what it takes to transition to nonprofit.

In this episode of Career Switch Podcast, we cover the common assumptions many of us make when we think about switching to non-profit. Niki also shares what you should do NOW before you start applying for non-profit jobs and she reveals three interview questions you’ll likely be asked by HR managers to see if you’re a good fit for non-profit.  


Episode Highlights:

• Myths about working in non-profit
• The biggest difference between working for corporate vs non-profit
• What you should do NOW before you apply for non-profit jobs
• Soft skills HR managers look for in career changers
• 3 interview questions to see if you’re a good fit for non-profit

Find Niki Lomibao at:

Website: www.desertblueaz.com

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

LinkedIn:

Niki: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niki-l-4b980975/

Desert Blue Consulting and Coaching:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/desert-blue-consulting-coaching/

Resources for nonprofit jobs:

 https://www.idealist.org/en

 https://www.indeed.com

 https://nationalnonprofits.org/nonprofit-jobs/search

 https://careers.councilofnonprofits.org/

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.

Helene Godin was a lawyer for 22 years before she burnt out on the long hours and commute. She quit in 2010 with no plan.

Over the next year, Helene used her skills as a lawyer to study the gluten-free market and develop recipes. In 2011, she opened By the Way Bakery.  Today, Helene has five retail locations and her gluten-free, dairy-free and kosher products are sold at Whole Foods and Stew Leonard’s grocery chains.

In this episode of Career Switch Podcast, Helene shares the ups and downs she went through to open her store and how she continues to grow her multi-million dollar business. She also reveals the everyday challenges she still faces as the founder and CEO of By the Way Bakery. 

Helene offers her best advice for making a career change, especially if you, too, are thinking about starting a retail business. 


Episode Highlights:

• Quitting due to burnout
• Studying the gluten-free market
• Using lawyer skills to start and run a business
• Designing a store
• Selecting a logo
• Challenges of running a retail business
• How to grow a business
• How to attract customers

Find By the Way Bakery at:
Website: www.btwbakery.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/bythewaybakery
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ByTheWayBakeryHastings


Other episodes about starting a business:

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.

You need confidence to make a career change. Public speaking and confidence coach Sammie Walker Herrera  shares how you can be more confident with job interviewing, networking and negotiating.

In this episode of Career Switch Podcast,  we cover how to look and sound confident when answering some common interview questions in-person or virtually, how to ask people for their salary range without cringing, and how to use silence to get the upper hand when negotiating a job offer.  

As the founder of Speak Y'All, Sammie works with senior leaders at companies such as Amazon, Oracle, and Microsoft. And she coaches these executives on their impromptu speaking and interviewing skills to build confidence. 


Episode Highlights:

• How to be more confident verbally, vocally and visually 
• Look and sound confident when answering interview questions 
• Tell a story to show you can change careers
• STARR method for storytelling 
• Appear more confident virtually
• Improve eye contact
• Network with new people confidently
• Ask others for their salary range 
• Use silence to negotiate a job offer

Find Sammie Walker Herrera at:

Website: www.speakyall.com

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

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/speakyall


Find Sammie's seminars at:
Latina Professionals LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/company/latinaprofessionals

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're an editor who's been affected by the layoffs in journalism and media, this episode is for you! I chat with editorial recruiter Chandra Turner, founder of The Talent Fairy, a recruiting agency that specializes in placing editorial talent.  

Chandra was a top editor at consumer magazines, such as CosmoGirl and Parents, before she was laid off in 2017. Today, she works with large corporations, startups and nonprofits across a variety of industries to connect them with editors and content creators. She’s also a career coach, who helps editorial professionals transition out of traditional media.    

In this episode of Career Switch Podcast,  Chandra and I talk about how media is changing and how editors can switch to other industries that need their editorial skills. We also cover the biggest challenges many editors face when leaving media and how to handle them.

Episode Highlights:
• How media is changing
• Why editors make the best hires
• Industries looking to hire editors
• Resources for journalists and editors who are leaving media
• Believing you can transition out of media
• New terminology for content creation: content marketing, brand publishing, branded  and sponsored content, affiliate marketing
• Surprising results of Chandra’s annual survey of editors 


Find Chandra Turner at:

Website: www.TheTalentFairy.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chandra-turner

Instagram: www.instagram.com/thetalentfairy
Career Boot Camp for Editors: next session starts 9/11/23!


Resources: 

Where Editors Go Next—An Ongoing List of Pivot-able Industries by Chandra Turner

2024 Editorial Hiring Report by TheTalentFairy

LinkedIn Groups:

LinkedIn for Journalists 

Publishing and Editing Professionals 

Magazine Editors Network  

Magazine  

Additional Episodes:

Episode 31: Leaving journalism: When you need to change industries

Additional Podcasts:

Beyond the Newsroom

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.

Welcome to Season 3! Are you thinking about making a career change, but aren't sure? I speak with certified life and career coach Deirdre Taylor about three big signs you should watch out for that are telling you it’s time for a career switch. We also cover how to begin taking those first steps with your career change in this episode of Career Switch Podcast.  

Deirdre has over a decade of experience supporting her clients, many of whom are career changers. She also hosts a Masterclass series for professionals who are unhappy with their careers and ready for something new.     

Episode Highlights:

• Signs it’s time to change jobs vs making a career switch
• Being aligned with your values = being authentic
• Excuses we use to deal with the signs we’re experiencing
• Longing for something else 
• Physical and mental symptoms 
• How to take those first steps to making a career change

Find Deirdre Taylor at:
Website: deirdretaylorcoaching.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/deirdretaylor

More episodes featuring Deirdre Taylor:
Ep 7: Lost with what career switch 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.

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, I speak with Charlotte Castillo, managing director of Poderistas, a non-profit founded by Latinas that focuses on building a digital community to inspire civic engagement among Latinas.

In this episode of Career Switch Podcast, Charlotte tells us how she first got involved with Poderistas as a volunteer and how she used her marketing and brand strategy expertise to help launch the organization in 2020. She shares the initial hesitation she had about leaving behind her corporate career when she was offered the opportunity to run Poderistas, how she worked through her doubts, and how she’s adjusting to her new non-profit world.

Episode Highlights:

• Volunteering after getting laid off
• Volunteering while working full-time 
• When a career opportunity doesn’t fit your plan
• Working through your doubts about switching to non-profit
• Achieving work-life balance
• Adjusting to the non-profit world
• Switching from corporate to non-profit work, such as fundraising and grant writing
• How to use your marketing skills in non-profit
• Asking for help with new job duties
• How to deal with impostor syndrome

Learn more and get involved with Poderistas at:

Website: https://poderistas.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/poderistas

Twitter: https://twitter.com/poderistas

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@poderistas

Facebook: www.facebook.com/poderistas

YouTube: www.youtube.com/poderistas

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/poderistas

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.

Some of the most listened to episodes of Career Switch Podcast are those that feature guests who’ve switched industries or professions after age 50. So, I decided to dedicate an entire episode to making a career change when you’re over 50. 

I speak with Penny Kastaris, executive coach and senior consultant with Right Management Talent Solutions, a company that offers career transition services.

Penny is a young Boomer, who helps over-50 clients with their career change, whether they know what they want to pursue next or are lost.

In this episode, Penny addresses the most frequent concerns she hears from her clients and offers her best advice for making an over-50 career switch.


Resources:

Assessment tests: Hogan, Birkman, Myers-Briggs

BetterUp: Changing Careers at 50? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Indeed: Should You Make a Career Change at 50? Tips on How to Do It Successfully

Monster: The After-50 Career Change

Yahoo: How to Make a Career Change After 50

Additional Over-50 Episodes:
 Ep 4: Aged out: Making a career switch at over 50
Ep 16: Starting a new career after 50
Ep 18: The pros and cons of being a full-time author
Ep 21: A side hustle results in a career switch
Ep 23: How being bilingual helps your new career
Ep 41: Pursuing your passion at any age

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.

Chances are you need to make a career switch if your industry is in trouble. Maria Azua was just starting her career to become a magazine editor in 2016 when she realized print journalism was unstable.

In this episode of Career Switch Podcast,  Maria tells us how she made the tough decision to leave publishing and switched to search engine optimization, or SEO, in digital marketing.  She offers advice if you need to change your industry, too.


Resources:

TheMuse: 5 Steps You Need to Take if Your Company’s Feeling Even More Unstable and Shaky than Usual

Harvard Business Review: Worried You Might Be in a Dying Industry?

Yahoo News: 8 Ways to Escape a Dying Industry

The Muse: How I Shifted from a Dying Industry (and Landed a Job I Love)

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.