What do you do when a 15-year career vanishes overnight during a global pandemic?

Susan Bortone, founder and CEO of Noble Talent Group, shares her inspiring pivot from being laid off to building her own recruitment empire. She opens up about the uncertainty of the COVID layoffs and the critical moment she decided not to look for another job, but to build her own.

This episode dives into the FailCraft theme of betting on yourself when the chips are down. Susan explains how she used online courses (from Harvard!) to bridge the gap, why going "through the mountain" is faster than going over it, and the mindset shift required to turn a layoff into a launchpad. Discover how she balances the hustle of entrepreneurship with being a mom, and why she believes layoffs are no longer a taboo career ender.

In this episode of FailCraft, you’ll discover:

* Susan's "Rock Bottom": Losing a 15-year career during COVID.

* The "Through the Mountain" Mindset: Why you can't climb over every obstacle.

* The first step she took: Enrolling in Harvard online classes to upskill.

* Turning down a job offer to bet on her own startup.

* Overcoming the "Fear and Doubt" of becoming a founder.

* Why layoffs are no longer a career death sentence (and how to handle them).

* The "Founder Hustle": Why dreading Mondays is a thing of the past.

* How to use "gap time" productively to fill resume holes.

* Susan's definition of true success: Impacting lives through employment.

This episode is for anyone who has been laid off, is considering a career pivot, or wants to understand the recruitment landscape from a founder's perspective.

Connect With Susan Bortone:

* Website: https://www.nobletalent.group/

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Chapters:

00:00 Hook: Rejecting a Job Offer to Build a Company

01:15 Introduction: Susan Bortone's Journey

01:49 The Layoff: Losing 15 Years of Work Overnight

02:25 The First Step: Harvard Online Classes & Upskilling

03:31 The "Through the Mountain" Mindset

04:41 The Decision to Not Go Back to Corporate

06:30 Overcoming Founder Fear & Doubt

08:20 Applying Change Management to Personal Pivots

10:09 Why Layoffs Are No Longer Taboo

11:47 Balancing the Hustle & Avoiding Burnout

13:15 Advice for Anyone Recently Laid Off

14:36 Susan's Definition of True Success

16:03 How to Connect with Noble Talent Group