Changing industries? Your resume and mindset may need a makeover!

In this episode of The Next Best Thing podcast, learn strategies to best position yourself for your NEXT. From using key words in your resume to stand out and make it past artificial intelligence screenings, address your self talk so you don’t stand in your own way, and remain open for abundance (and love) to find you.

Episode Log:
1:15 Introduction
3:13 Recap of Don’s past work experiences
6:12 Examples of how to translate your work experiences on your resume
16:34 Don shares his mindset transformation and finding balance
21:50 ACT Up Segment: Action steps to get from where you are to where you want to be.
27:27 FREE offer to listeners

Join The Next Best Thing community on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenextbestthingact/?hl=en

About Don:
https://linktr.ee/donchampion

Don Champion is an Emmy award-winning former CBS News Correspondent. He also spent more than a decade covering news in cities from Jackson, MS to New York City.
During his time at CBS News, Don traveled extensively covering stories of national and international interest for more than 200 CBS television affiliates and partners across the globe, the CBS Evening News and CBS This Morning. Stories he covered include the Sandy Hook School Shooting, Aurora Theater Shooting, Pulse Nightclub Shooting, countless hurricanes, Pope Francis' 2015 visit to North America, the death of Fidel Castro, on the campaign trail coverage of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election and the Trump White House.

In his life after news, Don has worked in communications and program manager roles at Alaska Airlines and a top U.S. online retailer based in Seattle. While at Alaska Airlines, he helped produce external videos that helped the airline respond to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic- working closely with the CEO and President. In 2021, Don was even proudly named to the Native Son 101 List Class for speaking publicly about the discrimination that led to the end of his television news career. Don also started Nod Media & Consulting, a boutique agency specializing in creative video production, media consulting and media coaching & training services.

Are past offenses triggering you in your new season?

Don Champion climbed the ranks to become a television network news correspondent before he was let go in 2017. He says he was questioned about his voice, asked about his weight and told to “butch it up” during his last few years at the network. Champion says those critiques served as ways to question his identity as a Black gay man.

In this episode we discuss the private and very public ways Don made peace with his workplace trauma.

Episode Log:
1:05 Host Aundrea Cline-Thomas talks about the 1 year anniversary of her NEXT
18:15 Introducing Don Champion
20:40 Don’s national CBS news interview about his treatment at the company
27:06 How Don tapped into his other passion for aviation to chart his transition
31:38 How Don addressed his PTSD
41:06 Announcement about a special giveaway

Join The Next Best Thing community on Instagram: @thenextbestthingact

About Don:
https://linktr.ee/donchampion

Don Champion is an Emmy award-winning former CBS News Correspondent. He also spent more than a decade covering news in cities from Jackson, MS to New York City.

During his time at CBS News, Don traveled extensively covering stories of national and international interest for more than 200 CBS television affiliates and partners across the globe, the CBS Evening News and CBS This Morning. Stories he covered include the Sandy Hook School Shooting, Aurora Theater Shooting, Pulse Nightclub Shooting, countless hurricanes, Pope Francis' 2015 visit to North America, the death of Fidel Castro, on the campaign trail coverage of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election and the Trump White House.

In his life after news, Don has worked in communications and program manager roles at Alaska Airlines and a top U.S. online retailer based in Seattle. While at Alaska Airlines, he helped produce external videos that helped the airline respond to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic- working closely with the CEO and President. In 2021, Don was even proudly named to the Native Son 101 List Class for speaking publicly about the discrimination that led to the end of his television news career.

Don also started Nod Media & Consulting, a boutique agency specializing in creative video production, media consulting and media coaching & training services.

What happens when life throws you a devastating transition. Your NEXT becomes the worst case scenario but you don’t have another choice but to go through it.

When Neysa Taylor got married to her college sweetheart Christopher, she had no idea the rollercoaster that was in store. Their marriage had very high, highs and extremely low, lows. But nothing was quite like Chris’ multiple bouts with cancer. He passed away in December 2019.

Neysa and her two daughters are navigating their NEXT daily. In this episode we discuss Neysa’s grief journey, how it’s challenged, stretched, broken and inspired her… sometimes in consecutive moments. Neysa also reflects on what she knows about marriage now after having living every word of her vows and her advice to others.

5:02 How Neysa describes herself now
8:08 Neysa shares the beginning of her grief journey
12:40 What processing grief looks like
17:47 What this season has taught Neysa and how she’s rebranding her life
22:25 Is Neysa open to love again?
25:43 Questions all couples should be asking before getting married.
37:28 The new dreams Neysa has for herself
42:08 ACT Up segment: Words of advice about journeying through grief

About Neysa:
Hear Neysa every week on the Go Ladies Podcast: https://www.goladiespodcast.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/myriadthatisme/

Dynamic, Efficient, Strategic - those are all terms that describe Neysa’s leadership style as Vice President at MP&F. Previously, she was the Sr. Manager - Communications, responsible for safety-related messaging for the Last Mile Program (Amazon).

Before joining the Amazon team, Neysa was Sr. Manager for East Zone Communications & Field Alignment for McDonald's. As the former Director of Communications for the Tennessee Department of Correction, she was directly responsible for all internal and external communication. Before her transition into corporate communications, Neysa was the Emmy award-winning Assignment Manager for NewsChannel5 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Your NEXT doesn’t always require blowing up your life and starting over. What if the changes you desire are not only in your current industry but within the company you work for right now?

Mandell Crawley went from the west side of Chicago to becoming one of the most influential people on Wall Street as the Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Morgan Stanley. He started with the firm at just 16 years old as an intern and his path has been anything but linear.

Mandell’s personal story is one of being resilient in the face of navigating deep loss. His professional story is marked by his openness, unrelenting ambition and an ability to create meaningful relationships.

In this episode we start with how to tell if companies are committed to the 2020 diversity pledges made during the heigh of the social unrest, how to know when it’s time to move on, ways to create new career opportunities and habits that lead to generational wealth.

:07 How Mandell shows up authentically
1:58 Introducing Mandell
5:06 Why Mandell was reluctant to take the role as the Chief Human Resources Officer at Morgan Stanley
11:20 How Mandell assessed the changes needed to be made vs. what he could accomplish
19:29 How to determine if companies are living up to their 2020 diversity pledges
24:26 How Mandell got his start at 16 years old and his infamous gold suit
31:17 When do you know it’s time to move on?
35:10 3 keys to creating new opportunities
40:38 How to create generational wealth from the habits of ultra high net worth individuals
48:44 ACT Up Segment: How to immediately get unstuck in your career

More About Mandell:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandellcrawley/
Mandell’s Transformational Internship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt55UZXLBRQ

It’s been one year since I blew up my life and I’m still standing! In this solo episode I break down how things have REALLY been, what freedom means to me and what I hope to tackle in the next year. Also, my birthday is coming up and I have thoughts, lots of thoughts!

Your first draft is never final. Award winning mystery author Kellye Garrett knows that all too well. But there are some things she isn't willing to change, like centering Black women characters in her lighter weight cozy mysteries. It created challenges to getting an agent and getting published, but now her work is being widely recognized. When she didn’t see more people like her getting a chance in the genre, she co-founded the group Crime Writers of Color that now has hundreds of members and is helping diversify the industry.

In this episode Kellye discusses her writing process while having a day job, tips for getting published, and how the community she co-founded is creating many more opportunity for others.

About Kellye:
https://linktr.ee/kellyekell

Kellye Garrett is the acclaimed author Like A Sister (Mulholland Books/Simon & Schuster UK) suspense novel in which no one bats an eye when a disgraced reality TV star is found dead in the Bronx—except her estranged half-sister, whose refusal to believe the official story leads her on an increasingly dangerous search for the truth. In addition to being featured on the TODAY show, the suspense novel was a Book of the Month April 2022 selection, the Oxygen channel’s July Book Club pick, an Edgar award finalist for Best Novel and Lefty award winner for Best Mystery.

She’s also the author of the Detective by Day mysteries about a semi-famous, mega-broke black actress who takes on the deadliest role of her life: Private Detective. The first, Hollywood Homicide, won the Agatha, Anthony, Lefty and Independent Publisher “IPPY” awards for best first novel and was named one of BookBub’s Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time. The second, Hollywood Ending, was featured on the TODAY show’s Best Summer Reads of 2019 and was nominated for both Anthony and Lefty awards. Prior to writing novels, Kellye spent eight years working in Hollywood, including a stint writing for Cold Case. She is a former member of the Sisters in Crime Board of Directors and is a co-founder of Crime Writers of Color, which received the 2023 Raven Award from MWA.

What if I told you you’re trying too hard? Worrying and white knuckling circumstances may be the thing standing in your way of a transformative opportunity.

Four time Emmy Award winning national television news journalist Mara S. Campo says the pandemic put her at a painful crossroads. Surrendering changed her life and more importantly gave her peace! In this episode we talk about her very succressful journey from being a network news correspondent to carving out her own path in the industry and adding her joy of beauty and glamour to the mix.

Join The Next Best Thing Community on IG @thenectbestthingact

More about Mara:

IG/TikTok: @MaraSCampo

Mara is the Global News Anchor and Managing Editor for Revolt Black News Weekly, the newsmagazine show for Revolt TV, and their news specials. She is also the host of TV One’s new investigative true crime show “Fatal Attraction: Last Words”. Mara also frequently appears on cable news, including CNN, MSNBC, and Peacock, sharing analysis and commentary on news stories and hot topics. Her areas of focus are race, culture, and social justice.

Mara is the Executive Producer and a co-host of the Run Tell This podcast (iTunes Top 100 Arts) covering news and social justice from the perspective of Black journalists. She was also the Executive Producer and Host of The Trend Reporter podcast (iHeartMedia - iTunes #1 Fashion and Beauty, iTunes Top 200 overall, 750k+ downloads), making her one of the top Black podcasters in the United States.

Mara recently worked as the Senior Investigative Correspondent for The Dr. Oz Show, a Correspondent for Good Morning America and The Today Show, and appeared on The View, The Chew, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more. ​

The daughter of an African-American mother and Italian father, Mara holds dual Italian-American citizenship, speaks fluent Italian, and can get by in Spanish and French. Mara is an avid traveler, and has lived in Somalia, Italy and the Philippines. ​ But by far the best part of Mara's life is as "Mrs. Porter", a wife, and mom to two rambunctious kids (and one adorable fur baby) in Harlem, New York.

How would you move through life if you knew time was running out? Would you stay at that job, in that relationship, or continue delaying pursuing your dreams?

Bozoma Saint John was prepared to learn new skills, climb the corporate ladder and change careers. But life also forced her to prepare for her husband’s death, to grapple with the loss of a child and her college boyfriend.

In this episode Boz explains how grief is the reason why she shows up in life urgently and how she’s preparing for this new season of her life outside of corporate America.

Join our community on Instagram @thenextbestthingact

About Bozoma Saint John:

Bozoma Saint John is a Hall of Fame inducted Marketing Executive, author, entrepreneur and general badass.

Boz got her start in her marketing career at Spike Lee’s ad agency, SpikeDDB. She then went on to manage brands in the PepsiCo beverages portfolio, before becoming Head of Music and Entertainment Marketing at the CPG giant. After that, she led Global Consumer Marketing at Apple Music & iTunes; before serving as Chief Brand Officer at Uber; she then took on the Chief Marketing Officer role for Endeavor (including WME, IMG, UFC, Miss Universe, 160over90 etc). Mostly recently, she served as the Global Chief Marketing Officer at the entertainment behemoth, Netflix.
Boz’s work has been lauded and awarded by the industries she’s operated in; including induction into the American Marketing Association Hall of Fame (2022), following induction into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Achievement (2014). Boz was named as the #1 Most Influential CMO in the world by Forbes (2021). She’s also been inducted into Billboard’s Women in Music Hall of Fame after making their list of the Most Powerful Women in Music for 10 consecutive years (2013-2022), and crowned as the Executive of the Year (2016).

On February 21, 2023, Viking Books (an imprint of Penguin/Random House) published her memoir, “The Urgent Life.” The book is a roadmap to navigating struggle, and a touchstone for those enduring their own battles, letting them know that they are not alone, that they can make it through, and that there is light and peace, and even inspiration, waiting for them when they do.

More on "The Urgent Life:" https://www.bozomasaintjohn.com/#THEBOOK

Have you really given yourself space to dream and execute a life that allows you to show up fully, grow and enjoy financial abundance? It’s not just a hope, it can also be a reality. Ariane Hunter is a lighthouse for dreamers. Her coaching company helps clients buck the status quo, shift to an abundance mindset and muster the will to leave toxic environments. It’s not a theory for Ariane, she operates from personal experience. This episode breaks down how Ariane found her NEXT and the ways in which she is guiding others to follow their own path.

Join our community on Instagram @thenextbestact
Watch our conversations on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MountainCourtMedia/videos

About Ariane:
Ariane is a speaker, author and career equity consultant. Backed with over fifteen years of career and business strategy expertise, she works with businesses to address workplace solutions impacting the advancement of BIPOC communities.

She has appeared in local television media networks including CBS and NBC and has been featured in CNBC, Business Insider, Diversity Inc. and Fast Company. She's been published on Time.com, is a contributor at Thrive Global, Her Agenda and The Muse. She is a subject-matter expert on BIPOC representation in the workplace and has spoken for Evernote, General Assembly, Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy (WRISE), Ladies Get Paid, NYU Stern Women in Business, Cancer & Careers, Dress for Success, Savvy Ladies, Advancing Women in Tech, Karen Millen, ABC Home, Emerging Leaders for NY Arts, and has been a featured guest on numerous empowerment podcasts.

Ariane is currently writing her first book, Dreaming on Purpose: A Manifesto for Black Women on Taking the Leap in partnership with Indigo River Publishers.

To learn more visit www.arianehunter.com or get in touch at [email protected]

Layoffs can trigger anxiety, make you question your abilities and threaten your financial stability. But if you let it, it can also create the disruption your life needs to take you to the next level. That was the case for Dawn Kelly. A seasoned public relations veteran, Dawn was a Vice President at a large financial services company when she was blindsided by a layoff.
Her optimism wasn’t immediate. In fact she says she cried for months. But Dawn found her NEXT right in her neighborhood, all because of the urging of her daughter and by following a still small voice. This episode candidly discusses the pain and fear layoffs often bring, and the ways it could also lead to much bigger blessings.

Join the community at @thenextbestthingact on Instagram!

About Dawn Kelly:

Instagram @prmaven17 + @thenourishspot

Dawn Kelly is the Founder and CEO of The Nourish Spot Inc., is a healthy juice, smoothies and salad bar in Jamaica, Queens. Since opening in September 2017, Dawn has earned her MWBE & WBE certification from New York City and New York State. She also has certification as a DBE & ACDBE from The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
In addition to its physical location, The Nourish Spot serves as a concession at Citi Field, The US Open and Forest Hills Stadium. The company also fulfills catering contracts for Wall Street firms, events at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, and York College/CUNY just to name a few.