The Ramped Podcast

TRP - Season 4, Episode 1: We kick off our fourth(!!!) season of The Ramped Podcast with Ana Lokotkova. Ana is a former recruiter turned Career and Branding Advisor. She helps people understand how to market themselves, their skillsets, and their unique experiences to succeed in their job search and careers. She currently operates CV Labs, which helps job seekers get noticed and get the job of their dreams.

IN THIS EPISODE, ANA AND DANNY COVER:

01:38 - Who is Ana Lokotkova?

02:50 - How Ana got into career advising

05:45 - Acknowledging barriers in selling yourself–a key to success in your career

10:07 - When should personal branding skills be developed?

13:43 - What is job search 2.0 and what does it mean for job seekers?

16:10 - The importance of finding your own mix

18:35 - Why are we still using resumes?

22:27 - Two crucial things that people are missing in their resumes

28:06 - Don’t overthink and don’t be afraid to be visible

30:08 - How to get in touch with Ana

We hope you enjoy the conversation. 

MORE ON ANA: 

Ana Lokotkova is a former recruiter turned Career and Branding Advisor. She helps people understand how to market themselves, their skillsets, and their unique experiences to succeed in their job search and careers. She currently operates CV Labs, which helps job seekers get noticed and get the job they’ve been dreaming of. 

Find in all of these places:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alokotkova/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jobsearch-ana-lyst/featured

Website: https://www.cvlabs.ca/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ana_cvlabs

MORE ON RAMPED:

Learn more about us here: rampedcareers.com

Want us to help in your job search: https://www.rampedcareers.com/services/auto-applier

IN THIS EPISODE, WE COVER:

01:59 - Who is Danielle Press? In her own words 
02:45 - What is the best investment an early careers sales person can do for themselves and why? 
05:54 - How have Danielle's views on sales changed over the years? 
09:36 - One early career mistake that Danielle made and how did she learn from it 
13:37 - Who has had the greatest impact on Danielle's career and how? 
18:25 - If Danielle could go back in time, what advice would she give herself when starting out? 
22:22 - Where to reach out to Danielle

MORE ON DANIELLE:

Danielle Press is Senior Vice President of Sales at Hotel Engine. She is instrumental in leading the sales function and team amidst the company’s immense growth, re-building and re-imagining their core business and sales culture. Danielle previously held a 16-year track record building, leading, and scaling high performing sales teams at Staples. This included inside and outside sales, new business management, and account management. While at Staples, Danielle turned around underperforming teams (No 31 to No 1) in 18 months. She also built an inside acquisition engine that generated 4X productivity. Danielle is passionate about supporting women in the workplace. She enjoys volunteering her time with professional groups such as the Revenue Collective — a sales and marketing organization — and #GirlsClub — a professional community aimed at empowering women.

MORE ON RAMPED:

Check us out at www.rampedcareers.com

Interested in becoming a Ramped Professional? Sign up here: https://www.rampedcareers.com/onboarding/signup

Interested in becoming a Ramped Corporate Partner? Email us at [email protected]

IN THIS EPISODE, WE COVER:

01:54 - How Holly went from being a sales professional to managing people
05:12 - The future of work. Is the WFH model here to stay or will we eventually make it back to the offices?
06:41 - Certain aspects of office life are now missing. Can the WFH ever replace them?
09:32 - How should early career professionals position themselves for the next 3 to 5 years
13:57 - How to inspire and develop the culture within a company
18:25 - Who are some people to follow when it comes to thinking about the future of work
22:03 - Removing bias from the application process
25:52 - Companies to look out for that implement unbiased application processes
27:33 - How to reach out to Holly

MORE ON HOLLY:

Most recently, as Chief People Officer at Unison, Holly led Talent Acquisition, People Operations, Facilities, and Learning and Development. Holly has spent over a decade in specialty finance working with high-net-worth individuals and leading high-growth companies. Prior to joining Unison, she was at Morgan Stanley, and most recently she was Executive Vice President at Novation Ventures where she drove business operations and spearheaded the acquisition and integration of Sound Royalties. She is a respected leader and employee development expert with a record of building strong teams, providing guidance and motivation, and overseeing the delivery of top performance. Holly holds a degree in Finance from the University of Maryland and an MBA from Penn State University.

Holly's LinkedIn URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollydanko/

MORE ON RAMPED:

Check us out at www.rampedcareers.com

Interested in becoming a Ramped Professional? Sign up here: https://www.rampedcareers.com/onboarding/signup

Interested in becoming a Ramped Corporate Partner? Email us at [email protected]

IN THIS EPISODE, WE COVER:

01:35 - Who is Jessica? In her own words 
02:22 - What is the best investment an early careers sales person can make and why? 
06:51 - How have Jessica's views of sales changed over the years? 
11:18 - One mistake Jessica made early in her sales career and what did she learn from it? 
13:49 - Who has had the biggest impact on Jessica's career and how? 
15:23 - If Jessica could go back in time, what would she do differently? 
16:52 - Why do people find it so difficult to focus on the current moment? 
18:24 - Where to reach out to Jessica?

MORE ON JESS:

Jess Dolnick is a sales leader and currently works as the head of sales at Byteboard, where she helps eng. leaders redefine how they evaluate the best candidates. Starting as a BDR back in the day, Jess has been in sales her entire career and loves to support other sales folks following the same journey. Originally from Buffalo, Jess is also a huge Bills fan and and drinks about a pot of coffee a day. 

Find Jess on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicadolnick/

MORE ON RAMPED:

Check us out at www.rampedcareers.com

Interested in becoming a Ramped Professional? Sign up here: https://www.rampedcareers.com/onboarding/signup

Interested in becoming a Ramped Corporate Partner? Email us at [email protected]

IN THIS EPISODE, WE COVER:

• 01:33 Who is Chad? In his own words 
• 02:38 Chad's tips for people starting out early in their career 
• 09:47 The future of work and managing human capital 
• 12:15 What are some ways to build an equitable workforce of the future 
• 15:28 Chad's tips for how to approach the evolving work culture in the next 10 or so years 
• 19:47 The role of technology in the future of work 
• 27:40 Who are some people to follow for insights into the future of work 
• 29:47 How to reach out to Chad

MORE ON CHAD:

Chad started his recruiting career nearly 20 years ago with a national search firm before transitioning in-house at Truist Bank.  He joined Genworth in 2008 and has lead Talent Acquisition since 2019.  In this role, Chad leads all Talent Acquisition efforts in the U.S. and India – focused on attracting talent that supports business strategy and growth while promoting a deeply engaged and diverse workforce.  He earned an undergraduate degree from Hampden-Sydney College and a master’s degree from the University of Alabama.  

Find Chad on Linked here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-caples-5211171/

MORE ON RAMPED:

Check us out at www.rampedcareers.com

Interested in becoming a Ramped Professional? Sign up here: https://www.rampedcareers.com/onboarding/signup

Interested in becoming a Ramped Corporate Partner? Email us at [email protected]

IN THIS EPISODE, WE COVER:

00:20 - Who is Scott? In his own words 
03:47 - What is the best investment an early career sales person can do for themselves and why 
07:13 - How have Scott's views on sales changed over the years 
16:26 - One mistake Scott made early in his career and how did he learn from it 
22:54 - Who has had the greatest impact on Scott's career and how? 
24:57 - How does one deal with a situation where their first leader is a poor leader or someone you can't get along with 
32:11 - If Scott was starting over again, what key piece of advice would he give himself? 35:37 How to reach out to Scott

MORE ON SCOTT:

MORE ON RAMPED:

Check us out at www.rampedcareers.com

Interested in becoming a Ramped Professional? Sign up here: https://www.rampedcareers.com/onboarding/signup

Interested in becoming a Ramped Corporate Partner? Email us at [email protected]

IN THIS EPISODE, WE COVER:

02:04 - Who is Angela? In her own words
02:55 - What are some ways to level up in preparation for your first role in the job market
05:45 - Is working from here to stay? What will work look like 5 or10 years from now?
09:40 - Not everybody wants to go back to the office, even though there are some specific benefits to the office environment
15:29 - Who are some people Angela refers to when thinking about the future of work
17:40 - The specific appeal of Harvard and why people want to go there
21:26 - What should companies do to face the current crisis effectively and to come out better on the other side 
24:27 - The importance of transparency in the workplace and how to evaluate companies for this quality
26:52 - How should an early career professional position themselves right now for the next 5 to 10 years
29:09 - How to reach out to Angela

MORE ON ANGELA:

Angela Cheng-Cimini joined Harvard Business Publishing as Senior Vice President, Talent & Chief Human Resources Officer in 2021. In this role, Cheng-Cimini leads the Human Resources and Facilities & Administration units, spearheading efforts to develop a talent roadmap that supports the business strategy and creates a deeply engaged and diverse workforce. Angela brings over 25 years of both generalist and specialist Human Resources experience, having worked across consumer product goods, professional services, and high-tech as well as nonprofits. She has shepherded businesses through start-up, growth, and maturity with key responsibility for helping organizations identify and build the necessary organizational capabilities. Prior to joining Harvard Business Publishing, Angela was at ClearMotion, Inc. an automotive technology startup where she accelerated the evolution of the HR function from administrative to strategic. Previously, she served as the Global Head of Human Resources for Crabtree & Evelyn, where she led an international team spanning four continents and prepared the brick-and-mortar business to go completely digital. Angela earned her undergraduate degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University.

MORE ON RAMPED:

Check us out at www.rampedcareers.com

Interested in becoming a Ramped Professional? Sign up here: https://www.rampedcareers.com/onboarding/signup

Interested in becoming a Ramped Corporate Partner? Email us at [email protected]

IN THIS EPISODE, WE COVER:

01:45 - Who is Steve Travaglini in his own words 
02:31 - What is the best investment an early career sales person can make for themselves and why? 
06:19 - How have Steve's views on sales changed over the years? 
10:52 - One mistake Steve made early in his sales career and how did it impact him going forward 
16:49 - Who has had the biggest impact on Steve's sales career and why? 
19:43 - With the benefit of hindsight, what would Steve say to an early careers sales person? 
23:03 - Where to reach out to Steve

MORE ON STEVE:

As Chief Revenue Officer of LinkSquares, Steve Travaglini drives all Sales, Customer Success, and Business Development strategies. Steve is passionate about leading LinkSquares to over $100M ARR while developing 20 future CROs from within his teams. Steve first met the LinkSquares founding team while working together at Backupify, which was later acquired by Datto. Steve lives in Reading MA, with his wife Julia and their two children.

MORE ON RAMPED:

Check us out at www.rampedcareers.com

Interested in becoming a Ramped Professional? Sign up here: https://www.rampedcareers.com/onboarding/signup

Interested in becoming a Ramped Corporate Partner? Email us at [email protected]

IN THIS EPISODE, WE COVER:

03:00 - What is the best investment an early career sales person can do for themselves and why?
06:37 - How have Daisy's views on sales changed over the years? 
09:55 - One mistake Daisy made early in her sales career and how did it impact her work
14:50 - Who has had the greatest impact on Daisy's career?
18:01 - If Daisy were to go back in time, what advice would she give herself when just starting out?
21:34 - How to reach out to Daisy

MORE ON DAISY

Daisy Chung is a Director of Sales at Orum with 7+ years of software sales and management experience. She was once SDR of the year and broke company records at 400%+ to goal and AE of the year also breaking company records closing $3.3MM ARR. She has a growing YouTube channel focused on sales best practices and is passionate in helping others accelerate their sales goals and career development. 

MORE ON RAMPED:

Check us out at https://www.rampedcareers.com/onboarding/signup

Interested in becoming a Ramped Professional? Sign up here: 

Interested in becoming a Ramped Corporate Partner? Email us at [email protected]

IN THIS EPISODE, WE COVER:

01:39 - Who is Chad? In his own words
02:53 - What is the best investment an early career sales person can make for themselves and why
09:34 - How have Chad's views on sales changed over the years?
15:29 - One mistake Chad made early in his sales career
21:05 - Who has had the greatest impact on Chad's sales career?
24:47 - If Chad were to go back in time, what would he do differently?
28:49 - How to reach out to Chad

MORE ON CHAD:

Chad specializes in Enterprise Sales of Software, IOT, AR, CAE, 3D CAD, Wireless, PDM, PLM, FEA, Sales Management, Sales Development, SAAS, Cloud Computing. He's a long-time sales leader and an avid golfer. 

MORE ON RAMPED:

Check us out at https://www.rampedcareers.com/onboarding/signup

Interested in becoming a Ramped Professional? Sign up here: 

Interested in becoming a Ramped Corporate Partner? Email us at [email protected]