Venturesome Podcast

Diana Alt, a certified career coach with 20+ years experience in tech, discusses the concept of "career cornerstones" and shares insights on building a fulfilling career. In this episode, she emphasizes the importance of finding work that aligns with your interests and skills and encourages you to explore side hustles or alternative avenues to fill in any gaps. Diana also highlights the significance of effective leadership, a supportive environment, and a strong company culture, as well as the need to be clear about your career goals and definition of success. Learn more at https://www.dianaalt.com. 

Evelyn Chou, Senior Product Manager at Coursera, explains how she evolved her career and skill set through introspection, experimentation, proactive personal development and taking risks. Evelyn offers advice for career pivots, both from the perspective of a hiring manager and someone who has done it herself. 

You can find Evelyn on Medium and Mentor Cruise.

Welcome to the first episode of Season 3 of the Venturesome Podcast. In this first episode, we're talking about side gigs with Leah Keggi. 

Leah Keggi is a VP of marketing by day and a talented surface pattern designer in her free time. In this episode, Leah and I discussed how she balances a demanding career within the wine and spirits space with her side gig, Coast L Studio. We discussed the downfalls of "hustle culture," the boundaries and systems she has in place to manage both commitments, and her advice on why you should just get started if you're thinking about starting a passion project. 

In addition to throw pillows and tapestries, people can purchase her patterns on fabric, wallpaper and more to create their own coastal vibes in their home. Be sure to check her out on Instagram at @CoastLStudio. 

Recorded in early October, Morgan and Rachel talk about the trend of Quiet Quitting, employee engagement, promotions, burnout and more. They both have vastly different approaches to work and share insights on how you can balance your work and life throughout your career. 

Rachel Esterline Perkins and Morgan MacDermaid share their job seeker secrets — from determining your values to ensure you take the right role to finding opportunities within your network and online. 

In their first collaborative episode as cohosts, Morgan MacDermaid and Rachel Esterline Perkins share their tips, tricks, and pet peeves are hiring managers. 

Morgan reviews upwards of 300 resumes a month as a recruiter for a broad range of roles and Rachel has spent time deeply involved in hiring for marketing and communications roles in her current and previous roles. Listen on to hear their perspectives on resumes. 

Randi Shaffer never wants to look back and wonder what would have happened if she would have followed the path she wanted. From working at the Chicago Tribune to serving in the Peace Corps in Ukraine to firefighter school in Flagstaff, Randi's career has been an incredible adventure. 

In this episode, she shares:

• How she applied for hundreds of jobs before being hired as a social media assistant at the Chicago Tribune
• Why she quit her "dream job" to join the Peace Corps
• What it was like to be in Ukraine at the start of the pandemic
• Her advice for career pivots during times of uncertainty

Read more in the show notes. 

I recently had the opportunity to do a 360 review — which is a fascinating (and slightly terrifying) opportunity to ask your colleagues to give you feedback. One commenter said they wanted to know more about what I've done to get to where I am today. I decided to use this as an opportunity to revive the Venturesome Podcast with Morgan MacDermaid in the interviewer's seat. Read more at venturesomepod.com.

Morgan MacDermaid used to spend hours in the travel section of the library, looking at all the places she could go. In college, she had her first chance to board a plane and her study abroad in Italy changed the course of her life. 

After graduation, she traded the possibility of a corporate cubicle for adventure. Morgan has traveled to over 40 countries around the world, slept in a tent across Alaska and moved to St. Thomas when she only knew a single person on the island. When the pandemic hit, her world was turned upside down. She came back to Michigan for a stint, bought a car and set off to drive across the United States before leveraging her global experiences to land her a job a logistics coordinator and then a recruiter in Tennessee. 

Morgan was my intern in 2013-2014 and I've followed her journey through Instagram and Facebook. For the first time, she shares the full story of how she went from neuroscience major to global nomad to recruiter. 

The importance of prioritizing your life before work and strategies for achieving life-work balance, as well as how to set boundaries to prevent burnout. Visit venturesomepod.com/episodes for show notes and links.