My Career Journey

Guest Marlinda Galapon has worked for some of the biggest companies in the world, including Yahoo, Salesforce, and Zendesk. However, the path to getting there wasn’t easy. She originally started in nursing, dropped out because she realized that’s not what she wanted to do, and then worked a mix of contract and odd jobs until she found a full-time job in conversation design. It took her about 5 years to get where she wanted to go, but once she knew what she wanted to do, she never gave up. In the episode, Marlinda talks about the impact of having an associate’s degree, navigating imposter syndrome, how she handles networking and putting herself out there as an introvert, what odd jobs she’s worked, the importance of mentorship and community, and much more. ------Highlights from the episode include:0:00 - Episode intro2:06 - Marlinda’s career journey5:29 - Self-consciousness about having an associate’s degree7:15 - Paths into conversation design8:57 - Motivation to keep pursuing conversation design10:10 - Odd jobs in between contract jobs 14:47 - Navigating imposter syndrome19:18 - Putting yourself out there as an introvert22:08 - Navigating networking as an introvert24:51 - Mentorship27:25 - The feeling of not belonging in certain spaces and how to overcome that29:53 - Finding community31:25 - Keeping the joy alive in your career32:12 - Advice for people considering a career change34:27 - Closing out the episode------🎙️My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career paths, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. Hosted by Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari.------🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms📺 Subscribe on YouTube📸 Follow on Instagram

Learn how hosts Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari approach giving and receiving feedback. They discuss the importance and impact of feedback, how to ask the right questions to get the feedback you need, practical frameworks for delivering constructive feedback, managing reactions after receiving feedback, and much more. ------Highlights include:0:00 - Introduction1:27 - Did you know - Facts we found while researching4:45 - Importance and impact of feedback in our careers6:26 - Impact of feedback in our careers9:20 - Culture of feedback in different spaces13:58 - How we ask for feedback16:18 - Asking the right questions to give you the feedback you need18:25 - Mapping feedback to company goals20:07 - Asking for feedback if you’re at an agency or freelancing21:01 - Personal uses for feedback and collecting it as you go22:06 - When to ask for feedback vs. when not to ask for it 24:12 - Reaction after receiving feedback26:27 - Thanking people after receiving feedback27:42 - Taking things personally 30:45 - Navigating conflicting feedback34:00 - Framework for giving feedback37:53 - Final thoughts and advice------🎙️My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career journeys, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. Hosted by Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari.------🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms📺 Subscribe on YouTube📸 Follow on Instagram

Guest Mellini Monique has done it all. Starting from age 12, she worked as a camp counselor and in car washes and pizza shops, and then went to marketing research, drama therapist at an inpatient psychiatric facility, medical missionary, and founder of multiple companies. We don’t cover this in the episode, but she’s even worked as a clown! Currently, Mellini is a pitch coach for South by Southwest (SXSW), runs her own vocal coaching consultancy, organizes luxury wellness retreats, and has her own popcorn company called Herby PoP. She's also a mother of 6 children that all have their own businesses! In the episode, Mellini talks about what she did in her different careers, how she navigates the messy middle, how she learned about business from her grandmother, networking, work-life balance, turning passion into a business, what it’s like being a founder, and much more. She also gives valuable advice about aligning your vocal image with your visual image, how to gain the confidence to change what you're worth, and shares a helpful rebranding exercise. ------Highlights from the episode include:0:00 - Intro2:29 - Mellini’s career journey5:08 - Braces5:47 - What it was like working as a medical missionary 8:50 - Family life9:48 - Drama therapy11:48 - Turning passion for voice into a business16:36 - Watching pitch competitions and pitching to SXSW 20:08 - Communicating value21:05 - Navigating career changes and identity28:04 - Learning how to start a business31:18 - Work life balance with a large family34:44 - What it’s like being a founder37:09 - Challenges of going through a rebrand39:38 - How to advocate for and charge what you’re worth48:00 - Networking approach and advice54:27 - Navigating the messy middle------🎙️My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career journeys, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. Hosted by Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari.------🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms📺 Subscribe on YouTube📸 Follow on Instagram

In the last part of the intro series, hosts Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari talk about their day-to-day lives in their new careers. Emily is a senior AI content and conversation designer and Allegra is a senior consultant in transformation, focused on workforce modernization. They give an overview of what they do, explain what a typical day looks like, share details about the skills they use, talk about how they approach learning and professional development, feedback, and promotions, and more.------Highlights from the episode include:1:07 - Quickfire round of questions3:47 - Overview of what Allegra does as a consultant6:49 - Overview of what Emily does as a content and conversation designer9:42 - What a typical day as a consultant is like for Allegra12:39 - What a typical day as a content and conversation designer is like for Emily15:01 - Difference between working at a smaller company vs. a big company15:35 - Weekend work now vs. at our previous jobs17:01 - How we set our schedules18:43 - How often we travel20:49 - How we use skills from music and other jobs23:01 - Skills we use the most27:00 - Learning and professional development29:34 - Feedback31:58 - Promotions34:57 - Things we like and don’t like about our jobs and the industry------🎙️My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career journeys, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. Hosted by Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari.------🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms📺 Subscribe on YouTube📸 Follow on Instagram

Service and helping people is at the core of everything guest Nick Co does. After serving as a Cryptologic Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy, he transitioned into tech, working as a product manager and founding Veteran Timeline to help make the military transition into civilian life easier for others. He also served as Virginia State Leader for Veterans for All Voters, leading a team that successfully implemented ranked choice voting in Charlottesville, VA.In the episode, Nick talks about his experience growing up in the Philippines, moving to Seattle, and the importance of service, family, and impact. He also talks about the challenges he faced when transitioning from the military, which is what inspired him to found Veteran Timeline. He also shares helpful tips about how to maximize informational interviews and the importance of learning the language of whatever field you’re going into. ------Highlights from this episode include: 0:00 - Introduction1:43 - Nick’s career journey4:02- Inspiration and decision to join the military7:59 - Nick describes his time in the Naval Academy and Navy11:37 - Importance of service, family, and impact15:02 - Involvement in local politics 19:04 - Transferable skills22:47 - Informational interviews26:31 - Veteran Timeline35:10 - Challenges of building something from scratch40:01 - Vision for Veteran Timeline42:11 - Solving problems44:38 - Malleability and making an impact46:30 - Call to action and closing------🎙️My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career journeys, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. Hosted by Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari.------🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms📺 Subscribe on YouTube📸 Follow on Instagram

Hosts Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari talk interview prep. They share what they research, how to tell their background stories, questions they always prepare for, what questions they like to ask, and much more. -------Highlights include:0:00 - Introducing the Deep Dive segment1:33 - Did you know - Interview prep facts4:26 - How soon to start preparing for an interview6:31 - Preparation process8:52 - Updating as you go10:40 - Research we do about the interviewers12:10 - Research we do on the company15:44 - Where we apply the research in the interview process18:11 - Mindset preparation for interviews20:31 - Interview questions to always be prepared for22:27 - How we tell our stories about our backgrounds24:40 - What questions we ask interviewers28:42 - Following up after an interview29:42 - Advice and closing------🎙️My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career journeys, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. Hosted by Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari.------🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms📺 Subscribe on YouTube📸 Follow on Instagram

Hosts Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari talk about their experiences switching careers and how they did it. They discuss the decision to do bootcamp programs, how they prepared for interviews, what their interview processes were like, how they approached salary ranges and negotiation, resumes, LinkedIn, and more.------Highlights from this episode include:0:00 - Intro2:01 - Career research4:51 - What we wanted out of new careers7:06 - Talking to people about switching careers8:37 - What our bootcamp programs were like and how we chose them15:00 - How we found our jobs20:04 - Interview prep24:47 - Building resumes for our new careers27:20 - Salary ranges and negotiation32:37 - What the interview process was like35:18 - How we knew a job was a good fit37:24 - How long the interview process took39:21 - Interview mindset41:17 - What best set us up for success44:09 - Advice and closing------🎙️My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career journeys, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. Hosted by Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari.------🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms📺 Subscribe on YouTube📸 Follow on Instagram

From pianist and composer to tenured music theory professor to financial analyst at CU Boulder to higher education consulting, guest Teddy Niedermaier takes us through his different careers, why he decided to leave a tenured university teaching position and get an MBA at the age of 35, and how he navigated multiple career transitions. Teddy also shares insights on storytelling, interview do's and don'ts, networking, and more.------Highlights from this episode include:0:00 Intro0:27: Episode introduction2:33: Teddy’s Introduction and career journey4:18: How to know it’s time for a change8:20: Getting into composition9:41: Keeping your identity through career switching12:12: Making the decision to get an MBA14:17: Leveraging the MBA during the job search16:35: Storytelling25:29: Interviewing29:43: Day-to-day of consulting35:32: Surprising similarities between internal and client-facing roles36:49: Rockstars vs. superstars38:55: Advice for people making the switch43:04-48:30: Networking------🎙️My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career journeys, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. Hosted by Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari.------🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms📺 Subscribe on YouTube📸 Follow on Instagram

From viola performance to arts administration to working at a private equity investment firm to global AI strategy and marketing operations at Motorola, guest Claire Potter-Schneider talks about her varied career path and how she navigates career transitions.She also shares insights and perspectives on topics such as asking for help, promotions, translating your story and skills into value, networking, mentorship, interviews, building relationships, and more.------Highlights from the episode include:0:26 - Episode intro3:35 - Claire’s career journey7:40 - Going into arts admin8:22 -Transitioning to investor relations9:46 - Culture shock of changing industries12:00 - Learning for a completely new career shift (investor relations)12:51 - Asking for help14:19 - Promotions17:21 - AI experience and learning18:41 - Identify opportunities to provide value19:24 - Translating your story and skills into value21:07 - Transferable skills from music23:59 - How anthropology helps with work25:26 - Signs it’s time to leave a job/company26:56 - Mentorship and building relationships28:18 - Building relationships29:29 - Interview prep, tips, red flags, and more38:21 - Last thoughts and closing------🎙️My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career journeys, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. Hosted by Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari.------🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms📺 Subscribe on YouTube📸 Follow on Instagram

Hosts Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari talk about their lives as musicians before making the decision to switch careers.They dive into how they chose their instruments, musical training, what they did as freelancers, pros and cons about the music industry, and how they knew it was time to make a change.----------To listen to Emily's music, check out:Emily's YouTube channelTo listen to Allegra's music, check out her:Duo with classical guitarist Jack CimoPerformance of a new work by Minneapolis composer Steve HeitzegPerformance as Adjunct Faculty----------Chapters0:00 - Introduction and career backgrounds3:20 - When we started playing music and how we chose our instruments5:19 - Emily explains what it was like attending the Juilliard Pre-College program7:06 - Allegra explains what it was like going to youth orchestra in Atlanta8:07 - Applying to undergrad programs11:26 - Our paths after undergrad15:28 - What we did as freelancers21:07 - Pros of the music industry24:42 - Favorite gigs26:21 - Cons of the music industry34:29 - How we approached our sense of identity as musicians and when making the switch40:31 - The decision to make the switch46:02 - How we felt when we committed to making the switch48:27 - Thing we’d do differently as musicians54:36 - What we’ll talk about in the next episode and closing----------🎙️My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career journeys, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. Hosted by Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari.------🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms📺 Subscribe on YouTube📸 Follow on Instagram

Hosts Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari introduce My Career Journey, a new podcast that highlights different career journeys, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. Emily and Allegra share a little about themselves, why they’re starting this podcast, and what to expect.For more content, follow @MyCareerJourneyPod on YouTube and Instagram.