Job Search, Promotion, and Career Clarity: The Mid-Career GPS Podcast 317: Running on Empty: How to Lead, Work, and Live with More Clarity and Calm
Feeling stretched thin by nonstop news and workplace pressure. In this episode, executive and career coach John Neral helps mid-career professionals regain momentum with presence, pace, and practical wins. Learn how to prevent burnout, ask leadership for targeted support, and use small controllables to improve performance. We also cover a data-driven approach to job search and interviews, plus a simple Mid-Career GPS to turn chaos into clarity. Ideal for managers, team leads, and job seekers pursuing career clarity and promotion in a challenging market.
Who this is for:
Mid-career professionals ages 35 to 55 who want practical strategies to manage stress, stay effective at work, and make measurable progress in a challenging job market.
What you’ll learn
- How to pause and assess when current events and shutdown stress weigh on your energy and focus
- Why presence and pace improve decisions on the road, in meetings, and during interviews
- The manager’s responsibility to check in and support people, and how to ask leadership directly for the help you need
- How polarization creeps into daily interactions and how to defuse it at work
- The value of “taking a knee” to rest and reset without guilt
- Small controllables that compound: food journaling for awareness, quality sleep as performance gear, and 15-minute movement breaks to reset your brain
- A smarter, data-driven approach to mid-career job search: networking goals, interview preparation, and weekly traction metrics
- DSD: Do Something Different to get different results, even when you feel stuck
- How to build your Mid-Career GPS so you navigate chaos with clarity and intention
Practical takeaways
- Start each day with a two-minute check-in: energy, focus, and one priority
- Define three controllables for the week: nutrition awareness, sleep window, and one movement break per work block
- Set a weekly networking target with names, messages sent, and outcomes tracked
- For interviews, script two results-first stories and practice concise delivery
- Managers: schedule a 10-minute pulse check with each direct report and ask, “What support would be m
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