

People in Transition
Bob Gerst
"People in Transition" is your ultimate guide to navigating life's major career changes with confidence and excitement! Whether you're a student landing your first job, a professional between gigs, an aspiring entrepreneur ready to start your own business, or someone preparing for a well-earned retirement, we've got you covered. Each episode offers unique insights and practical tips from people who have successfully walked these paths themselves as well as helped many others in their journey. Join us for an inspiring and entertaining journey through the many transitions of life!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 30, 2023 • 24min
79. Limor Bergman - technology executive and leadership/transition coach
Limor Bergman has worked in the tech industry for over 20 years as a software engineer, engineering manager, and Director of engineering.After spending nine years living in the US, she returned to her home country and focused on her passion for supporting women's career growth, mainly in tech.She has mentored women for over four years and created a mentorship program for women with PowerToFly. She also consults and runs workshops with companies on various topics, such as:Internal mentorship program training Presentation Skills - How to build an engaging presentation utilizing Story Telling?Leadership workshopsDuring our recording, Limor shared many ideas on how to be successful in your job search, including: · How to effectively brand yourself on LinkedIn· How to network well, even if you are an introvert· Discussed if finding a job in 2023 is different from other years· What is a job search partner, and how can you use one to make you more effective· What is ageism in the recruiting process, and how can you combat it· One of her critical thought for job seekers don’t give up; that the next great opportunity is right around the corner Here is a link to her website:https://www.linkedin.com/in/limorbergman/https://limorbergman.com/ And links to some of the support websites Limor mentioned:1) Lunchclub for networking for introverts - https://lunchclub.com/?invite_code=limor22) Photofeeler - for getting votes on your LinkedIn profile picture - https://www.photofeeler.com/3) Canva - for designing your LinkedIn background picture - https://www.canva.com/Send us a text

Apr 16, 2023 • 28min
78. Anne Donovan - HR Consultant
Anne Donovan is a Human Resources leader known for developing new programs and training, dramatically improving employee retention and leadership performance. Conducting extensive employee feedback research, she designs initiatives to address underlying issues across many industries. Executives value her talent for identifying core workforce needs and taking action to develop and drive projects. Anne’s passion lies in helping people grow, both personally and professionally. Anne has a talent for spotting potential in people. She is passionate about developing and supporting people, so they realize their full potential. Anne has a proven track record of her leadership. She is very good at influencing and motivating people- a true leader. Leading culture shifts and change management during highly stressful times are some of her specialties. In this episode, Anne shared several ideas on how you can find your next job easier and faster, including:· You can have more confidence in your interviews if you prepare and research the company and the people you will meet.· Your emotions during the job search will be a roller-coaster; to help manage them, get plenty of rest, eat well, and exercise.· A job transition is filled with change management issues.· A “rejection resume” can help you see where you have come from and will guide your future.· Be yourself during the search and rely on a mentor or coach to support you.Anne’s calm and deliberate style will help you deal with any speed bumps you are experiencing as you look for your next job. She has many great suggestions and ideas for your job search – you will want to listen to her several times to get the most from her recording.Send us a text

Apr 2, 2023 • 32min
77. Sindy Thomas - Founder & Host, the Insider's Career Club Career Podcasts
Sindy obtained a B.S. Degree in Kinesiology and Physical Education from California State University, East Bay. In her junior year, she started, teaching Dance. Later, she taught high school and pivoted into a Trainer role at a youth job-training program combining her love of education and business. In an HR career spanning over 25 years, she found her niche in a recruiting. She has been a Recruiter, Sr. Recruiter, Recruiting Manager, Director of Talent Acquisition, and Principal Recruiting Consultant. Sindy’s has worked in various industries, including healthcare and information technology; manufacturing like Clorox and Mother’s Cookies; as well as smaller bio-techs and pharmaceutical companies like Amgen; Berkeley Heart Lab, Inc., a Celera business; and Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc., a division of Pfizer. Sindy is the Founder, Host of, the Insider’s Career Club, a career podcast, career coaching business, and website. In this episode, Sindy shared so many great ideas on how to find your next great job easier and faster, including:· What are the four types of recruiters an applicant might run into, and what should you know about working with them?· How can you prepare for a virtual interview to be more effective?· Why do you want to write down your accomplishments, and what should you do with them?· What does it mean when people say, “Rejection is a part of the job search process”?· Why is being honest and knowing your skills critical in interviewing?Sindy was so giving of her expertise and insights in the recruiting area. You will want to listen to this episode more than once to ensure you get all the tips and techniques she shared. These tip sheets can be found @insiderscareerclub.com under job search.Contact Sindy:Email: sindythomas99@gmail.com; www.linkedin.com/in/sindythomas/ or at www.insiderscareerclub.comSend us a text

Mar 19, 2023 • 33min
76. Emily Wong - Certified Resume and LinkedIn Profile Writer
Emily Wong is the founder of Words of Distinction, a boutique firm she created to help job seekers land interviews through powerful career storytelling. Emily has helped hundreds of mid-career and executive-level job seekers earn rewarding roles at top organizations like Meta, Google, Fitbit, Roche/Genentech, Moderna, Abbott, Amazon, Microsoft, Sony, Stanford, Northrop Grumman, and Cisco. The host of the Career Cohort podcast, she’s contributed to several bestselling books that specialize in resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, and bios. In addition to certification as a resume writer, she’s credentialed as a Career Transition Coach and Career Storyteller, and is a charter member of Career Industry Authority, an organization where career professionals share ideas on how to best serve job seekers. During this episode with Emily, we discussed several actionable resume-writing tips and debunked a few myths, including: · The right length of a resume and why.· Tips to make your resume visually appealing and easier to read.· What it means to “think like the employer” when you write your resume.· Why keywords matter and how they impact the applicant tracking system (ATS).· What to avoid when you write your resume.· The importance in your job search of knowing yourself and what you want. Emily is thoughtful, articulate, and generous with her knowledge to help alleviate job seekers’ struggles. After you listen to this episode, you will have several action steps you can take to find your next job sooner and easier. Enjoy – leave me your comments – share this with others. RESOURCES: For more information on Emily, go to www.wordsofdistinction.net/ To help manage your job search, you can access her free 5 Pillars of an Effective Job Search download atwww.wordsofdistinction.net/launchnowEmily also invites you to connect with her on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/emilysfwong Send us a text

Mar 5, 2023 • 33min
75. John Tarnoff - Executive and Better Job Coach
John Tarnoff is an executive and career transition coach, speaker, and author who supports mid and late-career professionals in defining, planning, and achieving more meaningful and sustainable careers. Fired 39% during his 35 years as a film producer, studio executive, and tech entrepreneur, he learned how to turn setbacks into successes in a volatile business. He reinvented his career at 50, earning a master’s degree in spiritual psychology to share his lessons with others facing similar challenges. He is the author of the best-selling book, "Boomer Reinvention: How to Create your Dream Career Over 50" and has created four courses on the multi-generational workforce for LinkedIn Learning. Some of the topics we discussed include: In networking, you should follow your “A B G” (“Always, Be, Giving”): think first about what you can do to support the people in your network before asking for help. Worry about how you can meet someone that can refer you for the job – don’t worry about what the job description says about the role. The role you want in the future needs to connect with your values. Follow three keys in searching for your next great job 1. Focus on your Superpower (what you do best) 2. Build a Community (like-minded colleagues to refer you to opportunities) 3. Become a Thought Leader (Stand up for what you stand for, build trust and credibility). The career you want is already inside of you: follow your inner knowing and intuition. Question the negative messages that will come at you. To create your future, you need to reconcile your past: clear emotional baggage and limiting beliefs.These are just a few of the great ideas and suggestions John shared. I hope you enjoyhis experiences, thought leadership, and energy as much as I did. Thankyou for listening to this episode of “People in Transition”.Send us a text

Feb 19, 2023 • 32min
74. Heike Heemann - LinkedIn and Executive Coach
Heike Heemann is passionate about helping others shine in their careers. Her specialty is supporting mid-career professionals to find better career opportunities and build their professional brand on LinkedIn. If you need help optimizing your LinkedIn profile or creating your own LinkedIn strategy for attracting clients, connect with her on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/heikeheemann and find free resources at https://linktr.ee/HeikeHeemann Heike also helps career women improve their confidence, professional networking skills, leadership and public speaking skills.In this episode, Heike and I discussed several recruiting/LinkedIn tips including:· Your LinkedIn profile is a significant part of your online branding; your headline, banner and About section need to be impactful and consistent in their messaging. Your brand highlights for the world if you are the “Starbucks or neighborhood corner store coffee” in your field.· Described who your second-degree connections (e.g., your connections’ – connections) is and how you can use them in networking and information gathering.· What does it mean to optimize your LinkedIn profile and why you need to make sure you use key words in your headline to help you be “found” by people you are interested in.· Some of the biggest mistakes people make on their LinkedIn profile, including not being specific enough and not being active on LinkedIn.· Heike recommends having a current and professional looking picture on your profile.· She also recommends to never stop networking – you want to grow and nurture your connections each week.Heike’s marketing skills, business knowledge and coaching experience help her in making her message impactful and enjoyable. She shared so many great tips and techniques for LinkedIn that I had to go back and listen to her again just to be sure I got all her suggestions. I know you will enjoy your time with her – and please – with all the layoffs happening in today’s world – share this with others who can use the information. Thank you! Send us a text

Feb 5, 2023 • 32min
73. Catherine Lamb - Career Transformation Expert
Catherine Lamb is a leading UK-based career transformation expert who helps professionals manage their fear of failure as they go through a job transition. Catherine worked for 15 years in recruitment and is a qualified coach from Henley Business School. She brings together her wealth of knowledge and expertise to work with professionals who want to change careers and dread not being an expert in their new job or who want to step up into a key promotion but feel like an imposter. Catherine has developed a successful action plan that helps her clients rapidly build their confidence, recognize their value, and get back into their comfort zone as they go through their job transition. Some of the key points we discussed in this episode include: · One of the common mistakes people in transition make is that the job will just leap out – it takes intentional search by the candidates.· When you get a “no” from a company or hiring manager – it is important that you remember the “no” is temporary and not forever.· A journal of what you did well and what you can do differently in your recruiting efforts helps you see the job search as a learning process – this is an important mindset and will help you build confidence along the way.· “Who else do you think I should speak with?” is an important question to use in person or on LinkedIn – it is in general not your second level contacts that will lead you to a job but your 3rd and 4th level – so growing that network is essential.· We discussed imposter syndrome (feeling like a fraud) and how it impacts your job-hunting efforts.· And she coaches her clients that the job search will make you feel unconfident, but that you are not alone, reach out and people will help you.· Remember, you can have an imposter moment; but that does not mean you have to have an imposter life. Catherine gave so many useful ideas and is such a warm and supportive person; you are going to want to listen to this more than one time. Please leave me your questions and comments and remember to share this with others – we want to help the world of job seekers. Thank you!!Music is "Le piano troix" by Torley on Piano is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Send us a text

Jan 22, 2023 • 31min
72. Dominic Imwalle - 2022 Top Job Search Expert To Follow On LinkedIn \
Dominic Imwalle believes you should be able to obtain your career dreams and that’s what he helps professionals do. His clients have landed roles at Oracle, Deloitte, EY, Tata Consultancy, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Eaton, Salesforce, KPMG, PWC, Dell, Higher Education or started their own venture. But, landing your dream role doesn’t happen by chance, it takes hard work, patience, perseverance and working your job search plan.Dominic has seen how treacherous the job searching process can be; automated rejections, ghosting, 14 rounds of interviews, and 250 applications a week. He does not want you to have to live in the process that every candidate believes to be normal.We discussed many things that will help you with your job search plan, including:What are the two things that hold most people back from being successful in their job search? Being too hard on yourself, now is the time to be a bit gentler andHave a bias for action, you can revise your cover letter and résumé for hours and not be further along than if you this week, meet with five people that you want to be like and talk about how to get there.Dominic shared that everyone should create a file of “winner notes” about your work, to remind yourself that you are an accomplished and good person. It’s OK to check out job opportunities, even if you don’t need a new role today.When you are networking, make certain that you are strategic about who you speak with, you want to connect with those people who are going to support you and help you in meeting other people that can help in your job search.Make sure you spend time around new people; they will help energize and stimulate you.We also went through a role-play exercise of several of the most common interview questions and what Dominic suggested to be home run responses.Dominic is a caring, smart, and creative executive who really understands the recruiting and job transition environment. I think you will enjoy listening to this podcast several times and remember leave me your comments and share this with friends. Wishing you a great and employed 2023!Music is "Le piano troix" by Torley on Piano is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Send us a text

Jan 8, 2023 • 32min
71. Mark James - Executive Career Coach - Executive Recruiter - Author
Mark James, CPC, is the founder and president of HIRE Consulting Services (HCS) established in 1999. He is a Certified Personnel Consultant and the author of "The Interview Mindset: The Ultimate Guide to Mastering Your Career!" (2022) Available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/4N7KqJ7. Mark is equipped with over 25 years of experience in Executive Career Management Coaching, Outplacement, and Executive Search Consulting. He is also a quarterly speaker at Operation Connect, a program offered by the North San Diego Business Chamber that provides free business networking events for transitioning military service members. To learn more about Mark, visit www.HireConsulting.com.What a great episode we had with Mark. We covered so many topics, a few of them are:· Several of the 6 interview mindsets from his new book, The Interview Mindset: The Ultimate Guide to Mastering Your Career, to help you present yourself well in interviews and get the most information about the role and company.· Your network is your net worth and gave several ideas on how to expand it.· 96% of search firms use LinkedIn to help find candidates – how you can use the 5-3-1 method to increase your LinkedIn presences.· The hidden job market is right there in your cell phone and how you can use it.· Get off job boards and connect with people – that is how you can find that next great job.· To be most effective in your job search – you need to have a strategy, create a plan and then work it – you are not selling yourself, you are telling about you and the values you bring.Mark was so thoughtful, sharing and experienced in his comments/tips. I know you will have a much better job search plan after you listen to him. Enjoy and make sure you share this with a friend.Send us a text

Dec 25, 2022 • 33min
70. Max Chan - Helping you with your job search, so you can stop searching and start working your dream job.
Max Chan helps professionals with their job search in order to land more interviews, generate more job offers and make more money. His company, Chan with a Plan, (https://www.chanwithaplan.com) offers a variety of services, including:· Recruiting plan and guidance· Cover letter and resume writing· LinkedIn profile optimization· Job interview preparationIn this episode, Max provided his expert guidance so you can find your next great job faster and easier. Some of the points he covered includes:· Resume construction ideas for recent grads and more experienced professionals.· Why using numbers and metrics in your resume is critical.· How you can effectively deal with work gaps for your resume and in an interview.· If you can’t get interviews, change your resume; if you can’t get job offers, change your communication.· Candidate should review job description of position they are interviewing for to get ideas on what will be asked by recruiting team and prepare response that is in line with what company is looking for.· Rejection is a part of networking and job hunting, but you can develop a recruiting strategy that can help speed up your search and reduce your anxiety.This is a powerful episode with so many great tips and ideas for you during your transition. Max will help you change your perspective on how you manage your transition - enjoy!Send us a text