

Coffee With Convery
Brien Convery
Explore how success isn’t just about climbing the corporate ladder—sometimes it’s about building your own jungle gym. From students to seasoned professionals, this career development podcast is your launchpad for job search strategies, personal branding, leadership growth, and workplace success. Dive into real-life career transitions, resume tips, interview preparation, mentorship, and future-ready skills. Produced by talent, for talent—empowering emerging professionals, entrepreneurs, and executives to thrive in today’s evolving job market. Listen now to level up your career!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 7, 2021 • 25min
Fears, rejection and perspectives with Evans Mosomi
Students and young professionals are facing barriers, uncertainty, biases and changing priorities as they navigate the school to work transition. Their collective stories have inspired me and now I want to share these stories with you.
My guest today is Evans Mosomi. Evans is enrolled at the Ontario Tech University focusing on his Bachelor of Engineering | Software Engineering with an expected graduation date in 2022. Evans is an outgoing individual who is always considered a ball of energy in a dynamic team. He is passionate about software development in terms of logic, critical thinking, problem solving and project management. He always seeks to lend a helping hand to others while being a strong advocate of finding growth outside your comfort zone. Something that might surprise you is his ambivert nature. In his spare time, Evans likes all things music. He loves to sing and play the piano as well as work on musical projects with friends. Fun fact: He was part of a gospel album released this quarantine. If he’s not singing, he is probably having a philosophical discussion.
I had the chance to talk Fears, rejection and perspectives with Evans Mosomi and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy!
#CoffeeWithConvery #EvansMosomi#Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Sep 30, 2021 • 37min
Careering Talk: Ask Me Anything.
On today’s #CoffeeWithConvery podcast we are introducing the series “Careering Talk” which is an open mic new series to empower job and career seekers with knowledge, insights, career pathing and coaching to find that dream job and develop a career with purpose and impact.
I had the chance to connect on an Ask Me Anything Session with Kolitha Wanniarachchi, David Balanca, Tejaswini Joshi, Yetunde Ajiboye, Luciana Yokota and Kingsley Ozowe and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy!
#CoffeeWithConvery #Careering #CareeringTalk #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Sep 23, 2021 • 28min
Exploring, learning and careering with Natasha Dao
Students and young professionals are facing barriers, uncertainty, biases and changing priorities as they navigate the school to work transition. Their collective stories have inspired me and now I want to share these stories with you.
My guest today is Natasha Dao. Natasha is a 2019 graduate from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Labour Studies and a minor in Geography | Earth Sciences. Most recently, she has enrolled in the Sheridan College Graduate Certificate Human Resources Management Program with an expected graduation date in 2022.
Natasha is skilled in Blogging, Customer Service, Communication, Social Media, and Teamwork with a keen interest in Human Resources and Digital Marketing. In her spare time, Natasha likes to volunteer within her local community to support small businesses with English-language barriers and share her adventures on trying new restaurants and posting food reviews on a food Instagram called “Jenuine Taste.”
I had the chance to talk Exploring, learning and careering with Natasha Dao and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy!
#CoffeeWithConvery #NatashaDao#Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Sep 16, 2021 • 25min
Optimism, over-thinking and networking with Brayden Bumstead
Students and young professionals are facing barriers, uncertainty, biases and changing priorities as they navigate the school to work transition. Their collective stories have inspired me and now I want to share these stories with you.
My guest today is Brayden Bumstead. Brayden is a student at Laurentian University and studying for a Bachelor of Commerce in Sports Administration with a minor in economics and an expected graduation in 2022.
This summer Brayden worked as a Client Advisor in Canadian Banking at RBC. Brayden embraced the RBC community spirit and helped to lead branch initiatives such as the PRIDE celebrations for the month of June and in addition he contributed to an absolutely amazing display for a week long Indigenous set up in the branch where we helped to educate our clients on Indigenous culture and traditions. In his spare time, Brayden likes to play a round of golf with friends, Get out on the ice for some hockey, and spend time in the outdoors with family and friends.
I had the chance to talk Optimism, over-thinking and networking with Brayden Bumstead and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy!
#CoffeeWithConvery #Brayden Bumstead #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Sep 7, 2021 • 39min
Unlearning, growth-mindsets and inclusion with Dev’Roux Maharaj
Students and young professionals are facing barriers, uncertainty, biases and changing priorities as they navigate the school to work transition. Their collective stories have inspired me and now I want to share these stories with you.
My guest today is Dev’Roux Maharaj. Dev’Roux will be graduating from the University of Toronto – Mississauga with a Bachelors of Arts in Economics and Political Science in 2022. Dev’Roux is a Head Research Assistant - Economic History at University of Toronto and this past summer he was an intern with Shareholder Services, a team with RBC Investor & Treasury Services.
Dev’Roux and I met a few years back at a networking event for Start Proud where I learned his fellow students and friends did not come out to the event for fear of being outed and or questioned by their family for attending such an event. This saddened me and upset me that this barrier was there and therefore Dev’Roux and I partnered up and hosted a specific event for the LGBTQ+ Club at University of Toronto Mississauga where they could come and feel safe and welcomed to meet me and my team.
Since then Dev’Roux and I have remained in touch and continued our relationship with the hopes of doing more for the 2SLGBTQ+ community now and in the future. In his spare time, Dev’Roux likes to bake bread, go on tiktok, and watch historical documentaries! He is an avid lover of everything to do with cats and capybaras, and is a huge supporter of animal conservation.
I had the chance to talk Unlearning, growth-mindsets and inclusion with Dev’Roux Maharaj and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy!
#CoffeeWithConvery #DevRouxMaharaj #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Sep 2, 2021 • 41min
Alarms, patience and change with Arun Sampath
Students and young professionals are facing barriers, uncertainty, biases and changing priorities as they navigate the school to work transition. Their collective stories have inspired me and now I want to share these stories with you.
My guest today is Arun Sampath. Arun is a student in a multi-disciplinary program in Science and Business at the University of Waterloo expected to graduate in 2022.
As an innovative co-op student, Arun always is looking for opportunities to continuously expand his knowledge and abilities in the workplace. Arun’s technical skills as a science student combined with his problem-solving abilities as a business student have allowed him to gain interests in business operations, sales, marketing, and customer support. Arun is hungry to learn and actively solve problems around an organization’s operations, business strategies, and customer pain points. This summer Arun worked as a Communications Analyst and Community Leader for the Amplify Program at RBC in Technology and Operations group. In his spare time, Arun likes exercise and go on walks in his spare time due to the shift to a virtual work environment during the pandemic. Besides that he is a huge food enthusiast and loves to make homemade meals from scratch.
I had the chance to talk Alarms, patience and change with Arun Sampath and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy!
#CoffeeWithConvery #ArunSampath #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Aug 26, 2021 • 30min
Throwback Thursday: Culture, agency and critical thinking with Michelle Manocchio
On today’s #CoffeeWithConvery podcast we are continuing the series “Throwback Thursday” where I bring onto the show students and young talent that I met years ago and to see where they are now.
My guest today is Michelle Manocchio a graduate of the Schulich School of Business at York University with an International Bachelor of Business Administration and a Specialization in Strategic Management. Michelle has extensive experience in client-focused, complex change environments where she has been able to design, manage and transform some of the largest organizations across multiple industries. Michelle has worked, studied, volunteered and traveled across 37 countries on five continents which has taught her how to enable success in global environments.
Michelle and I met years ago, when I made my transition from the U.S. to Canada with IBM. Her story, her passions and her love for life inspired me then and continue to inspire me now.
I had the chance to sit down to talk Throwback Thursday: Culture, agency and critical thinking with Michelle Manocchio and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy!
#CoffeeWithConvery #ThrowbackThursday #TBT #MichelleManocchio #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Aug 19, 2021 • 25min
Life's blessings, challenges and the importance of mentorship with Blake Zhang
Students and young professionals are facing barriers, uncertainty, biases and changing priorities as they navigate the school to work transition. Their collective stories have inspired me and now I want to share these stories with you.
My guest today is Blake Zhang. Blake is a student at Smith School of Business at Queen's University studying Business Commerce with an expected graduation date of May 2023. Blake and I met back in September 2020 through the Professional Mentorship Program which was sponsored by the Smith School of Business Centre of Social Impact in partnership with the student clubs Q+, the Smith Black Business Association (SBBA), and EDGE. We were formally assigned as Mentor and Mentee and have continued to remain connected as Blake made his move from home in China back to Canada to attend school in person in 2021.
This summer Blake worked as an Operations Analyst at RBC and also stepped up to the role of a student partner leading a team of students for our Believe Impact Project with Canadian Olympian and Amazing Race Canada contestant Sarah Wells. In his spare time, Blake likes to play basketball, spend time with his cat Melo and watching sports.
I had the chance to sit down to talk about life's blessings, challenges and the importance of mentorship with Blake Zhang and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy!
#CoffeeWithConvery #BlakeZhang #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Aug 12, 2021 • 41min
Impact philosophy, spoken word poetry and deep dives with Logan Kieller
Students and young professionals are facing barriers, uncertainty, biases and changing priorities as they navigate the school to work transition. Their collective stories have inspired me and now I want to share these stories with you.
Now let’s meet Logan Kieller. Logan is attending the Ivey Business School at Western University and is enrolled in the Honors Program for Business Administration with an expected graduation date in May 2023. Logan was the President of the Western Pre-Business Students' Network (PBSN) and co-led the Tech Under 20 until August 2020 of last year. Now after exploring entrepreneurship, he recently launched and is the Co-Founder & Executive Director of Shape Donations, Managing Director of Hack the Globe and a Basecamp Incubator Fellow at the DMZ. Logan has four coops to his experience, three of which were with RBC and he is just getting started.
I had the chance to talk Impact philosophy, spoken word poetry and deep dives with Logan Kieller and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy!
#CoffeeWithConvery #LoganKieller #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Aug 5, 2021 • 40min
Being thankful, student life and genuine connections with Jagroop Chahal
Students and young professionals are facing barriers, uncertainty, biases and changing priorities as they navigate the school to work transition. Their collective stories have inspired me and now I want to share these stories with you.
Now let’s meet Jagroop Chahal. Jagroop is a 2012 graduate of the New Horizon College of Engineering with a Bachelor of Engineering and a 2018 graduate from Lambton College with a Post Graduate Diploma in Web Design and Development. Jagroop is a Software Professional with a passion for coaching people on Mental Health and Wellness. Jagroop came to Canada with 3 years of experience as a Web and API Developer in India. He completed his Technical Systems Analyst Co-Op at RBC in the Online Banking Team and is now a Senior IT Developer at TD. In his spare time, Jagroop likes to read books, go out for a bike ride or play online poker.
I had the chance to sit down to talk Being thankful, student life and genuine connections with Jagroop Chahal and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy!
#CoffeeWithConvery #JagroopChahal #Listen #Learn #BeInspired