Jason Birmingham, Chief Technology Officer at Broadridge Financial Jason openly admits that he doesn't have the traditional resume of a CTO or a financial-technology executive. For one, he's a software engineer with finance degrees and a client-facing management consulting background. We dig into how he broke the mold and earned each promotion until he landed in the c-suite. He shares how he learned the value of mentorship and professional sponsorship and how he's been able to count on others to...
Sep 06, 2023•47 min•Ep. 67
Trent Henry, Global Vice Chair, Talent at EY Before becoming the global vice chair of talent at EY, Trent was the CEO of EY Canada. He's seen how the economy has changed and why so many employers and professionals haven't yet caught up. We get Trent to teach a masterclass about how professionals can invest in themselves and develop the in-demand skills that EY, the Big Four accounting and consulting firms, and some top tech companies demand. We dig deep into how professionals can pivot from skil...
Aug 30, 2023•36 min•Ep. 66
Ariella Steinhorn, Co-Founder of Lioness and Amber Scorah, Co-Founder and President of Lioness Ariella and Amber explain what it means to be a whistleblower and why someone might decide to take something public. If you ever asked yourself, "What is a whistleblower?" you must listen to this episode. We explore whistleblower rights and protections and the most common abuses, incidents and events which might lead to someone coming forward. Ariella and Amber also share how Lioness advocates for prof...
Aug 23, 2023•49 min•Ep. 65
CJ Jouhal, Head of Engineering at Anchorage Digital CJ has led engineering teams as a CTO or head of engineering for more than 20 years. In this episode, we get vulnerable and dig into the major decisions in his life that made him the technical leader he is today, diving into nearly every high and low point in his career. CJ recalls how he decided to give up his comfortable job as a programmer at Lockheed Martin to join a startup. He then explains why it can be a curse when your startup gets acq...
Aug 16, 2023•54 min•Ep. 64
Jack Kelly and Rick Chen chase down the labor agreement between UPS and the Teamsters Union to figure out if UPS drivers will really start to earn $170,000 in pay. We look into how the total compensation was calculated and if the reporters got their news headlines wrong. Jack and Rick then discuss the evolution of the job market and how some professions are changing in response to new technology like autonomous vehicles and machine learning. Finally, we debate whether UPS will even have to pay t...
Aug 14, 2023•35 min•Ep. 20230814
Jack Kelly and Rick Chen explore Google's decision to discount stays at its on-campus hotels to $99/night. We explore why Google has an on-campus hotel and if the hotel rate is a good deal if you can no longer work from home. Jack and Rick also explain why some companies like Zoom are all announcing return-to-office policies and getting stricter with in-office work. Finally, Rick reveals the nefarious things that some executives and HR teams are doing to justify their company policies, including...
Aug 11, 2023•33 min•Ep. 20230811
Jonathan Dughi, Former Senior Software Development Manager at Amazon Jonathan was the head of engineering at Amazon Smile, Amazon's charity program that made it easy for shoppers to give back when they purchased from the online retailer. We explore his background and how Jonathan landed a job offer at Amazon as a software engineer with a history degree. Jack and Rick also quiz Jonathan about what it's like to work at Amazon. We take a deep dive into the responsibility of a manager at Amazon, inc...
Aug 09, 2023•40 min•Ep. 63
Jack Kelly and Rick Chen react to the "prestige" meme on Blind, or how many professionals seem to be obsessed with whether a certain company, industry or job role is more prestigious than another. We dive into whether recruiters and hiring managers care about your educational background and which university you attended, your past employers or roles, and even if your industry or ZIP Code matter. Then, Jack and Rick detail how to create your own prestige and share how they have built their brands...
Aug 04, 2023•40 min•Ep. 20230804
Erin Faverty, Operating Partner at PeopleTech Partners Erin explains what venture capital firms mean when they say they have a platform team on-hand. We look into why investors even bother staffing marketers, recruiters, and even data scientists and how they help startup founders and early employees. Next, Erin gives us her top tips on how to tell the good, helpful advisers from the bad and what it might take to become an executive. Don't miss this masterclass in executive success! http://blinda...
Aug 02, 2023•36 min•Ep. 62
Michael Kascsak, Former Head of Software Engineering Sourcing, North America at Google Michael has been a recruiter for more than 20 years, connecting professionals with leading companies like Bank of America, Capital One, CBRE, and, most recently, Google. We compare and contrast what it takes to get a high-powered, high-paying job in the finance, real estate and tech industries and get into the nuts and bolts of what it takes to stand out as a job candidate. Jack and Rick also push Michael into...
Jul 26, 2023•58 min•Ep. 61
Larry Gadea, Founder and CEO of Envoy Larry has an untraditional background for a Silicon Valley CEO, including getting smuggled out of Romania to Germany before settling in Canada at the age of 3. We explore how his experience growing up led him to work at Google while a full-time student and how open-source projects opened doors for him. Next, we dive into the a-ha moment behind Envoy and its ubiquitous tablets seemingly in every startup and tech company's reception area. Jack and Rick then ge...
Jul 19, 2023•33 min•Ep. 60
Michael Griffiths, Workforce Transformation Offering Leader at Deloitte Michael didn't always know he wanted to get into consulting. Before he rose through the ranks of strategy and management consulting, he was a London school teacher. We explore why developing skills has become more important than job titles and the promotions that make up the traditional career ladder in today's job market. Michael also breaks down some research to explain how the economy shifted to become so skills-based and...
Jul 12, 2023•32 min•Ep. 59
Mahe Bayireddi, Co-Founder and CEO of Phenom Mahe spells out how employers use artificial intelligence, machine learning and data to hire employees. He explains that job-seekers and other professionals should focus on highlighting their core competencies, skills and behaviors and dives into the tactics to stand out in the job application and job interview processes. We explore how some companies and industries are using automated interviews and what the deal is with video interviews. http://blin...
Jun 29, 2023•39 min•Ep. 58
Pato O'Ward, IndyCar Racer at The Arrow McLaren Team Pato O'Ward is one of the youngest motorsport athletes in the world at 23 years old. In this exclusive interview for Blind, he recalls how he became a professional race-car driver and what it was like getting started on a world stage at a young age. We then take a deep dive with Pato into the business of motorsport, including how drivers fund their travel, get hired by a motorsport team, find sponsors, and what the total compensation of a moto...
Jun 21, 2023•42 min•Ep. 57
Brad Porter, Founder and CEO of Collaborative Robotics Until recently, Brad was a vice president and distinguished engineer at Amazon, working on some of the internet giant's most ambitious projects like Amazon Prime Air, Amazon Prime Now and Amazon Robotics. We ask Brad to walk us through his career arc and how he became one of the few technologists in the tech industry to crack the "L10" distinguished engineer job level. After he shares his advice about how to reach the next step in your caree...
Jun 14, 2023•38 min•Ep. 56
Jack Kelly and Rick Chen react to Elon Musk's rant about remote work and the white-collar professional. Musk thinks professionals who want to continue working remotely need to stop living in "La La Land" and get back into the office. We discuss whether he's right about working from home and why it might depend on your career level or tenure. Next, Rick recalls the early days of his career and why he thinks the "grunt" work really paid off. Jack tackles the shocking Blind poll that found almost h...
Jun 09, 2023•41 min•Ep. 20230608
Donald Knight, Chief People Officer at Greenhouse Donald breaks down the questions that professionals should be asking in job interviews. We explore how to uncover a company's real culture, including their leadership team's approach to layoffs and other difficult decisions in tough times, what types of actions and behaviors they reward, and how people get promoted or recognized. Next, Donald explains how to be business-focused and demonstrate experience and impact like you're an executive. Final...
Jun 07, 2023•25 min•Ep. 55
Fredrik Johnsson, Owner and President of Race of Champions Fredrik has never shied away from big, audacious goals. We explore how he conceptualized the Race of Champions, recruited the first athletes and secured the first venues for the first-of-its-kind motorsport event. Race of Champions pits the best racing and rally drivers from the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Formula 1, IndyCar, NASCAR, the World Rally Championship and more in a head-to-head race. Along the way, we dig into the turning points and ...
May 31, 2023•19 min•Ep. 54
Jack Kelly and Rick Chen explore whether pay packages have decreased in the tech industry because of the recent high-profile layoffs at Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Salesforce and more. Notably, new, exclusive research from Blind shows that a majority of job-seeking software engineers in the U.S. are now willing to accept the same or lower pay in a new role. We dive into the data, run some numbers and explain how tech professionals can fight back against employers to improve their work life....
May 26, 2023•44 min•Ep. 20230526
Cai GoGwilt, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Ironclad Cai explains why professionals need to demonstrate integrity at work. He outlines how engineers and technologists can earn the trust of their teammates and how entrepreneurs can create better, more successful businesses through trust. We also explore how Cai and Ironclad discover a job seeker's integrity in the job interview process and how they wove it into Ironclad's company culture and business practices. http://blindap.onelink....
May 24, 2023•34 min•Ep. 53
Ashwinder Ahluwalia, Former Head of Product Management at Google Ash spent more than 10 years leading product management at Google Ads and Google Cloud before becoming the head of product management and acting general manager of an internal stealth artificial intelligence startup within Alphabet. We get the inside scoop into how Google approaches product management and how to tell the difference between a good product manager and an excellent, impactful product owner. Most importantly, he explai...
May 16, 2023•46 min•Ep. 52
Rod Adams, U.S. and Mexico Talent Acquisition and Onboarding Leader at PwC Rod is a bit of a unicorn. He's been at the international "Big Four" firm PwC for nearly 30 years and has grown his career from an associate to a principal with global impact. We explore the secret to his career arc, including the importance of having a mentor and the pathways for career development available at PwC. He also shares how professionals can stand out in a competitive job market and how mega assurance, advisor...
May 10, 2023•41 min•Ep. 51
Matt Fitzgerald, Chief Marketing Officer at Tend Matt has dedicated his marketing career to focusing on the fundamentals—listening and solving real problems for real people. We explore his storied track record of creating and marketing challenger brands into recognizable household names from scratch. He explains why it's still an excellent time to get into marketing and why companies might be foolish if they cut their marketing team and budgets too quickly or too much. Finally, Matt shares how t...
May 03, 2023•39 min•Ep. 50
Christine Deputy, Chief People Officer at Pinterest Christine reveals how employers and company executives think about employee retention and turnover. We look into how executives and managers are evaluated at some of the top companies and how to think about promotions. Finally, we dig deep into the weeds to learn what professionals should know about their total compensation and how pay connects to career development. https://blindap.onelink.me/ttCg/9780e977...
Apr 26, 2023•42 min•Ep. 49
Shanee Ben-Zur, Chief Growth Officer and Chief Marketing Officer at Crunchbase Shanee shares how everyone can use marketing best practices to land their next job, even if they're not a marketer. We dive into the weeds to learn how to stand out in a tough job market and in your current role. Finally, we explore why it doesn't make sense that some of the largest tech companies have decided to cut their marketing budgets and teams in a potential economic downturn. https://blindap.onelink.me/ttCg/ba...
Apr 19, 2023•19 min•Ep. 48
Garima Sahai, Former Director, Engineering, Google Local and Google Map Ads at Google Garima was one of the earliest employees at Google. She reflects on how the company has changed from its startup days nearly 20 years ago to becoming the internet giant it is today. We tackle everything from being one of the first female engineers in Silicon Valley, how Google co-founder Larry Page approached problems, and what it was like to build from zero to 1 billion and beyond. https://blindap.onelink.me/t...
Apr 12, 2023•33 min•Ep. 47
Mark Sherman, Managing Partner at Telstra Ventures Saad Siddiqui, General Partner at Telstra Ventures Mark and Saad take us through how venture capitalists decide what to invest in and how they find startup founders, including an inside look into some of the data science and models they use to predict success. (Hint: We all could use the advice, even if we aren't startup executives looking for an investment!) https://blindap.onelink.me/ttCg/7561d14...
Apr 05, 2023•29 min•Ep. 46
Andrew Seaman, Managing Editor for Jobs and Career Development at LinkedIn Andrew leads job search and career development content for LinkedIn News and is one of our go-to experts on the job market. We break down the latest trends as we see them, from the incredible competition for remote jobs, the return-to-office movement of many companies, and the decreasing pay and total compensation in some industries to the mass layoffs that are becoming more common. Andrew, Jack and Rick fact-check some o...
Mar 29, 2023•48 min•Ep. 45
Dan Schiappa, Chief Product Officer at Arctic Wolf Dan shares his tried-and-true framework for pivoting your career, recalling his successful shifts that resulted in leadership roles in everything from engineering, CEO, business development, finance, and, most recently, product. We explore what being a category-creator in business and your professional life is like, including how he became a principal developer in only two years at Oracle and Bill Gates' technical assistant at Microsoft. Dan als...
Mar 22, 2023•47 min•Ep. 44
Cosmin Nicolaescu, Chief Technology Officer at Brex Cosmin has enjoyed a meteoric rise as a software engineer. In less than 10 years, he's led global engineering teams at two multibillion-dollar startups. We explore his career trajectory and how a Microsoft software engineer intern becomes the CTO of a more than $12-billion valuation financial-technology juggernaut. Finally, in an exclusive for the Blind community, Cosmin shares how someone can impress him in a job interview at Brex. https://bli...
Mar 15, 2023•43 min•Ep. 43
