Jack Kelly and Rick Chen take on the ultimate question: "Should I stay, or should I go?" in response to some recent viral Blind discussions. We react to how many high-earning professionals feel financially stretched and falling behind and the paradox where million-dollar compensation packages still leave people feeling like they're living paycheck to paycheck. Jack and Rick explore the decision to leave these lucrative positions and the calculus you might use to determine whether your current ro...
Sep 09, 2024•34 min•Ep. 20240909
Jack Kelly and Rick Chen react to a viral Blind poll that found that 76% of Nvidia professionals claim to be millionaires, and 33% may have a net worth of $20 million or more as a result of Nvidia's incredible stock price appreciation since 2019. Rick reveals how much stock you might have gotten depending on when you joined Nvidia. Rick explains how stock-based compensation works and why employers have set up stock grants to unlock over long periods of time. We look into how companies purposeful...
Sep 06, 2024•25 min•Ep. 20240906
Jack Kelly and Rick Chen break down Goldman Sachs' latest planned layoffs of 1,300 to 1,800 people as part of its annual performance review process. We react to the mega investment bank's plans to "cull" its workforce and why so many Wall Street firms and banks have annual layoffs. Jack reflects on how the situation is exacerbated by the stigma associated with being labeled a so-called "low performer" and how it typically impacts someone's job prospects in the future. Rick compares the pay packa...
Sep 05, 2024•26 min•Ep. 20240905
Terence Bennett, CEO of DreamFactory Software Terence has long known he would join the U.S. Navy, but it was unclear what he might do after leaving the armed services. We explore his remarkable career journey, marked by different transitions: specialties within the Navy, military life to civilian life, and going from an individual contributor to becoming a startup COO and then CEO. Terence also shares how he stood out when applying for a job at Google, including the tip he tells every veteran to...
Sep 04, 2024•28 min•Ep. 119
Kyle Elliott, Founder of Kyle Elliott Consulting Kyle helps senior professionals and executives land their dream jobs at some of the hottest companies in Silicon Valley. We get Kyle to coach us on how to network—even when you feel like you have to start from zero—optimize your resume so that you can better compete against AI and the tens of thousands of other applicants, and how you can package your experience into standout stories to wow recruiters, hiring managers and executives. https://bit.l...
Aug 28, 2024•34 min•Ep. 118
Charles Beadnall, Chief Technology Officer at GoDaddy Charles was one of the early builders of the Internet. We learn how Turner Broadcasting, Yahoo!, and other tech companies influenced how he leads his engineering teams and the experimental and innovation-focused culture at GoDaddy today. Charles shares his insights into how technologists can use their problem-solving skills to hack faster promotions. He emphasizes the importance of understanding business goals and problems and matching skill ...
Aug 21, 2024•34 min•Ep. 117
Jack Kelly and Rick Chen react to Wall Street's 100-hour-plus workweeks and its culture of grinding out employees, especially in the junior ranks. We explore the compensation available and whether the money is worth the sacrificed weekends, social relationships and mental health. Jack also walks through all of the available functions and roles in the finance industry and why tech professionals might want to make the switch. https://bit.ly/blind-podcast https://wsj.com/finance/banking...
Aug 15, 2024•28 min•Ep. 20240815
Angie Hicks, Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer of Angi Angie shares the unlikely story of how she became an entrepreneur as a 22-year-old right out of college. We explore the origins of Angie's List, including how they created a marketplace startup before it became popular, why the company bears her name and the marketing tactics the company used to grow to attract venture capital funding and eventual acquisition. We learn how anyone can be an entrepreneur or startup founder, even if you don...
Aug 14, 2024•35 min•Ep. 116
Carlo di Florio, Global Advisory Leader at ACA Group Carlo spent a decade as a senior regulator, overseeing the financial services industry at the SEC and FINRA. He gives us a rare look into what it's like to be a regulator and how someone lands a role in these top jobs. He also shares the common scams and naughty things bankers, brokers, finance executives and traders might do. Carlo also takes some time to debunk some myths about a career in compliance, risk and regulatory work. He shares the ...
Aug 07, 2024•34 min•Ep. 115
Lynne Oldham, Chief People Officer at Stash Lynne made it as an HR executive through a circuitous route across companies, industries, and even countries. We tackle all of the different HR tropes out there, including whether HR is your enemy, how they might only serve executives or the companies, and how mass layoffs might happen. Lynne gives us a sneak peek into what it's like working in HR as we tackle and dispel each of these myths one by one and through the lens of her time as the chief peopl...
Jul 31, 2024•27 min•Ep. 114
Jeff Bogdan, Former Director, Learning & Development - Microsoft Windows at Microsoft Jeff began his career as a software engineer at Microsoft. We explore the company's culture in the '90s and discuss the launches of Windows 95, the Zune media player, and Windows Phone. Jeff shares what he learned from the failures and how they propelled him to new career opportunities, including a new role he pitched to a corporate vice president. This episode is a must-listen if you've ever thought about ...
Jul 24, 2024•28 min•Ep. 113
Gal Josefsberg, Vice President, Product and Operations - Cloud Platform at Guidewire Software Gal has seen it all as a product management executive. He walks us through what it is like to be a product owner at an early-stage startup, a more mature startup, and how an IPO or acquisition changes the role. We explore how to work with startup founders and CEOs, navigate egos and micromanagement, and why many product managers might have impostor syndrome. Gal also gives us his best interview advice, ...
Jul 17, 2024•41 min•Ep. 112
Jayesh Govindarajan, Senior Vice President, Salesforce AI at Salesforce Jayesh explains how AI is already changing how people work. We dig into how copilots work and how people are already using them to get better at their jobs and explore the new roles and career opportunities created. Finally, we explore how Salesforce hires professionals for its AI teams, which roles are needed, and how they all work together to build and ship new AI products and technology. This episode of "The Blind Ambitio...
Jul 10, 2024•27 min•Ep. 111
Jack Kelly and Rick Chen respond to Brittany Pietsch's viral LinkedIn status, revealing that she is still looking for a job nearly six months after recording herself as CloudFlare laid her off. We look into why HR and management teams like the impersonal layoff by video and how hiring managers and executives can do better. We also take on the hundreds of people who wished her well on social media after she uploaded her layoff video and the perils of social media posts on your career. Finally, Ri...
Jul 05, 2024•26 min•Ep. 20240705
Liz Young, Head of Investment Strategy at SoFi Liz's investment strategies and insights are sought the world over from CNBC, where she is a regular contributor on TV, to SoFi, where she leads the financial technology company's strategy function. We get the tactical low-down into how someone can break into a career on Wall Street, the experience needed to become an investment strategist, and how she became a go-to woman in the finance industry. Notably, Liz reveals how to achieve professional suc...
Jul 03, 2024•36 min•Ep. 110
Awa Kone, Global Head of Operations at Flutterwave Awa is a go-to expert for multinational corporations and multi-billion-dollar startups looking to expand worldwide, especially on the continent of Africa. In this exclusive episode, she reveals the top three secrets she's used to develop her career and the businesses she's scaled on a global stage. We dive into Swiss Re and Flutterwave's tactics and expansion strategy and how the two giants think about new countries, markets and verticals. Awa a...
Jun 26, 2024•34 min•Ep. 109
Rich Lesser, Global Chair of BCG Rich didn't start his career in management consulting. We explore how he decided to give up his plum engineering job at Procter & Gamble to join Boston Consulting Group as a consultant. He shares how he rose through the ranks at BCG over 35 years before ending up as CEO and a trusted advisor to CEOs, politicians, and other global influence-makers. We also get Rich to share his best secrets for leveling up your career and the skills he learned as a management ...
Jun 19, 2024•34 min•Ep. 108
George Bezerra, Senior Vice President, Head of Data George explains how he transitioned from academia to industry and why earning a master's or PhD can help you unlock a career in data science or machine learning. We also get George to explain the difference between analytics, data science, machine learning and AI roles and why even companies and hiring managers get it wrong so often. He also shares why everyone suddenly wants to become a data scientist and how much analysts and data scientists ...
Jun 12, 2024•27 min•Ep. 107
Amit Bendov, Founder and CEO of Gong Amit is now the founder of a startup last publicly valued at more than $7 billion, but fundraising and getting the attention of investors and customers weren't always easy. We dig into the inspiration for Gong and how he persevered through the venture capitalists' many rejections in the early days. Amit also shares how Gong stood out in a crowded market and how to land a job at the sales-intelligence software company. This episode of "The Blind Ambition with ...
Jun 05, 2024•26 min•Ep. 106
Andrea Guerzoni, Global Vice Chair, Strategy and Transactions at EY Andrea, with more than 20 years of experience in taking companies public, advising CEOs and boards of directors about mergers and acquisitions, and helping orchestrate corporate spin-offs, explains how these IPOs and corporate deals really work. We also get a sneak peek into some of the advice he shares with executives, what his transaction and deals teams look like, and how to get hired on a strategy and transactions team at a ...
May 29, 2024•34 min•Ep. 105
Whitnie Narcisse, Operating Partner at First Round Capital Whitnie shares how you can work in venture capital without having an investing or finance background. We explore the world of venture capital platform and all the functions and professionals that make a venture capital firm successful for the firm and its portfolio companies. She also explains why venture capital firms hire their own engineers and how they build their recruitment networks and pipelines for their portfolio companies and t...
May 22, 2024•39 min•Ep. 104
Monty Fowler, Vice President, Revenue Strategy and Enablement at Kentik Monty reveals that at many companies, the most highly paid professionals are often the salespeople, and in some cases, they might make as much as a Fortune 500 CEO. We break down the total compensation and pay structures most common in tech sales roles and a possible blueprint to earn $100,000 or more in an entry-level tech sales role. Monty also explains the archetypes of sales professionals and why it might not be what you...
May 15, 2024•42 min•Ep. 103
Marta Munk de Alba, Former Director, Talent Acquisition EMEA at Netflix Marta takes us to a world where people haven't heard of Netflix. She recalls what it was like to recruit for Netflix in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, when the streaming giant was first expanding outside of the U.S. We also ask Marta to reveal everything you might want to know about how Netflix hires and what the company culture is really like. She explains the types of professionals and job candidates Netflix prefers t...
May 08, 2024•42 min•Ep. 102
Dan Black, Global Leader, Talent Attraction and Acquisition at EY Dan leads talent attraction and acquisition at EY and is responsible for the "Big Four" firm's recruiting strategy. We get the inside details into what he and his recruiters look for when hiring and how somebody can get on their radar. Notably, we dig into the diverse roles and backgrounds EY considers and hires, including mechanical engineers, software developers, lawyers, blockchain experts and more. Dan also shares his top tips...
May 01, 2024•44 min•Ep. 101
Valerie Beaulieu, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at The Adecco Group Valerie explains her secret to a remarkable career journey, what she calls her "career backpack," which landed her in the c-suite and on the boards of various public companies and organizations. We look at when Microsoft was a startup and what it was like working in the tech industry when everyone was unsure if it would go anywhere. Valerie explains how she became the chief marketing officer at Microsoft and the internationa...
Apr 24, 2024•44 min•Ep. 100
Senior Director, U.S. Business Acceleration and Integration at RBC Annette tells us how to communicate with executives and what it takes to influence them and drive impact. She also shares how to get started, including everything from networking and meeting CEOs and other c-suite executives at your own company to what to say when you want to get their attention. We also find out what it was like as the first in her family to graduate from college and make a career in the finance industry. Annett...
Apr 18, 2024•40 min•Ep. 99
Ben Morss, Product Manager at Zocdoc Ben shares his nontraditional career path, from studying computer science and music to working as a software engineer, developer advocate, and now product manager. Ben also reveals that many of his colleagues at Google had nontraditional work experience or had to apply multiple times before landing a role at the Internet giant. He shares their common traits and professional experiences. Next, we also explore how to get matched to different teams and business ...
Apr 10, 2024•30 min•Ep. 98
Ginnie Carlier, Americas Vice Chair, Talent at EY Ginnie reflects on the best professional advice she's ever received: You need to have an adventurous mindset. We explore how adventure and a willingness to step outside your comfort zone can unlock new career opportunities. Ginnie explains how she put the advice into practice and how it landed her hot roles in Silicon Valley, working on high-tech IPO transactions and getting international experience in a new role in the Middle East. We also disco...
Apr 03, 2024•30 min•Ep. 88
The Honorable Mark Takano of the U.S. House of Representatives Congressman Mark Takano recently introduced a bill called the Thirty-Two-Hour Workweek Act, which would amend the definition of the workweek in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. If passed into law, it would require overtime pay for anyone who works more than 32 hours in one week, down from the current 40. Congressman Takano explains why we might have AI, the COVID-19 pandemic and JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO Jamie Dimo...
Mar 27, 2024•22 min•Ep. 121
Jack Kelly and Rick Chen react to news that Glassdoor wants your real name. We explore the company's privacy practices and whether company reviews and other information posted to Glassdoor are really anonymous. Jack explains the real-life repercussions of being outed about posts made on Glassdoor and social media and why anonymity matters. Finally, Rick gives Glassdoor some PR advice about how they could rebuild trust with their users and other professionals. This episode of "The Blind Ambition ...
Mar 22, 2024•30 min•Ep. 20240321
