Many people, perhaps most, don’t think of “passion” and “job” in the same sentence. They believe passion is for their family, their significant other, their hobbies. They lock their passion in the safe before leaving for work every day. The result? Long, unfulfilling days with little to show for them. Those of us who have aligned our passion with our work are excited and energized to get up in the morning, because our work is a reflection of who we are. What we were put on this earth to do. I th...
Mar 18, 2020•Ep. 119
This episode center’s around Wallace D. Wattle’s seminal book, “The Science of Getting Rich.” Specifically, his perspective on persistence. Why is this so important? Because Mr. Wattle’s decades-long research into successful people revealed what so many after him have also found to be true…persistence is an essential quality for success. First, a definition of persistence: “A firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.” There’s a difference between b...
Mar 11, 2020•Ep. 118
Many people, perhaps most, don’t think of “passion” and “job” in the same sentence. They believe passion is for their family, their significant other, their hobbies. They lock their passion in the safe before leaving for work every day. The result? Long, unfulfilling days with little to show for them. Those of us who have aligned our passion with our work are excited and energized to get up in the morning, because our work is a reflection of who we are. What we were put on this earth to do. I th...
Mar 11, 2020•Ep. 119
Here are some tips, borrowed heavily from “The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan” by Bradt, Check, and Pedraza. A SUCCESSFUL ON-BOARD REQUIRES DECIDING ON THE RIGHT APPROACH Determining the organization’s culture (and/or the sub-culture of your specific department or business unit) is key to knowing how to approach your work from day one. A major component of organizational culture is readiness to change. You will likely see one of these four cultures: SMOOTH SAILING If the situation does not req...
Mar 04, 2020•Ep. 117
This month, I’m sharing pieces of programs I offer to corporations, non-profit groups, professional associations, and community organizations. This week, I want to talk about one of my favorite subjects, “Managing Your Mind to Advance Your Career.” I created this program because so many trainings focus on the doing part of managing your career, and I wanted to focus on the thinking part. In this program, I teach participants how to: -Cultivate a practice to become more aware of your current thou...
Feb 26, 2020•Ep. 116
This month, I’m sharing pieces of programs I offer to corporations, non-profit organizations, professional associations, and community organizations. This week, I’m talking about the MBTI, and how to leverage personality differences in the workplace. I created this program as a quick overview of personality and how it plays out in the workplace. I also do half-day and full-day retreats on the MBTI. In these instances, participants take the MBTI online prior to the retreat and I bring their resul...
Feb 19, 2020•Ep. 115
This week and last, I am sharing some of the concepts from a program I created for The Topps Corporation entitled, “What Did You Just Say? – Tools for Active Listening and Effective Communication.” Last week’s episode was on Active Listening, so today I’ll cover Effective Communication. There are four steps to the communication process; at any point in that process something can go wrong. -The words you speak -What you meant by those words -The words the listener heard -What the listener makes t...
Feb 12, 2020•Ep. 114
This past fall, I conducted a program I called “What Did You Just Say?” – Tools For Active Listening and Effective Communication, for The Topps Corporation. This week and next, I want to share some of the concepts from this program with you. Today, I’m focusing on Active Listening; next week, I’ll cover Effective Communication. WHY IS ACTIVE LISTENING IMPORTANT? I think we can all agree that it is important to really listen at work, but maybe you haven’t given much thought to why it’s important....
Feb 05, 2020•Ep. 113
I’ve been thinking a lot about my journey lately. Also, with the new year and new decade, it seems like a good time to reflect. I’ve shared bits and pieces of my life with you over the previous 111 episodes, but I decided to dedicate an entire episode to my story — what I’ve learned and how I’ve grown,–in the hopes that it will inspire you. I’m hoping to pull back the curtain in this episode. www.exclusivecareercoaching.com Follow My YouTube channel (Lesa Edwards); it’s chocked full of valuable ...
Jan 29, 2020•Ep. 112
This week’s guest is Mac Prichard, speaking with me about How to Hack the Hidden Job Market. 80% of all jobs are never publicly advertised, but there are ways to access this treasure trove of work opportunities. Mac explains: -Why the hidden job market exists -What kinds of tactics help jobseekers break into the hidden job market -How to execute a less frustrating, win-win job search You can find Mac Prichard on his weekly career podcast, Find Your Dream Job, wherever you get your podcasts. Mac’...
Jan 22, 2020•Ep. 111
In previous episodes, I’ve talked extensively about whether to leave your current employer or stay. In today’s episode, I want to talk about when to tell your boss you’re looking for a new job. This topic came from one of my clients, who reached out to ask me this question. There’s isn’t a simple answer, so I want to lay out the considerations for you. I very seldom turn to external sources for my podcasts, but I did for this one. The articles I’m pulling from come from ziprecruiter.com, indeed....
Jan 15, 2020•Ep. 110
I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard about goals till I’m blue in the face. And the focus is often on SETTING goals, rather than how to actually ACHIEVE them. I’ve heard it said that a goal without a plan is just a wish. How true that is. I want to approach this topic from a different angle. Rather than talking about setting goals, let’s talk about what you need to be DOING in 2020 so that, when you look back on the year, you will consider it a resounding success. We’ll also talk about the THI...
Jan 08, 2020•Ep. 109
This week’s podcast features guest life coach, Jane Springer. We’re talking about buffering – that is, the things you do when you should be looking for a new job. Buffering can show up in all areas of your life as a way to avoid doing something that will move you forward in your life. Visit Jane Springer’s website at janespringer.com Find her on Facebook at @JaneSpringerCoach Check her out on Instagram at Springer_Jane Connect with her on LinkedIn at Jane Peck Springer To visit my website: www.e...
Dec 18, 2019•Ep. 108
One of the things I coach my clients on around the job interview is how to answer the question, “Why should I hire you?” Or, as I like to put it, “Why should I stop the interview process right now and offer the job to you?” Here’s the kind of answers I most often get: “I’m a hard worker.” “I’m a team player.” “I’m good with numbers.” (for an accounting position) “I’m very analytical.” (for an analyst position) Do you see the problem here? These answers are completely non-differentiating. Let’s l...
Dec 11, 2019•Ep. 107
There are enough books, articles, and blogs on resume writing out there to fill the Empire State Building a few times over. I thought I would boil all of this down to the least common denominator. Here we go… 1. Tell them what you’re applying for at the top of your resume. At the top of your resume, in the biggest print on the resume, should be your target position. This is NOT an objective, which tells the reader what YOU want, but rather what you can do for them. Here are a couple of great exa...
Dec 04, 2019•Ep. 106
Back in 2016, I started what has become an annual Thanksgiving tradition…my list of Five Unusual Things to Be Thankful for. In creating this year’s list, I decided to revisit the three previous years’ lists. In part to see what stood out to me each year, but also to see how this list has evolved. In year 1, I made it about you; in years 2 & 3 they were MY lists. A little insight into my soul, to be sure. My hope is that, by sharing what I’m thankful for on a very personal level, you can iden...
Nov 27, 2019•Ep. 105
One of the topics I’ve talked about before on this podcast is the concept of the bull’s eye as it relates to your dream career. If you think of your career as a dart board, then all of the “suitable” jobs for you are somewhere on that dart board. Not on the wall, not with the dart sailing through a doorway into the next room. Your goal, then, as a recent college graduate with little if any career experience is to get on the outer rung of your dart board. That’s all…on the dart board somewhere. H...
Nov 20, 2019•Ep. 104
This episode is specifically for women and those who hire, train, coach, mentor, manage, or supervise them. And those who know women. So basically everybody. If you’re not familiar with the term “glass ceiling,” here’s a definition: “An unofficially acknowledged barrier to advancement in a profession, especially affecting women and members of minorities.” I want to specifically address women and the glass ceiling in this episode. To be clear, there are statistics that bare out the presence of th...
Nov 13, 2019•Ep. 103
First of all: In full disclosure, I spend about 15 minutes per day, five days a week, on LinkedIn - just want you to know I practice what I preach. As an entrepreneur, my goal on LinkedIn is to get clients – to be seen as the career management expert I am. Your goal might be to get a new job, to be more attractive to recruiters, or to be recognized as a Subject Matter Expert in your field. Here’s how I spend my 15-minute parcels of time (and I actually set the timer on my phone for this): Monday...
Nov 06, 2019•Ep. 102
Welcome to the second 100 episodes of The Exclusive Career Coach! Today, I want to talk about volunteering as a strategy for developing your career. Here’s a definition of volunteering: Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity where an individual or group provides services for no financial or social gain "to benefit another person, group or organization". ... Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work , such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Let...
Oct 30, 2019•Ep. 101
This week's episode is a trip down memory lane, with a look at how this podcast started, how it got to episode #100, and where we're going from here. As my present to you, here's a teachable moment from the 100-episode Exclusive Career Coach podcast host: Love the work you do. No, you won’t love every day or every task. But, on balance, you should love your job. Being miserable at work doesn’t just affect the results you get at work. It affects your relationships. It affects your sleep. In other...
Oct 23, 2019•Ep. 100
I do a lot of interview coaching with my clients. I write about interviewing. I have done several podcasts around the job interview. I’ve conducted dozens of actual interviews in higher education, nonprofits, and retail management. I am considered an expert in interview preparation. In light of my credentials, and because it’s near Halloween, I decided to give you my Unlucky 13 Fatal Interview Mistakes. Probably not in the way you are thinking. Rather than talk about specific questions candidate...
Oct 16, 2019•Ep. 99
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about boredom at work. Not only for my clients, but because I’m dealing with a bit of boredom in my own work. I’ve just completed a couple of big goals in my business, and I’m challenged now with finding the next big thing I want to go after…so I’m a bit bored at the moment. Which got me to thinking about how some people stay at the same job for decades and totally love their work, while others feel stagnant after just a few years. I think it’s important at this p...
Oct 09, 2019•Ep. 98
I get a lot of questions about recruiters, so I figured some education was in order. Specifically, people ask me if they should be connecting with recruiters as part of their job search strategy. They are talking specifically about third-party recruiters, as opposed to recruiters who are employed in the HR department of a company and are recruiting solely for that company. As a general rule, I prefer recruiters as part of a long-term career management strategy, rather than as part of an active j...
Sep 18, 2019•Ep. 97
Today, we’re talking about university career centers. I want to begin this topic by saying that I have 22 years’ experience as the director of two university career centers, so I know of what I speak. Keep in mind that what I talk about today are generalizations. There are no requirements for what career centers must offer or what their staffing levels must be, although the National Association of Colleges and Employers sets some broad standards for career centers. It is not uncommon for career ...
Sep 11, 2019•Ep. 96
I’m getting a lot of questions from people about how to navigate the sea of resume writers and career coaches out there. If I were you, I would be confused about whether I even needed a professional resume writer or a career coach, much less which ones to choose. I recently did an episode (#89) about the differences between how a life coach will likely approach career coaching versus how a career coach will approach career coaching. As I mentioned in that episode, coaching is an unregulated indu...
Sep 04, 2019•Ep. 95
This week, I interview Ron Frazier, one of two Entrepreneurs-in-Residence at Florida State University's Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship. We talk about his entrepreneurial journey, the innovative curriculum for FSU's entrepreneurship majors, some of the exciting businesses they have started as students, and where they've gone after graduation. For those of you interested in becoming entrepreneurs or just those with curiosity about the world of self-employment, don't miss this episode! You ca...
Aug 28, 2019•Ep. 94
Let’s talk about the additional layer of challenge involved in looking for a job in another city. For any job search, you will need the following: -Updated resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile (your marketing materials) -A clear job target, and experiences to support that target -A job search strategy -A network of people -Technology (i.e. phone, computer, video interviewing capabilities, Internet) -Appropriate interview clothing -Interview skills -Money for all of the above Conducting a job s...
Aug 21, 2019•Ep. 93
I wanted to talk about this topic today because it’s one I’ve been working on for myself. I think there’s a balance to be found between being grateful for what you have, and yet wanting more for your life. Sometimes we think we have to be dissatisfied with our current circumstances in order to want something different. We have to be really miserable at our job before we give ourselves permission to look for a different job. We have to hate our life partner before we leave the relationship.. We h...
Aug 14, 2019•Ep. 92
This week's podcast is an interview with Tallahassee entrepreneur Chirag Shah, owner of The Current Agency - a digital and creative marketing agency. We talk about his genesis as an entrepreneur, the challenges (and rewards) he's faced as an entrepreneur, how he has built his team through internships, and his plans for the future. Chirag's journey is a fascinating peek into the world of self-employment, community engagement, and business building. The Current Agency: www.current.agency You can r...
Aug 07, 2019•Ep. 91
