The Career Relaunch^®Podcast

Youssef Salameh, restaurant owner turned realtor describes the emotions and realities of walking away from a career you once loved to pursue something totally different. I also address a listener question about how to balance practicality with aspiration when thinking about your next career move.

Flight attendant turned coder Christine Snow shares her story of walking away from her 7-year career as a flight attendant to explore other interests. We discuss how you can tell whether now is the right time to make a change in your career and also talk through some common hurdles, both emotional and practical, that stand in the way of starting something new. Afterwards, I address a listener question about the other parts of your life you may want to reevaluate when you’re rethinking your career.

With so many people suffering career setbacks during this pandemic, I wanted to share this inspiring story of Aaron Leventhal, a former FlyBe airline pilot turned Tesco truck driver. He shares his story of dealing with personal tragedy, managing career upheaval, and finding a way forward after the recent wave of airline industry layoffs.

During the Mental Fuel segment, I also share some examples of my own disappointing professional setbacks and ways I’ve tried to bounce back from these moments. If you’ve ever been dealt a blow in your own career for whatever reason, I hope you find this episode reassuring, inspiring, and most of all, a reminder that unexpected setbacks are a very normal part of any career journey.

After taking a brief break from hosting this podcast, I’ve decided to restart the show to feature a few stories of how people around the world are managing their professional lives amid the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, which has created tremendous upheaval and uncertainty not only in people’s lives but also their careers. On today’s show, financial controller Liya Daskina explains how she’s been managing her transition after resigning from her role in the UK so she could move back to Australia only to now find herself in one of the most difficult hiring climates of our lifetime. We discuss how to manage uncertainty and make the most of a difficult time. After our chat, I share an update on how things have changed in my own life over the past few weeks and my perspectives on whether to wait until things blow over with the pandemic or act now to pursue your career ambitions.

You may find yourself wearing different hats in your career if you’re balancing different professional identities or just trying to maintain a certain image at work that doesn’t always reflect how you’re truly feeling inside. Sophie Scott describes how she balances her work as both a psychotherapist and founder of Balance Media. I’ll also describe how those who seem to have it all figured out in their careers are often still wrestling with their own struggles behind the scenes.