March 11, 2025 • 25 mins
Join us for an engaging Coffee and Career Hour episode as we chat about career decision-making and the anxiety that comes with. We tackle common misconceptions about entering the workforce and discuss how career transitions can actually be gateways to self-discovery and growth. This episode is all about embracing the fluid nature of career decisions and the excitement that comes with change, even when it seems daunting.
Embracing change and uncertainty in your career can be a daunting yet rewarding journey. This episode discusses the significance of self-awareness, the evolving nature of interests, and the importance of advocating for oneself in pursuing career growth.
Our conversation also sheds light on the anxiety many feel when transitioning from school to work, emphasizing that it's normal to explore and redefine paths over time. Networking and career conversations are vital tools for bridging the gap between self-awareness and career options. We highlight how initial jobs, often seen as stepping stones, can build skills and align with personal values, leading to confidence and competencies in unexpected areas. Settle in for this cozy coffee chat as we set a welcoming tone and share insights, reminding listeners that the journey of career growth is full of possibilities and pivots.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's really a beautiful thing to see it as a
career counselor, to alsoexperience it on ourselves too.
I mean, there is a wholephilosophy in the career space
around how to make careerdecisions and how these are like
lifelong processes, Right?
So you're talking about beingself-aware and making decisions
accordingly.
(00:20):
As counselors, we always talkabout the importance of like
knowing your values, knowingyour skills, knowing what you
have to offer to the world, sothat you can use that to make
informed career decisions.
You are listening to Coffee andCareer Hour.
(00:41):
We are your hosts.
I'm Armina and I'm MJ, twocareer counselors and friends
chatting about all things lifeand career.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
So grab a cup of coffee and join us.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Hi everybody, welcome back to Coffee and Career Hour.
Armine, how are you feelingtoday?
How am I feeling?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
All sorts of emotions , but the most authentic would
be tired yeah, no, I agree I'mnot exhausted, which I've been
exhausted the past couple weekslike deadly exhausted, but I do
feel tired yeah, it's just beena lot.
It's been a really busy timeit's been a year and it's
(01:21):
February 20th.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Yeah, you know, in Instagram, when everybody was
like I've tried my two weektrial of 2025 and I'd like to
unsubscribe.
Yeah, that's me.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah, every year and you guys know I'm not a new year
, new me but this year I feltlike really good because there's
like different things happeningthis year to me that I'm
excited for and it's like ruineditself.
Yeah, but I'm still lookingforward to the things.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Months, like specific months or or just days, will be
good yeah, at this point, yeah,and you know there's still a
lot to be experienced this year,so we're hoping that things
will improve and we'll, we'll,we'll have better days.
Yeah, but we're here yeah, no,it's true.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
One thing that I think we're always constantly
thinking about, if we're talkingabout the theme of like change
and the unknown and how the yearhas been so unexpected, it's
also a metaphor for your careerin your life it totally is.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Oh my gosh, I'm having flashbacks of
conversations I've had withclients and students about
career decisions and like theups and downs and highs and lows
and the anxiety of makingcareer decisions.
Yeah it's.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
It's a lot of uncertain.
Every time I think about it,it's the uncertainty that kills
me, because you don't know, likenothing's for sure, nothing's
for sure in your career, nothingis really promised and at any
point in time things can change.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Oh my gosh, totally, totally.
Because there are budget cuts,there are new laws, there are
things that change your company.
Um, so, even if you're workingfor, like a private company,
right, like their, like theirfunding sources change their
mission, may change theirleadership, may change, which
changes the whole like vision ofthe company.
These kinds of things happenall the time in all sectors.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yeah, and I think one of the most important things to
note is you may change, andthat's okay.
You may change your ideas, yourpriorities, your goals in life,
what you're passionate about.
You may lose that taste andflavor for what you once felt
was your true calling.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
That is so timely because I was actually listening
to a podcast recently aboutactually, some of you may have
heard Her name is Yoga Girl andshe has a huge brand and a huge
company that she's built since2012 we're in 2025 right now and
she has evolved so much and inthis recent podcast episode she
(03:54):
was talking about selling hercompany that she's built from
ground up and how it's evolvedand it's become this big, huge
company that she feels like sheno longer has that drive for
entrepreneurship that she usedto have and she's ready to sell
and she's having all sorts offeelings around this because
(04:17):
this is her baby and she grew itand it's tied to her identity.
But at the same time, she wantsto now transition to a
different part where her maybeher focus is or her values have
shifted.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Yeah, yeah, I get so scared about like waking up one
day and being like I don't feellike myself and I don't feel
like this is me anymore and thatshift and change.
And I think it just goes tospeak how you don't know what
life you're living in the senseof like this can be your first
career life, your second careerlife, you can enter a new phase
in in your, in your life thatcan really just change your
(04:52):
perspective and the way youthink and feel and approach
different career situationstotally.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
I mean it can be scary.
It could also be exciting toknow that there's like a lot of
unknown and new possibilitiesthat can come up and 10 years
later you may be doing somethingtotally different that you
never imagined.
So it could also be exciting,but also the unknown is always
scary.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Well, the unknown kills me, Like I hate not having
a plan or not knowing if thingsare going to work out that way.
So for me it's just and I knowa lot of people out there feel
that way too especially whenyou're job searching or you're
moving into a new phase oryou're having a huge transition
in your life too, that unknownand uncertainty can really just
do a lot to you.
But there's a lot of goodpieces that can come to that too
(05:38):
.
Yeah, you can rediscoveryourself, your passions, your
interests, who you really are.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Yeah, you can totally rediscover.
You also evolve as a humanbeing with every new experience,
right?
I mean we tell our clients thisall the time, especially the
age group who's like right aboutto transition out of college
into the world of work and isfeeling like they don't know
(06:05):
what they want to do.
But they're approaching thislike big, scary new life
circumstance.
Right, and we tell them all thetime.
You don't have to have all theanswers now, because you may be
in a completely different placein your life five years later.
Your values may shift, yourlifestyle may look completely
different.
So it's okay that you don'thave it figured out and that you
can try something now and seewhere that takes you.
And whatever new skills,whatever new lessons you learn
(06:28):
through this experience canpropel you forward to the next
step.
A hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
It is really exciting to see people go through that
transition and have thateagerness to want to take those
risks and want to go out thereand be themselves or just have
that vulnerability to trulyidentify like who they are, and
have that self-awareness tounderstand what they want and go
out and seek that yeah, no,it's really a beautiful thing to
(06:55):
see it as a career counselor,to also experience it on
ourselves too.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
I mean, there is a whole philosophy in the career
space around how to make careerdecisions and how these are like
lifelong processes, right?
So you're talking about likebeing self-aware?
And making decisionsaccordingly.
As counselors, we always talkabout the importance of like
knowing your values, knowingyour skills, knowing what you
(07:20):
have to offer to the world, sothat you can use that to make
informed career decisions.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Yeah, something that a lot of people don't, I don't
think, see immediately is one ofthe things that helps you
really understand who you areand where you kind of belong in
the workplace is your strengthsand your personality, and a lot
of people dread the likestrengths and weaknesses
question in an interview, butthose really do help you better
understand yourself and whereyou want to grow and how you're
(07:47):
growing and what you're great atand where you may need some
extra training or advising orcoaching to fill those gaps
where you're not necessarilyweak but they're just gaps, that
you have to grow and be just abetter version of yourself.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Yeah, no, absolutely.
And you know what kind of makesme chuckle all the time is.
Sometimes people will say like,oh, you know, I'm a different
person professionally.
And then in my personal lifeI'm a different person.
And the more I've been I mean,I've been a career counselor for
about 10 years now and the moreI'm doing this work, the more
that statement makes me laugh,because it's so intertwined,
(08:28):
like who you are as a personoutside of work comes into the
workplace.
There is no separating yourprofessional self and your
personal self.
You're laughing.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
I'm laughing because it's so true.
It's so true for me.
I end up career counselingpeople at parties and like
random people's houses, kitchens.
Like yes, I can never get awayfrom it, not like that.
I go out and seek people whoare looking to create this huge
change or that need help, but itjust follows me and it's my.
It's just who I am and mypersonality and my want to serve
(09:03):
and to help people who needsupport or want to make a change
.
And I'm laughing because I'mthinking about the last time I
went to a party and a career,counseling three people.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Yeah, no, absolutely.
I was telling you before thisepisode, my very first quote,
unquote client for a career risewas a friend at a bar.
I reviewed her personalstatement for graduate school.
So it is something about thebrand that you create for
yourself and what you offer tothe world, right, the skills
(09:35):
that you have and and that youcarry with you wherever you go.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Yeah, it's a piece of you developing within your own
career and it comes.
It doesn't come until you,uniquely and I think, come to
your own conclusion of who youare, because you have to
remember that you define whatthat looks like in your career.
It's how you want everyonearound you to perceive you,
right.
What do you want them to knowyou by?
It's how people speak of youwhen you're not there.
(10:01):
What they remember about theway you presented them to know
you by.
It's how people speak of youwhen you're not there.
What they remember about theway you presented, the way you
approached a problem and the wayyou solved it, how you led a
meeting or brought a teamtogether to execute a project.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Yeah, no.
And and those skills of, let'ssay, you know you're talking
about leading a meeting orexecuting a project, those
skills you would also be usingin different aspects in your
personal life.
So if you're seeing that maybeyour family and friends come to
you for something all the time.
Maybe you're the organized one,maybe you're the one who's able
to get everybody together toactually get something done.
(10:39):
Maybe you're the planner oryou're the spontaneous one and
you're like the one that'scomfortable speaking up for
everybody.
Whatever it is, if you're doingthese things in your natural
habitat, those are actuallyskills you can pay attention to,
because those are going to comeinto the workplace as well, and
I can almost guarantee yourcolleagues are going to start
(11:00):
knowing you by that brand, likeoh, mj is the one who can
execute, mj is great one who canexecute.
Mj is great with logistics orso, and so is great with this
right.
So everybody around you isgoing to see that, no matter
what space you're in.
So maybe for our listeners, ifyou're not sure what skills you
bring to the table, or you knowhow people know you, maybe you
could start by asking yourfamily and friends yeah, you
(11:23):
know what are skills they see inyou and then use that to help
you prepare for those interviewanswers like what are your
strengths?
Because that's going to comeacross in the workplace as well
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Speaker 2 (11:34):
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Speaker 2 (12:02):
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Speaker 1 (12:18):
It was so cute the first time I saw it.
I'm thinking of a funnycoffee-themed t-shirt for my
colleagues.
They are all huge coffee fans.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Oh my god, yes, and you can really find something
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(13:04):
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Speaker 2 (13:06):
Now let's get back to our show.
Yeah, I will say too you'renever too old to learn new
skills.
You're never too old in yourcareer.
I don't mean like literal age,I mean like time in your career
you, professional developmentdoes come into play because you
can develop those additionalskills where you may like, quote
(13:38):
, unquote lack certain abilitiesand things like that.
And it's an important thing toto do because you want to remain
curious, you want to continueto learn and grow, and that's
how you evolve over time in yourcareer and you change positions
or you move up in a certain way.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Oh, absolutely that being open to the growth and
understanding that evolving isessential is so important
because I think for some reasonin society we have this idea
that after you are done withschool, whatever level of
schooling it is, it doesn'tmatter.
(14:14):
After you're done with school,you get into the world of work
and you have it all figured out.
You know that's a lie, that's ascam.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Yeah, whoever said that is not?
Speaker 1 (14:23):
But we in society we have this idea.
That's why we get so manyclients who are so anxious, who
are just at the tip of thistransition from school to the
workforce and just at the tip ofthis transition from school to
the workforce and they have areexperiencing the most amount of
anxiety because they feel likethey should have it figured out
and they don't and they thinkthey're behind and they're, they
(14:44):
think they're doing somethingwrong and they think everybody
else has it all figured out andthey're a failure and it's like
the biggest scam because nobodyhas it figured out.
Even people in their career for10 years don't have it figured
out.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Yeah, I'm saying it's a scam.
And then I'm remembering littleMJ, when she was an undergrad,
and I remember my family, andparticularly like my mom telling
me like you're going to go tocollege, you're going to get a
degree and it's going to be fine.
And then when I went to college, got the degree, and I was like
so I'm waiting for things to befine.
Yeah, and they're not.
So now, with five years ofexperience in the field and
(15:20):
being a counselor and seeing avariety of different students
who have like, for example, Iused to work with nursing
students a long time ago who hadtheir like path right quote,
unquote set out for them, andnow we work with a variety of
different students and clientswho are entering the unknown and
can explore anywhere out.
There's a lot of differencesthat you kind of see, um, and
the uncertainty is still thereyeah and it is really okay for
(15:43):
you to not know when you'redeciding where you're going,
with or without whatever type ofdegree, because even I've seen
grad people with graduatedegrees who are graduating and
still have that same sense of Idon't know what to do next.
I don't know what step to take,I don't know who to talk to, I
don't know what to look for, Idon't know who I am and I don't
know what I want to do.
And that is okay, like we getthat you're in survival mode in
(16:08):
that moment and you need a jobto you know, financially, be
okay or whatever thecircumstances are.
But it is okay for you tocontinue exploring and figuring
out who you are and what yourinterests are and what type of
environments you like and whatyou don't like.
That's equally as important toknowing what type of education
you have as well yeah, no,absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
And that is exactly where, like this philosophy of
the career, how people makecareer decisions comes into play
.
Right, because, yes, you may bein survival mode, yes, you may
need to just get a job to meetyour basic needs, but then
utilizing that job to help yougo back to those roots of like,
what are my values, what do Iwant to contribute to society?
(16:52):
And then utilize that job.
You have to build the skillsyou need or bridge into the
career path you want to get intoright.
So it's still a time and spacefor you to reflect and figure
out those important pieces ofyour identity and then
understand what's out there inthe world of work.
Right, that's.
The next step is like, let'ssay you're, you have some
(17:14):
clarity about yourself.
What do you do next?
The next piece is network.
You talk to people, you havecareer conversations, you
research what types ofoccupations are out there, and
then you bridge that gap and youput what you know about
yourself and what you know aboutthe options available to you
and hopefully find one that's anideal match.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Yeah, and reminder here, like just a little note
just because you enteredsomething doesn't mean you have
to continue in that field or inthat specific career path.
Just because you became a legalassistant doesn't mean you have
to become a paralegal and thenan attorney and then practice.
Just because you work in thehealth care field as an
administrative assistant doesn'tmean you have to go on and do
(17:55):
something in healthcare youreally like.
The world is your oyster, Ithink, is what they is what the
quote says I'm too young to knowwhat the hell the quote is.
But anyway, the world is reallyyour oyster for you to go and
choose to be whatever type ofpearl you want to be, yeah, and
whatever type of field, whatevertype of industry, whatever it
is that you want to do.
It may not feel right now likeyou have those options and you
(18:18):
can, and it may sound like a farreach, but it's because it's
not your time right now.
You're, if you're feeling, veryin survival mode, like we were
saying, maybe you just need ajob.
But there will be.
There will come a time whereyou have the ability to explore,
um figure out who you are, andyou can always have
opportunities to do that as well.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Of course, and as you're exploring and figuring
these things out, you're alsobuilding skills, right?
So, like, let's say, you're inthat job and you're like, I
don't want this to be my forevercareer, right, but that job can
be a place where you developskills and identify what gaps
you have, right, and utilizethat space to ask for additional
(19:02):
, different projects, or utilizethat space to get whatever
skill sets you need to get,right, I know, maybe you may.
I'm thinking of our particularpositions.
Maybe somebody may want to getmore experience working with
data, because data is reallyimportant in many different
industries, right?
Or you want to get somemanagerial experience, or
whatever it may be.
(19:22):
A lot of people may think like,okay, I'm not confident in
public speaking, right, I wantto develop those skills.
Is there a space in the workthat you're doing today where
you can practice and try outdifferent projects?
Most, most companies, mostsupervisors and and bosses will
be accommodating and allowingyou to try and dip your feet in
(19:43):
different projects.
If you take the initiative toask, they, more often than not,
are going to be willing to allowyou that space, as long as it
doesn't take away from the workthat you need to be doing for.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
For your position.
You know 100.
I think advocating for yourselfin the workspace and you know,
sharing that you want to grow ina certain way is is 100 okay
and it's it's what you should bedoing right, like staying
stagnant.
I was just talking about thisyesterday with with someone
about in your career.
Staying stagnant doesn't meanlike you've reached the top and
(20:16):
that's it, like you do the samejob forever.
You can always continue to grow, but it really does like balls
in your court.
You have to advocate for that,or you have to speak up about it
and ask for those differentskill sets too, because how else
are you going to grow?
Speaker 1 (20:29):
exactly it's.
It's.
It's a skill in and of itselfto advocate for yourself.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
It is, and I say that like big and proud now, but
like I've worked up the nerve tobecome this way as well,
because you won't get anywhereif you're not your, if you are
not your own advocator.
You can't get to the places youwant to be if you're not the
person you know making thosemoves and opportunities for
yourself.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Yeah, and you know, fun fact, their employers are
surveyed every so often.
There's an organization calledthe National Association of
Colleges and Employers and theysurvey employers to see what
skills they're looking for.
There's a set of eight skillsthat employers are looking for
in today's job market, and thefirst, the number one, is career
(21:17):
and self-development, and whatthat entails is awareness of
your strengths, awareness ofyour goals, ability to advocate
for yourself, ability to reflecton what you have to offer,
reflect on what you want todevelop and speak up about that,
like those, that is the numberone skill that employers are
(21:38):
seeking in today's job marketyeah, it's, it is really
mind-blowing to well, in a goodway it's.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
It's mind-blowing in the sense of like people want,
people who are eager to continuelearning and growing and
becoming better versions ofthemselves, either for the good
of the workplace or for thebetter of just the human being
and the work that they do.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Yeah, because you know everybody wants to work
with somebody who's driven,somebody who's self-aware,
somebody who is excited.
You bring that kind of energyto any workplace.
It's going to be valued.
So, keeping that in mind asyou're, you know, making this
next decision about your career,it's going to be valued.
So, keeping that in mind asyou're making this next decision
about your career, whether it'sfinding a job just to meet your
(22:19):
basic needs, whether it'spivoting in your career that
you've been in for a few years,whether you're a student still
figuring out your major,regardless these pieces, we're
going to go through them, all ofus, multiple times in our
lifetime.
As we advance, maybe we go fromone position to the next.
We start this process again,re-evaluating Okay, where am I
(22:40):
now?
What's important, what are myvalues now?
And then, moving forward fromthere, what are my options?
Moving beyond, Do I want tostay in the same company, the
same industry, and so forth?
And going around that processagain.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Yeah, it's a cycle and it's going to continue for
the rest of your life.
And no, this is not your lastcareer or your last job.
And yes, there may be otheropportunities out there, but I
guess the question is, how badlydo you want them and do you
know yourself that well to wantto make those moves?
But sometimes theseconversations can be really
difficult to have on your own,but that's why you have a
(23:14):
community within Career Rise andCareer Confident Latina to
really explore who you are andfind the best version of
yourself and rebuild what thatlooks like, or just strengthen
what that looks like as well.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Yeah, we're happy to have these conversations with
you.
You can send us a message onour Instagrams.
You can find us on our websitesand reach out, and we'd be
happy to answer any questions aswell.
Yeah, see you on there.
Thank you so much for listening.
If you enjoy our show, we askthat you write a review on Apple
(23:47):
Podcasts to help us reach morepeople looking to level up their
career.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Want to connect with us, be sure to follow our
Instagram and websites.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Follow Career Rise on Instagram for career advice and
motivation to help you stay upto date on all things career.
Be sure to also visit mywebsite, careerriseorg, to book
a session with me and accessfree resources.
My goal is to help you clarifyyour goals, make a plan and feel
confident in your careerjourney.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Follow Career Confident Latina for your weekly
dose of career advice and myjourney as a first-gen Latina
counselor.
You can also send me a messageon mjcareerconfidencecom if you
want to book a career counselingsession.
I want to help grow yourconfidence as you reach your
career dreams.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Hi everybody, Welcome back to Coffee and Career Hour.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
I'm so excited We've had our cup of coffee, so now
I'm ready to chat.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Yes, we actually did have coffee today.
Sometimes we don't, but todaywe had nice coffee with oat milk
, cinnamon and sugar.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
It's a very like fall , but anytime I'm with you it
does feel like fall.
Yeah, you're very fall.
Thank you, of course.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
We're so silly, okay, well, we are excited today to
talk to you all about careerdevelopment and life.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Yeah, we say we're excited all the time, which is
not false, but this time it'seven more true than the other
times.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
I'm sorry, we have to redo that, it's even more true.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
It is.
It is more true.
Should I stop it?
Sure, sorry.
It's really a beautiful thing to see it as a
career counselor, to alsoexperience it on ourselves too.
I mean, there is a wholephilosophy in the career space
around how to make careerdecisions and how these are like
lifelong processes, Right?
So you're talking about beingself-aware and making decisions
accordingly.
(00:20):
As counselors, we always talkabout the importance of like
knowing your values, knowingyour skills, knowing what you
have to offer to the world, sothat you can use that to make
informed career decisions.
You are listening to Coffee andCareer Hour.
(00:41):
We are your hosts.
I'm Armina and I'm MJ, twocareer counselors and friends
chatting about all things lifeand career.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
So grab a cup of coffee and join us.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Hi everybody, welcome back to Coffee and Career Hour.
Armine, how are you feelingtoday?
How am I feeling?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
All sorts of emotions , but the most authentic would
be tired yeah, no, I agree I'mnot exhausted, which I've been
exhausted the past couple weekslike deadly exhausted, but I do
feel tired yeah, it's just beena lot.
It's been a really busy timeit's been a year and it's
(01:21):
February 20th.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Yeah, you know, in Instagram, when everybody was
like I've tried my two weektrial of 2025 and I'd like to
unsubscribe.
Yeah, that's me.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah, every year and you guys know I'm not a new year
, new me but this year I feltlike really good because there's
like different things happeningthis year to me that I'm
excited for and it's like ruineditself.
Yeah, but I'm still lookingforward to the things.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Months, like specific months or or just days, will be
good yeah, at this point, yeah,and you know there's still a
lot to be experienced this year,so we're hoping that things
will improve and we'll, we'll,we'll have better days.
Yeah, but we're here yeah, no,it's true.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
One thing that I think we're always constantly
thinking about, if we're talkingabout the theme of like change
and the unknown and how the yearhas been so unexpected, it's
also a metaphor for your careerin your life it totally is.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Oh my gosh, I'm having flashbacks of
conversations I've had withclients and students about
career decisions and like theups and downs and highs and lows
and the anxiety of makingcareer decisions.
Yeah it's.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
It's a lot of uncertain.
Every time I think about it,it's the uncertainty that kills
me, because you don't know, likenothing's for sure, nothing's
for sure in your career, nothingis really promised and at any
point in time things can change.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Oh my gosh, totally, totally.
Because there are budget cuts,there are new laws, there are
things that change your company.
Um, so, even if you're workingfor, like a private company,
right, like their, like theirfunding sources change their
mission, may change theirleadership, may change, which
changes the whole like vision ofthe company.
These kinds of things happenall the time in all sectors.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yeah, and I think one of the most important things to
note is you may change, andthat's okay.
You may change your ideas, yourpriorities, your goals in life,
what you're passionate about.
You may lose that taste andflavor for what you once felt
was your true calling.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
That is so timely because I was actually listening
to a podcast recently aboutactually, some of you may have
heard Her name is Yoga Girl andshe has a huge brand and a huge
company that she's built since2012 we're in 2025 right now and
she has evolved so much and inthis recent podcast episode she
(03:54):
was talking about selling hercompany that she's built from
ground up and how it's evolvedand it's become this big, huge
company that she feels like sheno longer has that drive for
entrepreneurship that she usedto have and she's ready to sell
and she's having all sorts offeelings around this because
(04:17):
this is her baby and she grew itand it's tied to her identity.
But at the same time, she wantsto now transition to a
different part where her maybeher focus is or her values have
shifted.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Yeah, yeah, I get so scared about like waking up one
day and being like I don't feellike myself and I don't feel
like this is me anymore and thatshift and change.
And I think it just goes tospeak how you don't know what
life you're living in the senseof like this can be your first
career life, your second careerlife, you can enter a new phase
in in your, in your life thatcan really just change your
(04:52):
perspective and the way youthink and feel and approach
different career situationstotally.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
I mean it can be scary.
It could also be exciting toknow that there's like a lot of
unknown and new possibilitiesthat can come up and 10 years
later you may be doing somethingtotally different that you
never imagined.
So it could also be exciting,but also the unknown is always
scary.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Well, the unknown kills me, Like I hate not having
a plan or not knowing if thingsare going to work out that way.
So for me it's just and I knowa lot of people out there feel
that way too especially whenyou're job searching or you're
moving into a new phase oryou're having a huge transition
in your life too, that unknownand uncertainty can really just
do a lot to you.
But there's a lot of goodpieces that can come to that too
(05:38):
.
Yeah, you can rediscoveryourself, your passions, your
interests, who you really are.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Yeah, you can totally rediscover.
You also evolve as a humanbeing with every new experience,
right?
I mean we tell our clients thisall the time, especially the
age group who's like right aboutto transition out of college
into the world of work and isfeeling like they don't know
(06:05):
what they want to do.
But they're approaching thislike big, scary new life
circumstance.
Right, and we tell them all thetime.
You don't have to have all theanswers now, because you may be
in a completely different placein your life five years later.
Your values may shift, yourlifestyle may look completely
different.
So it's okay that you don'thave it figured out and that you
can try something now and seewhere that takes you.
And whatever new skills,whatever new lessons you learn
(06:28):
through this experience canpropel you forward to the next
step.
A hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
It is really exciting to see people go through that
transition and have thateagerness to want to take those
risks and want to go out thereand be themselves or just have
that vulnerability to trulyidentify like who they are, and
have that self-awareness tounderstand what they want and go
out and seek that yeah, no,it's really a beautiful thing to
(06:55):
see it as a career counselor,to also experience it on
ourselves too.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
I mean, there is a whole philosophy in the career
space around how to make careerdecisions and how these are like
lifelong processes, right?
So you're talking about likebeing self-aware?
And making decisionsaccordingly.
As counselors, we always talkabout the importance of like
knowing your values, knowingyour skills, knowing what you
(07:20):
have to offer to the world, sothat you can use that to make
informed career decisions.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Yeah, something that a lot of people don't, I don't
think, see immediately is one ofthe things that helps you
really understand who you areand where you kind of belong in
the workplace is your strengthsand your personality, and a lot
of people dread the likestrengths and weaknesses
question in an interview, butthose really do help you better
understand yourself and whereyou want to grow and how you're
(07:47):
growing and what you're great atand where you may need some
extra training or advising orcoaching to fill those gaps
where you're not necessarilyweak but they're just gaps, that
you have to grow and be just abetter version of yourself.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Yeah, no, absolutely.
And you know what kind of makesme chuckle all the time is.
Sometimes people will say like,oh, you know, I'm a different
person professionally.
And then in my personal lifeI'm a different person.
And the more I've been I mean,I've been a career counselor for
about 10 years now and the moreI'm doing this work, the more
that statement makes me laugh,because it's so intertwined,
(08:28):
like who you are as a personoutside of work comes into the
workplace.
There is no separating yourprofessional self and your
personal self.
You're laughing.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
I'm laughing because it's so true.
It's so true for me.
I end up career counselingpeople at parties and like
random people's houses, kitchens.
Like yes, I can never get awayfrom it, not like that.
I go out and seek people whoare looking to create this huge
change or that need help, but itjust follows me and it's my.
It's just who I am and mypersonality and my want to serve
(09:03):
and to help people who needsupport or want to make a change
.
And I'm laughing because I'mthinking about the last time I
went to a party and a career,counseling three people.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Yeah, no, absolutely.
I was telling you before thisepisode, my very first quote,
unquote client for a career risewas a friend at a bar.
I reviewed her personalstatement for graduate school.
So it is something about thebrand that you create for
yourself and what you offer tothe world, right, the skills
(09:35):
that you have and and that youcarry with you wherever you go.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Yeah, it's a piece of you developing within your own
career and it comes.
It doesn't come until you,uniquely and I think, come to
your own conclusion of who youare, because you have to
remember that you define whatthat looks like in your career.
It's how you want everyonearound you to perceive you,
right.
What do you want them to knowyou by?
It's how people speak of youwhen you're not there.
(10:01):
What they remember about theway you presented them to know
you by.
It's how people speak of youwhen you're not there.
What they remember about theway you presented, the way you
approached a problem and the wayyou solved it, how you led a
meeting or brought a teamtogether to execute a project.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Yeah, no.
And and those skills of, let'ssay, you know you're talking
about leading a meeting orexecuting a project, those
skills you would also be usingin different aspects in your
personal life.
So if you're seeing that maybeyour family and friends come to
you for something all the time.
Maybe you're the organized one,maybe you're the one who's able
to get everybody together toactually get something done.
(10:39):
Maybe you're the planner oryou're the spontaneous one and
you're like the one that'scomfortable speaking up for
everybody.
Whatever it is, if you're doingthese things in your natural
habitat, those are actuallyskills you can pay attention to,
because those are going to comeinto the workplace as well, and
I can almost guarantee yourcolleagues are going to start
(11:00):
knowing you by that brand, likeoh, mj is the one who can
execute, mj is great one who canexecute.
Mj is great with logistics orso, and so is great with this
right.
So everybody around you isgoing to see that, no matter
what space you're in.
So maybe for our listeners, ifyou're not sure what skills you
bring to the table, or you knowhow people know you, maybe you
could start by asking yourfamily and friends yeah, you
(11:23):
know what are skills they see inyou and then use that to help
you prepare for those interviewanswers like what are your
strengths?
Because that's going to comeacross in the workplace as well
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Speaker 2 (11:34):
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Speaker 1 (11:40):
And where better to find them than on buyblackitcom?
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It is all about weavingtogether style, art and prints
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They created their store toprovide items that are
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Speaker 2 (12:02):
Absolutely.
They offer a fantastic coffeelover selection which will pair
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with a wide variety ofcoffee-themed merchandise, from
stylish mugs, t-shirts and evencoffee accessories.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
It was so cute the first time I saw it.
I'm thinking of a funnycoffee-themed t-shirt for my
colleagues.
They are all huge coffee fans.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Oh my god, yes, and you can really find something
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On your contact list and withthe coffee lover's selection on
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(13:04):
The link will be in our shownotes.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Now let's get back to our show.
Yeah, I will say too you'renever too old to learn new
skills.
You're never too old in yourcareer.
I don't mean like literal age,I mean like time in your career
you, professional developmentdoes come into play because you
can develop those additionalskills where you may like, quote
(13:38):
, unquote lack certain abilitiesand things like that.
And it's an important thing toto do because you want to remain
curious, you want to continueto learn and grow, and that's
how you evolve over time in yourcareer and you change positions
or you move up in a certain way.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Oh, absolutely that being open to the growth and
understanding that evolving isessential is so important
because I think for some reasonin society we have this idea
that after you are done withschool, whatever level of
schooling it is, it doesn'tmatter.
(14:14):
After you're done with school,you get into the world of work
and you have it all figured out.
You know that's a lie, that's ascam.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Yeah, whoever said that is not?
Speaker 1 (14:23):
But we in society we have this idea.
That's why we get so manyclients who are so anxious, who
are just at the tip of thistransition from school to the
workforce and just at the tip ofthis transition from school to
the workforce and they have areexperiencing the most amount of
anxiety because they feel likethey should have it figured out
and they don't and they thinkthey're behind and they're, they
(14:44):
think they're doing somethingwrong and they think everybody
else has it all figured out andthey're a failure and it's like
the biggest scam because nobodyhas it figured out.
Even people in their career for10 years don't have it figured
out.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Yeah, I'm saying it's a scam.
And then I'm remembering littleMJ, when she was an undergrad,
and I remember my family, andparticularly like my mom telling
me like you're going to go tocollege, you're going to get a
degree and it's going to be fine.
And then when I went to college, got the degree, and I was like
so I'm waiting for things to befine.
Yeah, and they're not.
So now, with five years ofexperience in the field and
(15:20):
being a counselor and seeing avariety of different students
who have like, for example, Iused to work with nursing
students a long time ago who hadtheir like path right quote,
unquote set out for them, andnow we work with a variety of
different students and clientswho are entering the unknown and
can explore anywhere out.
There's a lot of differencesthat you kind of see, um, and
the uncertainty is still thereyeah and it is really okay for
(15:43):
you to not know when you'redeciding where you're going,
with or without whatever type ofdegree, because even I've seen
grad people with graduatedegrees who are graduating and
still have that same sense of Idon't know what to do next.
I don't know what step to take,I don't know who to talk to, I
don't know what to look for, Idon't know who I am and I don't
know what I want to do.
And that is okay, like we getthat you're in survival mode in
(16:08):
that moment and you need a jobto you know, financially, be
okay or whatever thecircumstances are.
But it is okay for you tocontinue exploring and figuring
out who you are and what yourinterests are and what type of
environments you like and whatyou don't like.
That's equally as important toknowing what type of education
you have as well yeah, no,absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
And that is exactly where, like this philosophy of
the career, how people makecareer decisions comes into play
.
Right, because, yes, you may bein survival mode, yes, you may
need to just get a job to meetyour basic needs, but then
utilizing that job to help yougo back to those roots of like,
what are my values, what do Iwant to contribute to society?
(16:52):
And then utilize that job.
You have to build the skillsyou need or bridge into the
career path you want to get intoright.
So it's still a time and spacefor you to reflect and figure
out those important pieces ofyour identity and then
understand what's out there inthe world of work.
Right, that's.
The next step is like, let'ssay you're, you have some
(17:14):
clarity about yourself.
What do you do next?
The next piece is network.
You talk to people, you havecareer conversations, you
research what types ofoccupations are out there, and
then you bridge that gap and youput what you know about
yourself and what you know aboutthe options available to you
and hopefully find one that's anideal match.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Yeah, and reminder here, like just a little note
just because you enteredsomething doesn't mean you have
to continue in that field or inthat specific career path.
Just because you became a legalassistant doesn't mean you have
to become a paralegal and thenan attorney and then practice.
Just because you work in thehealth care field as an
administrative assistant doesn'tmean you have to go on and do
(17:55):
something in healthcare youreally like.
The world is your oyster, Ithink, is what they is what the
quote says I'm too young to knowwhat the hell the quote is.
But anyway, the world is reallyyour oyster for you to go and
choose to be whatever type ofpearl you want to be, yeah, and
whatever type of field, whatevertype of industry, whatever it
is that you want to do.
It may not feel right now likeyou have those options and you
(18:18):
can, and it may sound like a farreach, but it's because it's
not your time right now.
You're, if you're feeling, veryin survival mode, like we were
saying, maybe you just need ajob.
But there will be.
There will come a time whereyou have the ability to explore,
um figure out who you are, andyou can always have
opportunities to do that as well.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Of course, and as you're exploring and figuring
these things out, you're alsobuilding skills, right?
So, like, let's say, you're inthat job and you're like, I
don't want this to be my forevercareer, right, but that job can
be a place where you developskills and identify what gaps
you have, right, and utilizethat space to ask for additional
(19:02):
, different projects, or utilizethat space to get whatever
skill sets you need to get,right, I know, maybe you may.
I'm thinking of our particularpositions.
Maybe somebody may want to getmore experience working with
data, because data is reallyimportant in many different
industries, right?
Or you want to get somemanagerial experience, or
whatever it may be.
(19:22):
A lot of people may think like,okay, I'm not confident in
public speaking, right, I wantto develop those skills.
Is there a space in the workthat you're doing today where
you can practice and try outdifferent projects?
Most, most companies, mostsupervisors and and bosses will
be accommodating and allowingyou to try and dip your feet in
(19:43):
different projects.
If you take the initiative toask, they, more often than not,
are going to be willing to allowyou that space, as long as it
doesn't take away from the workthat you need to be doing for.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
For your position.
You know 100.
I think advocating for yourselfin the workspace and you know,
sharing that you want to grow ina certain way is is 100 okay
and it's it's what you should bedoing right, like staying
stagnant.
I was just talking about thisyesterday with with someone
about in your career.
Staying stagnant doesn't meanlike you've reached the top and
(20:16):
that's it, like you do the samejob forever.
You can always continue to grow, but it really does like balls
in your court.
You have to advocate for that,or you have to speak up about it
and ask for those differentskill sets too, because how else
are you going to grow?
Speaker 1 (20:29):
exactly it's.
It's.
It's a skill in and of itselfto advocate for yourself.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
It is, and I say that like big and proud now, but
like I've worked up the nerve tobecome this way as well,
because you won't get anywhereif you're not your, if you are
not your own advocator.
You can't get to the places youwant to be if you're not the
person you know making thosemoves and opportunities for
yourself.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Yeah, and you know, fun fact, their employers are
surveyed every so often.
There's an organization calledthe National Association of
Colleges and Employers and theysurvey employers to see what
skills they're looking for.
There's a set of eight skillsthat employers are looking for
in today's job market, and thefirst, the number one, is career
(21:17):
and self-development, and whatthat entails is awareness of
your strengths, awareness ofyour goals, ability to advocate
for yourself, ability to reflecton what you have to offer,
reflect on what you want todevelop and speak up about that,
like those, that is the numberone skill that employers are
(21:38):
seeking in today's job marketyeah, it's, it is really
mind-blowing to well, in a goodway it's.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
It's mind-blowing in the sense of like people want,
people who are eager to continuelearning and growing and
becoming better versions ofthemselves, either for the good
of the workplace or for thebetter of just the human being
and the work that they do.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Yeah, because you know everybody wants to work
with somebody who's driven,somebody who's self-aware,
somebody who is excited.
You bring that kind of energyto any workplace.
It's going to be valued.
So, keeping that in mind asyou're, you know, making this
next decision about your career,it's going to be valued.
So, keeping that in mind asyou're making this next decision
about your career, whether it'sfinding a job just to meet your
(22:19):
basic needs, whether it'spivoting in your career that
you've been in for a few years,whether you're a student still
figuring out your major,regardless these pieces, we're
going to go through them, all ofus, multiple times in our
lifetime.
As we advance, maybe we go fromone position to the next.
We start this process again,re-evaluating Okay, where am I
(22:40):
now?
What's important, what are myvalues now?
And then, moving forward fromthere, what are my options?
Moving beyond, Do I want tostay in the same company, the
same industry, and so forth?
And going around that processagain.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Yeah, it's a cycle and it's going to continue for
the rest of your life.
And no, this is not your lastcareer or your last job.
And yes, there may be otheropportunities out there, but I
guess the question is, how badlydo you want them and do you
know yourself that well to wantto make those moves?
But sometimes theseconversations can be really
difficult to have on your own,but that's why you have a
(23:14):
community within Career Rise andCareer Confident Latina to
really explore who you are andfind the best version of
yourself and rebuild what thatlooks like, or just strengthen
what that looks like as well.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Yeah, we're happy to have these conversations with
you.
You can send us a message onour Instagrams.
You can find us on our websitesand reach out, and we'd be
happy to answer any questions aswell.
Yeah, see you on there.
Thank you so much for listening.
If you enjoy our show, we askthat you write a review on Apple
(23:47):
Podcasts to help us reach morepeople looking to level up their
career.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Want to connect with us, be sure to follow our
Instagram and websites.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Follow Career Rise on Instagram for career advice and
motivation to help you stay upto date on all things career.
Be sure to also visit mywebsite, careerriseorg, to book
a session with me and accessfree resources.
My goal is to help you clarifyyour goals, make a plan and feel
confident in your careerjourney.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Follow Career Confident Latina for your weekly
dose of career advice and myjourney as a first-gen Latina
counselor.
You can also send me a messageon mjcareerconfidencecom if you
want to book a career counselingsession.
I want to help grow yourconfidence as you reach your
career dreams.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Hi everybody, Welcome back to Coffee and Career Hour.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
I'm so excited We've had our cup of coffee, so now
I'm ready to chat.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Yes, we actually did have coffee today.
Sometimes we don't, but todaywe had nice coffee with oat milk
, cinnamon and sugar.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
It's a very like fall , but anytime I'm with you it
does feel like fall.
Yeah, you're very fall.
Thank you, of course.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
We're so silly, okay, well, we are excited today to
talk to you all about careerdevelopment and life.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Yeah, we say we're excited all the time, which is
not false, but this time it'seven more true than the other
times.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
I'm sorry, we have to redo that, it's even more true.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
It is.
It is more true.
Should I stop it?
Sure, sorry.
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