Second Act Success Career Podcast

Women in the workplace have struggling for decades to gain respect in the room, and we continue to fight for a seat at the table. On Episode #66 of the Second Act Success Career Podcast, Shannon interviews Limor Bergman Gross, who worked in the male-dominated tech industry for years as a Director of Engineering.  She has experience breaking glass ceilings herself standing out in her field, and now she supports women in tech to grow...

Are you thinking about starting a business for your second act career? Have you considered franchising? Shannon Russell sits down with franchise expert Patrick Findaro of Vetted Biz and Visa Franchise on Episode #65 of the Second Act Success Career Podcast to discuss franchising 101. Patrick has interviewed over 1000 franchisees and analyzes franchise opportunities for his businesses, so he knows the inner workings of the franchise...

If you agree that being a mom and managing a career is hard work, then you’re in the right place my friend. Ashley Reckdenwald is the founder of Working Mom Notes, a popular Instagram account and online community for working mothers. After struggling work as a Physician's Associate and being a new mom, Ashley tried hard to balance the office, surgeries, breast feeding, and family. She was shy to ask for support, so Ashley crea...

Do you go on a job interview and never hear back? Struggling with writing a resume and cover letter that will get seen?  Thinking about putting feelers out to find a new career? If you are ready to start over with a new job or a new career, then listen up!  On Episode #63 of the Second Act Success Podcast, I will be giving you resume tips, cover letter ideas, and advice on how to win at your next job interview. These strategies wil...

Legal Assistant Turned Virtual Assistant with Janis Melillo | Ep #62

Janis Melillo spent over 30 years of her career in the legal world as a paralegal. She was used to multitasking, and the skills she learned after decades in law led her to launch a Virtual Assistant business handling projects for people all over the world virtually. Janis also hosts three podcasts, has co-authored 16 books, and does all of this while bein...

Live Coaching Session: Brainstorming Career Ideas with Teacher Jackie Canterna | #61

Have you thought about your next career move? It is never too early to start building your exit plan or to begin brainstorming another career idea you may be interested in. On this Career Shift Strategy Session of the Second Act Success Podcast, I have an on-air Career Coaching session with my client Jackie Canterna. Jackie is a  longtime ...

Do you want to know how a high school guidance counselor became a peak performance coach? Meet Sara Vatore who has way too many credits to even list! Sara found herself pregnant her senior year of college, but was able to graduate and began her career as a preschool teacher. She worked her way through graduate school as a single mom of a little one. Sara received her Master’s Degree in Education and become a high school guidance co...

How do you know if you are ready for a career change? How do you know when you have had enough at your current job? In this episode of the Second Act Success Career Podcast, you will learn the 5 Reasons You May Be Ready To Change Careers. Making a career change of any kind is a big decision. Listen in as career coach and host, Shannon Russell, walks you through how to know if you are ready to change careers and start over in your j...

Life started out hard for Valeria Elliott. At 6 years old, she decided it would be easier to not speak, than deal with constant conflict at home and at school. Valeria chose to lose her voice - which lasted 17 years. After years of being teased and bullied, Valeria rediscovered her voice in God. She became a cosmetologist and then a teacher. However, God still had more plans for her, and he wanted her to use her voice to inspire ot...

Teacher pivots to educate entrepreneurs with The $100 MBA and Webinar Ninja- Meet Nicole Baldinu. Nicole Baldinu studied education in Australia, and began teaching abroad right after college. After teaching for 10 years or so, she got the itch to try something new. It was then that she moved to New York City to study film. Nicole worked as a filmmaker in the big city, until her husband Omar Zenhom asked for help with his business. ...

If you are looking to show up on social and get your brand to more people, then you're in the right place! This is a "Career Shift Strategy Session" of the Second Act Success Podcast, where I do an on-air Career Coaching session with a client or a listener. Today's episode featured the founder of Lūssi  Skin, Michelle Novello. We dive into some of small business struggles she is facing that may help you in your ...

Rebecca Hellmann started her career following all the rules: going to college, getting her MBA, progressing up the ladder in her career. She became a marketing executive at a Fortune 50 Company, and then left to became a Chief Marketing Officer at a healthcare startup. Rebecca was winning in her career, but with four young kids at home, she was feeling burned out. When COVID hit, she knew that something had to give, and that was he...

We all know what "quiet quitting" is, but have you heard of "quiet hiring?" Quiet hiring is how some companies are handling hiring problems, which is by reshuffling current staff to fill in any holes amongst their teams. So how will this trend affect current employees and job searchers?  We are diving into what this means for the future of work, in this episode of the Second Act Success Podcast with host Shannon...

Heather Zeitzwolf’s creativity knows no bounds! That’s why the fashion industry seemed like the perfect fit for her, until she realized that she preferred the detailed organization of numbers. After some time in market research, Heather found her way into accounting at a big firm. She discovered that the part she loved was helping her clients, interacting with them and helping reform their business - going beyond their annual tax r...

Do you have the right tools to build the perfect career? Mark Herschberg graduated from MIT, starting his career off as an engineer. He took the startup route, progressing quickly to become CTO. During his time as CTO, he recognized a gap in skills in his team and built a skills development program, focusing on building essential business skills, such as negotiating, networking, communicating, and leadership. He has been teaching c...

Jessica and T.H.’s lives ran in parallel for many years. They got married together, had children together….and got divorced together. After discovering their husbands were cheating on them, and starting the divorce process at the same time, they realized that there really wasn’t a great non-partisan resource out there to dig into the nitty-gritty of divorce. Jessica and T.H. left behind their careers in marketing and television and...

Have you been paying attention to the signs around you? There are signs everywhere! Signs can be subtle, but they can also hit you hard if you let them. If you're pondering a career change or any big life change this year, then you may just encounter a sign to show you that you are on the right, or wrong, path. In this mini-episode of the Second Act Success Career Podcast, host Shannon Russell, shares advice on how to be aware...

Jane Kilian lives in South Africa and has been a personal trainer for over 14 years. Jane began to notice that her clients at the gym were extremely hard on themselves. She had always fostered self-love and affirmations during workouts, but she knew she had to do more. It was then that she built her business Unselfishly Me to help women love themselves from the inside, so that they could love themselves on the outside. Now as a sel...

Can you plan for a career change by taking a tour? If it's a 12 Month Tour Of You, you can! In this episode of the Second Act Success Podcast, host Shannon Russell, offers a method of planning your year out in a unique way of taking yourself on a tour of the possibilities that lie ahead. You are in charge of where your 12 Month Tour goes.  Do you want to look for a new job this year? Are you thinking of starting a side busines...