The SYCK Career Podcast
“Steer Your Career with Kadima” is a podcast hosted by Alan Stein, Founder and CEO of Kadima Careers. Kadima helps underrepresented, underestimated, and underpaid professionals land high-paying jobs at the world's best tech companies. Join Alan each week as he interviews amazing professionals in the tech industry and beyond. They'll talk about their career journeys and what they've learned, including some SYCK Tricks to help you accelerate your career. Kadima was founded by Alan Stein to address the inefficiencies, biases, and illogical hiring processes that hinder great candidates from achieving great careers. Alan has a unique perspective as a top 1% hiring manager and top 1% candidate with a proven record of scaling global operations. He is now sharing his insights and expertise to effectively and efficiently accelerate people’s careers. His methods and advice have empowered people to land amazing jobs at Google, Facebook, Salesforce, Microsoft, Amazon, PayPal, Dropbox, Dell, and more. Kadima has evolved from 1:1 coaching to group programs, and the team is now developing software and instructional content to deliver broader impact. While the methods will evolve, Kadima will always be a values-based company that treats people RIGHT and gets stuff done. Bio: Alan empowers people to confidently land high-paying jobs at the world’s best tech companies. He spent the first chapter of his life building his resume at companies like Google, Facebook (now Meta), Salesforce, and American Express. Alan has achieved his success by employing a growth mindset, persevering through numerous setbacks, and building long-lasting relationships; all sprinkled with a healthy dose of privilege and luck. Alan’s next chapter is dedicated to his eulogy. He strives to leverage his successes, wisdom, and experience to level the playing field for all candidates and employees. Inspired by Ibram X. Kendi, David Brooks, Tim Ferriss, Brené Brown, his local synagogue, his amazing wife, and countless friends and family, Alan founded Kadima in July 2020. Kadima, which means “forward” in Hebrew, is on a mission to accelerate 1 million careers. His mission is to grow and develop people. He is a hiring manager professional with extensive recruiting knowledge through reviewing over 10k resumes, interviewing thousands, hiring hundreds, and promoting dozens. In his 34-year career, Alan has worked for 21 different companies, including Google, Facebook, Salesforce, American Express, UBS, the New York Mets and the Toronto Blue Jays. He has had 35 different bosses, 29 different jobs, and has interviewed more than 2,000 candidates. As a candidate himself, Alan has interviewed thousands of times for hundreds of jobs, receiving dozens of offers. Born in Long Island to loving parents, Alan was a first-generation college student. He is thankful that his parents were able to support him going to college and graduating without any student debt. After graduating from Binghamton University with honors, Alan got into a prestigious program for a Ph.D. in clinical psychology with a full ride. After a semester, Alan withdrew to make his first career transition into finance. Alan is now on his sixth distinct career and has become an expert on career pivots. Alan is very appreciative of his upbringing because it has given him a passion for giving back and supporting others as his family, friends, and colleagues did for him. Alan is dedicated to growing and developing people and is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion inside and outside of the workplace. Alan Stein LinkedIn Kadima Careers LinkedIn Kadima Careers Twitter Kadima Careers Facebook Kadima Careers Instagram Kadima Careers YouTube
Episodes
Tori Stevens, the founder of EvolYOUtion, helps clients step into their power to go after their careers. She gives tips about building relationships with those who can help you in the future. In today’s episode, she talks about creating a life of intention and finding a job with the end goal in mind. Tune in today to learn how to create a legacy and take control of your situation.
IN THIS EPISODE:
Today we are joined by Ricky Robinson to discuss chasing your dream career and how to make moves that fit with your plan. Ricky talks to us about intentionality when considering where you want to go with your job. We dive into the 2-year rule of thumb and how to know when it's time to make the next move. We also touch on locking in your ideal role as a woman or BIPOC and what to look for when interviewing with a company. Tune i...
A strong work ethic and courage to take opportunities can pay off. Brandon Middleton has worked for multiple big tech companies like Cisco and Microsoft. He currently works for Amazon AWS and also is a co-founder of Trillicon Valley, a media and design collective for the benefit of youth and community inspiration. In today’s episode, Brandon discusses how he landed his jobs and why he shifted to different companies. He also shares ...
Moving six times in seven years, Keith Powell was willing to do what it took to take advantage of opportunities to advance his career. Kieth has a passion for helping under-represented employees succeed and uses his 20-plus years of corporate experience to coach those individuals to achieve their potential. On today’s episode, Keith talks with Alan about being a black executive in the tech world. He shares his career journey, gives...
The two hurdles to finding a job are getting your foot in the door and doing well in the interview to land the job. Today, Alan talks with Aline Lerner who is the founder and CEO of Interviewing.io. She works with software engineers and other professionals, helping them practice interviews (especially technical), giving feedback, and providing mentorship. In this episode, they discuss the main biases of hiring and how to fight thos...
With more than a decade working at Google, Viktoriya Massand is the perfect person to share her success with others about working at Google. Viktoriya is known for her willingness to roll up her sleeves and get work done with a great attitude. On today’s episode, she recalls her time working with Alan. They discuss promotions, their mutual love for Google, and company reorganizations. Tune in to hear interview tips, ideal candidate...
Your career doesn’t have to follow a traditional path. In today’s episode, Alan is joined by Nirupa Umapathy who was very successful in corporate life for 14 years. Now, she subscribes to a different work model but continues to invest. She is her own boss and is working for equitable social change by founding Salons For Life. Nirupa recalls her journey, enforces the value of networking, and explains what recruiters are looking for....
Dennis Shultz has played a role at multiple big tech giants for more than 25 years. From Rackspace, Samsung, and Dell to his current role at Microsoft, he has taken many career opportunities that have come his way. Another significant role that Dennis plays is the Executive Director for Blacks in Technology. Today, Alan and Dennis discuss career changes, lessons learned, and how being black impacted Dennis in these big-tech roles. ...
Today, Alan is joined by a corporate champion who has worn many hats, but each hat was focused on bettering people and company culture. LaToya Jordan has used her passion for developing others in roles such as Global Mentoring and Employment Development at Pfizer as well as Director of Talent Management and Diversity at JetBlue Airways. As founder of Lead By Design Lab, she continues to work with huge names. In this episode, she sh...
On today’s episode, Alan moves away from talking Big Tech to hear from Naama Bloom, who also turned down an offer from Big Tech. Naama Bloom has spent over two decades as a marketing executive for numerous companies, including founding her own startup. She methodically makes career decisions with a matrix of criteria. Listen in as Naama shares her career journey, how she makes decisions, and advice for others in their careers.
IN ...
Starting with Google 6 weeks before the IPO, Kara Gabay has a wide band of experience and knowledge from the last 17 years at Google. She has recently started her own coaching practice. In this episode, Kara recalls her journey of getting to Google and the moves within the company over the years. Having interviewed many candidates, she shares knowledge on internal vs external interviews, how the process works, and tips for preparin...
Determined to receive prestigious job offers from his preferred companies, Harold Pietri was very strategic in the steps he took to get there. Harold finished his undergrad work in Venezuela before moving to the United States to get his MBA. He wasn’t done traveling yet though as he applied to his dream company in Spain to stand out and worked hard to end up back in the states. Now, Harold is an Enterprise Account Executive at Amaz...
It is extremely difficult to win the game if you do not know the rules. In this episode of the SYCK podcast, Chantel George highlights the importance of learning the unwritten rules in sales and moving up the ladder as not only a woman but also a black woman. She is the founder of Sistas in Sales, a blossoming 6000+ member organization that enables and advocates for black women and women of color in sales to accelerate their ...
Today’s guest on the SYCK Podcast is seasoned recruiter and interview coach, Margaret Buj. We cover a lot of ground in this episode, starting with how recruiters use keywords in LinkedIn to find candidates. Margaret talks about the top things that should be on your resume and how to make yourself more attractive to recruiters. We also talk about how to prepare for interviews with a recruiter versus hiring manager. With close to 20 ...
I’m excited to have Brittany Williams on our latest edition of Steer Your Career with Kadima (SYCK) podcast! Brittany is a Georgia native and has worked primarily in marketing and advertising helping brands refine their voice and better connect with their targeted audiences. Recently with the help of Kadima, she landed her first job at a tech company! Alan and Brittany talk about how she used informational interviews to build relat...
I’m excited and a little star struck to have Russ Laraway on the SYCK Podcast today! Russ has had a diverse 28 year operational management career at several companies including Google and Twitter and is the author of the book, When They Win, You Win: Being a Great Manager Is Simpler Than You Think. Russ and I highlight a few of the key concepts from his book and how the best managers create happy teams that deliver the best results...
Paul Bauer is on the SYCK Podcast today for our latest edition of SYCK Tricks! Paul is a seasoned recruiter who has connected and hired hundreds, if not thousands, of people while working for companies like Amazon, Expedia, and Salesforce. Paul shares his insider knowledge about what recruiters are looking for and how to differentiate yourself among other candidates. We talk about his current role at GoPuff, best practices for nego...
I’m excited to have Kimberlynn Hunter on the SYCK Podcast today! With leadership skills developed and tested during her 20+ years’ experience in the U.S. Army, she recently pivoted into the corporate world and is working at Cognizant, one of the top consulting firms in the world. We talk about the challenges she faced in her job search after retiring from the army and she addresses some of the common misconceptions that veteran...
Earlier this year, I had a great conversation with Keith Powell and Ricky Robinson on their podcast, C-CRETS, and today I want to reshare it with you. I’m a longtime listener of C-CRETS, a career advice podcast for people of color with C-suite ambitions from hosts who’ve been there. We talked about diversity in the technology industry and how my own personal experience advocating for BIPOC and female employees in Big Tech led me to...
Today, I’m talking with the Chief Creative Officer here at Kadima Careers, Jay Cross, about how job descriptions are created at big tech companies and beyond. We are spilling the SYCK truth about the generalized and arbitrary requirements that most job listings have and how women are more likely than men to disqualify themselves based on the description. I’m sharing my best secrets and tips from my time as a hiring manager so you c...
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