The Uncommon Career Podcast: Transformative Career Coaching & Job Search Strategies

In this episode, Patricia and Jamila discusses the importance of personal branding, emphasizing the compounding effect of investing in oneself. They highlight the shift in the job market dynamics and how individuals can use this to their advantage to stand out. Learn strategies for optimizing resumes and LinkedIn profiles to attract opportunities and impress hiring managers.

• 01:50 Avoiding the Commodity Trap
• 07:...

Julianna and Patricia dive into managing complex relationships within workplace hierarchies. They discuss the delicate dynamics of having a strong connection with a boss's boss while maintaining trust and communication with your direct manager.

Tips include setting boundaries on how publicly the relationship is displayed, being mindful of assumptions, and strategies for fostering open communication. Learn how to assess workplace ...

In this milestone 100th episode, dive into essential resume and LinkedIn advice, including the importance of a LinkedIn profile, common resume mistakes to avoid, and actionable tips to make your resume stand out to recruiters and hiring managers.

Learn how to replace vague adjectives and adverbs by emphasizing specific accomplishments, tailor your resume for your target role, and more.

• 02:14 Three Importa...

Are you struggling to stand out in a sea of job applications?

In this episode, Patricia Ortega shares invaluable insights on transforming your LinkedIn profile to attract recruiters and hiring managers. With over 75 hours of research, Patricia emphasizes the importance of branding through key elements like your headline, banner image, and about section.

Learn how to craft a compelling narrative that showcases your unique value pr...

Darren Shearer discusses how to live a Christ-centered work life in secular settings. He explores the influence each employee has on organizational culture and emphasizes the importance of making disciples through one's professional conduct. Shearer introduces concepts from his book 'The Christ Centered Company', highlighting the significance of embedding Christ's mission in everyday work activities.

Practical tips include treat...

In this episode, Patricia provides actionable advice on refining your job search strategy by achieving crystal clear clarity. She emphasizes focusing on a single target role, optimizing your branding, and understanding the importance of effective communication over experience.

Key steps include aligning your materials with your desired role, exploring company culture and industry fit, and leveraging foundational values. Further, ...

Have you ever felt stifled by a micromanager?

In this engaging episode, Patricia and Julianna dive deep into the nuances of micromanagement versus structured leadership. They explore how micromanagers often act out of fear and insecurity, leading to a lack of trust and autonomy for their team members. Julianna shares practical strategies for navigating these challenging dynamics, emphasizing the importance of proactive communicat...

Are you feeling stuck in your job and wondering if it's time to move on?

In this episode, host Patricia Ortega explores the signs that indicate it might be time for a career change. With nearly half of employees disengaged at work, Patricia discusses internal nudges like feeling undervalued and unproductive, as well as external factors such as toxic work environments and stagnant teams.

She emphasizes the importance of recognizin...

In this episode, career strategist Jamila Brown joins the Patricia Ortega to discuss how to define your value as both a human and a professional. Join in exploring the misconception of separating personal and professional lives, which can lead to burnout, and emphasize understanding one's personal value to exude confidence in the workplace.

Jamila introduces a 'formula for value' involving confidence, belief, and subtraction of ...

In this episode, Patricia explores effective strategies for setting actionable goals that align with your organization's objectives, ensuring a win-win scenario.

Discover how to prepare for your performance review by collecting metrics and crafting compelling narratives that highlight your contributions. Furthermore, she discusses the importance of engaging your leadership in career conversations, using open-ended questions to fo...

In this last of the three-part Annual Planning Series, Patricia and Dale focus on strategies to ensure goals stick throughout 2025. They emphasize the importance of writing down goals, displaying them visibly, and involving accountability partners. They also discuss practical tools like time-blocking and using tech to support goal achievement.

Click here to download a checklist of all the ways you can Make Your 2025 Goals Stick

Patricia provides a comprehensive guide to start preparing for hiring season. Topics covered include self-positioning and mindset, enhancing your online presence and networking, optimizing your application and resume, effective company outreach, and mastering interview preparation. And key points include evaluating your career history, determining the best fit roles, understanding and communicating your value proposition, staying...

Patricia and Julianna explore the intersection of emotional intelligence and strategic execution with a focus on time management for busy professionals. They delve into practical techniques such as the Eisenhower Matrix for task prioritization, the importance of tracking time with apps like Toggle and OmniFocus, and balancing high-priority tasks with emotional and energy management.

The hosts provide actionable insights for opti...

Patricia discusses simple habits to prevent burnout and ways to wind down. The episode covers burnout, its causes, and its impacts on productivity and emotional health. Discover key habits to avoid burnout include daily reflections, setting boundaries, taking mindful breaks, practicing gratitude, and doing a digital detox. 

•  00:00 Introduction: Preventing Burnout and Winding Down from 2024

• 00:28 Understand...

In the second part of the annual planning series, Patricia welcomes back life coach Dale Wilshire to discuss the concept of casting a vision using Dale's proprietary Wheel of Life exercise. Explore various life categories, talk about goal setting, and how to prepare for achieving these goals in the upcoming year.

Dale also provides insights into tweaking the Wheel of Life to better fit individual needs, identifying areas for imp...

Patricia explores effective strategies to build and strengthen your professional network during the holiday season. We discuss various actionable tips, such as creating personalized holiday cards, sending reflective thank you notes, organizing festive events, engaging on social media, and joining the holiday committee at work.

Learn how to compile a comprehensive contact list and make meaningful connections to stay top of mind for ...

Julianna and Patricia dive into the nuances of personal and professional branding. They discuss the crucial difference between visibility and branding, emphasizing the importance of building a solid foundation and clearly defining one's career goals. Tune in for learning how to outline a comprehensive framework for creating a personal brand, including understanding your audience, using LinkedIn effectively, and the benefits of i...

In this episode, we discuss strategies to stay motivated during the job search, emphasizing the importance of focusing on process goals rather than outcome goals. By setting and celebrating small wins, reframing rejections as feedback, and maintaining realistic expectations, job seekers can make continuous progress.

Additionally, we highlight the importance of self-care, such as maintaining health, fitness, and personal relationshi...

In this episode, Patricia kicks off a special series with Professional Certified Coach and Keynote Speaker, Dale Wilsher. They discuss the importance of reflecting on the past year, and share different ways to go about it. including a year review, journaling, consulting with others, and the storytelling method for reflection. Gain insights on how to successfully reflect on your year before you get into planning for 2025.