In this episode, host Rob Hendrickson shares his thoughts about Season 1 of his JobSpeakers podcasting journey and speaks to what may come next.By Rob Hendrickson

"Most people don't realize that architecture is a team sport," says this week's guest, Steve Burgos, who demystifies this highly romanticized profession from all angles: drawing designs, managing budgets, inspecting construction, brushing up on building codes, communicating with clients, and more. Designing and managing projects ranging from solari…

Claudia Miller's job is to help her clients convert career ambitions into plans, plans into action, and action into achievement. By helping with personal branding, resume writing, online profile polishing, and one-on-one interview coaching (among other related services), Claudia helps her clients achieve more than they thought possible. Does it alw…

It almost ruined her, but Ally Bergmann didn't let it. Bucking the family trend - both her parents had been alcoholics - Ally quit drinking cold turkey at the age of 29 and has since built a life dedicated to helping others deal with the disease of substance abuse through counseling or avoid it altogether through prevention. In this very personal a…

Her dream was to be a Walt Disney Imagineer - a super cool job by anyone's standards - but our guest Cindy Levin's path took her in a slightly different but equally cool direction: working as an automobile engineer at GM's proving grounds. While she worked to eliminate vibrations in vehicles, she was allowed on company time to tutor kids in math fo…

Our guest this week is an award-winning poet, young adult novelist, and cookbook author as well as an activist, public intellectual, performance artist, and scholar. Named by Southern Living as “One of the 50 People changing the South,” Caroline Randall Williams views her work and her identity as inextricably linked. As a truth-teller who endeavors…

Her job is cool, really cool. Visit the operating room to watch surgeries live? Check. Talk to surgeons and nurses about how to make their instruments better? Check. Devise cutting-edge instruments a joystick-operated robot will use to perform surgeries? Check. Yes, very cool indeed - but being a biomedical engineer also involves behind-the-scenes …

Do you work to live, or live to work? It's an important question many of us ignore ... but not this week's guest, David Connell, who has crafted a successful career in digital communications while managing to be crystal clear about his personal and professional priorities (hint: David knows how to unplug after a productive day to spend time with hi…

Can you change the world? Guess what - you can! This week's guest Jennifer Burden had an idea about the power and diversity of motherhood and now, ten years later, the World Moms Network represents a growing family of moms from 30 countries who rally behind important causes like reducing poverty, providing safe drinking water, supplying vaccination…

From his first job working in the duty free shop of an airport in the Dominican Republic, Hugo Lembert joined a newspaper in New York City to drive classified advertising sales ... until that business dried up overnight and forced him to adjust his career path and migrate toward the digital media space. In this episode, learn more about advertising…

Even though he played with chemicals and blew stuff up when he was young, our guest this week still found choosing a college major was one of his life's hardest decisions. Still, he followed his passion, studied chemical engineering, and has made a career "making things better." Now a VP of Development and Technical Services at Amalie Oil Company, …

Do you remember rainbow looms? How about adult coloring books? Well, those fun crafty items and thousands more come from somewhere, and that somewhere in the case of the over 1,400 Michael's crafts stores is the buyers who stay in front of trends and find manufacturers the world over to bring those items to US consumers. In the words of our guest T…

It was the dead of night when Joaquin was backpacking and got stuck in a severe snowstorm. "I could have survived the night," he said, but fate would connect him to the owner of a local tour guide company who miraculously found and rescued him - and then offered him a job! In this episode, hear more about Joaquin's experiences conducting over 1,000…

Quant evangelist? What in the world? This week our guest Dimitri Bianco tells us about a profession and field of discipline focused on developing and validating predictive models used to make important business decisions with potentially significant financial implications. Every wonder why the same person who approaches five lenders for mortgage qu…

Could you clean teeth for a living? Looks simple right? It's not! This week's guest, Dorothy Smith, demystifies a profession we have all experienced up-close and personal (after all, their hands are inside your mouth for about 30 minutes). Having done this for 28 years, Dorothy tells us what is required to be trained and certified in this field, ho…

Our guest this week, Guy Averill, has loved working the land since his boyhood in England. And while some get to their current professions by way of a circuitous journey involving many different jobs, Guy's path never veered too far away from farming. Why? Because he loves it too much, calling it a true vocation. Is it hard work? Yes. Are there a l…

Unconventionally refreshing, forever fun, and intrepid to the fullest, Corey McGonigle is an IT project manager by trade and an adventurer by heart who approaches life with vim, vigor, and a huge dose of kindness. Dropping out of college early in her career, Corey found her passion in project management early and, after working overseas, decided at…

Vince Harris started his career as a jet engine mechanic in the Air Force. Now he is a measurement expert who ensures the tools we use and the parts on which they are used are all perfectly calibrated. Why does this matter, you ask? Because without calibration, things eventually break - like airplanes, for example (yes, this is important stuff!). I…

This week's guest Ray Vicks was the first in his big family (12 kids!) to attend college. Having landed a solid job with Arthur Andersen right out of school, Ray spent his first years "learning how to xerox" before buckling down and moving up the ranks. Hear how his biggest professional disappointment led to his eventual ascendancy to partnership i…

Most people would never say, "social services" and "entrepreneur" in the same breath. And those people have never met our guest this week, Kim Young, who started her career working for an international adoptions agency (she would fly to countries like Nicaragua and pick up the babies!). Later, Kim worked for an agency providing services to the Depa…

In 2008, our guest Denise lost everything. The housing crisis left her and her husband out of work with barely enough money to do the one thing they could think of to pay the bills: start a food truck business based on pasta recipes their friends loved. It was hard work, but they survived - one of the many stories Denise describes as part of her "i…

Having a zombie wedding? Then you are in luck! Our guest this week doesn't take normal wedding jobs - but he certainly takes zombie (and Viking) assignments because they are "so much more interesting to shoot!" In this episode, learn about the interesting working life of someone who received his first camera at 15 years old and hasn't looked back. …

"My crazy work ethic was a big reason why my first marriage failed." In this episode, hear from someone who has known major setbacks but has never given up on his entrepreneurial ambitions - or himself. Now the owner of a successful family-run gravestone business, Graeme Everson tells us how he came to be wired for overachievement as a young boy, e…

Sometimes you meet people who really ARE changing the world. Our guest this week, Ron Tyson, spends his days ensuring our healthcare records get to the right place and recounts a twisting journey that involved quitting college, joining the Air Force, going back to school, and using a drug prescription data entry job and work ethic advice from his g…

This episode is a JobSpeakers first. Our first guest from Scotland? Yes. Our first guest to have worked at the world-famous Harrods in London? Yes again (and you MUST hear what that was like!). But the real first is hearing from a guest who is recently retired. So not only do we get treated to Les's rich career journey in the hospitality field - ma…

It was March 2020. The pandemic was just taking hold. And our guest Michael saw the writing on the wall - if more orders didn't come in, his job was on the line. Sadly, that's just what happened, and Michael over the summer was let go from the business development and sales role he loved. In this episode, we explore what many people throughout our …

He was going to be a priest, but there was just one problem ... he didn't have the grades for it. So what did our guest Ian Hassell do with the rest of his working life after leaving the seminary? He stayed true to his intentions to help lift up the downtrodden - working in social services, counseling men suffering through the horror of the HIV AID…

That was it!!!! Lance couldn't take it anymore. When that Easter brunch customer who asked Lance for pickles but complained they were cut the wrong way when he received them, Lance made a decision at that moment to return to college. In this episode, hear how that early pivot point kicked off a journey that, funnily enough, ends (so far) with Lance…

"I want to see all hairdos, styles, and colors and a client-driven education for our students," says Bisi Lipede, who coordinates a work-study program for 270 Cristo Rey Boston High School students who work part-time corporate jobs throughout their four years of normal schooling. Not only do these students have some of their tuition reimbursed for …

In this double-header episode, Tammi Wirth tells us how a part-time truck loading job at UPS became a full-time position quality checking and fixing shipping addresses. Why did Tammi get promoted? "Because I pay attention to details," she says, "and it makes it all worthwhile when Grandma gets her present!" Someone who uses her downtime at work to …

"This is more dangerous than criminal law!" says this week's guest, Josh Sheridan, a divorce and family law attorney whose job has him dealing with good people on their worst behavior. Dispelling the notion that attorneys are by definition rich and smart (among other fallacies), Josh in this episode opens his job kimono to speak straight about his …

When she opens a preschool assignment she's kept for all these years, Divya sees the question, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" and her answer: a "hair cutter." Seems like a far cry from journalism, right? Not to Divya, who points out that getting a hair cut is a great way to hear stories - and stories are the reason she was drawn to jour…

What is success at the end of a long week teaching? "A good night's sleep!" says this week's guest Allison Caras, a Professor of Spanish at George Washington University. Considering herself a "conflicted extrovert," Allison in this episode conveys her total commitment to teaching - and the tolls and trials that come with the territory of her profes…

She likes cat videos, loves dogs, and has confirmed that pets really DO look and behave like their owners. In this week's episode, Joelle tells us what it takes to become a vet, what it's really like to take care of our beloved animals, and shares that being a vet is also about being empathetic, compassionate, and caring for all of us pet owners. A…

When we asked this week's guest Holli Rahmings what's changed in the world of food over the past ten years, she surprised us. "Me," she said, and then proceeded to convey how her job and her success ultimately depend on her ability to connect with people and move them toward long-term healthy habits. In this episode, learn how Holli has honed her p…

Work in coal mines or steel mills? These were Joe's hometown job options. He chose neither and left his small town to work for a credit union in another state. But rather than see his first job as a temporary stopgap, Joe saw the chance to show everyone that not having a college education would never hold him back. He buckled down, worked hard, and…

Our first guest from the UK, Martin Gibbs had a knack for taking things apart when he was a little boy - so much so, he earned a nickname from his grandmother based on a book character. Little did she know that the nickname she gave Martin would come to describe his eventual career testing IT software and being the guy in the office who "took thing…

In this episode, meet someone who leans into life and lives in the present. Someone who after nearly 30 years consulting to large companies across six continents decided to help individuals find their best selves through authentic interactions and the search for wisdom. It's no wonder when faced with the choice to play college volleyball or try bal…

Randy Gallogly was burnt out. But he was also smart enough to listen to his wife when she said, “I don’t like you being a realtor." Taking his own advice to always be ready when an opportunity knocks, Randy jumped on the chance to become a home inspector. In this episode, hear how Randy came out of the Navy having studied medicine but now spends hi…

It was a serious decision. Tamara asked herself, "Should I become a lawyer?" She thought long. She thought hard. She considered her strengths and aspirations. She recalled her ability to engage in healthy debate. Yes, it was a serious decision that could not be made lightly. Especially since Tamara was considering this career at the ripe age of 12 …

You can ask Jacques why he decided to work with trauma victims, almost all of them addicts and many just one bad decision away from jail or worse. Yes, you can ask. But don't expect an answer. He doesn't know why he decided to specialize in therapy for these broken and hurting people. But that doesn't matter, because Jacques saves them every day. I…

Sshhh. Huddle around. Listen closely. Meet Gary Johnson, a man who for 50 years has learned life's lessons and is about to tell you all about them: taking pride in one's work, living a life of learning, helping those in need, and knowing how to say the right things at the right time. A man who volunteers his time as Santa Claus for charities that c…

Approaching his profession with the mindset of an elite athlete, Brandon took his seat on a Delta flight, looked at that small screen, and asked a simple but compelling question that would land him a huge win as the new VP of Strategic Account Solutions at LivePerson. Find out what that question was, and learn how Brandon built a successful career …

"I think you better box those up and put them in the garage," said our guest Victoria when she was surprised by what she found when she walked into the seller's bedroom. Find out what Victoria discovered and what she learned about herself as she describes her journey from being limited by Malaysian culture as a little girl to becoming an IT profess…

Does your job affect 300,000 people every day? Tyrell's job does! Through his work helping all of Florida's Boys & Girls clubs recruit and train CEOs, guide new board members, develop new programs, and more, Tyrell indirectly shapes and improves the lives of 300,000 boys and girls every day. Sounds hard, right? Well, it is - but despite working 60 …

Chris Zutt spent the first half of his working life painting houses, billing hospital patients, and doing business analysis - before pulling the plug on all that and pursuing the job he always wanted, being a teacher. Now, 18 years later, hear how Chris teaches his 7th and 8th graders to love learning, discover what makes Chris's style unique and e…

After ten years in the mortgage broker business, our guest Mary Phifer tried aerobics for the first time. A former dancer, Mary wasn't just good at aerobics - she was great at it, and soon became an instructor. That led her to eventually making a big career change and becoming a personal fitness trainer. In this podcast, hear Mary tell stories abou…

That letter from the collection agency is NOT your bill! But that is exactly what a young man believed until our guest Justin took the time to help him understand the basics of managing money and fostering strong credit. Why? Because that is the type of person Justin is - open, engaging, fun, and the first in line to help the members of his credit …

Caring for her grandmother's "boo-boos" with her doctor's kit was an early sign that five-year-old Meredith Burt would one day enter the health care field. Now a registered nurse, Meredith in this tell-all podcast reveals whether TV hospital shows are realistic, describes her IV needle skills, and shares a few freshman mistakes new nurses make.…

Have you ever said to yourself, "I can do that better?" As a young student, Rui Fernandes had a not-so-great guidance counselor at a time when he really needed, well, guidance. Using that motivation as a springboard, he then charted a career path that allowed him to fix it forward as a career and college advisor and soccer coach. Here Rui tells sto…