Chan with a Plan

Creating a Life You Love: Tips for Finding Career Happiness

EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Chan with a Plan, Max Speaks with Steph Shinabery, CEO of Genius Code Academy. In this conversation Steph discusses changing careers even if you’re older and when is the right time to go all in on your dream career.
QUOTES FROM STEPH
“But say you're kind of like still the solopreneur. You're doing a lot of, maybe you have a little bit of a team. How can you maybe decrease your profits for a shorter period of time to figure out what it is that you really want to do?”
“It's figuring out how to close that gap between the nine to five and this. Some people have a big nest egg and they're like, okay, I'm just going to go through my nest egg and I'm going to do the entrepreneurial idea and then if it doesn't work, then I'll go back to the nine to five. It’s not a one size fits all.”
“When your alarm clock goes off in the morning am I excited to get out of bed or am I just hitting the alarm clock full of dreads. If you are dreading it, it's time to have like a self-assessment of like, what can I do differently?”
 
TIMESTAMPS
[03:42] Making the move and starting over in your career
[05:59] Finding career clarity
[08:23] Age and career change
[12:02] Conversations about career change with parents
[16:39] Navigating a 9-5 & entrepreneurial journey
[18:59] Worrying about money loss
[25:28] Deciding to make a career move
[30:07] The X Factor
[34:40] Action item to change career trajectory
[39:12] Having curiosity and a mindset to lean into your passions
[40:36] One big career challenge for Steph
 
RESOURCES & RELEVANT LINKS
Steph Shinabery on Social Media:Facebook
LinkedIn
Chan With A Plan
Max Chan on Social Media

5 Resume Mistakes That Could Cost You Your Dream Job And Derail Your Career

EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Chan with a Plan, Max discusses 5 common resume mistakes. Key points he discusses in this episode are the 5 common mistakes people make on resumes, how to write a summary correctly, and bad formatting practices.
TIMESTAMPS
[00:40] Your resume is the snapshot into your whole career
[01:20] Don’t put your education above experience
[01:55] Listing a bunch of job duties can hurt your resume and why
[03:19] Highlight more than generic soft skills
[04:14] Review the job advertisement
[04:30] Make sure you have a career summary
[06:20] Bad resume structure
[07:55] Summary
 
RESOURCES & RELEVANT LINKS
Chan With A Plan
Max Chan on Social Media

What to do after your job offer is withdrawn

EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Chan with a Plan, Max Speaks with Colleen Paulson, a career consultant with her business Colleen Paulson Consulting. In this conversation, Colleen discusses what happens when a job offer gets rescinded and how you can recover from it happening.
QUOTES FROM COLLEEN
“It's getting in the mindset that just because this didn't work out for you, it has nothing to do with your abilities. You know, you shouldn't let it shake your confidence once they take it personally, even though it has nothing to do with their ability.” - Colleen Paulson
“Try to make friends with some recruiters on LinkedIn and really be honest about the situation that you find yourself in. Again, you don't need to hide that information. It's nothing to be embarrassed about, but you want to be proactive about reaching out to folks.” - Colleen Paulson
“You need to be really careful in your resume. It is a marketing document, but when you are giving that to a company, you're saying that this is true.” - Colleen Paulson
 
TIMESTAMPS
[01:17] Is getting your job offer rescinded common?
[02:41] Negotiating for a later offer
[03:50] Risking job hopping
[07:37] Addressing employment gaps
[11:00] Economic climate and risk of rescinded offers
[12:40] Seeking out lawyers
[14:32] Getting back on your feet quickly
[18:01] Spelling out the work you’ve done
[20:53] Improving your chances of landing your next job
[24:10] Good industries for career pivots
[27:59] AI and Careers
[29:34] Engineering to Career Coaching
[33:14] Colleen’s big career challenge
 
RESOURCES & RELEVANT LINKS
Colleen Paulson on Social Media:LinkedIn
Colleen Paulson Consulting
Chan With A Plan
Max Chan on Social Media

Your Career Roadmap: How To Answer The Job Interview Question Where Do You See Yourself In 5 Years

EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Chan with a Plan, Max discusses how to answer the question “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” Key points he discusses in this episode are how to prepare for this question and how to craft an answer that will help you stand out.
TIMESTAMPS
[01:03] Companies want to know your long term goals 
[01:13] Your answer shows your commitment level
[01:25] How you answer also helps the company plan
[02:32] Don’t be vague or non-committal
[02:46] Being unrealistic and overly ambitious is bad
[03:02] Don’t be self-centered
[03:16] Align with the company’s mission
[03:34] Breaking down the structure of the best answer
[03:37] Show how there is alignment
[03:41] How will you make a positive impact
[03:55] Highlight your professional development roadmap
[04:12] Template for your response to this question
 
RESOURCES & RELEVANT LINKS
Chan With A Plan
Max Chan on Social Media

Navigating Heartbreak: Coping with Unexpected Career News

EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Chan with a Plan, Max Speaks with Liz St. Jean, founder of The Mint Ambition, a website in growing leadership skills and advancing careers. In this conversation Liz discusses overcoming obstacles, navigating layoffs, and her 3 question framework to handle gut-wrenching news.
QUOTES
“I do hard work. I should be rewarded for it. And sometimes that can really trip us up because to move into a supervisory position or a management position, it's not about doing good work of what you're doing at the individual level. Like it's a whole new role.” – Liz St. Jean
“The foundation piece is like being kind to ourselves, giving ourselves that space and the grace and the compassion to essentially feel the feels.” – Liz St. Jean
“We all love to do it. And one of the challenges with advice is that most of the time we're giving advice from our experience and our lens and our life and our personality and how we would approach things. And that may or may not be helpful for the other person.” – Liz St. Jean
 
TIMESTAMPS
[00:50] Liz St. Jean and Mint Ambition
[04:17] Coping with gut-wrenching news
[07:15] Clearing your mind
[08:45] Having a support network
[10:16] Venting and listening well
[13:58] Getting the right advice at the right time
[15:33] Speeding up the healing process
[17:15] 3 question framework for gut-wrenching news
[21:51] Real life scenario for the framework
[26:12] Giving yourself enough time vs procrastinating moving on
[30:23] Getting passed up for promotions
[33:02] Not just about working hard
[34:34] 3 question framework during job hunting
[39:34] Creating the framework and using it herself
[42:18] Liz’s big career challenge and how she overcame it
 
RESOURCES & RELEVANT LINKS
Liz St Jean on Social Media:LinkedIn
Mint Ambition
Chan With A Plan
Max Chan on Social Media

How to Handle the What is Your Greatest Weakness Interview Question And Pass The Job Interview

EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Chan with a Plan, Max discusses how to deal with the interview question “What is your greatest weakness?” Key points he discusses in this episode are the 4 common mistakes when answering this question and how to structure a winning answer.
TIMESTAMPS
[01:05] Spinning your strengths as a weakness
[01:15] Providing no weakness at all
[01:27] Providing a deal breaking weakness
[01:48] No improvement plan
[02:17] Identifying a genuine, non-deal breaking weakness
[02:49] Explaining the importance of this weakness
[03:26] Results of you improving the weakness
[03:42] Reinforce your commitment to improve
 
RESOURCES & RELEVANT LINKS
Chan With A Plan
Max Chan on Social Media

The Job Search Mistake You Can’t Afford to Make: Panic Applying And What To Do Instead

EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Chan with a Plan, Max Speaks with Cassie Spencer, a career coach and podcast host of Happenstance. In this conversation, Cassie discusses the economic climate and layoffs, panic applying, and what happenstance is all about.
QUOTES
“You know, many people experience happenstance in terms of they maybe didn't necessarily plan on entering a specific field or industry, but a conversation or an opportunity led them onto a specific path that they didn't even know existed. But there they are.” – Cassie Spencer
“It's really important for people to take a little bit of time to get clear on what they're looking for and what they want and need out of that next job.” – Cassie Spencer
“With as much uncertainty we live in endlessly now. It’s important to always be prepared. The best thing that you can do in terms of that preparation is to start thinking about and paying attention to the companies that you're interested in, the types of roles that you're interested in, and starting to lay that groundwork.” – Cassie Spencer
 
TIMESTAMPS
[03:07] Why aren’t you getting good responses when you apply?
[05:12] “Easy Apply” on LinkedIn
[06:31] Strategies for effective applying
[12:11] Does the time of year you apply matter?
[14:59] Stay put or always be on the lookout when in a tolerable job?
[18:58] 2023 job search concerns
[21:31] Happenstance; what it means and how Cassie uses it
[29:12] How to start networking
[34:17] Overcoming fears
[38:17] Cassie’s big career challenge
 
RESOURCES & RELEVANT LINKS
Cassie Spencer on Social Media:
LinkedIn
Happenstance podcast
Chan With A Plan
Max Chan on Social Media

The hidden dangers of accepting a counter offer from your employer and why it’s always a bad career idea

EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Chan with a Plan, Max discusses how to deal with counter offers from your current employer when you plan to exit for a new job. Key points he discusses in this episode are: why people take counter offers so often and why you should not take a counter offer.
TIMESTAMPS
[00:55] Getting a counter offer
[01:40] Taking a counter offer out of fear
[02:05] Too much emotional attachment
[02:30] Your sense of loyalty
[03:00] The issues have been resolved or so you think
[03:45] Never take a counter offer because it’s desperate
[04:45] A counter offer is a temporary fix
[05:05] Your loyalty will be questioned
 
RESOURCES & RELEVANT LINKS
Chan With A Plan
Max Chan on Social Media