Career Talk With OG

In today's episode of Career Talk With OG, we'll discuss three essential career skills: creating your professional brand, optimizing your LinkedIn profile, and networking for introverts. Throughout the episode, I emphasize the importance of authenticity and genuine connections. I encourage listeners to reflect on their values, passions, and goals, and align their brand, LinkedIn profile, and networking efforts accordingly.

Today's episode of Career Talk With OG is a personal testimony from Eddie Garcia, author, leadership and life coach, and retired corporate executive. Eddie shares his incredible story of growing up in East San Jose, getting kicked out of college, becoming a corporate executive, running for elected office. Then experiencing a life altering heart attack and being a heart transplant recipient. He is the author of "Summer in the Waiting Room" where he talks about his true story of youthful promise, unfulfilled potential, temporary success, catastrophic illness, and spiritual awakening.

In today's episode of Career Talk With OG, I talk about what the two percent of jobseekers do differently to get ahead. Whether your education is from Harvard or the school of hard knocks, do what the two percent does to successfully manage your career and get ahead. The tips are simple, not easy, but doable.

Today's episode of Career Talk With OG is a personal story about giving unconditionally. I often talk about helping others with zero expectations. It's not easy to do, yet there's a positive outcome.

This episode of Career Talk With OG is a talk I delivered for Moreno Valley College for minority students, entrepreneurs, innovators, staff, and business owners. I speak about conquering minority obstacles, harnessing competition, valuing our identity, taking risks, and uncovering our superpowers.

Today's episode of Career Talk With OG is a virtual workshop I gave to Korean and Japanese women entrepreneurs on how to pitch their business idea to investors. In the episode I talk about intersecting your personal and business brand, pitching tips, and content creation.

This episode is from a webinar I did on how to be your authentic self at work. The corporate environment plays a major role as well as other factors. My focus is on what we can control.

This episode is a keynote I gave at Cypress College where I share strategies for obtaining internships and how to transform your story into a career narrative. Listen until the end for the Q&A session.

Are you a business owner or thinking of starting a business? In this episode, I give you several business networking techniques that have helped me attract hundreds of thousands of dollars in referral business.

Today's episode of Career Talk With OG is from a guest appearance with Leena Mendoza. We talk about my definition of leadership, why I choose the title "Chief Empowerment Officer", cultural bullying, and being proud of my Latino culture.

In this episode, Victoria Banuelos, author of First-Gen, Next-Gen - A guide to Thriving as a First-Generation Latinx in the Next Generation of American Workforce, talks about her experience as a first-generation professional.  We discuss topics like gratitude roadblock, facing rejection in the USA and Mexico, and tips to fit-in the corporate culture.

Victoria Banuelos' book https://www.amazon.com/First-Gen-NextGen-First-Generation-Generation-Workforce/dp/1637304595

This episode is 17-minutes of key things you need to do on LinkedIn to help you find a job.  I talk fast and you'll want to listen to it several times and take notes.

This episode is from a workshop I did for Cal State University East Bay for students and alumni on mentorship.  I redefine the mentor/mentee relationship and provide practical and actionable tips to create an influential relationship.  There's a Q&A session at the end of the workshop.

In this episode, Arnoldo De La Fuente, CEO of MavenNext, a technology service provider, talks about his journey from growing up in "Little Village" Chicago to co-founding and CEO of a multi-million dollar company.  MavenNext is a premier ServiceNow partner and expanding into Mexico.

In this episode, Professor Philip Tran and I talking about how to make decisions, the different types of decisions there are, and why we have difficulty making decisions.  This is part two of a two part business talk series.  Listen to episode #137 for the first part of the series.

In this episode, Professor Philip Tran and I discuss how to build human relations and develop meaningful connections.  This episode is part one of a two part series for his business class.

In this episode, Bill Davis, Lead Faculty at The University of Arizona Global Campus and Nancy DeVore PhD, MS, Associate Faculty and Consumer Experience Consultant, talk about how universities and faculty can create a culture of belonging and inclusion. 

Today's episode is on using leadership journey stories to help organizations create trust and equity. Carmen Perkins, Founder, and Sandy Wallenstein, Senior Partner, of Project Edquity, discuss how organizations create a safe space so employees feel comfortable sharing their personal journey to develop a more meaningful company culture.

This is episode 10 of 10 from the First-Gen Virtual Summit.  Founder, CEO and first-gen, Kevin Hu, at Firstly, discuss best practices for colleges to create a quality mentorship program.

This is episode 9 of 10 from the First-Gen Virtual Summit.  In this episode, the panelists share recruitment strategies to target and hire first-gen college students.

This is episode 8 of 10 from the First-Gen Summit.  In this episode, my friend, Jennifer Merchant, discuss best practices for career centers to serve first-gen students.

This is episode 7 of 10 from the First-Gen Virtual Summit.  In this episode, our panelists are first-gen PhDs and work in academia.  They share not only their story and ideas on how to support first-gen stuents.

Today's episode is 6 of 10 from our First-Gen Virtual Summit.  The episode is a keynote delivered by Dr. Lanysha Adams.  She discusses the misconceptions of first-gen students and importance of combining knowledge of self plus principled action equals Me Power.

This is episode 5 of 10 from our First-Gen Virtual Summit.  In this episode, speaker, Wendy Chan, shares her story of growing up low income and struggling in school - she shares her imperfect model minority story.

This is 4 of 10 episode from our First-Gen Virtual Summit.  In this episode, we have a panel of first-gen latinas share their trials and victories in their career journey.

This episode is the 3 of 10 episodes from our First-Gen Virtual Summit.  In this episode, I talk about how Career Counselors, Student Affairs, and other college professionals, as well as employers can help college students uncover and share their superpowers to attract internships and jobs.

Today's episode is 2 of 10 from our First-Gen Virtual Summit.  The episode is a panel of first-gen college students sharing their diverse experiences and recommendations to better engage first-gen students.

Over the next 10 days, we'll share one episode from our First-Gen Virtual Summit 2022.  Today's episode is 1 of 10.  It's the opening keynote from Brian O'Bruba, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Engagement at UC Merced.  His keynote centers on ways schools and employers can best engage and prepare first-gen students for career success.

In this episode, the panelists and I share lots of job search tips from ways to engage recruiters, resume, ghosting, interview tips, and many more tips.  It's 90 minute episode, but it's worth listening to and taking notes.

Aspira Consulting website https://www.aspiraconsulting.com/

At the moment, many large Silicon Valley companies are laying off employees or freezing hiring.  In this episode, Ricardo Bonilla, Program Manager at JVS, and I talk about how his organization helps jobseekers prepare for new opportunities, career transition, and the specific job programs to help more minorities get into tech.

In this episode, I was a guest on the Non-Traditionalist podcast.  We discuss my childhood experiences learning English, working in my parent's meat business at a young age, my college experience as a first-gen, career journey and entrepreneur journey.

This episode is a panel discussion from the 2021 Latinidad Summit where Latinx professionals discuss what it means to bring your Latinidad to the workplace, obstacles, and strategies to being yourself.

I had a hilarious and energetic conversation with Randy and Teddy on their weekly show "Lunch Conversations with Randy & Teddy".  We touched on topics like how does an introvert start a business or find a job?  What do you do if you're the smartest person in the room?  What environment created your biggest hardship and biggest blessing?  My story of how I became a speaker.  What steps are required to have a successful career?  Randy, Teddy, and I laugh a lot on this show.

Public speaking is terrifying, and speaking online also has it's challenges and limitations.  Minue Yoshida, Co-Founder of Yoshida Academy, shares her tips and strategies for speaking online.  She is a public speaking coach and business trainer.  Minue was born in Mexico City, of Japanese and Mexican parents.  She also shares tips for immigrants who are concerned about their accent.  Listen until the end.  Minue drops a golden boulder of advice for women.

A story is a mosaic of smiles, tears, laughter, hardships, and victories.  In this episode, you'll hear from four contributing authors, Humberto "Humby" Basquerizo, EdD, Joanna Feliciano, Barbara Pujols, and myself.  Claudia Vasquez, Co-Founder of Elevink, moderates this talk because she is the one who told us about this writing opportunity and encouraged us to submit our stories.

How do companies recruit and retain latinx talent?  In this episode, Lizette Ibarra, CEO & Founder of Latina Chief, talk about recruiting strategies.  Lizette is native from Mexico.  She has over 20 years of executive search experience.  She specializes in executive and professional search, talent attraction and retention, career transition and coaching, personal branding, and serves clients across the U.S. and Latin America.

In this Michael Gribov, CEO of Impact-21, and I talk about the power of allies in diversity, equity, and inclusion.  Michael is a first-generation professional.  As a Russian Jew, Michael and his family, suffered much discrimination.  His family immigrated to the USA and settled in Ohio.  Michael was bullied, teased, and experienced discrimination.  Today, he helps Fortune 500 companies, think tanks, and nonprofits address some of the most challenging issues.

Speaker, songwriter, and author of the award-winning series Unicorn Jazz, Lisa Caprelli talks about her entrepreneurial journey and becoming an author.  Lisa is Latina entrepreneur and has been featured in Forbes Magazine, ABC News, CBS News and other publications.

In this episode I dive deeper into the three key areas to help you with your career success:  Professional Brand, LinkedIn and Networking.  You'll want to pause this episode, take notes, and come back to it several times.

This episode, Jason Lam, a senior at UC Berkeley in the College Natural Resources, moderates the conversation.  We talk about professional branding, networking, my career journey, overcoming imposter syndrome, and LinkedIn tips.  You'll enjoy the lively conversation.

This episode is a preview of Latinidad 2021 Summit panel: Brining Your Latinidad to the Workplace.  Our panelists Carlos Quezada and Ozzie Gromada Meza share give their thoughts on how to bring your authentic self to the workplqce.  Get your tickets and hear their full discussion on September 14th at the Latinidad 2021 Summit.

This is a conversation about overcoming imposter syndrome that I had with the team from the UC Berkeley Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership.  

This episode is a preview discussion to the women's panel of Latinidad 2021 Summit on the topic:  Latina Sisterhood - Amigas o Enemigas.  Our panelists Adriana Dawson, Andrea Guendelman, & Minué Yoshida give their thoughts on how sisterhood can be challenging and powerful.  

Migratory Grief: The physical and emotional loss experienced when leaving your native country for a new one. In today's episode, Marcela Bruner, speaks about her journey, as a professional, coming to the USA, and her experience with migratory grief.

This is Spanish episode is 1 of 3 training sessions I did for the US Embassy in Mexico.  In the session Desarrollo Profesional con LinkedIn, I teach the most effective methods to create your LinkedIn profile; how to build credibility, grow your career, and promote your professional brand.

Career success - we want it. We pursue it. We sacrifice for it. Yet, it seems elusive for many of us. Outrageous career success requires going all in, not dipping our toes in the pool of opportunity. In this episode, Rocío Perez, Founder of Inventíva, and I talk about Why Career Success Requires Going All In vs Leaning In.  We walk you through the steps to excel in your career journey and overcome many of the obstacles that derail our ability to excel.

Topics discussed

In this episode, Charlie Ruth shares why she strongly advocates for advancing women's equality through STEAM.  Charlie is Alumni Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. She is Co-Founder of The Women With Rights Foundation (www.MujeresConDerechos.org), one of the most influential social movements in the field of gender empowerment in the Americas region.  She is also Executive Director of MCD Foundation and Athenea Science.

In today's episode, Gustavo Lira, Executive Coach of My Auténtico Self Coaching & Consulting, discuss his career journey as a latino and how we can bring our authentic self to work.  

Networking is the BEST way to get hired! But most people are doing it wrong. They're not getting results and they're frustrated. I'm an introvert who learned how to build and nourish relationships. In this episode, I share specific networking strategies to help you attract opportunities, bypass the ATS system, and get hired.

Last summer, in the midst the pandemic, social unrest, shootings, and fires, Keen Alignment invited me to be a panelist on their webinar about getting real about social responsibility in the workplace.  This episode is a candid conversation about biases in the workplace and how it impacts organizational culture; and actions companies need to make.

Social media expert, Joyce Feustel, is the Founder of Boomers' Social Media Tutor.  In this episode she talks about how professionals 50+ and older can overcome the anxiety of using social media to grow in their professional career.

In this episode, Roy Gomez Cruz shares how running into a major roadblock while pursuing his PhD lead to paying tribute to the legendary singer, Freddie Mercury, and finding his purpose.

This episode is a training I did for the startup, Idea-to-IPO, and over 500+ entrepreneurs from around the world.  I provide a step-by-step strategy to use LinkedIn to attract high net worth individuals and investors.  Included in this episode is helpful Q&A session at the end.

This episode is a webinar I did for Job Hackers where I teach software developers and other technical people how to build their professional brand.  Listen to the Q&A section at the end.

Are you wishing you could change jobs or careers? Have you hit a dead-end road in your career growth? In this episode, Ruby Garcia, talks about her career journey and provides tips to get unstuck in your career.

In today's episode, my friend, Adriana Dawson, talks about the difficulty and myths of achieving work-life balance.  Adriana is the Director of Community Engagement for Verizon and oversees the Verizon Foundation and Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives in Rhode Island and areas of Massachusetts.  Sh is a nationally recognized bilingual/bicultural leader with 25+ years of impact at the intersection of community and business development.  She is also a wife, mother and caregiver to her parents.

In this episode, I did a virtual sit-down with Patricia Mota, Executive Director of HACE to give job search tips for their upcoming job fair.

Staying with the Cinco de Mayo theme, Angelica Garcia, Cultural Engagement Officer of Aspira Consulting, shares LinkedIn tips for millennials.  She brilliantly identifies five LinkedIn personality types and offers tips to maximize the platform's use.

Ever wonder who drew the infamous Apple logo?  Today's episode, Carlos Pérez, is the artist who drew the Apple logo.  He is a chicano artist, community activist recognized for his visual art creations that are found in public and private collections.  Carlos talks about his journey from being born in Mexico City and coming to Stockton, California as young kid.  In high school, he helped draw the huelga signs for Cesar Chavez' labor movement.  Listen until the end as Carlos recounts the powerful story of drawing the Apple logo.

In this episode, Chief Creative Muscle, Isaiah Hwang, shares tips on how to spice up our social media content.  He is a one-man independent design studio.  He works with education, high tech, non-profit, and independent clients across the world to tell their visual stories through design and photography. He was drawn to art at an early age. In the third grade, he even had a few of his drawings shown at a local museum in Santa Clara, CA and it gave him motivation to pursue art as a career!

Listen to this mashup of career, networking and entrepreneur tips between Professor Philip Tran and I.  We talk about networking for introverts, career choices, what if you don't know what you want to do after graduating from college.  We also share our thoughts about starting a business.

In this episode, Briana Weatherspon, CEO of The Eventgers, talks about the future of events post pandemic.  She also gives tips on how she launched her event planning business straight out of college.  She shares some of the self doubts that us entrepreneurs feel.

In this episode, Raul Lopez Jr., motivational speaker, author and executive coach, and I talk about his transformative life experience that led him to be a professional speaker.

Today's episode is a training I did to help first-generation professionals tell their career story.  Why?  Because your story is powerful! We all go through crap in life. Crap stinks! But crap can also be the fertilizer to our dreams. The choice is ours.  In this training, I teach you how to tell your unique career story to employers. You'll also learn tips to promote your story on social media and with your network.

In this episode I share valuable and practical LinkedIn tips for busy professionals.  LinkedIn is no longer just an online job board, it's essential to have a strong presence, without the need to spend a lot of time on the platform.

In this episode, Dr. Eve Hudson share's her incredible first-generation career story.  She is the oldest of three and was reared by a single mother in a low-income household.  She earned her PhD at the age of 28.  Here career journey has taken her from the halls of academia, to launching her successful business.

I speak with Anthony Pineda, Founding Director, of Creatrix Institute about his personal and career journey.  Anthony combines education, mental health and hip-hop to help you tell their personal story.

In this episode, Student Success Strategist, Linnita Hosten, shares her career journey, and gives tips to young professionals graduating during these challenging times.  Linnita is an author and national speaker.  She's been honored with 40 under 40 in Educaiton, Education Book of the Year, and Alumni of the Year.

In this episode, Sarabeth Berk explains what is a hybrid professional.  Sarabeth underwent her own professional identity crisis, and  learned she was a hybrid and that concept revolutionized her career path.  She is now obsessed with changing the way we see the workforce and helping professionals realize that their unique value lies at the intersections of their multiple professional identities.

In this episode Faith McKinney gives tips on how network virtually.  She is the Founder of Schmingling.  Faith is an introverted janitor turned author, television producer, and CNN Contributor. Her struggles with imposter syndrome did not derail her from networking her way to interviews with heavy-hitters like news legend Dan Rather, and Hollywood director Lee Daniels.  She has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and most recently Bloomberg Newsweek.  Faith’s passion for entrepreneurs has inspired her to speak about acquiring visibility, credibility and authority through earned media.

The holidays are the BEST time to network. People are open to "catching up". You can have deeper conversations. There are less day-to-day distractions. Most people pause their career search during holidays. DON'T! Get a head start on your job search. I share specific techniques to help you contact your network, including cold contacts, casual acquaintances, and friends.  Whether you're a professional, job seeker or in sales, you'll find this episode helpful.

This is a special mega year-end Career Q&A episode.  Professor and entrepreneur, Philip Tran, and I go deep answering career and entrepreneur questions.  Lots of raw answers, spoken from experience, that will help you build your confidence, get clarity and achieve your goals.  Take a listen and let us know what you think.

The pandemic severely impacted businesses.  In this episode, Adam Helweh, CEO of Secret Sushi, Philip Tran, professor and entrepreneur, Angelica Garcia, Aspira Consulting's Cultural Engagement Officer, and I talk about the business lessons we've learned from the pandemic.  It's a casual and lively conversation with lots of golden nuggets to help you navigate change.

In this episode, Ramon Nuñez talks about his journey from picking strawberries to a serial entrepreneur in Silicon Valley.  Ramon and I met when he hired me to work at my last startup, MetaLINCS, an e-discovery software company.  Ramon oversaw the company's sale to Seagate Technology.  He was also the CEO of IKOS Systems which was acquired by Mentor Graphics.  Ramon shares tips on launching your startup, putting together a leadership team, and the difference between starting a company today vs in years past.  Ramon is the OG of startup founders!

In this episode Sandra Noemi Torres and I talk about letting go of cultural baggage in order to move ahead in our careers, and be happy.  How often do we heard - Be polite, Obey your elders, Listen to your dad, Be humble, and many other things.  At face value these cultural statements make sense, but they can also hold us back from achieving our potential and navigating corporate America.  Sandra is the CEO of Plan Your Company, a digital marketing agency.

In this episode, I have a no nonsense conversation about finances with Wealth Advisor, Tash Salas, of Artha Consulting Family Office Service.  We discuss her career journey from attorney to a financial professional, and coming from Mexico to the USA and launching her business from nothing.

In this episode, Paul Bocanegra, shares his story of being sentenced to life with out parole +4 years at the age of 17.  He served 25 years in prison, 12 of those years in solitary confinement.  Today, Paul is a San Mateo, Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Commissioner, co-founder of ReEvolution and Substance Abuse Counselor.  He is an advocate for criminal justice reform, equality and inclusion.  Paul's life goal is to share his story to help empower at-risk youth and keep them from being locked up in cages.

In this episode, Angelica and I have a career Q&A session.  I start by giving you my 2 cents about the current job market under COVID-19.  Then I answer many career questions around job searching, transitioning careers, networking virtually and starting a side hustle.  It's a casual and fun conversation full of excellent tips.  If you're a young professional or a seasoned professional, you'll get a lot of this career Q&A session. 

Si estás buscando trabajo durante la pandemia, las cosas pueden parecer desesperadas. Este episodio te brindará estrategias útiles para identificar oportunidades y ajustar tu enfoque de búsqueda de empleo.

Join us for a virtual celebration of Aspira Consulting's 5 year anniversary.  In October of 2015, I left the security of my executive role at the Chamber of Commerce for the uncertainty of entrepreneurial life.  I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do, but no business plan.  And no money to invest.  I decided to take the leap without a parachute.  Today, Aspira Consulting is an international consulting and training firm.  We've trained over 12,000 professionals across five continents.  One of the greatest rewards is working alongside my daughter and teaching her to go all in.  Listen as my friend, Cheryl, takes over Career Talk With OG, and asks my daughter and me questions about our entrepreneurial journey.  Thank you for your love and support! 

Have you ever worked hard for a promotion, and then told that you probably received the promotion because you're a minority? Have you achieved great success and still feel inadequate? Imposter syndrome paralyzes us and stops us from achieving our full potential. This episode: 10 Way to Overcome Imposter Syndrome in the Workplace identifies obstacles; helps you identify your purpose; and provides ways to overcome imposter syndrome.

Aspira Consulting:  www.aspirabiz.com

Unemployment claims are at a record number. Recruiters and hiring managers aren't returning calls. Many parts of the country are shelter-in-place. If you're job searching during the COVID-19 pandemic, things can seem hopeless. This episode: 10 Job Search Tips During Coronavirus, will give you helpful strategies to identify opportunities and adjust your job search approach.

Aspira Consulting:  www.aspirabiz.com

Your LinkedIn profile is at the "All-Star" level. But recruiters aren't contacting you. What else do you need to do? In this episode:  5 Ways to Get Noticed by Recruiters on LinkedIn you'll easy and effective tips to get recruiters to reach out to you.  Also learn to increase your chances of getting an interview.

Aspira Consulting:  www.aspirabiz.com