Through various groups I belong to and sites I visit regularly, there is a lot of talk about being in a “toxic work environment.” Today, I want to drill down on what actually constitutes a toxic work environment and what to do if you are in one. I also want to talk about what isn’t a toxic work environment and how to manage these situations.

Today, I’m talking about 3 areas of your LinkedIn profile that are often overlooked – and that can have an outsized effect on your results if done correctly.

Those 3 areas are:

1. Your Headline

2. Your Skills

3. Recommendations

Today, I’m talking about whether you should hire a professional resume writer or DIY it. A disclaimer here: I believe EVERYONE would benefit from a professional resume writer. The question then becomes, is the cost worth it? Are the stakes high enough that I need a professional to help me be competitive?

Today I have several guests on the podcast. Alycia Grenesko, Reese Kerlin, and Kristin Kerlin talk with me about why they reached out to me for coaching, what shifted for them during coaching, and what advice they have for others who may be thinking of hiring a coach. I also speak with my coach, Mimi Bishop, who also holds dual roles as a coach and a coachee. Mimi and I talk about the different kinds of coaches we have sought out for different stages of our lives and businesses.

We’re hearing a lot about “The Great Resignation” of 2021 and the volatile job market. I wanted to personally do a deep dive on this topic, and decided to share what I uncovered with you guys. The topics I’ll cover today consist of what is going on, what the costs are, where the most vacancies are and which industries are still hurting, and Microsoft’s reported 7 trends for returning to the office.

My guest this week is Dr. Nicole Tschierske, and we are talking about how to infuse your current position with passion, excitement, and creativity - no matter what is happening in your company, with your boss, or in your personal life. We talk about the “grass is greener” concept that is so prevalent as we come out of the pandemic, how to decide if “hanging in there” a bit longer is the right move for you, and specific action steps you can take to stay motivated, productive, and challenged in your current role.

My guest this week is Dave Fano, Founder and CEO of Teal, which provides people with tools, resources, and community for career management. We are talking about startups – how they are different, what to expect if you work at one, and how to transition back into a corporate environment. We also talk about the red flags – and “green flags” – to look for in evaluating a startup as a potential employer.

My guest today is Dave Perry and we’re talking about the concept of a blue-chip stock as it applies to being a standout employee. We talk about how to position yourself as a blue-chip stock during the interview process and once you’ve gotten the job. Dave gives us action steps we can take to begin positioning ourselves as a blue-chip stock.

My guest this week is Mark Danaher, founder of Mark Danaher Training and Coaching. Mark and I discuss the seismic shift in people’s work because of the pandemic – especially the large number of people who are rethinking their career direction. Mark gives us the signs that you may be ready to make a career shift, as well as strategies to help you make that shift.

My guest this week is Mark Herschberg, and we’re talking about How to Manage People You Don’t Manage. This is a particularly important topic in light of the changes we’re seeing as corporations respond to COVID. Mark talks about the unique challenges of managing people you don’t manage and gives us tips for leading by influence.

In this episode with guest Jeff Perry, we talk about making an intentional, rather than reactive, career transition. Jeff describes career clarity for us, how to determine our non-negotiables (what MUST be present in our career and job for satisfaction), and tools you can use to help find your own career clarity.

My guest today is Marina Kirik, and we’re talking about stress and fatigue around the changes to our work environments due to the pandemic. Marina explains some of the unique challenges of work-from-home, work-in-office, and hybrid arrangements, and gives us strategies for coping with the stress around each. Marina also shares ideas for keeping the healthy habits many of us have adopted during the pandemic as we return to work or see other changes in our work situations.

I am SO excited to bring you the 200th episode of The Exclusive Career Coach podcast.

This milestone represents hundreds of hours writing content, recording episodes, and until recently, editing those episodes. For this episode, I pulled snippets of wisdom from the top 10 most-listened-to episodes of The Exclusive Career Coach.

My guest today is Matthew Mottola, author of The Human Cloud. We talk about The Freelance Economy, what it means to be a freelancer, and the good and bad reasons for entering The Freelance Economy. Matthew also gives tips for ways to start working as a freelancer – and how to make yourself indispensable as a freelancer.

This week I’m talking about how to prepare for the interview as an internal candidate. We’ll cover what to do before you consider applying, how to submit a proper application, and what your interview itself should look like.

Today we’re talking about the different types of interviews you might encounter during a job search – and how to prepare for each. You may experience a combination of two or more types of interviews for the same job – even in the same interview.

Each year at Thanksgiving in the U.S., I do an episode on the five unusual things I am thankful for that year. These are things that might, on the surface, not seem like blessings – but have been. And I show parallels to how this, or something similar, might show up in your life. Here is my list for 2021.

On various social media accounts I follow of resume writing groups and individuals, I am seeing a disturbing trend of flash over substance. At first glance, these resumes LOOK good, but when you actually read the documents, there’s no depth. No metrics. Here are five specific concerns I have about these resumes.

This week’s podcast is on how to effectively utilize job boards as part of your job search arsenal. I’ll give you my top 12 tips for getting the best possible results from sites like Indeed.com, Monster, and LinkedIn’s job board.

Welcome to Lesa’s new podcast, The Exclusive Career Coach. We’ll be covering all things career management, starting with a high-level overview of the job search.

To kick things off: Job boards are broken. But what’s the alternative?