Looking for strategies to help you find a new job and thrive in it? I had the pleasure of discussing this, her book Don’t Stay In Your Lane: The Career Change Guide for Women of Color, and so much more with Cynthia Pong on Episode 97 of the Reframe & Reset Your Career podcast.
In this episode, we will learn about:
How Cynthia made small experiments which eventually lead to her pursuing a legal career,
Further qualifications are important but be intentional before allocating your time and money,
Understanding what success looks like for you in your career and your life,
Focus on your own progress and don’t compare yourself to others,
How Cynthia was strategic when managing burnout and transitioning from her legal career,
Locus of control and focusing on what you can control,
Building your brand,
Developing resilience and managing career setbacks, especially the unexpected ones,
Looking for small wins can help if you’re feeling stuck,
How to make networking events less daunting,
The importance of taking action and how it can create luck and
Cynthia’s top job search strategies.
Cynthia is an award-winning executive coach and speaker who empowers women of color leaders to advance their careers into positions of power. A Forbes Contributor and LinkedIn Top Voice for Job Search and Career, she has been featured in HBR, The Atlantic, and on NBC, CBS, NPR, and more.
As Founder and CEO of Embrace Change, Cynthia leads an elite, all-BIPOC team who provide specialized coaching and training programs for high-performing women of color up to the C-suite. Equipped with Cynthia’s strategic guidance, her clients break down barriers, lead with authenticity, and have collectively negotiated over $750K in salary increases.
Her Anthem Award-winning Leadership Accelerator program has propelled women of color to prestigious fellowships, promotions, and top graduate program admissions. Cynthia’s book, Don’t Stay in Your Lane: The Career Change Guide for Women of Color, has cemented her as a foremost voice on career advancement, negotiation, and thought leadership.
In the clip below, Cynthia and I talk about luck and she told me the following (edited for clarity):
“there’s two other kinds of luck that we don’t talk about, that comes from action and motion. So if you’re doing more things, if you’re putting yourself out there more, you are more likely to have a lucky thing happen to you
because you’re on people’s mind, people see you, you’re just out there, there’s more surface area for things to come to you.
and then the other one is awareness. So if you are paying attention to what’s going on around us, you’re paying attention to trends, you’re looking at, “oh, people are acting this way now a lot. What is that about?”
And dig into that with a curiosity mindset. You’re also going to stumble on more things that you might think are simply luck, but it’s because you are aware, you’re aware of yourself, you’re aware of what’s going on around you.”
The concepts that Cynthia talks about first came to my attention through the work of Professor Christian Busch the author of The Serendipity Mindset, who was the first guest to commit to appearing on the Reframe & Reset Your Career podcast, see Episode 2.
People & Resources Mentioned
N K Jemisin
Talking Heads
Dr Christian Busch (Episode 2 of Reframe & Reset Your Career Podcast)
Cynthia’s Forbes Article: How To Navigate Layoffs
Trevor Noah: Interview On Luck
Contact Cynthia
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/embracechangenyc/
Website: https://www.embracechange.nyc/
Reframe & Reset Your Career Resources & Contact Info
Website: https://www.harshaboralessa.com/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/ReframeResetYourCareer
LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/reframe-reset-your-career/?viewAsMember=true
Newsletter: https://reframeandresetyourcareer.substack.com/
E-mail – reframeandresetyourcareer@harshaboralessa.com
Thank you for your continued support of Reframe & Reset Your Career, I do appreciate it.
It would be great to hear from you, the listeners, and your thoughts about the podcast, YouTube channel or anything else, it’s always a pleasure to hear your views. I have had some great reviews but not had any way of responding. The next episode with Irina Cozma will be available on Weds 13th August.
*Reframe & Reset Your Career, including any comments made by the host and guests, is for informational purposes only and does not constitute advice of any description, including but not restricted to financial, legal, investing or medical advice
