Career Crashers

This week on Career Crashers we are joined by Pedro Mattos. Pedro is the head of business development and speaking at Self Publishing School and has an incredible story of winning his first opportunity.  In this episode, Isaac and Pedro breakdown how by going deep Pedro won a great opportunity before it even existed.  In this episode:  * How Pedro crashed his career from his start as a student painter to working in sales for Self Publishing School * How Pedro won his job with Self-Publishing School by pitching his own role and reaching out through unconventional channels * Why being a customer helps in the job search * Starting a job on a 30-day trial * A deep job hunt instead of a broad job hunt * Read the full story about how Pedro landed his job: https://pedrohmattos.com/how-i-landed-my-dream-job/ * Check out Pedro's book: https://www.amazon.com/Wish-Everyone-Was-Immigrant-Successful/dp/1729463622/ For more resources on creating a great career Check out Crash.co and download our book, Cr

Tech startups aren't just for techies. They are all kinds of opportunities for non-tech people. Someone has to do operations, marketing, sales, customer service, HR, and on and on. There are all kinds of opportunities for all kinds of people to work in some of the most dynamic new companies in the country. For more resources on creating a great career Check out Crash.co and download our book, Crash Your Career. Get it on Amazon or at crash.co/crashyourcareer We want to hear your story. If you've created an opportunity and found a career that makes you feel alive, send it to Isaac [at] crash.co

Levi Morehouse is the founder and CEO of Ceterus, a high-growth FinTech startup based in Charleston, SC. Levi started out his career as an accountant and was building a stable career in accounting when he decided to quit and take a different direction which led him to entrepreneurship.  In this episode, Levi shares his career crash story.  Discussed in this episode:  -Why Levi left his job as an accountant at a big accounting firm to pursue a more entrepreneurial opportunity -How Levi recognized what mattered the most to him in his career  -The conscious and unconscious ways Levi found product-market-founder fit  -Why the intersection of things that you like to do and that others will pay for is the direction to focus your entrepreneurial efforts -Once he narrowed in a skill that he liked and others valued, how did Levi find the right business model -Why Levi maximizes for impact in his business and career -Defining success -Connect with Levi on twitter at -Learn more about Ceterus

While there is a lot of concerning stuff happening that is outside of our control, there is still a lot of opportunity that exists within your control. You can still bring your focus back to the things in your life that you have the power to change. You can use the time you have to focus on the actions you can do to move forward towards your goals. In this quick update, Isaac shares a few quick thoughts on how to ground yourself and take positive actions towards your goals during this challenging time.

Looking for a job is hard enough without being rejected by a robot, but as applicant screening software becomes more and more popular your regular job applications will continue to be bluntly discarded before any human lays eyes on it.   Even though these systems are flawed, employers keep using them because applicants send the same generic resumes and not differentiating themselves.   Trying to game the robots isn't the answer, changing the game is, and Isaac explains why in this week's audio essay.   For more resources on creating a great career Check out Crash.co and download our book, Crash Your Career. Get it on Amazon or at crash.co/crashyourcareer We also want to hear your story. If you've created an opportunity and found a career that makes you feel alive, send it to Isaac [at] crash.co  

Kevin Jones is the founder and CEO of Bluewire, a sports podcast network. Kevin has always approached his career with a focus on the future. He started in sports journalism covering high-school sports on the east coast, but with quality work was quickly able to work his way up to cover the NFL and then a number of other sports and teams over a ten-year career.  But as he grew as a journalist he could feel the new opportunities that traditional media wasn't taking advantage of, so he set out on his own to create Blue Wire a venture-funded sports podcast network with close to 100 shows with great talent across all sports.  Isaac and Kevin talk about his journey, the skills he used to build his career as a journalist, and the insights that led him to starting a company.  Follow Kevin on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mr_kevinjones In this episode:  - How Kevin went from a struggling journalist to podcast startup founder - How Kevin started his career in sports journalism working his way up

Imagine someone who wants to be a professional athlete, but only studies sports and doesn't actually play one. You can bet that they probably won't be very good when they finally start playing.  Now imagine someone who has played basketball for years and decides they want to make a change to start playing football. You can bet that they will be orders of magnitude better than the person who has no athletic experience.  It's the same with careers.  In this audio essay, Isaac shares why doing one job is a better way to prepare for a totally different job than studying in the abstract and never getting real job experience.  For more resources on creating a great career Check out Crash.co and download our book, Crash Your Career. Get it on Amazon or at crash.co/crashyourcareer We also want to hear your story. If you've created an opportunity and found a career that makes you feel alive, send it to Isaac [at] crash.co

This week on Career Crashers Isaac is joined by Philip Gross. Phil is an accounting manager at Brandfolder who has built a great career by learning through his work and not being afraid of pursuing new opportunities.  5 Years Ago Phil was working as a tax accountant, in a job lots of people would love to have. It is the type of role people normally think of as safe and secure, but for Phil, there was something missing. He wanted something more so he left and continued found his way to working in startups.  In this week's episode, Phil shares his story and advice for others who are feeling the itch to move past a safe job towards a career they truly enjoy.  In this episode:  - Phil's career journey going from a tax accounting job he didn't like to a career he loves working in a startup  - How do you know when it's time to move on from a stable job that's just not making you feel alive anymore  - Phil's advice for people working in good jobs that they know aren't quite right for

Relax, you're not behind the curve. You don't need to find your passion, discover your dream job, or start your business today, this year, or even in ten years.  In this week's audio essay, Isaac shares why you shouldn't be rushing to find a specific job, but should be rushing away from boredom. In this episode:  - Why shouldn't wait to get started, but also shouldn't rush to get to any specific destination  - Fear of missing out is not a good way to find your career - Averages about others don't matter  - Rush to escape bad situations  We also want to hear your story. If you've created an opportunity and found a career that makes you feel alive, send it to Isaac [at] crash.co For more resources on creating a great career Check out Crash.co and download our book, Crash Your Career. Get it on Amazon or at crash.co/crashyourcareer

Ben Mercer is a former professional rugby player who's career took him all over the UK and France. After years playing the sport he grew up loving at a professional level he began to realize that it was time for him to make the leap to the next stage in his career. He retired from rugby, leaned into his writing and other interests, and set out to crash an entirely new career.    This week on Career Crashers Isaac and Ben talk about the journey to and through professional rugby, explore why being a generalist is important, and talk about Ben's book and career.    Read Ben's book Fringes: Life on the Edge of Professional Rugby (https://www.benmercer.me/book)    In this episode:   - How did Ben get to the point of playing rugby professionally   - When did he start thinking about what life and career would be like after finishing with rugby   - When and why Ben reached and end for his rugby career - Exploring the idea of the scholar-athlete   - How the new generat

Everywhere you turn there is someone ready to complain about the rising generation.  They call you entitled. They call you weak. They yell about how something is wrong with young people today, but They (older generations) don't understand.  There is nothing wrong with your generation an audio essay by Isaac Morehouse  At Crash.co we have awesome tools to help you learn more about these trends and created the tailored pitches you can build to stand out on your own job hunt.

Jeremy Chevalier is the Marketing Director at Crash and founder of GigLoft (https://gigloft.com/). Like every member of the Crash team, he hasn't followed the traditional path to where he is now. He's experimented, taken risks, and learned from experience. Jeremy joins Isaac on this week's episode to talk about his career journey and how career trajectories are changing. Learn more about Jeremy's story on his solo audio essay: https://anchor.fm/career-crashers/episodes/Audio-Essay---How-I-Got-My-First-Design-Job-With-No-Experience-and-Broke-Into-the-Design-Industry-by-Jeremy-Chevallier-eabnl7 In this episode: - Why Jeremy left at a marketing agency to start his own company - Making a leap of faith to start his own agency with friends - How Jeremy leaned from his work helping new designers at GigLoft - Why Jeremy has continually pursued entrepreneurial opportunities instead of just getting a steady design job at a big agency - How freelance work led Jeremy to a full-time opportunity with Crash - How the

Taking the first step in your career always comes with uncertainty and questions. "Am I going down the wrong path?" "Will there be opportunities to advance?" "What if this isn't right for me?" When faced with your first real opportunity it's easy to get stuck overthinking it. In this week's audio essay, Isaac shares seven reasons why you shouldn't stress about your first job. In this audio essay: - You probably don't know what you want yet - The company is more important than the role (and the industry) - You are more than a job title or the tasks - You're not learning how to succeed at just one specific task, you'll be learning how to succeed at anything - You can't get behind if you're moving ahead - What you'll be doing in 20 years doesn't exist yet - You're becoming something, not doing something At Crash.co we have some awesome tools to help you learn more about these trends and created the tailored pitches you can build to stand out on your own job hunt.

Each and every member of the Crash team has a cool story about crashing their career. This week, we hear from our editor and content manager Morgan Von Gunten on how she took the unconventional path to education and won her role on the Crash team.  Learn more about Morgan on her site morganvongunten.com In this episode:  - How Morgan won her opportunity with Crash - Why Morgan chose a startup apprenticeship program instead of going to college - Isaac's perspective on why Morgan stood out from other candidates - Why speed matters when you're on the job hunt - How Morgan quickly created a pitch for her role with Crash, even though she didn't know a lot about the role  - Morgan's advice for young people that are interested in working in marketing  - Why writing publicly is one of the most valuable things you can do We also want to hear your story. If you've created an opportunity and found a career that makes you feel alive, send it to Isaac [at] crash.co For more resources on creating a g

In this week's audio essay, Isaac shares five rising trends in job hunting to keep an eye on in 2020. These are all becoming more common, but we're still in that early phase, where people who approach the job hunt in this way will reap tremendous first-mover advantages.  1. Quality over quantity 2. Body of work over resumes 3. Tailored pitches over cover letters 4. Intangibles over tangibles  5. Side-doors over front entrances  At Crash.co we have some awesome tools to help you learn more about these trends and created the tailored pitches you can build to stand out on your own job hunt. Read the full article at https://crash.co/content/the-job-hunt/5-job-hunting-trends-in-2020

Mitchell Earl is the COO of Praxis and former director of marketing at Crash. Today he joins Isaac to talk about crashing his career, knowing the right risks to take in building a career, and how to think through opportunities. Entering college Mitchell was dead set on becoming a neurosurgeon, halfway through college he was set on becoming a lawyer, but he learned from experience that those traditionally prestigious careers he was pursuing weren't actually jobs he liked. In this episode: How a frank conversation with his law firm boss helped Mitchell change his career direction Going door to door with resumes at law firms in Oklahoma to find a job The difference between being confident about the things you can actually do, and faking confidence about the things you don't know Why when you're looking for a job or starting a new job, you should always focus on creating value first, even in the smallest ways How offering to change some lightbulbs got Mitchell a job How Mitchell realized law sc

In this episode Crash's own Head of Engineering, Dave Wasmer joins Isaac to talk about how he launched his career in tech.  When Dave graduated from college with a degree in economics, he wasn't sure where he wanted to go in his career. He used his self-taught programming skills to get an opportunity at a large corporation, but he soon realized that the corporate environment wasn't the place for him to flourish. He was feeling the itch to find a new opportunity, but it wasn't until a serendipitous blog post connected him with a start-up that everything fell into place.  In this episode, Dave shares the stories of how he Crashed his career and built his way to a great career in tech.  Connect with Dave at:  * https://twitter.com/davewasmer * https://davewasmer.com/ Discussed in this episode:  * How Dave crashed his career to get his first job in engineering for a software startup. * How blogging an idea led to a unique job opportunity. * Increasing your luck surface area: you can't r

This week on the podcast we are excited to share the second half of a two-part conversation with James Beshara. James is an angel investor, founder, podcaster, and author who has been invited to speak at places like Harvard Business School, Stanford, Y Combinator, TechCrunch Disrupt, SXSW, the World Bank, and others.  Since his first paying job at 14 repairing computers, James has worked in and around technology. He's started multiple companies, invested in dozens, and experienced the full range from success to failure.  If you haven't yet listened to the first part of the conversation, press pause and listen as this episode continues directly from the first episode.  Discussed in this episode:  * Finding the idea and starting Tilt (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilt.com) * Building Tilt, working with debt and raising money * Transitioning to working as an angel investor * Why it's never been easier to start something and never harder to build something * How to start new things and dis

This week we're excited to share an audio essay by Crash marketing director Jeremy Chevallier! ---  Going to college wasn’t exactly my cup of tea—at first. Thankfully, I found my place and discovered my passion for design. This is the story of how I hacked my way into the design courses I wanted to take, which led to the opportunity to break into the design industry. I did this all while still in college, before actually getting my degree. In the episode, I cover: • why business school wasn’t for me • how I transitioned to design school • how I hacked my way into graphic design studio courses • my experience at my first design internship • why you shouldn’t sign NDAs • how I won my first real design job • why you shouldn’t lie about your skills—and just learn them before the question even comes up • how I broke into the professional design industry • the AIGA Phoenix Portfolio Review at ASU • why you should follow up asking about job listings you see online • how you should think about unpaid internsh

This week on the podcast we are excited to share part one of a two-part conversation with James Beshara. James is an angel investor, founder, podcaster, and author who has been invited to speak at places like Harvard Business School, Stanford, Y Combinator, TechCrunch Disrupt, SXSW, the World Bank, and others.  Since his first paying job at 14 repairing computers, James has worked in and around technology. He's started multiple companies, invested in dozens, and experienced the full range from success to failure.  James has built a truly great career and in our first episode with him, we find out how he got started, from his earliest experiences with entrepreneurship to founding and folding a company, to setting out and starting again. Discussed in this episode:  * What is the meaning behind the name Career Crashers?  * How growing up in an entrepreneurial family impacted how he thought about starting his career * How the financial crisis wiped out a lucrative job opportunity and led Ja