Control Your Career: Career Growth and Strategy for Ambitious Professionals - Details, episodes & analysis

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Control Your Career: Career Growth and Strategy for Ambitious Professionals

Julia Toothacre | Helping Professionals Grow and Advance Their Careers

Business

Education

Frequency: 1 episode/15d. Total Eps: 172

Control Your Career is a career strategy podcast for professionals who want to make better career decisions, navigate workplace challenges, and take an active role in shaping what's next. Hosted by Julia Toothacre, career strategist and creator of the Control Your Career framework, the show explores career growth, workplace dynamics, leadership, career transitions, and the trends shaping today's world of work. Drawing on more than 15 years of experience in career development, Julia combines practical career strategy with a real-world perspective to help listeners navigate today's workplace and build careers they don't leave to chance. Topics include: → Career strategy and long-term career growth → Career advancement, promotions, and increasing your influence at work → Workplace relationships, office politics, organizational dynamics, and difficult managers → Leadership, executive presence, visibility, and sponsorship → Career change, career crossroads, and major career decisions → Aligning your career with your strengths, values, and goals → Hiring trends, AI, labor market updates, and the changing world of work Through a mix of solo episodes, expert interviews, and commentary on current workplace issues, you'll gain practical strategies to navigate your career with greater clarity, confidence, and control. Learn more at ridethetidecollective.com

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https://ridethetidecollective.com/podcast/
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https://ridethetidecollective.com/free/
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https://ridethetidecollective.com
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https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliakrussell/
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https://www.linkedin.com/company/ridethetidecollective
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https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhodes19/
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https://www.instagram.com/ridethetidecollective
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https://www.instagram.com/enneagramandcoffee
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How to Grow Your Career Without a Promotion

Episode 172

Tuesday, September 15, 2026 • Duration 44:56

A lack of promotion opportunities does not necessarily mean your career has stopped moving, but it does require a more deliberate approach to growth. Before taking on additional responsibilities or immediately beginning a job search, it is important to understand whether advancement is being limited by the organization, by a gap in your readiness for the next level, or by some combination of the two.

In this solo episode, Julia Toothacre explains how to evaluate what is preventing advancement and identify forms of career growth that can strengthen your position even when a title change is unavailable. She examines eight areas of development, including skills, scope, visibility, relationships, leadership, authority, and business knowledge, while also addressing how to avoid the common trap of accepting more work without receiving meaningful development in return. The episode concludes with a practical question professionals often postpone for too long: how long are you willing to wait for an opportunity that may or may not materialize?

What Julia Discusses

How to distinguish organizational barriers from gaps in your own readiness for advancement
Why flat structures, budget constraints, limited turnover, weak internal mobility, and talent hoarding can restrict promotion opportunities
The importance of communicating your career goals and seeking specific feedback about readiness
Eight areas of career growth that can matter even without a title change
How stretch assignments, cross-functional projects, lateral moves, sponsorship, and strategic visibility can support future advancement
Why additional responsibilities should provide development, compensation, authority, or another meaningful return
How to establish a timeline for reassessing your situation rather than waiting indefinitely

Research and Resources Mentioned

Gallup, One in Four U.S. Employees Lack Advancement Opportunities
Gallup's 2025 American Job Quality Study found that 25% of U.S. employees reported having no opportunities for promotion or advancement in their current roles.
Gallup advancement research

ADP, People at Work 2025
ADP found that limited career opportunities were the most commonly reported barrier to career advancement globally. Among employees who struggled to find advancement opportunities with their current employer, 34% were actively looking or interviewing for another job.
ADP career growth research

Gartner, Talent Hoarding and Internal Mobility
Gartner identifies talent hoarding by managers as a barrier to effective internal mobility, particularly when managers are reluctant to lose employees who perform strongly on their teams.
Gartner research on talent hoarding

LinkedIn, 2026 Talent Velocity Advantage Report
LinkedIn's 2026 research incorporates internal career movement and leadership skill development into its analysis of how organizations develop and move talent.
LinkedIn Talent Velocity Advantage Report

Control Your Career Resources

Read The Blog:
https://ridethetidecollective.com/2026/09/15/how-to-grow-your-career-without-a-promotion/

Explore all episodes:
https://ridethetidecollective.com/podcast/

Connect with Julia on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliakrussell/

Visit the website:
https://ridethetidecollective.com

Get career resources:
https://ridethetidecollective.com/free/

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How to Shape Workplace Culture Without Being the Boss with Natalie Johnson

Episode 171

Tuesday, September 8, 2026 • Duration 50:45

Workplace culture is often treated as something leadership or HR creates and employees either enjoy or endure. Natalie Johnson sees it differently. Culture exists anywhere people are working together, and every person contributes to it through how they communicate, respond to conflict, support colleagues, handle disagreement, and show up when things get difficult.

Natalie joins Julia Toothacre to discuss workplace culture as a career skill. They explore how much influence individual employees actually have, why culture can vary dramatically between teams inside the same organization, what happens when a leadership change alters an environment you once loved, and how to recognize when you have done what you can and it may be time to leave. They also examine a difficult workplace problem that organizations sometimes avoid: the high performer whose behavior damages everyone around them.

What We Discuss

Why workplace culture is created through relationships and behavior, not perks or company initiatives
How team culture can differ significantly from the broader organizational culture
What it means to treat culture awareness and influence as a career skill
How your "inner operating system" affects the energy and behavior you bring into a workplace
What employees can do when a new leader changes a previously healthy team culture
How to know when discomfort is part of growth and when staying requires becoming someone you do not want to be
Why protecting a toxic high performer can send a damaging message to the rest of the organization

About Natalie Johnson

Natalie Johnson is the Chief Visionary Officer of ViDL Work and co-author of Leading the Culture Journey. She leads business development, strategy, and innovation while also working directly with organizations through keynotes, training, coaching, and culture-change initiatives.

With 30 years of experience in human performance, resilience, and leadership development, Natalie brings a practical, human-centered approach to workplace culture. She holds a master's degree in Wellness Promotion and is an industry-recognized performance coach, keynote speaker, Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator, and Wellcoaches™ Certified Coach.

Connect with Natalie Control Your Career

Career Compromise: What Are You Giving Up and What Are You Getting Back?

Episode 170

Tuesday, September 1, 2026 • Duration 42:55

Every career involves trade-offs. You may take a longer commute for better pay, give up flexibility for a promotion, accept fewer responsibilities for more stability, or stay in a role because your life requires predictability right now. A compromise can be a reasonable decision when you make it and still stop working for you later.

In this episode, Julia Toothacre looks at how career compromises accumulate, how to distinguish a preference from a genuine non-negotiable, and what can happen when a temporary trade-off quietly becomes permanent. She also explains why feeling frustrated at work does not automatically mean you need a new job. The more useful question is what you are compromising, what you are receiving in return, and whether that exchange still makes sense for who you are now.

What Julia Discusses

Why some level of compromise is inevitable in almost every career decision
How values, preferences, personal priorities, and life circumstances affect what you can reasonably trade
Why a compromise that worked five years ago may no longer work now
How career compromises can accumulate without you noticing
Signs that you may be spending more energy tolerating your work than doing it
Why high achievers often assume they are the problem when the environment may also be contributing
Three questions to determine whether your current career trade-offs still make sense

Resources

Get Julia's career resources and values assessment:
https://ridethetidecollective.com/free/

Explore all episodes:
https://ridethetidecollective.com/podcast/

Connect with Julia on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliakrussell/

What job seekers get wrong about hiring with Tank Rhodes, Part 2

Episode 169

Tuesday, August 25, 2026 • Duration 01:28:29

A job description can look specific, but that does not mean everyone involved in the hiring process agrees on what the company needs. A candidate can meet the stated qualifications and still lose out to someone with a referral, a particular background, a degree the job may not require, or a profile that better matches what a hiring manager has in mind.

In Part 2 of Julia Toothacre's conversation with Francis "Tank" Rhodes, they continue examining assumptions about hiring from both the candidate and employer side. Tank draws on his experience in recruiting, HR systems, and hiring while also discussing what he has encountered during his own extended job search. The conversation covers AI-generated resumes, degree requirements, hiring bias, networking, referrals, and the growing concern around ghost jobs.

What We Discuss

Why AI can help with a resume without replacing the candidate's own context, results, and language
Why companies do not always have a precise picture of the person they want to hire
How implicit preferences and hiring-manager expectations can influence who moves forward
Why the "most qualified candidate" is more complicated than it sounds
How unnecessary degree requirements can exclude experienced candidates
Why networking still matters, while access to networks and referrals is not equal
What ghost jobs are and why a posted position does not always mean active hiring

About Tank Rhodes

Francis "Tank" Rhodes is an HR professional, fractional HR practitioner, and digital creator who has worked in recruiting, hiring, and HR systems. His content examines workplace culture, recruiting practices, corporate behavior, and the assumptions people make about how hiring works.

His perspective in this conversation comes from both sides of the process. He has worked inside hiring systems and has also spent several years navigating those systems as a job seeker.

Resources Mentioned

Tank on TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@hrsagentofchaos

Control Your Career

Why Is It So Hard to Get Hired in 2026? Job Search Reality with Tank Rhodes, Part 1

Episode 168

Tuesday, August 18, 2026 • Duration 01:03:35

Hiring has always been complicated, but for many professionals, the process feels especially difficult to understand right now. Candidates are navigating long hiring processes, inconsistent communication, changing expectations, conflicting advice, and technology that isn't always well understood.

In this episode, Julia Toothacre is joined again by Francis "Tank" Rhodes, a human resources professional who is also experiencing the hiring process from the candidate side. Tank shares an update on his own job search, and the conversation uses his experience to explore some of the larger issues affecting candidates and employers today.

Julia and Tank discuss candidate ghosting, what professionalism should look like on both sides of the hiring process, how expectations have changed across generations, and why some of the frustration directed at Gen Z deserves more context. They also examine the disconnect between what companies say they value and what candidates actually experience during the hiring process.

The conversation then turns to some of the common assumptions people make about hiring, beginning with one of the biggest: "My resume was probably rejected by the ATS." Tank explains what an applicant tracking system actually does, where automated decisions can happen, and why the hiring process is often more nuanced than the advice circulating online suggests.

In this episode:

What Tank's ongoing job search has taught him about hiring from the candidate side
Why candidate experience and communication continue to be a problem
Ghosting and the responsibility employers have to close the loop
Professionalism, authenticity, and changing workplace expectations
The criticism of Gen Z and what employers may be overlooking
Why individual experiences and broader hiring data don't always tell the same story
What an ATS actually does with an application
Where knockout questions and other automated decisions can affect a candidate

Resources Mentioned Tank's Previous Control Your Career Episode How Applicant Tracking Systems Work in 2026 Connect With Tank - Everything contact, support, & socials - Tank's website Connect With Tank on TikTok Connect With Tank on LinkedIn Control Your Career Resources

Questions to Ask Before Changing Careers

Episode 167

Tuesday, August 11, 2026 • Duration 12:44

Thinking about making a major career change? Before you update your resume or start applying for jobs, it's worth taking a step back.

Career frustration doesn't always mean you need a new career. Sometimes it's your company, your manager, your work environment, or a shift in your own priorities that's making you question what's next.

In this episode, I walk through the questions I encourage professionals to ask before making a significant career move. We'll look at what's happening in your current role, why you're considering a change, how your personality and values influence career satisfaction, and the practical realities that should factor into your decision.

If you're wondering whether it's time for a career pivot or simply trying to understand why work doesn't feel right anymore, this conversation will help you evaluate your options before making your next move.

In this episode, we discuss:

How to identify what's really driving your desire to make a career change.
Questions to help you evaluate your current role before deciding to leave.
Why your personality, values, and work preferences influence career satisfaction.
Financial and personal realities to consider before making a major career move.
How long-term employees can evaluate whether they need a new company, a new role, or a different approach.

Resources & Links

🌊 Connect with Julia Toothacre

Website: https://ridethetidecollective.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliatoothacre

Free Career Resources: https://ridethetidecollective.com/free

Control Your Career Podcast:

When Work Becomes Who You Are: Professional Identity Purgatory with Geoff Curtis

Episode 166

Tuesday, August 4, 2026 • Duration 45:12

What happens when the career you spent decades building becomes part of your identity, and then the role suddenly disappears?

In this episode of Control Your Career, Strategic Career Consultant Julia Toothacre speaks with Geoff Curtis about professional identity, high achievement, career transitions, and the uncomfortable space between who you were and who you are becoming.

Geoff spent nearly 30 years building a career in corporate communications, eventually serving as Chief Communications Officer at Horizon Therapeutics. Today, he leads Marshall Curtis Communications, where he advises executives and organizations on communication, leadership, and change. He is also the author of Embracing Your Own Purgatory, a book exploring professional identity and what happens when the career you built no longer fits the life you are living.

After an acquisition made his executive role redundant, Geoff expected to move toward another version of professional success. Instead, he found himself confronting how deeply his work, relevance, achievement, and sense of self had become connected.

Geoff describes this experience as professional identity purgatory: the unfinished and often messy space between an identity that no longer fits and a new one that has not fully formed.

Julia and Geoff discuss why high achievers often find emotional comfort in work, how productivity can become a form of avoidance, and why losing a title can feel like losing part of yourself. They also explore the warning signs that work may be taking up too much space in your identity, including missing family events, allowing friendships to lapse, mentally remaining at work during personal time, and measuring your value through external recognition.

The conversation also examines relevance, perfectionism, work-life balance, the pressures placed on Gen Z, and the challenge of creating a new definition of success after traditional career metrics stop feeling meaningful.

What You'll Learn

How a successful career can become intertwined with your personal identity
Why high achievers often use work as a source of emotional comfort

About Geoff Curtis Resources Mentioned Embracing Your Own Purgatory Marshall Curtis Communications Connect With Geoff Curtis on LinkedIn Control Your Career Resources

Why Career Development Needs a Different Approach

Tuesday, July 28, 2026 • Duration 08:55

Most career advice focuses on one thing: finding your next job.

While resumes, interviews, networking, and job search strategies are important, they're only one part of career development. As your career grows, so do the influences shaping your decisions, making it harder to understand what you actually want versus what you've simply learned to expect.

In this episode, I share why I believe career development needs a broader approach. We talk about the experiences that shaped my perspective, why traditional career theories don't always reflect today's workplace, and why becoming more intentional about your career decisions matters long after you've landed your next role.

This conversation also explains where the idea behind Control Your Career came from and why that philosophy continues to guide the work I do today.

In this episode:

⭐ Why traditional career development doesn't always meet the needs of today's professionals

⭐ How expectations from family, managers, and society quietly influence career decisions

⭐ Why career development should extend beyond the job search

⭐ The experiences that changed how I think about careers

⭐ What it really means to take ownership of your career

Whether you're navigating a career change, looking for more clarity, or simply trying to be more intentional about your next step, this episode offers a different perspective on how to think about your career over the long term.

Resources

🌊 Learn more about Ride the Tide Collective

🎙️ Subscribe to Control Your Career for practical conversations about career strategy, workplace trends, leadership, career advancement, and intentional career growth.

What the Hiring Headlines Get Wrong About Gen Z, AI, and Personality Tests

Episode 164

Tuesday, July 21, 2026 • Duration 58:55

Hiring headlines about Gen Z, artificial intelligence, the Workday lawsuit, and personality assessments are moving faster than the facts.

A study gets published, a lawsuit moves forward, or someone shares a frustrating experience on social media. Before long, a complicated workplace issue has been reduced to a confident headline that may not reflect what the original source actually says.

In this Career Trends episode of Control Your Career, Strategic Career Consultant Julia Toothacre looks beyond the clickbait to examine three major conversations happening in hiring right now.

Julia explores the assumptions hiring managers are making about Gen Z and early career professionals, including the legitimate concerns employers have raised and the broader realities affecting this generation. She also breaks down what the Workday lawsuit and Stanford AI hiring study do and do not tell us about automated hiring.

Finally, Julia explains why personality assessments can be helpful for career development and team communication, but potentially harmful when employers use them to decide who deserves an interview or job.

This episode also introduces the new format for Control Your Career. Rather than organizing episodes into seasons, the show will now feature conversations across five collections: Career Clarity, Career Growth, Career Transitions, Workplace Dynamics, and Career Trends.

The goal is not to react to every headline. It is to understand the evidence, recognize the realities shaping the workplace, and make better-informed career decisions.

What You'll Learn

Why hiring headlines often lose the nuance found in the original research
How individual experiences with Gen Z employees can become generational assumptions
What employers are saying about communication, professionalism, reliability, and feedback
Why the expectations placed on entry-level professionals have increased
What early career candidates can do to challenge negative assumptions during an interview

Long-Term Unemployment, Employment Gaps, and Today's Job Market

Tuesday, July 14, 2026 • Duration 16:05

What happens when someone spends years looking for work, only to be judged by the gap on their resume?

In this conversation, I sit down with HR professional Tank Rhodes to discuss long-term unemployment, hiring bias, employment gaps, and what today's job market looks like from both sides of the hiring process.

Whether you're a job seeker trying to understand today's hiring market or a hiring manager making difficult hiring decisions, this conversation offers valuable perspective on how the labor market has changed and why employment gaps don't tell the whole story.

In this episode, we discuss:

→ Why long-term unemployment has become more common in today's job market

→ How hiring bias can influence hiring decisions without people realizing it

→ Why employment gaps don't tell the full story of a candidate

→ What job seekers are actually experiencing during extended unemployment

→ How today's employer market has changed the hiring process

→ Why interviews become more difficult after long periods without work

→ What recruiters and hiring managers can do to make more thoughtful hiring decisions

Listen to the full conversation

This episode features a portion of my full conversation with HR professional Tank Rhodes.

If you'd like to hear the complete interview, including our discussion about career transitions, recruiting, interviewing, and navigating today's hiring process, you can listen to the full episode here: https://ridethetidecollective.com/2025/07/16/season11episode10/

Resources & Links

🌊 Connect with Julia Toothacre:
Website: https://ridethetidecollective.com

LinkedIn:

Control Your Career: Career Growth and Strategy for Ambitious Professionals - Details, episodes & analysis

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Control Your Career: Career Growth and Strategy for Ambitious Professionals - Details, episodes & analysis

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