Conversations on Careers and Professional Life – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of Conversations on Careers & Professional Life, we go inside the Autumn Quarter Integrated Case Competition at the Foster School of Business—a one-week sprint where MBA teams analyze an acquisition case, submit a written recommendation, and deliver a 25-minute presentation to faculty, alumni, and industry judges.

I speak with three students from finalist teams:

• Nat Fernandes (Class of 2027) – whose team placed third, emphasizing early alignment and organized execution.

• Josh Gonzales (Class of 2027) – part of the second-place team, highlighting team cohesion built from day one and the importance of energetic delivery.

• Andrew Parriot (Class of 2027) – from the winning team, reflecting on iteration, practice, and transforming earlier missteps into strength.

We discuss:
• How teams approached analysis, collaboration, and slide design
• The value of early relationship-building and role clarity
• The pressure and payoff of presenting to the entire class
• What these students learned about communication, strategy, and themselves along the way

A great listen for prospective MBAs, current students preparing for next year, and anyone curious about how high-performing teams deliver under tight deadlines.

On this episode I share a principle that shows up again and again in great communication but is often overlooked by professionals: you have to earn attention before you earn understanding.

Too many presentations, meetings, and messages begin with dense context, background, or data. But audiences don't start in "information-processing mode." They start in attention mode — scanning for relevance. If the opening doesn't grab them, the content that follows doesn't land.

The core idea of this episode is simple but transformative:
Engage first. Then inform.

We live in a world of constant distraction. Phones buzz, inboxes refill, and meetings stack back-to-back. You can't assume your audience is ready to absorb information the moment you begin.

That's why starting with engagement is essential. As the episode puts it, if the first thing your audience hears is a spreadsheet, a data table, or a wall of bullets, "their brains will tune out before the thinking begins."

Engagement isn't entertainment — it's a form of cognitive kindness.
It tells your audience:
Stay with me. This matters.

Engagement doesn't require charisma or theatrics. Instead, it's about delivering an emotional or intellectual spark that primes the brain for meaning.

In the episode, you highlight several practical ways to create that spark:

• Start with a story — even a single sentence can establish stakes or human connection.

• Lead with a recommendation — clarity itself is engaging.

• Share a surprising fact — novelty triggers curiosity.

• Pose a thought-provoking question — questions pull the audience mentally into the conversation.

• Create simple tension — the gap between "where things are" and "where things could be."

These techniques aren't gimmicks. They are proven attention triggers that open the door for the logic and evidence that come next.

The episode lays out the psychology clearly:
engagement activates emotion, and emotion primes the brain for comprehension.

This echoes Aristotle's frameworks — Pathos sets the stage for Logos.
When your audience feels something — interest, tension, surprise — they become more open to understanding and retaining information.

Engagement isn't a bonus.
It's the bridge between attention and insight.

Once you've earned attention, now you can deliver the substance. The episode reinforces a familiar structure for this phase:

1. Lead with the key recommendation

2. Share the top supporting reasons

3. Present only the evidence necessary to make the case

4. Clarify implications, risks, or next steps

5. Make a clear request or action

This sequence works because the mind prefers clarity before detail, destination before map. Engagement at the start makes this structure even more powerful: the brain is now on board and ready to follow.

Importantly, the episode emphasizes what not to do.
Engaging first is not about jokes, theatrics, or forced "TED-ification."
The goal isn't to "perform."

The goal is to help your audience stay with you long enough to understand you.

Engagement is the runway.
Information is the flight.
Both matter, but one must come first.

Professionals who learn to engage first don't just communicate more effectively — they lead more effectively. Audiences trust them faster, stay with them longer, and remember their message more clearly.

Before your next email, meeting, or presentation, try asking:

• What's my hook?

• Why will this matter to my audience right now?

• What moment will pull them in before I deliver the data?

If you start there, the rest of your communication will feel smoother, clearer, and more compelling.

Because if you want people to listen, you have to earn their attention.
Only then can you earn their understanding.

In this episode of Conversations on Careers and Professional Life, I speak with Ryan Dickerson, founder of Good Fit Careers, about his innovative approach to career coaching. Ryan leverages generative AI tools like ChatGPT to help executives craft compelling resumes, prepare for interviews, and navigate career transitions. The conversation covers the importance of patience during job searches, building empathy for hiring managers, and the power of relational networking over transactional interactions.

Ryan also shares his strategies for reframing career narratives to highlight problem-solving abilities and deliverables, rather than simply focusing on personal achievements. Additionally, the episode delves into how AI assists Ryan's coaching process, helping clients break down their professional journeys into actionable, digestible insights.

• AI-powered career coaching and resume optimization
• The value and importance of patience in career transitions
• Developing empathy for hiring managers
• Reframing career narratives
• Effective networking: Relational vs. transactional approaches
• Preparing for interviews by focusing on concrete outcomes

Resources Mentioned:

• Good Fit Careers For Ryan's Coaching practice and podcast
• Follow Ryan on LinkedIn
• Tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity.ai
  • Listen to my conversation with Jeremy Schifeling, founder of the Job Search Insiders, about using AI in the career search.
• Networking guides: The 2-Hour Job Search and The 20-Minute Networking Meeting
  • Listen to my conversations with Steve Dalton about the 2-Hour Job Search

In this episode of Conversations on Careers and Professional Life, I share some advice on reframing how you think about "networking" and asking for help.

• Move beyond the idea of collecting contacts
• Focus on building genuine relationships and learning from others
• Nurture connections over time for mutual benefit
• Understand that asking for help can actually benefit the person helping you
• Overcome the fear of being a burden when seeking assistance
• Strengthen relationships by showing trust and vulnerability
• Recognize that your network includes all communities you're part of
• Look for professional opportunities in unexpected places (e.g., school events, volunteer activities)

"Real networking is about building relationships. It's about getting to know people, learning from them, and creating genuine connections."

Action Steps for Listeners

• Reflect on recent interactions: What can you learn from someone you've met recently? What could you offer them?
• Practice asking for help: Reach out to someone in your network for assistance this week
• Map your communities: List all the different groups you're a part of and consider how they might connect to your professional life

Check out out the books, Designing Your Life or Designing Your Work Life by Bill Burnet and Dave Evans, All You Have to Do is Ask by Wayne Baker, and Give and Take by Adam Grant.

Leveraging Generative AI in Your Career Search with Jeremy Schifeling

Jeremy Schifeling, founder of The Job Insiders and author of Career Coach GPT and Linked: Conquer LinkedIn, Get Your Dream Job, Own Your Future shares his insights on how job seekers can leverage generative AI tools like ChatGPT in the job search process.

Jeremy and I have known each other for seven years and recently co-presented a session at the Career Services Employer Alliance Global Conference on how graduate business school career services can leverage generative AI in their work.

In this episode, Jeremy returns for a second conversation to discuss how business school students, job seekers, and professionals can use AI to tailor their resumes, cover letters, and interview prep, while staying authentic in their communication. Listen to my first conversation with Jeremy about his book, Linked, from May 2022.

Key Takeaways:

1. Get Hands-On with Generative AI: Jeremy emphasizes that AI tools like ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, Gemini and Copilot are easy to use, even for non-technical individuals. By interacting with these platforms, job seekers can quickly familiarize themselves with their capabilities—whether for refining resumes, helping to draft cover letters, or even brainstorming career paths based on personality tests like Myers-Briggs or CliftonStrengths.
2. Crafting Effective Prompts: Jeremy and talk about the importance of specificity in AI prompts as well as using meta prompting techniques. While a generic prompt like "write a cover letter" might yield basic results, being more precise—such as asking for insights into missing keywords or requesting tailored interview questions based on a job description—will lead to better outcomes. He also encourages users to iteratively refine outputs, ensuring the final result feels authentic and personalized.
3. Beyond Job Searching—Building Long-Term Skills: The skills you develop using generative AI tools can extend to developing AI literacy that is rapidly becoming a key asset in many industries. Understanding how to harness these tools for tasks like data analysis or marketing can make professionals more competitive in the long run.

Practical AI Tools and Strategies:

• Role-Playing Interviews with ChatGPT: Use AI to simulate job interviews, ask follow-up questions, and even offer feedback on your responses, preparing you for tough, real-life interview scenarios.
• Mining Job Descriptions for Insights: Paste multiple job descriptions into AI tools to uncover common skills, which can help you craft a LinkedIn profile that resonates across different career paths.
• Maintaining Authenticity: While AI can help draft resumes and cover letters, Jeremy advises against over-reliance on AI-generated content. Ensuring your voice comes through is essential, as recruiters are becoming savvy to AI-generated applications. Craft prompts that include your first drafts, or career highlights, feed your final drafts back into the chat so the bot can learn from the changes you make.

Resources Mentioned:

• ChatGPT
• Books by Jeremy Schifeling:
• Career Coach GPT
• Linked: Conquer LinkedIn, Get Your Dream Job, Own Your Future
• Ethan Mollick's book "Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI"
• Yoodli for interview preparation.

Where to Find Jeremy Schifeling:

• Website: The Job Insiders (UW Foster MBA students get free lifetime access to Jeremy's Masterclass Library)
• LinkedIn: Jeremy Schifeling

Listen Now and learn how to enhance your job search and career development with the power of generative AI!

For more episodes and show notes, visit Conversations on Careers and Professional Life. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or your preferred platform!

In this special live episode recorded as part of #PNWClimateWeek and the Bloomberg Green Festival at the KEXP Gathering Space, Gregory Heller and Jonathan Azoff sit down with Lauren Selig, a  film producer, investor, entrepreneur, and board member of the XPRIZE Foundation. , Lauren shares her journey from journalism to film production and investment, highlighting the importance of intuition, mentorship, and environmental consciousness in her diverse career. Tune in to discover how Lauren's innovative projects are making a significant impact on climate tech and sustainability.

• Shake and Bake Productions
• XPRIZE Foundation
• Vaxxinity
• Colossal
• Pacific Northwest Climate Week, Climate Capitalism author Talk with Akshat Rathi and UW Foster Dean Frank Hodge
• Bloomberg Green Festival

In this episode, we talk with Adital Ella, founder of Criaterra Earth Technologies, an Israeli company pioneering sustainable, low carbob building materials. Adital shares her journey from sustainable furniture designer to climate tech entrepreneur, offering insights into the development of Criaterra's beautiful and sustainable tiles and building materials.

Key points discussed:

• Criaterra's innovative building material, which sequesters carbon and reduces energy use by up to 82% compared to traditional manufacturing processes
• The importance of balancing environmental benefits with aesthetics and market appeal in sustainable product design
• Challenges and strategies for scaling a climate-focused building materials company
• Advice for aspiring climate tech entrepreneurs on navigating the business and investment landscape

Adital's story highlights the potential for design-driven innovation in addressing climate change, demonstrating how creative thinking can lead to practical solutions for reducing the construction industry's carbon footprint.

Whether you're interested in sustainable architecture, climate tech entrepreneurship, or the future of green building materials, this episode offers valuable insights into the intersection of design, sustainability, and business in the fight against climate change.

This is part 1 of a 2-part conversation. In part 2, Adital offers more advice on pursuing a career in sustainability.

This episode is made possible in part with support from SNØCAP.vc. 

In this episode we continue our conversation with Adital Ella, founder of Criaterra Earth Technologies. Adital shares valuable advice for those aspiring to enter the climate tech industry, drawing from her own experiences as an entrepreneur and innovator.

Key points discussed:

• How to approach climate tech companies as a job seeker, even without a scientific background
• The importance of demonstrating genuine passion and alignment with a company's mission
• Strategies for growth within an organization, including starting in junior roles and working up
• Adital's personal journey from industrial design student to climate tech entrepreneur
• The value of following one's intuition and inner calling in career decisions
• Balancing innovation and business acumen in a growing climate tech company

Adital's story provides a roadmap for those looking to make a meaningful impact in the fight against climate change. She emphasizes the importance of authenticity, collaboration, and personal growth in building a successful career in this rapidly evolving field.

This episode offers invaluable insights for anyone considering a career shift into climate tech, as well as entrepreneurs looking to build and scale sustainable businesses. Adital's experiences highlight the unique challenges and rewards of working at the intersection of innovation, sustainability, and business.

This episode is made possible in part with support from SNØCAP.vc. 

In the second part of the conversation, Scott Case, co-founder and CEO of Recurrent shares his career journey and lessons learned. Scott has worked at small companies, big companies, and started two companies himself. He shares some lessons learned at his first startup, EnergySavvy.

Scott then offers advice for people looking to enter the clean technology or energy revolution space. He suggests that recent graduates should gain experience by working for a large company in the industry they want to decarbonize, learn about the processes, and then identify high-leverage ways to disrupt the industry through a startup.

For those who prefer working at a startup right away, Scott recommends finding a small company where they can make a significant impact, learning about the company and how they can add value. He also shares the qualities he looks for when hiring, such as adaptability and a willingness to take on various roles. 

This episode is made possible in part with support from SNØCAP.vc. 

Gregory Heller and Jonathan Azoff talk with Scott Case, the co-founder and CEO of Recurrent, a Seattle-based startup that offers independent evaluations of used electric vehicle batteries. Case discusses his journey as a second-time entrepreneur, having previously founded Energy Savvy, a company that helped energy utilities connect with customers for home energy efficiency upgrades.

Case explains that Recurrent was founded in June 2020 to address the growing need for transparency in the used electric vehicle (EV) market. As more EVs enter the used car market, buyers are increasingly concerned about battery health and range. Recurrent's product aims to provide answers to these questions by analyzing data from connected EVs and comparing it to a large sample of similar vehicles.

This episode is made possible in part with support from SNØCAP.vc.