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19: Apply Your Existing Industry Knowledge to Start Your Career in Tech (Liz Sanders – Information Systems Project Manager, New York-Presbyterian Hospital)

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Have you thought about how valuable your industry experience can be within the tech world? We’re not just talking for startups and new tech companies, but throughout any type of organization. Often times, a background within a specific industry can prove a great differentiator for you as a candidate, and an immense value-add for employers. The best part is that this can be leveraged with or without technical skills or interest!

Liz Sanders, today’s featured Empjoyee, shares with us how her background as a pharmacist and in healthcare positioned her to play a much needed role driving digital tech projects as an Information Systems project manager for a large healthcare system.

Enjoy!

Listen now to learn how Liz:

  • Leverages her past experience in healthcare as a retail pharmacist to bridge gaps between multiple functions within a large hospital system
  • Applies an agile project management mindset to bring time-saving applications to doctors and nurses in a fraction of the time of more traditional methods
  • Describes real-life challenges and opportunities specific to the healthcare industry and how her background outside of tech uniquely positioned her to help solve them

TL;DL (Too long; Didn’t Listen): 3 Actionable Takeaways

  • Pilot new initiatives with a smaller, targetted unit of people to build products faster and then expand from there
  • Build sincere relationships (rather than “network”) by genuinely taking interest in topics and being curious
  • Embrace that employers likely don’t need all of the qualifications listed for a role – if you meet the few important qualifications, then apply and learn on the job

But wait there’s more! Share your #1 takeaway with today’s featured Empjoyee and other Empjoyees in the Empjoyment community!

From Insight to Action

“If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!” – Sir Richard Branson

Liz recommends that we take advantage of opportunities that are available for us even if we don’t feel we’re ready, as we’ll learn what we need through the experience.

Your Joyney: Come share with us one opportunity that you took advantage of before you were “ready” and the experience that led to your success within the Empjoyment Community (use hashtag #joyney19).

SHARE YOUR JOYNEY

Additional Resources to Accelerate your Growth

Getting to Know Today’s Featured Empjoyee: Liz Sanders!

Liz Sanders graduated from The State University of New York at Buffalo in 2011 with a doctorate degree in Pharmacy Practice.

Liz started her career as a pharmacist working at an independent retail pharmacy chain before making a switch to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital to work in the Information Services department as a project manager.

Spread the Joy to Help Others Experience Empjoyment

Kudos to you for taking another step towards experiencing enjoyment through employment through today’s episode.

If you find this podcast helpful, we would greatly appreciate if you took a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast in iTunes. They’re extremely helpful when it comes to helping new Empjoyees know that this is a podcast that really has their interest at heart. Plus, we read each and every one personally!

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes to make sure that you never miss an episode, share the episode with one person you know who would benefit from today’s episode, and let us know if you’d like to share your story as a featured Empjoyee to help others learn from your experience too.

18: Build a Portfolio of Projects and Experiences to transition into Data Science (Jonathan Ortiz, Data Scientist and Knowledge Engineer, Data.World)

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Data Science is a rapidly growing field within technology. But how do you make the transition into getting your first role? How do you navigate the terms, jargon, technical references and more when you’ve never worked in the role before.

Jonathan Ortiz, our featured Empjoyee sheds a light on all of this for us today. Jonathan made the move from media to data science and spends this episode not only sharing his journey, but diving deeply into several elements of the world of Data Science.

You’ll get his take on the programs and tools you should get familiar with, the places you should put your attention to when entering the field, and how to deal with the mental roadblocks so you can reach your next goal (and the ones beyond it).

Plus, we get an inside look into the Semantic Web, an area that that has quickly become a specialty of this newly made data scientist. Get ready to make some moves today!

Enjoy!

Listen now to learn how Jonathan:

  • Leverages past experiences and skill sets developed in media and marketing to create value on the job as an data scientist within months
  • Creates a unique internship through a fellowship that provided money to the company to cover internship costs
  • Navigates switching location, job, and relationship status all at once to now live a life that was proactively created

TL;DL (Too long; Didn’t Listen): 3 Actionable Takeaways

  • Stay the course towards what you truly believe you want out of life – it will always be easier to go back to what you know, but your future lays in front of you, not behind you.
  • Make use of open source programming languages like R or Python and programs like Jupyter to build your skills and experiences first-hand
  • Demonstrate your experience to potential employers by building a portfolio of self-driven projects, leveraging data sets like those found at Data.world or competitions through Kaggle and supported through targeted learning via online courses.

But wait there’s more! Share your #1 takeaway with today’s featured Empjoyee and other Empjoyees in the Empjoyment community!

From Insight to Action

“Do or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

Jonathan is big on committing to taking action and then doing what it takes to make it comes to life. Let’s honor that with today’s joyney.

Jonathan opened our eyes to a world of fellowships & grants that could potentially cover the costs of an internship or provide an opportunity to build your portfolio for the job that you’re looking for.

Your Joyney: Take some time to find and research a grant/fellowship/internship that could provide you or others with similar opportunities within the Empjoyment Community. (use hashtag #joyney18)

IT DOESN’T NEED TO BE IN YOUR AREA OF INTEREST OR GEOGRAPHIC AREA. We’ll not only create a unique repository of alternative solutions, but also practice Jonathan’s suggestion of seeking first to help and then receiving help in multiples when changing careers.

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Additional Resources to Accelerate your Growth

Getting to Know Today’s Featured Empjoyee: Jonathan Ortiz!

Jonathan Ortiz is a data scientist and knowledge engineer at data.world, an Austin startup that’s building the most meaningful, collaborative, and abundant data resource in the world to help people solve problems faster by creating new ways to discover, prep, and collaborate on data projects.

He is a former student at the University of Texas – Austin Data Analytics and Big Data Program. Prior to his work in data science, Jonathan accumulated extensive experience in media, marketing, and consulting.

Most recently, Jonathan served as Director at Scratch, a division of Viacom that drives innovation by channeling the power of brands like MTV, BET, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon.

Jonathan received a Bachelor of Science in Economics with concentrations in Marketing and Management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Spread the Joy to Help Others Experience Empjoyment

Kudos to you for taking another step towards experiencing enjoyment through employment through today’s episode.

If you find this podcast helpful, we would greatly appreciate if you took a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast in iTunes. They’re extremely helpful when it comes to helping new Empjoyees know that this is a podcast that really has their interest at heart. Plus, we read each and every one personally!

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes to make sure that you never miss an episode, share the episode with one person you know who would benefit from today’s episode, and let us know if you’d like to share your story as a featured Empjoyee to help others learn from your experience too.

17: Trust your intuition in times of change and uncertainty (Gabs Ricci, Marketplace Analyst – VenueBook)

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Going against the status quo alone and following jumping into a completely different phase of your career can be daunting. There are several forces, both internal and external, that introduce doubt and anchor you into continuing down the path most others take.

How do you build the courage, fortitude, and determination to break through the inertia keeping you where you are, so you can live the life and work the job that you’ve been wanted?

Gabrielle Gabs Ricci shares their approach to answering this through a journey from working temp jobs to landing their first role in tech as an unpaid intern and transforming that into a full-time role. Gabs’ has been able to take their creative background and interests, and turn it into a passion for marketing as a Marketplace Analyst in tech.

Enjoy!

Listen now to learn how Gabs:

  • Finds support for their career aspirations without being surrounded by others to get them
  • Uses their gut and intuition to guide them through times of change and uncertainty
  • Creates their own job opportunities through action, persistence and grit by doing the work first and looking for ways to simply continue doing it (for money and benefits 😀 )

TL;DL (Too long; Didn’t Listen): 3 Actionable Takeaways

  • Take risks to explore what might be next for you and expand what you believe you are capable of
  • Find at least 1 person who believes in you and your path to support you in your transistion, even if that person hasn’t done it yet themselves
  • Define your success based on what you believe rather than what others feel you should believe

But wait there’s more! Share your #1 takeaway with today’s featured Empjoyee and other Empjoyees in the Empjoyment community!

From Insight to Action

“Do the thing and you will have the power” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gabs is a strong proponent of following your gut and letting your intuition guide your way. That’s often easier said than done, so let’s explore that together.

Your Joyney: Let’s share some examples of where you decided to trust your gut in a work setting and the benefits that came along with that decision within the Empjoyment Community (use hashtag #joyney17).

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Additional Resources to Accelerate your Growth

Getting to Know Today’s Featured Empjoyee: Gabs Ricci!

Gabrielle Gabs Ricci graduated from the University of Florida in 2015 with a Bachelors in Psychology.

Gabs is relatively new to the New York scene, and started their career here (or at least tried to) in 2016.

Currently they work at a startup as a Marketplace Analyst with hopes to gather enough knowledge and experience to start their own company.

Spread the Joy to Help Others Experience Empjoyment

Kudos to you for taking another step towards experiencing enjoyment through employment through today’s episode.

If you find this podcast helpful, we would greatly appreciate if you took a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast in iTunes. They’re extremely helpful when it comes to helping new Empjoyees know that this is a podcast that really has their interest at heart. Plus, we read each and every one personally!

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes to make sure that you never miss an episode, share the episode with one person you know who would benefit from today’s episode, and let us know if you’d like to share your story as a featured Empjoyee to help others learn from your experience too.

16: Clarify your Intentions and Take on Experiences to Live Life by Design (Brian Ssennoga, Alumni Program Manager, Global Health Corps)

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Not every Empjoyee lives in a place where there is a vibrant tech community. However, today’s conversation with Brian Ssennoga proves that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be one in the future. It just might be up to you to make it come to life, and support that growth along the way.

Today’s episode walks us through Brian’s journey to support Information and Commjunication Technologies (ICT) communities in Uganda and how he has been able to design a unique lifestyle and seek the right experiences to support that to have a successful career that spans multiple continents.

In addition to technical excellence, Brian shares his passion and insight for leadership and management with us today to help Empjoyees better manage others in the tech industry.

Enjoy!

Listen now to learn how Brian:

  • Builds networks that support and contribute to his success in making both career transitions and tremendous impact for the communities he serves
  • Approaches leadership and development growth and application to help managers lead successful teams
  • Supports the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) communities in Uganda and throughout Africa and continuously finds new ways to apply his technical experience to overall business needs

TL;DL (Too long; Didn’t Listen): 3 Actionable Takeaways

  • Take the time to answer the tough questions about what you want out of life and then pursue the experiences that will allow you to live it. From there, the job opportunities will follow.
  • Develop confidence and skills by volunteering for and/or creating growth experiences by raising your hand, speaking up, and ultimately stepping up to new opportunities
  • Motivate your team through outcome-oriented goals rather than action / work-completion goals to invite team members to bring their best work.

But wait there’s more! Share your #1 takeaway with today’s featured Empjoyee and other Empjoyees in the Empjoyment community!

From Insight to Action

“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.” – John F. Kennedy

Brian encourages you to envision the life and career you want, seek experiences that will make that a reality, and take action on the items that will most impact your success.

Your Joyney: Let us know what are the big things (big “rocks”) that you’re working on this week and how do they add and contribute to your team and carrer goals within the Empjoyment Community (use hashtag #joyney16).

SHARE YOUR JOYNEY

Additional Resources to Accelerate your Growth

Getting to Know Today’s Featured Empjoyee: Brian Ssennoga!

Brian Ssennoga is passionate mostly about 2 things: developing young leaders and the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for development.

In 2010, Brian received an achievement award from AED-Satellife – Center for Health and Information Technology, for work related to strengthening Health Information Systems in Uganda, using African Access Points. Brian also worked extensively on the use of mobile devices for household data collection with various projects in Ghana, Nigeria and in Uganda.

During this time, Brian started serving on the council of the Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa. Brian who continues to serve as the Secretary General has already overseen bi-annual summits in Abuja, Nairobi,  Kampala as well as building Africa-wide networks.

In 2013, Brian accepted the Global Health Corps Fellowship with Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation supporting communications and documentation for the STAR-SW project. Brian has led diverse teams while serving in senior management roles with International Health Sciences University and Watoto Ministries in Kampala.

Brian rejoined the Global Health Corps where he currently serves as Alumni Program Manager, overseeing program work to support a community of more than 800 global health leaders in more than 35 countries in the world. Brian is a founding member of the ICT Association of Uganda, holds a Bachelor’s in Computer Science, a Postgrad Diploma in Information Technology and an MBA (International Business) with Amity University of India. When he is not exploring the world through technology events or working on the eRyte Museum of Technology, he cooks meals for his family, enjoys a good book, blogs or plays guitar. Brian is also a volunteer at his local church with the Creative Arts & Media Teams.

Spread the Joy to Help Others Experience Empjoyment

Kudos to you for taking another step towards experiencing enjoyment through employment through today’s episode.

If you find this podcast helpful, we would greatly appreciate if you took a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast in iTunes. They’re extremely helpful when it comes to helping new Empjoyees know that this is a podcast that really has their interest at heart. Plus, we read each and every one personally!

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes to make sure that you never miss an episode, share the episode with one person you know who would benefit from today’s episode, and let us know if you’d like to share your story as a featured Empjoyee to help others learn from your experience too.

15: The 3 X-Factors that differentiate candidates regardless of tech background (Patrick Burke, Senior Director of Product and Analytics, Scientific Games Interactive)

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We’re not about following the same path to success as others. We’re about finding the best path for you and blazing a trail where you don’t have to compete with others to transition into tech. Instead, you’re in a whole league of your own.

Patrick Burke, our featured Empjoyee today, shares his views on what really makes people enter their our differentiated league as well as what holds many qualified people from progressing forward in interviews.

Enjoy!

Listen now to learn Patrick’s take on:

  • The 3 intrinsic values that are more important than pure talent and experience when hiring
  • Maintaining a level of urgency without creating a high-burn environment
  • Getting a job at a tech company in cities that typical tech hubs

TL;DL (Too long; Didn’t Listen): 3 Actionable Takeaways

  • Embrace humility in your work and knowledge through practice and experience – with that mindset, exponential future growth can occur, without it you’ll be limited by your current skills
  • Focus on the underlying philosophy of the organization through how they approach challenges and opportunities to demonstrate a true understanding of a company
  • Consider all your options regardless of your geographic location – the best tech company in your area may not even consider itself a tech company!

But wait there’s more! Share your #1 takeaway with today’s featured Empjoyee and other Empjoyees in the Empjoyment community!

From Insight to Action

“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.” – John F. Kennedy

Patrick shares his take on the 3 X-factors that he believes are an indicator of true ability for long-term success in tech.

Your Joyney: Share your take as to why these three factors lend themselves to career growth for transitioning career changers within the Empjoyment Community.

And if you don’t agree with this, come tell us why – we grow through exploration, and welcome a meaningful and impactful discussion.

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Additional Resources to Accelerate your Growth

Getting to Know Today’s Featured Empjoyee: Patrick Burke!

Patrick manages the Product Management team for the social/mobile games division of Scientific Games Interactive, including Jackpot Party Casino, Gold Fish Casino, Quick Hit Slots, Hot Shot Casino, and others.

As Director of Product, he helps set roadmap priority and forecast revenue for the global social/mobile business, and manage the people who perform these functions on each major title.

Spread the Joy to Help Others Experience Empjoyment

Kudos to you for taking another step towards experiencing enjoyment through employment through today’s episode.

If you find this podcast helpful, we would greatly appreciate if you took a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast in iTunes. They’re extremely helpful when it comes to helping new Empjoyees know that this is a podcast that really has their interest at heart. Plus, we read each and every one personally!

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes to make sure that you never miss an episode, share the episode with one person you know who would benefit from today’s episode, and let us know if you’d like to share your story as a featured Empjoyee to help others learn from your experience too.

14: Take action and Book your Theater to Bring your Career in Tech Dreams to Life Faster (Alli Goldberg, Co-founder, Blogologues.org)

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“Follow your passion” is a common phrase people say when it comes to pursuing a new role. That’s all well and good, but how does that translate when you feel that your passion has nothing to do with technology?

Alli Goldberg, today’s featured Empjoyee makes it clear that there really can be an intersection between what you love and technology. And if you’re having a hard time finding it out there already, then you can create the future you want for yourself.

Alli and her friend Jen Jamula co-founded Blogologues.org, a comedy organization focused on the intersection of theater and technology.

Enjoy!

Listen now to learn how Alli:

  • Continues to explore the juxtaposition of arts and tech through new mediums
  • Acts on ideas and “books the theater” to transform that idea into reality in a matter of weeks
  • Iterates on models to scale a business centered on bringing people together to experience tech

TL;DL (Too long; Didn’t Listen): 3 Actionable Takeaways

  • “Book the Theater” to make a tangible external commitment with a deadline accelerate your progress towards a goal and minimize the impact of fear and doubt
  • Explore the intersection of your interests and tech – just because it’s not done widely doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist (or shouldn’t get started)
  • Plan for scale in both your business and your career so you can continue to grow and create opportunities that will sustain your presence in the field and your company.

But wait there’s more! Share your #1 takeaway with today’s featured Empjoyee and other Empjoyees in the Empjoyment community!

From Insight to Action

“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.” – John F. Kennedy

Alli encourages us to “book the theater”, which generally means to commit to the #1 action that imposes a deadline make progress in a tangible external way (i.e. thinking “I’ll do X by Y.” is not enough).

When Jen and Alli had the idea to act out the internet, physically booking the theater locked them into the decision and got them to take a fun idea into a hilarious reality.

Now it’s your turn.

Your Joyney: Share with us one idea, project, or outcome that you’ve been wanting to accomplish and what you plan to do this month to “book the theater” within the Empjoyment Community.

SHARE YOUR JOYNEY

Additional Resources to Accelerate your Growth

Getting to Know Today’s Featured Empjoyee: Alli Goldberg!

Allison Goldberg is Yale graduate and a co-creator / producer of Blogologues, a sketch comedy show in which internet content is performed live and verbatim.

Blogologues has been featured in Newsweek, The Daily Beast, CBS, The Huffington Post, NPR and more.

She is also one of the co-creative directors of GoldJam Creative, an organization dedicated to exploring the influence of the Information Age on communication, and to bringing comedy and creativity to the workplace.

Through GoldJam Creatiive, Alli leads communication skills workshops for companies, co-working spaces, incubators and student groups as varied as Buzzfeed, Time Warner, Spotify, has created content for brands such as The Guardian and Time Out New York, and has spoken and performed at conferences nationwide, including SXSW, Internet Week, and TheLi.st Summit.

Spread the Joy to Help Others Experience Empjoyment

Kudos to you for taking another step towards experiencing enjoyment through employment through today’s episode.

If you find this podcast helpful, we would greatly appreciate if you took a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast in iTunes. They’re extremely helpful when it comes to helping new Empjoyees know that this is a podcast that really has their interest at heart. Plus, we read each and every one personally!

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes to make sure that you never miss an episode, share the episode with one person you know who would benefit from today’s episode, and let us know if you’d like to share your story as a featured Empjoyee to help others learn from your experience too.

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