How to Stay Relevant in Today's Workplace

This is Women Road Warriors with Shelly Johnson and Cassie Ticcaro from the corporate office to the cab of a truck. They're here to inspire and empower women in all professions. So gear down, sit back and enjoy. Welcome. We're an award-winning show dedicated to empowering women in every profession. Their inspiring stories and expert insights. No topics off limits on our show. We Power Women on the Road to Success with expert and celebrity interviews and information you need. I'm Shelly. And I'm Cassie. How do you manage your career and stay ahead of the changes in business and technology? That's an ongoing challenge for many people, including women. Becky Heidisch is a career management expert who's the founder of two online career centers and a nationwide boutique executive search firm. She's considered a national industry and media resource and has been interviewed by major media outlets and featured in textbooks. Her latest book, The Career Masterclass for Women, staying marketable and succeeding in a changing business world, gives women practical advice on how to take control of their career trajectory. This caught our eye and we definitely wanted to tap into her insight. We have Becky with us today and we're looking forward to learning more. Welcome Becky. Thank you for being on our show. Thanks for having me. It's great to be here. I'm looking forward to this. So are we. Yes. Oh my goodness. Your insight is definitely what the doctor ordered, if you will, Becky. Before we go into tapping into some of your insight, could you give everybody maybe a brief background of what you've been doing and how you got to this point? Oh gosh. Well, it certainly was not planned. I started out in higher education. I was an assistant professor, a joint professor and coach and started out in health physical education. And then after about five years in, I kind of, while I had a passion for sports, had my eye towards sports marketing and thought, well, I'm just going to, you know, my first career mistake, quit a job before I have a job. Didn't really have the concept of understanding what a career transition was all about. Anyway, I had, was, went looking for a job, fell into a part-time position for a manufacturing company in Southern California. That turned into a personnel director and a director of HR. While I was looking for, quote, my dream job in sports and I couldn't find it, so I created a publication at the time. And that was the late 90s and it was the women's sports wire, which, you know, was billed as the number one information resource in the industry at the time. And I targeted the colleges and the country and sports marketing agencies and it became a lost leader and opened the door to consulting and then several job opportunities. And then I ended up in having two or three different job opportunities in the career in the field that I was interested in going into at the time. So it was wonderful. It was, and I then from there branched off to running a sports marketing agency with the career division. And then that career division partnered with a good friend of mine at the time that was running a sports marketing division for Franklin Covey and we partnered on some online career centers, managed that and then moved into executive search. And about 20 years ago saw the need for women in diverse talent at the senior leadership level and that that was lacking. And we saw an opportunity to kind of create a niche there. So we started that before anybody was really talking about it. And at that particular time, just getting a meeting was a success on that topic. So that's really how we launched and got started. And so for the last 20 years, I've been working in placement. And then of course, wanted to write the book as kind of the really the, I guess, a comprehensive guide with tips, tools and strategies and combination of mistakes I made through the years and also working and interviewing hundreds of other individuals in multiple industries. You begin to see the similarities, the complexity of managing a career today and how much things have changed and also the similarities of mistakes that we all make along the way in our jobs and careers. And it's one of those things where hindsight is 20-20, right? Yeah. Gosh, it seems like when you're moving your way through a career, it's kind of the school of hard knocks. Nobody really gives you any training in this. You know, when we're in school, you dream about being somebody in a particular career and then you just kind of go for it. And I'm not sure people have an actual plan, but what are the challenges today? They're really complex with technology. I mean, things are changing all the time. What are the things that are presenting obstacles? Well, I certainly think, you know, we do. I mean, you're exactly right, Shelley. There's, we're so much more vulnerable, I feel, in terms of our jobs and careers today. And, you know, I start out, I address in my book the first couple of chapters are really related to job security because I really believe it's important for people to understand that there is no job security anymore. And, you know, we can go back to parents, generations and those before us and, you know, everybody that had a job for 20, 30, 40 years and, you know, retired with that same job or maybe made one other change. The average number of jobs an individual has today is estimated to be around 12 and careers is between three and seven. That has tremendously changed. So you have the volatility of, you know, we've got everything going on in terms of AI and technology and moving at a, you know, a rapid, rapid pace. Then you have, which also shapes industries and job opportunities and things like that. You have a gig economy. You have, in 2025, we're going to have 87 million freelancers in the country. Well, I have, you know, many people working freelance and wanting to do that. You know, we've got the remote work in corporate America and those dynamics and how that's affecting productivity and in some cases it's working well in other cases it's not. So you have all these things and you have geopolitical risks. You have inflation, you know, small businesses, most, you know, 80, 90% don't make it 10 years. You know, those types of things. And then corporate America, if you take a look at the mergers and acquisitions and things that go on there. We just have so many things happening today all at the same time and overlapping in a much more significant way than I believe we have seen at any other time. So you have all of that. And I think, you know, to your point, Shelley, you said it's not something that we are prepared for and it's so true. I mean, we spend, we spend a lot of time, you know, young people or even people wanting to make career transitions. You know, what do you want to do? You know, and we think of it in that capacity. What do you want to do today? But we're not thinking about it in terms of like the same way that we might manage our finances or we might manage our health or, you know, the longer term pictures. So, you know, I think there's a lot of dynamics going on today and I think what I want people to understand or at least is have a framework for managing their career and a strategy for managing their career. And then, you know, I also, you know, some of the tools and things I like to think about in very simplified ways is for people to start thinking about their careers in a sense of a three career strategy because I think that everybody changes and evolves. And so I think it's natural to want to do something different at a different time in your life. And so I think, you know, there's that and there's a certain framework that I try to incorporate with anybody that I'm working with or that's making career transitions or starting out really it's for anybody anywhere they are on the spectrum and that's the steep qualifications, the skills, the tools, education, experience and personal qualities. And I think if they take that framework and carry that with them as they're making their decisions along the way, they at least have some sort of framework to, you know, guide them and help them in making those critical decisions. Makes sense. It's so complicated today and it's stressful. No stability. You never know when you're going to be obsolete. Yeah. And it is. It is very stressful today. I mean, I'm sure, you know, we could talk a lot about, you know, what isn't stressful today, it seems like, right? I mean, everything's become more complex and running a business has become more complex. I was recently thinking about that and how different it was from, you know, I've probably run, I don't know, five, six different businesses now. And, you know, how different things are today than what they were like in the late 90s and early 2000 and where the internet was and, you know, how the different barriers to entry. And in some ways, there are things that are certainly easier and some ways are, it's definitely more challenging. Try to reach a person. It is real challenging. Isn't it though? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I don't know, you guys, I'm sure, you know, find this too, just in our daily lives, right? If you need to get a hold of somebody at the gas company or you need to, you know, you've got a problem with your PC and you want to call for customer support and, you know, getting anybody live, you're right, she's just mission impossible. It really is. Yeah. It is. I had to cancel my, I moved my mom from Alberta over to Quebec last month and trying to cancel her telephone, her internet. It was the most frustrating thing I've ever had to do because number one, they say, contact us, but they don't give you a phone number, right? And then the email, well, that doesn't work. So then it took me five different phone calls and you get passed on to one person. Oh, wrong department passed. It was very, very frustrating. Very. Yeah. It's, and I'm actually the, a go-to person for four folks in their mid-80s, two of which are my parents, but the other two are family friends. And watching what they're going through with technology and challenges of just, as you mentioned, something, you know, that used to be simple, right? Getting a little bit of customer service support or changing an account name or changing an address or setting a doctor appointment, you know, whatever it is, everything's become much more complex and it just requires you so much patience to help navigate. And, you know, that's another whole conversation, you know, how they're falling behind from a digital, you know, a digital world and the impact on them at their age. And it's all somewhat disheartening at times if you, you know, you've got to really kind of keep your wits about you. Oh, I can't tell you how many times I've yelled, operator. Trying to get past the AI gatekeeper. And it doesn't always work because you have to have the right keyword for it to transfer you to an actual human being. Yeah, it does seem that companies in our whole world has become very impersonal just to try to even get a job, the kind of hoops you have to jump through and all the verification processes and all of the different things. It doesn't feel like you're on a human level. You really feel more like a number today. Would you say that that is more the case? Absolutely. And I think, you know, I think one of the things I've been observing a lot in the last couple of years is, you know, and at this point in time in the work that I'm doing and really over the last, I don't know how many years we've used a lot of freelancers and, you know, maybe small businesses or contractors or, and of course we have our corporate clients, but the amount, what I've really, one of the things I've really seen change is the way people are doing business and the way people want to do business. And just, you know, to, to you guys's points, I mean, before people would want to talk and pick up the phone and solve the, solve the, you know, problem or, you know, have the conversation there, but now it's really many times they want everything in text, everything in email. And, you know, as, as you guys have, have mentioned, getting somebody live on the phone is so difficult. And sometimes the amount of energy of typing up the information, it's, you know, it can go back and forth and then you have the miscommunication and, you know, to me, it seems so much simpler to pick up the phone and have that conversation and just, let's just get this figured out, you know, so we can move forward. But it, it's just a different way and a different style. And I think people are now, whether COVID played such a significant role or this was a slow evolution of technology, I have just seen people are just so much less inclined to want to talk on the phone. And they're really behind the computers and, and you often have to solve your, you know, issues, concerns, challenges, obstacles, jump over, things like that through, through email communication. It's very impersonal and I almost feel like it's deliberate. I've often wondered too, if this is a result of technology taking over people's jobs and they're just not enough people to, to field the calls. So they, they just put you in this labyrinth of technology. Yeah. Well, we were certainly short of, of good talent today in, in many places. And I was just talking about the, the individuals that it was helping in their mid eighties. And I was recently in the hospital with one of them and she's 85 and was in the hospital. And I was talking with the healthcare professionals there, just about the, the length of weight in emergency rooms, the length of weight to just get to somebody to get one X-ray. Then the time you wait to get that X-ray back and then the time that you're waiting, you know, for the next one. And, you know, we were just having that conversation and I said, gosh, you know, it's just amazing to me that we can't figure a system out that works a little bit quicker and more efficiently, especially for people that are hurting and sitting here and need help. You know, and her response was, we just, we just don't have the personnel. We do not have it. And we're so far behind in having, you know, the people for the jobs. And so, you know, that's one industry that's, that's really hurting today. You know, I did ask her if she thought it was going to get better. And she said, no. Oh, well, that wasn't, that wasn't so encouraging. But, you know, it's certainly an opportunity, a job and career opportunity, you know, in the medical fields today. And, you know, it's certainly an area that, that there's so much need. So, you know, for folks that are looking and wanting a second career or looking to do something different or go into a field, it's certainly going to be an area of ongoing need. Stay tuned for more of Women Road Warriors coming up. Dean Michael, the tax doctor here. I have one question for you. Do you want to stop worrying about the IRS? If the answer is yes, then look no further. I've been around for years. I've helped countless people across the country. And my success rate speaks for itself. So now you know where to find good, honest help with your tax problems. What are you waiting for? If you owe more than $10,000 of the IRS or haven't filed in years, call me now at 888-557-4020 or go to mytaxhelpmd.com for a free consultation and get your life back. Industry movement Trucking Moves America Forward is telling the story of the industry, our safety champions, the women of trucking, independent contractors, the next generation of truckers and more. Help us promote the best of our industry. Share your story and what you love about trucking. Share images of a moment you're proud of. And join us on social media. Learn more at truckingmovesamerica.com. Welcome back to Women Road Warriors with Shelley Johnson and Kathy Takarov. If you're enjoying this informative episode of Women Road Warriors, I wanted to mention Kathy and I explore all kinds of topics that will power you on the road to success. We feature a lot of expert interviews. Plus, we feature celebrities and women who've been trailblazers. Please check out our podcast at womenroadwarriors.com and click on our episodes page. We're also available wherever you listen to podcasts on all the major podcast channels like Spotify, Apple, YouTube, Amazon Music, Audible, you name it. Check us out and bookmark our podcast. Also, don't forget to follow us on social media. We're on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube and other sites. And tell others about us. We want to help as many women as possible. Let me ask you, how do you keep your career sharp and make sure you don't get left behind with all the changes in business and technology? That's the challenge so many of us face, especially women who want to stay competitive. Our guest today, Becky Heidisch, has some answers. She's the founder of two online career centers, runs a nationwide boutique executive search firm and she's considered a go-to national resource for career advice. Her new book, The Career Masterclass for Women, Staying Marketable and Succeeding in a Changing Business World, is packed full of practical strategies to help women stay marketable, sidestep roadblocks and thrive in today's fast-changing workplace. Stick with us. You're going to want to hear her insight. Becky? We were talking about the impersonal world we're living in and the lack of personnel, in spite of all the technology. Kind of interesting that we have all of this technology, but the service, the customer service, the quality of anything seems to have declined substantially. And that doesn't seem like we're moving forward. I do see more women in higher positions. That's very encouraging. But like you said, job stability, job security, what's that? Most people don't even have a clue. Yeah. It's one of those things that I think we'd all like to think, nobody wants to think about what could happen. And it's only until it does happen that people are thinking, oh my gosh, what am I going to do? And that's one of the things I bring up in a very practical way is I really want people to think about getting in the driver's seat of their career and understanding what that means. And whether it's socking away, saving for that rainy day, having a year's salary tucked away, before it used to be people would think they could get a job pretty quickly and just pick up a job or change a career pretty quickly. And it's just not like that today. There's ageism and many, many qualified people in their 50s and 60s and even 70s that have so much to contribute. And I'd love to see that married with the Gen Z generation, because they have so many different skills and things to complement one another that would really help the workforce today. But we have all of these things kind of happening. And when somebody does lose a job, it's not only stressful to manage a career when you have the job, but when you lose a job, and if that's the only cash flow coming in, that can just be devastating to a life, to a future, to the person's livelihood and family and things like that. So it is something that I want people to kind of wake up to and be prepared for. And I want them to have a plan A, a plan B, and a plan C. And then the other thing I talk about, I go into one of the chapters in my book about monetizing skills. And I really would like to see more people think about what they can do on the side to take their skills, the actual skillset they have, and what it is that they can do on the side to generate cash flow and have something going, or look at other opportunities to generate cash flow so that they are not just dependent on one stream of cash flow for their livelihood. You always have to be thinking ahead, because you never know when all of a sudden you're going to be taken off course and thrown in a ditch because you don't have a job. They don't teach us that in school, do they? No, and I think we're just, I think we're, the times we're living in, unfortunately, are more unforgivable in the sense of bouncing back. We just don't, it's much harder. If somebody goes six months, 12 months without cash flow, the impact is significant. And then if somebody's maybe in their 50s and they think, oh, I think I'm just going to, I'll just apply over here, and then they start to run into ageism. And you've got people across the desk that are interviewing you that are 10, 15, 20 years younger than you. You have the digital skills. You have all of this happening. And of course, we've got the cost of living and inflation, and the cost of doing business today is just so much. What I spend today doing business and what I spent doing the same kind of business in terms of online subscriptions and everything that you possibly have to have, accounts and things like that, whether it's bookkeeping, legal fees, CPA thing, it's unbelievable how much more expensive it is to do basic things that we could do years ago at a more reasonable price. So you have to think about a lot of things, even if you're going to be in business. There are so many challenges. And then of course, we have AI. They say that it's going to better our lives, but I kind of cringe because it really feels like we're getting replaced and you have to constantly stay ahead of that curve. Yeah. I mean, I guess the positive and the flip side today is people can be so creative. I mean, there's so many content creators. Look at the work you guys are doing. And this was not around 20 years ago, right? And so the creativity is great and it allows people to really be creative and kind of create their own path. But as you know, and I know, and many people know that are out there on their own, nothing is ever as simple or easy as we might think it is when we see somebody else doing it. But I think that from the standpoint of AI, and I don't think anybody knows for sure exactly the impact, there's a lot of research, of course, of how it's going to impact certain industries in a really positive way, healthcare. We might, that may just be something that is a real game changer there, right? With disease and things and so on. But surgeries, all of that, knowledge, you know, the typical, today when you look at particular jobs with technology, I think some of the research is within six months, the technology skills are outdated. That's how quick and fast technology is moving. I know, I'm still stuck in the 90s. Yeah. I keep asking her for help. I'm like, God, how do I do this? And it's just so hard, you know, and it's one of those things where I say in my book, you know, the train's not only left the station, but you know, you just can't get off the train, right? Because if you stop, you know, then you're, and I have friends who didn't embrace technology years ago and, you know, it just gets harder, right? So you're trying to just stay in the game, really, is what many people are trying to do. And I think when it comes to AI, at least from what I see, and you know, there's certainly, you know, I am not anywhere near, you know, proficient in all of this that some individuals are. But from what I see and understand is that what's really going to be important is to know the AI applications for the job that you're doing and how to be able to utilize AI for that particular job or that industry or the latest tools that are in that industry or that lane that you're in. And if you can just stay close to that, forget about, you know, the world at large with AI and everything that's going on. But if you're in, you know, the right lane for you and your job and career and industry and that's where you want to stay, then what's really important is just to focus on what are the tools in that particular area, what's happening with AI and how can I use AI to do my job better, you know, more efficiently, you know, or whatever it is that, that however it can help me. And if, if, if people stay within that focus, I think it's a little bit more manageable from a mindset standpoint of, you know, staying relevant and staying marketable and keeping up and staying employed. You got a plan ahead or you're going to be left behind. You're going to be stuck in the train station and not be able to get on. Nobody's going to give you a ticket. It's very scary. But you know what I believe in also is for people that find themselves in a position where they, you know, no longer have a career, kind of like myself when I lost my nursing career at 42 and how the heck do you start something over? Well, you have to create opportunities because it's not going to land on your lap, right? You have to be willing to walk that extra mile, do the research, do whatever it takes to make that switch. I mean, I had to go to a three day career planning workshop to find out what I wanted to be when I grew up at 42, because honestly, all I knew was nursing. I didn't know what I liked, what I didn't like, what, you know, what would be good. And luckily for me, the facilitator at the end of three days, she gave me my thing back, my assessment, and it said heavy equipment operator. And I've told this story a thousand times, but it's like, I laugh so hard, I just fell off my chair. I'm like, you've got to be joking, right? Like, I'm a woman, I'm 42, I don't like equipment. I'm not mechanically inclined. And honestly, it's a dude's job. I said, your test is wrong. There's a guy next to me. So it's probably his. And the lady pushed the test back, put a hand on her hip, looked me over her glasses and said, if only you'd believe in yourself a little bit messy, you'd see the test is right. She put on a 10 minute YouTube video called It's Possible. And that is where my mindset changed, because I went from sitting there with my arms crossed thinking, this is BS, I just wasted three whole days, blah, blah, blah, to listening to the guy talk about possibilities and keeping yourself open. And I started thinking, well, wait a minute, you know, I'm a good driver, I could drive a truck, but I was thinking the 18 wheelers, I had no idea these haul trucks existed. But still, I opened myself to the possibility that there was something other than what I knew for a fact. So this woman sent me to a non-profit organization called Women Building Futures, where it's a program I had no idea about. But programs sponsor women to take different careers in the non-traditional trades, electrician, carpentry, journey woman, heavy equipment, whatever, plumbing. And it was through there that I started realizing that I opened up my own opportunities, because I allowed myself to be limitless, as opposed to thinking that, oh, I'm just, can only do one thing, right? You have to be willing to expand. That's such a great story, Kathy, I love it. That's a great story. Yeah, you were open-minded and you went down that path of getting that additional knowledge, right? Yeah. And because I think we all tend to, no, I can't do that, or I should, or I shouldn't, or whatever the case is, whatever the barriers are, but until it's really either laid out for us in front of us, and we begin to think it or see it or visualize it, or really learn about it, and then start to ask ourselves those questions, it's part of that, right? It's that kind of deductive reasoning and going through the process. And it's really hard to make a good decision if you don't have all the information, but when you start going down that path and you're given more information, it sounds like, which is what you did, you could start to see kind of the opportunity. But there's a bit more to the story, because like I'm currently reading, change your questions, change your life, and it's exactly what I did back then, because at the time, you had to pass a math test in order to get into the Imperial program. Well, I sucked at math. I had 56 in high school in grade 11. Like I was terrible. So I could have used that as an excuse as a barrier, oh, you know what, I'm not gonna make it. I'm no good in math. This is it. Why is life so complicated? But instead, I'm like, okay, you know what, I was in recovery during the day, so I've been programming from nine to four. And from every night, I found a free math tutoring place, a resource that they had in the city. And every night from seven p.m. to nine thirty, I'm doing math. So by the time that test came a month later, I got 96 in math, because I flipped the switch in my thinking. I'm like, no, I'm not gonna let this stop me. I'm gonna give it a shot. That's great. And yeah, confidence, I mean, it sounds to me like you had the exposure to something you hadn't thought about through that testing and through the individual. And then there was some inspiration, you know, with the video. And then you had some motivation. The more you learned, the more motivated you were. And then your confidence sounds like to do it, to be successful to- Well, I think it was also desperation because, I mean, you know, when you want change so bad that fear is nothing anymore, you just step right over it, you're like, whatever you need me to do, I'll do it. I'll need to do a backflip, I'll do a backflip. And you know, there was 158 women that applied for that program and they only took 16 and I got picked. And it turns out that lady was right because every piece of equipment I was getting on in the training, I was good at. And I'm like, oh my God, if I could see that lady again, right? So it's a mindset is what I'm saying. Mindset really is something that's important, isn't it, Becky? I know you cover a lot of different things in your book, but confidence and mindset, yeah, you have to be really open to change, don't you? I think you have to be open to change and you have to be resilient today. And I think, you know, that's what Kathy, you know, through her experience, she was resilient and, you know, she didn't give up on herself. And, you know, I think it's important. I mean, everybody's going to make mistakes, everybody's going to fall, people are going to lose jobs, people are going to, you know, face hard times. And, you know, it's that it's being resourceful. I think we talked a little bit about that. And, you know, having, you know, looking ahead, planning ahead, being resourceful, being able to pivot, you know, career transitions, I made a few different ones. And I didn't understand what was involved in a career transition until after having made a few different ones and worked in different industries and then worked with other people. And, you know, what I've learned is that, you know, some people will say to me, you know, can you make any kind of career transition, you know, and well, you can. But, you know, the path to doing so, you know, is, is going to be what the difference is in a sense in terms of people that are successful. So, you know, I, I have, and I bring this up a lot, I have a cousin who he went to school, graduated accounting, became a CPA and established, had his own little, you know, was doing well is, I can't remember if it was his own business or a practice with someone else. But after, you know, several years, he decided he wanted to go back to school and he wanted to become a doctor. So, he was basically starting all over. And I remember my aunt saying to me, you know, gosh, I can't believe he's going back to school and he's going to start all over. And I said, you know, it's going to be eight to 10 years by the time he finished his school, his residency, this and that. And I said, well, he's, he, and I think, you know, he was going to be, you know, in his 40s. And I said, well, you know, in the end, he's going to be in his 40s anyway. He might as well be doing something he enjoys. And, you know, that was a huge career transition because he was not only changing industries, he was changing the functionality of the job that he was doing. And so, when I coach people on, on making career transitions and things like that, one of the things I want them to start with is let's start with your skills and your tools and your experience. Let's start with where you're at. And then, you know, in a perfect world, I mean, what are some of those dreams and things that you could do and you wanted to do? You know, what are they? Because you've got to have those, you know, you've got to identify what that is. What is your pull? Where's your motivation? And then looking at the difference between those is really the bridge in between. And that's where you're going to, people are going to have to build that bridge. And so, if you're changing functions, you're changing industries, the strategies are different, and how you go about it is going to be different. And so, you know, knowing that and having a plan for that, those, then the success of being able to achieve it is much greater. And, you know, there's certain other things to think about, you know, when you go through these exercises and you're thinking about this, you know, are you going to be in a market or an industry that's growing? Are you looking at where the jobs are going to be? Are you in an area that, you know, when I was looking at women's sports, you know, 30 years ago, there was no market, really. There wasn't, you know, it wasn't a sustainable market at the time. And I had a good little niche business in it that led to, you know, media interviews and led to, you know, a lot of great experiences. But in terms of that became a loss leader for other job and consulting opportunities. Same thing with working in women in diversity search, you know, that was very early on. And so, I think it's important to, to nobody would have thought certain industries today would even be here today 10 years ago. So I think it's important to look at where your passions are, where your skills set in your interests and where there is opportunity. And if you can find that and then zero in on that, then you can put a plan together to build that bridge. And, you know, the more challenging that career transition, the longer the bridge is going to be there, meaning they may have to go back to school, pick up this license, maybe they're going to shadow, get some job experience over here, maybe they're going to start something on the side and nurture that for a couple of years. But it's, it's important to have a plan as we all know, you know, life's going to change those plans, most likely anyway, but you've, we've got to have something like that. So, you know, we've, we've got something that we can, we can not only stay focused with what we're doing, but we can set ourselves up for success in achieving that goal. Stay tuned for more of women road warriors coming up. Dean Michael, the tax doctor here. I have one question for you. Do you want to stop worrying about the IRS? If the answer is yes, then look no further. I've been around for years. I've helped countless people across the country and my success rate speaks for itself. So now you know where to find good, honest help with your tax problems. What are you waiting for? If you owe more than $10,000 of the IRS or haven't filed in years, call me now at 888-557-4020 or go to mytaxhelpmd.com for a free consultation and get your life back. Industry movement, trucking moves America forward is telling the story of the industry. Our safety champions, the women of trucking, independent contractors, the next generation of truckers and more. Help us promote the best of our industry. Share your story and what you love about trucking. Share images of a moment you're proud of and join us on social media. Learn more at truckingmoveamerica.com. Welcome back to Women Road Warriors with Shelley Johnson and Kathy Takarov. Let's be honest. Navigating your career in today's world of constant change can feel like trying to hit a moving target. Technology, business trends, competition, it's a lot to keep up with. That's why we're so glad to have Becky Heidisch with us. She's a nationally recognized career management expert, founder of two online career centers and a nationwide boutique executive search firm. At her new book, The Career Masterclass for Women Staying Marketable and Succeeding in a changing business world is all about giving women the tools to stay relevant, avoid roadblocks, seize opportunities and take charge of their success. Becky, your book really covers all of these things. It's so important and it really gives us, it's a very good guide for women in terms of planning. There's so many things to consider. I mean, you talk about job security, staying employed, expecting the unexpected and that's for sure today. Certainly, like you said, defining steep qualifications, those are very important. The skills, the ones that are critical for success, education, maximizing every opportunity. I mean, we constantly have to learn today. There's so many things you cover navigating the course, applying for jobs online, interviewing strategies, negotiation. That's important. I'm not sure everybody knows how to do that. The value of a building a network. So, I mean, this book is a great resource, especially for women. Well, thank you. I hope that it's like one of those reference books that are on the shelf that when somebody's in the middle of a transition or they're stuck or they lose a job or they're contemplating a change, that's where I hope that they're able to rely on that and get some sort of support and some sort of direction as they're in that. A lot of the information in there, while I wrote the book targeted at women, a lot of the information in there is applicable to whether it's the Gen Z or the retiree making a career transition. It's applicable across the board in many instances. So, if there's somebody else I can benefit from it, I'm delighted to see that It's definitely a book that people need in their bookcase. You never know what life's going to throw at you and you can open up the particular chapter like making a career transition or even working for yourself and monetizing your qualifications. These things are important and I think it's getting people to think ahead because I don't think we can just go blindly through a career today. It's really unfortunate that there isn't the job security that there was what 40, 50 years ago. Yeah, it is. This whole thing of work, it's what we spend most of our time doing. Not only is it important that we enjoy what we're doing, but we tap into our skills and we tap into our abilities and how it is we can contribute and how we want to contribute. Work is important. I think in terms of, I believe it's important to have purpose in life. I think that for especially young people starting out, it's really important to get a good foundation there because it is going to, just like financial management, health management, relationship management, right? All these things catch up later in life and not paying attention to these critical job changes. Many young people today change jobs much quicker, much faster. If they don't like this, they're off and onto this over here. It may work now or it may work in the lane that they're in, but there's always this, there's always the catch up to that, right? There's value to diversity of experiences and there's also value to what you build and accomplish and achieve. Over some time in a particular role. Yeah. Years ago, people doing that would have considered job jumpers and they were a risk. Yes. I think that's coming back. I can remember, we used to, well, in our work for search, job stability was always important. We always wanted to see candidates that were in a role long enough to achieve some success and leave their mark there. But typically, if we were looking to play, so we were a retained search firm. Typically, a client will come to us with an assignment and want us to find that needle in the haystack that fits that. We're presenting a slate of candidates that closely match that or that we find very interesting. They may not have everything that's on the wish list, but they have a number of things that are attractive and maybe something else that's unique that we think the client should take a good look at. But when you take a look at the candidate pool and you take a look at the marketplace today and where the opportunities are at for people, the mindset used to, we saw this originally in technology. That's where we saw a lot of the job moves more quicker over the last five, 10 years. Technology was hiring people from one company to another company and they were jumping, sometimes jumping ship every six months and trying to better their salary and that sort of a thing. We are seeing the pullback. Now it's gone back again as we see the pendulum swing back and forth. Now I think there is an even stronger appreciation for that loyalty and for somebody who they're going to invest in and train that's going to stay put. It's a lower risk to business because businesses put, they put an investment in their employees and they don't want them to suddenly jump ship within a year or two. You bet. Yeah. So I mean, that makes total sense. Now Becky, where do people find your book? They can find it on Amazon. I think they can find it on, BarnesandNobles.com, most of the bookstores, Walmart.com, any of those online, they can find it. And also through my website, they can find the links as well, BeckyHeidisch.com. Okay. And the book's title is the Career Masterclass for Women, Staying Marketable and Succeeding in a Changing Business World. So somebody types in the Career Masterclass for Women, that should pop up, I would think, in the search results. Or like you said, BeckyHeidisch.com, how do we spell your last name? H-E-I-D-E-S-C-H. Excellent. Do you have maybe just a couple pointers for women as we close the interview because you've got so much information here and we like to leave some of our listeners with golden nuggets? You know, I think that there's wonderful opportunities for women today. I would say in terms of senior leadership roles and trying to break in and move in and move into the board room. And one of the things I try to get women to think about is stay close to the numbers, know your numbers, understand what a P&L is, understand what a balance sheet is. It's important to understand your numbers. Anytime you can manage more people, managing is important. If you have global operations experience, those things are all, those are harder things for women to have gotten over the years, especially if they wanted to raise a family. And so, you know, unfortunately, in some cases, while they've many have caught up now, we just didn't have women gaining this kind of experience 20, 30 years ago. So, that is changing. That's what I would say. And for the moms, the working moms out there, you know, my hat's off. You know, I'm a mom with a senior getting ready to graduate high school. And, you know, I think we're still not doing enough for moms today. And, you know, working parents, there's a lot of, you know, anxiety and stress and work, but we also have a lot of anxiety and stress that people are feeling in parenting. And I know many young moms today that are trying to juggle careers and juggle that as well. So, I would just say, you know, keep putting one foot forward and believe in yourself and try to get whatever kind of support system you can build up around you and, you know, just keep doing what you're doing. Amen to that. That's some solid advice. That was very well said, right? Yes. Solid advice. Thank you. Becky, this has been great. Well, thank you guys. Yeah, thank you so much. And, you know, keep up the good work that you guys are doing as well. It's fun to be here. Well, thank you. This has been fun to talk to you. And I know that our listeners are going to take away some really important information. Then, who knows what kind of career opportunities this will open up for them? Yes, I hope so too. I hope if just one person is, it changes their course or helps them, then it will have been worth it, right? That's right. 100%. Yep. Thank you, Becky. Okay. Thanks, ladies. Great to talk with you. We hope you've enjoyed this latest episode. And, if you want to hear more episodes of Women Road Warriors or learn more about our show, be sure to check out womenroadwarriors.com. And please, follow us on social media. And don't forget to subscribe to our podcast. On our website, we also have a selection of podcasts just for women. There are a series of podcasts from different podcasters. So, if you're in the mood for women's podcasts, just click the Power Network tab on womenroadwarriors.com. You'll have a variety of shows to listen to anytime you want to. Podcasts made for women. Women Road Warriors is on all the major podcast channels like Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Audible, YouTube, and others. Check us out. And please follow us wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening. You've been listening to Women Road Warriors with Shelly Johnson and Kathy Toccaro. If you want to be a guest on the show or have a topic or feedback, email us at sjohnsonatwomenroadwarriors.com.