My Career Story

Paul Russell, Standing Ovation Choir

Paul's career story covers: - humble beginnings as a proud baker's boy prior to his move to London at the age of 18 - the frustrations and opportunities that working in the West End that led to a change in direction and working in New York - building his own wellness coaching business, Standing Ovation Choir

BONUS: Live with Dr Polly McGee and Zoe Coyle, Pilot Light Consulting

Lindsey Rowe, Head of People and Programme Office at SAP UK & Ireland

Lindsey's career story covers: - the work she has done since deciding not to go to university including working as a special police constable - how her experience at SAP over the last 5 years has helped her to be more authentic in the workplace - the inspiration she draws from the interns she meets

Chris Allan, Founder at Your D&I

Chris' career story covers: - the twists and turns in his career which began at the age of 15 - his lived experience of LGBT+ discrimination in the workplace - the launch of Your D&I, his business with a mission to create equal opportunities for all

Jade Garner (Recorded LIVE on 11/9/2020), Apprentice at EY

Jade's career story covers: - working as an apprentice at global professional services EY for the last four years - why she chose to start her career on an apprenticeship - the support she received from her parents - where her career may have led if she'd made different choices

Ags Galland, Holistic Wellness and Nutrition Coach

Ags' career story covers: - how learning what she didn't want to do, and a passion for trying different foods, lead her towards a purposeful career in health and wellness coaching - what she has learnt from her clients so far - why she loves about running her own business

Alex Manzi, Podcaster | Author | Coach

Alex's career story covers: - the start of his career journey after deciding against going to university - the blog that led to a career at BBC Radio One Xtra - taking the leap into self-employment and rediscovering his passions in life - how he became the author of 'The Search for Clarity'

The story so far...

50 guests with powerful career stories, and more to come in Season 3. Launching Monday 7 Sept 2020.

Julie Poppleton, Director of Careers at Chase Terrace Academy

Julie's career story covers: - why she relates her career story to that of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - how the various careers she pursued and her passion for helping people led to studying towards qualifications in careers advice and guidance - the changing careers landscape and its effects upon young people - the moment she met, the then prime minister, David Cameron

Apprenticeships: What I Wish I'd Known

A group of young people I first met at EY share their apprenticeship stories in this recording of a special A level results week webinar.

Elizabeth Wright, Paralympic Medalist, Disability Campaigner, Keynote Speaker, Writer and Consultant

Elizabeth's story covers: - how being born with a physical disability (congenital limb deficiency) has influenced her career - the moment she won a medal at the Sydney 2020 Paralympic games - the work that she does speaking in schools inspiring the next generation - her views on how and why we need to be more inclusive in the workplace

Chris Do, Founder and CEO, The Futur

Chris’ career story covers: - his creative career journey towards becoming the founder and CEO of The Futur - The 1 Billion Mission teaching creatives how to make money doing what they love…without feeling gross #1BminusOne - his thoughts on everything from education, fear, community and doing the work needed to get you from where you are to where you want to be

Harriet Lunney, Senior Account Manager at MSL Group UK

Harriet’s career story covers: - her initial steps from university into the world of work that finally brought her from Glasgow to London - how she has navigated her career working in student recruitment and in two of the world’s biggest creative agencies - how she first became aware of the LGBT+ community - why being an ally means so much to her, and why it should to you too

Debbie Cannon, Trans activist, radio presenter, music journalist and award-winning insurance leader

Debbie's career story covers: - her time in the army as a chef - the relationship which first allowed her to explore her gender identity and expression - a new career working in insurance that empowered her to make the changes she needed in her life - the journey she has been through so far as a trans woman

Raf Szaniawski, Leadership and Career Coach at Coach Raf

Raf's career story covers: - how questioning his definition of success changed the career path he was once on - his experiences of growing up with homophobia in Poland - reflections on growing up as an anxious overachiever - his passion for coaching

Patrick Ettenes, Founder at LGBT Dementia Network and National Diversity Awards winner

Patrick's career story covers: - the article he wrote about living with HIV that went international overnight and his work for London 2012 that proceeded a traumatic breakdown - how he discovered a passion for public speaking - why he founded the LGBT Dementia Network - the impact lockdown in the UK initially had on his mental health

Divina De Campo, Drag Queen and Runner-up of RuPaul's Drag Race UK

Divina’s career story covers: - how a question posed by her now husband, prompted a career in drag not long after finishing university - the various career opportunities, including working as a teacher and a summer performing in Ibiza, have shaped her drag - her rise to fame on the telly including successfully auditioning to become part of the first UK season of RuPaul’s Drag Race last year

Alexandra Galviz, LinkedIn Top Voice and LinkedIn Learning Author

Alexandra's episode covers: - how using her initiative has helped her to seek out new career opportunities - the turning point in her career resulting from a post published on LinkedIn - how her background and the skills she has developed in her career so far have been important factors in her success

Annie Bocock, Founder and Owner of Art For Messy Beings

Annie’s career story covers: - why she left university before completing her course - the various doors of opportunity that opened up to her as a result of this decision - her journey from TEDx speaker to Founder and Owner of Art For Messy Beings

Bev Steele & Heather Hobbs, Hosts of the 'Bitches Be Brave' podcast

Bev and Heather’s career stories cover: - their vast combined experience working in the corporate world and how it led them to launching their own podcast - what has held them back in the past and how to use it to drive you forward - the conversations they have with their own children around careers - the importance of balance in life

Siobhan Russell, Trainee Solicitor at Crown Prosecution Service

Siobhan’s career story covers: - the influence her grandfather has had on the career choices that she has made - her thoughts on why your background should not be what defines you - the various ways that she sees imposter syndrome popping up in her life, and others’

Rebecca Bayuk, Freelance writer and editor

Rebecca's career story covers: - her time teaching both in the UK and the United States of America - her passion for writing - the challenges of working as a freelancer - how she deals with anxiety

Hilda Maria Valdespino, Founder at Inspired Learning LLC

Hilda's career story covers: - her first experience working for the mob in New York City - the succession of jobs that followed which helped her to find the career and work that she loves - the work she has since pursued in workforce development and employability skills training - the launch of her own business, Inspired Learning and her mission to track 1 million inspirations before she turns 100

World Voice Day 2020 (My 'Coming Out' Story)

World Voice Day is a worldwide annual event that takes place on April 16 devoted to the celebration of the phenomenon of voice.The aim is to demonstrate the enormous importance of the voice in the daily lives of all people. In this bonus episode of the podcast three members of the UK LGBT+ community share their ‘coming out’ stories - our shared opinion being that sharing our stories using our voice empowers more to do the same!

Asif Sadiq, former Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging for The Telegraph Media Group

Asif’s career story covers: - his career journey from the police to working at adidas - the challenges he has tackled promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace - his personal experiences of exclusion as a parent - his thoughts on what we can learn from failure when trying to be more inclusive

Lee Warren, Director of Invisible Advantage Limited and Keynote Speaker

Lee's career story covers: - the moment he fell in love with magic at the age of 4 - his journey from magician to keynote speaker - becoming a published, award-winning author - his top tips for becoming a better speaker

Tonia Galati, Director at TG Consulting Ltd

Tonia’s career story covers: - the work she is doing to bring together the key stakeholders in graduate recruitment through TG Consulting Ltd. - why her passion for supporting young people drives the work that she does - the ways in which her career journey so far is helping her clients to support social mobility - the importance she places on adopting the right mindset in your career

Graham Sykes, Head of Agency at Fourteen19®

Graham's career story covers: - his own journey as a young person from life on a council estate to agency owner - the lessons he learnt at the start of founding a business that informed the success he experiences today - what led to him sharing his expertise as an author

Dino Hira, Mindfulness and Wellness Coach at The Modern Yogi Co.

Dino's career story covers: - his move, alone, at the age of 16 from Hong Kong to Perth, Australia - the career moves he made from IT to miming, before being headhunted for reality TV show, Married At First Sight - how he discovered his true calling as a mindfulness and wellness coach - the launch of The Modern Yogi

Natasha Lomas, Owner of The Pink Flamingo Designs

Natasha’s career story covers: - the moment she realised she had a passion for fashion - the various ways in which her creative flair shows itself - how her business has evolved over the five years she has owned it

Ellie Yell, CEO and Founder at Fledglink

Ellie's career story covers: - her background in occupational psychology - the journey she took towards, and motivations for, starting her first business - some of the challenges she has faced as a female throughout her career - the mission she, and her team, are working towards with Fledglink

Chloe Davies, Head of PR and Partnerships at myGwork

Chloe's story covers: - the nudge from her mother that started a successful career in retail - her experiences as a member of the LGBTQ+ community in the workplace - the voluntary work that supports the community she loves being part of - her lived experiences of intersectionality

Katherine Jennick, Owner and Creator of 'What's Your Strength?'

Katherine's career story covers: - the ‘twists and turns’ that first started whilst studying at university - the various ways in which she has supported young people in their career and life planning - how redundancy created another chain of events which led to her channeling energy and a passion for creativity into launching a new careers product - turning the tables on me as the interviewer!

Emanuel Carballo, Owner and Creative Director at Eman Designs

Emanuel’s career story covers: - how he stumbled upon a career as a digital nomad - his passion for visual communications and role as an agent of change - how he dealt with the realisation that he belonged to the LGBT+ community - how he learnt to let go and embraced authenticity in his life and work - the importance he places on self care

Lorna Reeves, Founding Director at MyOhMy Events

Lorna’s career story covers: - Her choice to join the Police as a senior crime officer at the age of 18, rather than studying at university, which saw her working on high profile events such as London 2012 - How what should have been the routine sight of a dead body led to a dream and a realisation that her well-being was suffering by the stress if her job - The decision to leave the Police in 2018 without a plan, which led to her starting her own events company, part of which has already del...

A Decade in Employer Brand

This bonus episode covers: - an insight into my career in employer branding whilst at EY over the last decade - the moments there that had extraordinary impact on me - the questions posed by listeners and my answers - some of the careers advice shared by the guests from season 1 - a glimpse into what to expect in 2020 from The Branding Man

Bianca Miller-Cole, Founder and Director at The Be Group | Speaker | Author | Personal Branding Expert

Bianca’s career story covers: - the origins of her entrepreneurial ‘spark’ which she traces back to her parents - how the time she spent working at Accenture helped her to discover her passion for personal branding, the focus of her first business - the experience of taking part in, and reaching the final of, 'The Apprentice' - the many lessons that life as an entrepreneur has taught her - publishing and co-authoring her first book, Self Made

Michael Newton, COO at The P3N Network | Team Lead at Cvent

Michael’s career story covers: - the journey from working in hospitality at home in Wales, through aspirations to work in theatre at university and a brief flirtation with criminology, before discovering the world of events and technology 7 years ago - the charitable work that he does through Diversity Role Models and as COO at the P3 network - his powerful stories around belonging to the LGBT+ community and publically sharing his HIV positive status

Charlotte Maria Edwards, Graduate Development Lead at EY MENA

Charlotte's career story covers: - the coping strategies she used whilst studying at Birmingham University - how being authentic in the way that she lives and builds relationships others has helped to open up countless career opportunities for her - the skills she learnt as a classroom teacher that continue to serve her today - the power to be found in owning our choices and learning to fail forward

Liz Goulder, Founder at Renewed You Yoga

Liz’s career story covers: - Her original dream career of becoming solicitor from the age of 13 - The trip to India that launched her yoga career and the start of her business - The time she has spent focusing on her spiritual development - What she’s learnt about herself along the way

Conor Cotton, Client Relationship Manager at Springpod

Conor’s career story covers: - What informed his subject choices at school - Why he decided against studying at university - His first two jobs working at Not Going To Uni and Springpod, and how they differ - Why he thinks it’s important to always be asking yourself, and others, ‘why?’ - What he values in our mentoring relationship - The skills you need to be a successful relationship manager and to thrive in your future career

Davide Pagnotta, Partner at The Rao Institute

Davide’s career story covers: - His time spent studying and working in Italy before moving to the UK - The role that passion has played in guiding his career journey and the choices that he has made - The impact creativity and self-mastery can have on your career - His work developing his students at The Rao Institute

Joanne Conway | Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Strategy Lead at EY UK&I

Joanne's career story covers: - her journey from BTEC to petrol station to call centre to account management through to her current career at EY - relocating from their Dublin office to Manchester whilst embracing motherhood - how her passion for people and HR developed - the work that she has progressed on to strategically leading on diversity, inclusion and belonging at EY following the completion of her Masters degree

James McFadzean, Recruitment Marketing and Employer Branding Manager

James’ career story covers: - how he navigated his own career exploring what worked and what didn’t - his passion for working in employer branding - the importance of being authentic in the work that we do - the challenges and opportunities of working globally - his ambitions for the future, decided and undecided

Ollie Sidwell, Co-founder at RMP Enterprise

Ollie's career story covers: - the role that passion and interest played in his academic studies - the inspiration behind his business RateMyEnterprise - his advice on what it takes to become a business founder and entrepreneur - what the business looks like today and aspirations for the future

Rebecca Oladele, Personal Trainer at Fit2Sparkle

Rebecca's career story covers: - why she decided to become a personal trainer - what she loves about the work that she does with her clients - how she balances work and her life as a mother - the conversations she has with her children about their future careers

Carolyn Parry, Founder Director and Lead Coach at Career Alchemy

Carolyn's story covers: - how her childhood experiences and parental influence have informed her career story to date - her journey from Royal Holloway (University of London) to Career Coach of the Year - her work helping others to discover their purpose and passion for the work that they do - the creation of her INSPiRED Career and Life Coaching Framework and Planning tool

Dr Rupy Aujla, The Doctor's Kitchen

Rupy's story covers: - his journey from medical school to founder of The Doctor's Kitchen - his global vision for helping people to eat their way to health - the joy he finds in cooking - balancing a busy life working as a GP and entrepreneur

Amaka Uche, Graduate Recruitment Talent Manager

Amaka and I worked together in the branding and attraction team at EY. From the moment that I met Amaka I have always been inspired by her positive outlook on life and the way that she visualises her goals and slays them, which included launching her own podcast ‘My Dream My Reality’ - which in turn inspired me to start one of my own. Amaka is extremely passionate about personal development, entrepreneurship and helping others to realise their full potential. She is the host of her own podca...

Aaron Carty, Entrepreneur

Aaron and I lived together between 2007 and 2009 during the time that I transitioned from my career in teaching into the world of student recruitment. His passion and drive for the achieving his goals, no matter how much hard work and focus, that may involve has always inspired me. Entrepreneur and business owner Aaron Carty, one of Essex Police’s youngest ever police officers at 18 and a half years old, left to pursue his dream of working in the media industry, creating films and marketing ...