Control Your Career: Career Growth and Strategy for Ambitious Professionals

When your values and your job are out of sync, it can feel like a constant low-grade frustration that you cannot shake. You may notice yourself questioning leadership, feeling disconnected, or realizing that you just do not care anymore. In this episode of Control Your Career, Julia Toothacre walks through what values misalignment looks like, why it happens, and how to use the Control Your Career...

Feeling lost in your career is different than feeling stuck. Stuck means you can see the problem, lost means you cannot even name what you want anymore. In this episode of Control Your Career, Julia Toothacre unpacks what it means to feel truly disconnected from yourself and your work, and how to start finding clarity again. Julia walks through the Control Your Career Process to help you reconnect...

Leaving a job is never an easy decision. Maybe you are unhappy but cannot pinpoint why. Maybe you feel tied by loyalty, pay, or benefits, yet deep down you know something is not working anymore. In this episode of Control Your Career, Julia Toothacre breaks down the most common reasons professionals consider leaving a role and shows you how to apply the Control Your Career Process to make confiden...

You didn't work this hard to feel stuck. You've built a strong career, but lately, something feels off, you're not failing, but you're not moving forward either.  In this first episode of the new season of Control Your Career, Julia breaks down one of the most common pain points professionals face: feeling stuck. Using her five-stage Control Your Career process, she walks you through how to figure...

Hiring in 2025 is messy, complicated, and evolving fast. Season 11 proved it. In this season wrap-up of Control Your Career, host Julia Toothacre breaks down the biggest lessons from the Recruiter's Perspective 2025 series. From resume and interview strategies to cover letters, ATS myths, and the rise of AI in recruiting, Julia highlights what job seekers need to know to stay competitive. Julia al...

DEI has become one of the most misunderstood workplace initiatives. In this episode, I sit down with Bridget Baggett, career strategist and founder of Twisted Career, to unpack the ripple effects of recent executive orders aimed at dismantling DEI programs. We go deep into the facts, the nuance, and the impact these shifts are having on professionals, hiring practices, and workplace culture. We ap...

Ready to take your career overseas? Here's what you need to know! If you're a U.S. professional considering a move abroad, or just curious how hiring works outside the States, this episode is a must-listen. Julia sits down with Omar, a seasoned talent acquisition lead at Beontag, who shares an insider perspective on how European hiring really works. From resume formatting and cover letter norms to...

800 days without a full-time job. One man's story pulls back the curtain on hiring bias, grief, and grit. In this deeply personal and powerful episode of Control Your Career, host Julia Toothacre speaks with Francis "Tank" Rhodes about the realities of long-term unemployment, especially post-pandemic, and despite having years of experience in HR and operations. Together, they discuss the importanc...

Taking a career break doesn't break your career if you know how to handle the return. In this episode of Control Your Career, host Julia Toothacre sits down with Jamie Dye, Talent Acquisition Team Lead at M3 USA, to talk candidly about career breaks, why they happen, how to talk about them, and what returning to work really looks like. They discuss the hiring process in biotech and medical researc...

Let's talk about the part of job searching no one likes to admit: rejection, fear, and feeling like you're not enough. In this episode of Control Your Career, Julia sits down with Danny Cohen, President of Roc Search and One Life Science, to talk about the emotional weight of rejection, how fear shows up in the job search, and what candidates can do to stay focused and confident. With nearly 25 ye...

What if your degree didn't matter and your resume wasn't the most important part of your job application? In this episode, Julia Toothacre sits down with Katie Rakusin, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at Merit America, to unpack what competency-based hiring really looks like and why it's changing how professionals get hired. Katie shares her journey from special education teacher to recruiti...

Think recruiters are ghosting you on purpose? Think again. In this episode, Julia Toothacre speaks with Orlando Haynes, North American Talent Acquisition Leader at The Mosaic Company. Orlando shares his journey from candidate to recruiter, emphasizing the importance of honesty in resumes and the hiring process. We talk about the volume recruiters are up against, how the applicant tracking system a...

Most job seekers are using job boards the wrong way and wasting time because of it. In this episode, Julia Toothacre interviews Julie Calli, Chief Marketing Officer at Lensa. They discuss how job seekers can effectively use job boards like Lensa. Key points include understanding the difference between job boards and job aggregators, utilizing AI tools for resume and cover letter enhancement, and t...

Job search advice is everywhere, but what's real and what's outdated? I'm cutting through the noise and giving it to you straight. In this special episode, host Julia Toothacre, a career coach and strategist at Ride the Tide Collective, recaps the major takeaways from the first three episodes of the season and digs even deeper into key hiring and job search topics. She shares crucial clarification...

Remote jobs sound great—until the company calls you back into the office. In this episode, Julia Toothacre talks with Lara Nichols, Senior Managing Director of Global Talent Management at Markel, who oversees recruiting across the U.S. and globally. With decades of experience in HR and talent strategy, Lara shares what job seekers need to know as return-to-office (RTO) policies evolve. They dive i...

Getting laid off feels personal, even when it's not. The shock, uncertainty, and pressure to find your next move can be overwhelming, but it doesn't have to derail your career. In this episode, Julia Toothacre talks with Sylvanna Berkowitz, founder of Tribe Talent Partners. They discuss the evolving job market post-COVID-19, emphasizing the importance of sharing experiences on LinkedIn. Sylvanna s...

What if the recruiter you're working with is the reason you're not landing interviews? In today's job market, not all recruiters are created equal and knowing how to spot the right ones can make or break your job search. In this episode, Julia Toothacre interviews Oscar Chavez, also known as "Oscar from LinkedIn." As a seasoned DVM recruitment manager in the veterinary services industry, Oscar bri...

In this episode, host Julia Toothacre wraps up Season Ten, focusing on managers' expectations from employees and teams. Julia, a career coach and strategist at Ride the Tide Collective, reflects on her interviews with experienced managers.  Key themes include the shift from in-office to remote work, the importance of empathy and relationship building, varying approaches to performance improvement...

In this episode Marciee McDonald, a regional executive director with nearly 20 years of nonprofit experience shares the ins and outs of the nonprofit world, specifically around people management and hiring. We  explore the unique challenges of the nonprofit sector, focusing on the impact of restricted vs. unrestricted funding on hiring and management and much more.  Marcie shares insights on effec...

I am thrilled to have Jenny Darroch, PhD, the esteemed Dean of the Farmer School of Business at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio on the podcast. The conversation was rich with insights from Jenny's corporate and academic life. We discuss Jenny's background, her leadership style rooted in dignity and respect, and the hiring process, including the importance of cover letters and traditional resumes...

We've got Tomas Company, Senior Product Manager and Interim Director at adidas, discussing his nearly 19-year tenure with the company, his people management style emphasizing empathy, and his approach to hiring and employee development on the podcast. The episode also covers the importance of regular employee meetings for professional growth, aligning personal values with career choices, and the m...

In this episode, we met Mike Farris, Senior Customer Service Manager at Zep Sales and Service. We delve into Mike's management style, the transition to remote work, and the hiring and people management approach. He emphasizes clear expectations, proper training, and a fair performance improvement process. Mike also discusses the need for a welcoming approach to one-on-ones and the importance of un...

In this episode, Jon Harper, a regional sales VP at a Fortune 200 organization, talks about effective people management and pulls back the curtain on what managers crave from their teams. From hiring to leadership, his insights are a goldmine for anyone looking to impress their higher-ups or step into a management role.  We explore the transition from sales to leadership, emphasizing the need for...

Ronda Mullen's management philosophy centers on trust and supporting her team's growth by aligning their interests with potential career opportunities within the company. Ronda and Julia discuss the importance of internal employee development and the benefits of promoting from within. As the Director of Learning and Leadership Development at Epiq, Ronda also shares their approach to professional d...

Renee Trotman delves into the intricacies of people management with the lens of a diverse background in managing teams across various industries, including banking, education, healthcare, non-profit, and Fortune 500 companies. Her education (She's a lawyer and currently working on her doctorate!) combined with her experience provides a lively conversation guaranteed to guide employees and other pe...