Favourite Positions

In this final episode of The Modern Career Playbook, Alex brings together the biggest lessons from the entire series. Across the previous nine episodes, Alex spoke to founders, researchers, coaches, creatives and business leaders about what it really takes to build a fulfilling and credible career in a world of constant change. At the end of every conversation, each guest was asked the same questi...

In this episode of The Modern Career Playbook , Alex speaks with James Pates about career pivots, AI, automation and how technology can help people and businesses work more effectively. James is a software developer, automation specialist and founder of Solve Studio , where he builds internal tools, systems and automations for startups and SMEs. Before moving into tech, James worked in fashion and...

In this episode of The Modern Career Playbook , Alex speaks with Jemima Carr-Jones about creative careers, personal branding, social media and what it really takes to build visibility around your work. Jemima is a creative strategist, photographer and founder of Loved Studios , helping brands and people grow through content, storytelling and personal branding. Alongside her role as Head of Content...

In this episode of The Modern Career Playbook , Alex speaks with Charlotte Davies about the changing reality of early careers, the future of work and what it actually takes to build a career in today’s increasingly competitive and unpredictable job market. Charlotte leads Global Consumer Communications Programmes at LinkedIn and is also a LinkedIn Career Expert, advising professionals on career tr...

In this episode of The Modern Career Playbook , Alex speaks with Alice Benham about strategy, messy action and what it really takes to turn a big vision into daily action. Alice is a business strategist, speaker, entrepreneur, founder of On Paper and host of the chart-topping podcast Starting The Conversation . She started her business at 17 and has spent the last decade helping entrepreneurs get...

In this episode of The Modern Career Playbook , Alex speaks with Anne-Sophie Fluri about focus, resilience, performance and what it really takes to build a career that feels both ambitious and sustainable. Anne-Sophie is a neuroscientist who brings together 12 years of experience across academia and industry to help individuals and teams better understand how the brain works, and how that knowledg...

In this episode of The Modern Career Playbook , Alex speaks with Teri Thomas about personal brand, visibility and what it really takes to build a credible, fulfilling and future-relevant career today. Teri is the founder of Beyond & Co , a business specialising in growth through people-led marketing. She works with leaders and founders to help them use their voice, perspective and presence mor...

In this episode of The Modern Career Playbook , Alex speaks with Dr Hayley Dawson about why being good at your job is not always enough on its own, and why the human side of work matters more than ever. Hayley is the founder of Let’s Talk Human Skills , creator of Human Skill School , and host of Let’s Talk . Her work focuses on helping people communicate more clearly, collaborate more effectively...

In the second episode of the Rezilien × Favourite Positions live debate series, Lily Kyriacou and Alex Young bring together leaders working across operations, digital engineering and transformation to explore a question that sits at the heart of modern execution: What breaks change first: human behaviour or organisational complexity? As organisations operate in what Lily describes as a state of ro...

In this episode of  The Modern Career Playbook , Alex speaks with  Leah Meredith  about building a creative career, staying true to your values and creating work that feels both commercial and personal. Leah is the founder and creative director of  Haus of Hyde  and chief brand officer at  Faves . In this conversation, she shares her journey from teaching into creative entrepreneurship, what she h...

In the first episode of the Rezilien × Favourite Positions live debate series, Lily Kyriacou and Alex Young bring together leaders working across AI, transformation, people and organisational change to explore a question sitting at the centre of modern work: Is human adaptability nearing its limit, or are organisations failing to create the conditions in which it can thrive? As change continues to...

In this episode of The Modern Career Playbook , Alex speaks with Izzy about what it really takes to build a credible and fulfilling career in today’s world of work. This is an honest, practical conversation about progression, self-promotion and learning how to communicate your value clearly. Izzy shares sharp and genuinely useful reflections on why careers are rarely linear, why progression should...

The Position Papers (3/3) | Favourite Positions Podcast What if the most valuable lessons from business school aren’t the frameworks you learn, but the assumptions they quietly dismantle? In this final episode of The Position Papers mini-series, Alexandra Young reflects on five core MBA subjects — finance, macroeconomics, marketing, innovation and strategy — and the perspective shifts each one cre...

The Position Papers (2/3) | Favourite Positions Podcast Confidence is often framed as a personality trait – something you either have or you don’t. But what if confidence is actually contextual, shaped by environment, familiarity and perceived expectations? In this second episode of The Position Papers mini-series, Alexandra Young reflects on how business school reshaped her understanding of confi...

The Position Papers (1/3) | Favourite Positions Podcast Burnout is usually framed as doing too much of what you don’t care about. But what happens when the exhaustion comes from things you genuinely love? In this opening episode of The Position Papers mini-series, Alexandra Young explores a quieter, more complex form of burnout – the kind that exists alongside high engagement, ambition and growth....

Nearly 80% of professionals across Europe say they feel unprepared to find a job in 2026. At the same time, almost half are planning to look for a new role this year. In this short, standalone episode of Favourite Positions , Alex Young is joined by LinkedIn Career Expert Charlotte Davies to unpack what’s driving that uncertainty – and what people can do about it. Charlotte shares insights from Li...

💬 Summary In this special solo episode of Work in Progress , Alex takes a step back to reflect on the biggest lessons learned so far from the series. Instead of interviewing a guest, this episode brings together the key themes that have emerged from conversations with leaders, entrepreneurs and career shapers about how work is changing and what it takes to thrive today. From the rise of AI and sh...

💬 Summary In this episode of Work in Progress , we speak to Olly Haddock – solicitor, innovation specialist at Weightmans and founder of The Careers Edit – about redefining success, building careers that feel authentic and why networking desperately needs a rebrand. Alongside his legal practice, Olly helps lead innovation projects at Weightmans, creating tech-driven solutions to make law more eff...

💬 Summary In this episode of Work in Progress , we speak to Emilie Lashmar – brand partner, community builder, and Director of GCUC UK – about the evolving world of work, the role of purpose in retention, and how space design shapes culture. With over 15 years’ experience in brand, marketing, and events, and nearly a decade shaping coworking and creative spaces, Emilie shares her take on the futu...

💬 Summary In this episode of Work in Progress , we speak to Solomon Mehta-Slade – creator of Mental Fitness workshops for organisations, coach, and co-founder of The Change:Maker Collective – about building inner stability so you can thrive at work and beyond. Sol explains how his workshops help people build the mental strength and emotional resilience to perform under pressure, recover quickly f...

💬 Summary In this episode, we speak to Austin Okolo – founder of Gen Z Recruits and a leading voice for Gen Z in the world of work – about turning lived experience into lasting impact. Austin shares how his entrepreneurial journey began with selling football boots at school and how it evolved into a mission to fix a broken job market. We talk about building confidence from the ground up, creating...

💬 Summary In this episode, we speak to Hannah Sosa – founder of Subtle Series and host of the Awfully Quiet podcast – about redefining career progression for quietly ambitious people. Hannah shares the inspiration behind her unique career platform, how she balances a full-time corporate career with building her own business, and why she believes introspection is an underrated leadership trait. We...

💬 Summary In this episode, we speak to Joseph Liu – career consultant, speaker and host of Career Relaunch – about what it really takes to pivot your career, build a personal brand that feels authentic and find confidence through action. Joseph shares the journey from med school dropout to global speaker, brand strategist and coach. He talks about how to build a narrative that supports your next...

💬 Summary In this episode, we speak to Kaya Allen-Bevan – founder of Youth the Gap and Edge of Difference – about what it really means to build inclusive workplaces, protect your energy and keep showing up with purpose. Kaya opens up about how her own lived experience fuelled her work in advocacy and DEI. From early activism to launching two mission-driven businesses, she shares the realities of...

💬 Summary In this episode, we sit down with Cameron MacRae – Global Director at Bottle Rocket Search – to talk all things work, hiring and how to know if a job is actually right for you. From front-of-house roles in coworking to global leadership in commercial real estate, Cameron shares a decade’s worth of lessons on what’s changed since Covid, how to protect your energy, and why understanding y...