Secrets of the Career Game

Hiring managers decide who they want within the first five minutes of an interview. If your answer to "tell me about yourself" sounds like everyone else's, you are already behind.
In this episode, I break down how to lead with your personal brand, handle small talk strategically, and explain your experience in a way hiring managers actually remember — so you stop losing offers to people with the same qualifications.
In this episode: personal branding in interviews · how to answer tell me about yourself · interview communication strategy · how to talk about your accomplishments confidently
What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?
🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course
About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg
Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.
☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up
Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?
Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_
Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

You're qualified. So why does it feel like no one notices?
The problem usually isn't your experience. It's how you talk about it.
In this episode, I sit down with career coach, Amazon best-selling author, and self-proclaimed "interview ologist" Nicolette Hemingway to unpack one of the most costly — and completely fixable — mistakes professionals make: assuming their work speaks for itself.
Spoiler: it doesn't. And that belief alone could be what's standing between you and the job, promotion, or recognition you've already earned.
Nicolette brings over 25 years of experience across every level of government, military service, and a career coaching practice built on one thing: helping talented people finally get seen. In this conversation, we go beyond generic interview advice and get into the real reasons qualified professionals get overlooked — and exactly what to do instead.
What we cover:
Why 98% of people fail interviews — and it has nothing to do with their resume

How to tell your professional story in a way that makes hiring managers lean in

The difference between listing tasks and communicating impact (and why it matters)

Three questions that will completely change how you talk about your accomplishments

What thank you emails actually signal to a hiring manager

How to track your wins so you're never caught off guard in a review, interview, or promotion conversation

Why staying in the background is quietly killing your career growth

If you've ever walked out of an interview feeling like you didn't do yourself justice, or watched someone less qualified get the opportunity you deserved, this episode is for you.
What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?
🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course
About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg
Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.
☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up
Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?
Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_
Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_ 
About Nicholette Y. Hemingway 
Nicholette is the founder of Nike H Speaks LLC, where she helps professionals with interview preparation, résumé writing, and career coaching. She is an Amazon #1 best-selling author, a retired Commander in the U.S. Public Health Service, and has spent more than 20 years serving on interview panels. Through her workshops and coaching, she helps military service members, students, and working professionals show up with more confidence in high-stakes career moments. 
Learn more at http://www.nikehspeaks.com/

Too many people wait until work becomes unbearable before they start looking, and that is how smart professionals end up making desperate career moves. I have seen it happen over and over again. A toxic boss, a role that stopped fitting, a project that drains you, and suddenly you are trying to escape fast instead of thinking clearly.
A strong job search starts long before you hit that breaking point. I walk through how to define what actually matters to you, how to build your personal brand, how to identify target roles and target companies, and how to use networking and internal mobility to create better options. The goal is not just to get out. The goal is to make a smarter move.
This is for anyone who knows something at work is off, but does not want to panic quit and end up in the same situation somewhere else. If you want a more strategic job search, a clearer career direction, and a better way to evaluate your next opportunity, start here.
Inside this episode
How to know you are waiting too long to start a job search

Why your personal brand matters before you apply anywhere

How to define your passion statements and unique value

Better interview questions to test company culture and job fit

Why networking is the most important part of a job search

How internal mobility can help you leave a bad role faster
What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?
🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course
About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg
Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.
☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up
Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?
Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_
Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

Qualified professionals are getting rejected for jobs they should absolutely be landing. That's why I wanted to chat with fellow career coach Irina Posan. We've both seen too many smart, ambitious professionals treat interviews like a memory test instead of a strategy exercise. Irina knows this world well as a former HR director and the host of the Career Cravings podcast. In our conversation, we get into why overpreparing can actually hurt your interview performance, how candidates lose clarity under pressure, and what it really takes to stand out in a crowded job market.
We also talk about the mindset shifts that matter before you ever apply, including how to get clear on the right role, how to communicate your value without sounding rehearsed, and why hard work alone is not enough if you want to get promoted. Irina shares her Top Five Story Method for interview preparation, plus a powerful reminder that career growth often comes down to visibility, advocacy, and relationships. If you are job searching, preparing for interviews, or trying to position yourself for your next promotion, this is the kind of career advice that can change the way you approach your next move.
In this episode, we discuss:
• Why do qualified candidates still fail interviews?
• How can I stand out in a competitive job market?
• What is the best way to prepare for interview questions?
• Why does overpreparing make interviews worse?
• How do promotions really happen at work?
What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?
🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course
About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg
Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.
☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up
Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?
Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_
Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_
About Irina Posan

A career coach with 15 years of HR experience, including leading Recruitment and Talent Management teams. She brings insider insight into what it really takes to get hired, earn promotions, and succeed in leadership roles. From securing highly coveted job offers to advancing within competitive organizations, she helps ambitious professionals navigate every stage of career growth.
Website: https://www.irinaposan.com/ 
Instagram: @careercoachirina 
 
Podcast Produded by Daniela Albertina

Applying to more jobs is not the answer if your search has no strategy behind it.
Too many smart professionals spend weeks applying, tweaking, and refreshing their LinkedIn profiles, yet still feel nothing is moving. In this episode, I talk about why a scattered job search creates more frustration, not better results, and what to focus on instead if you want to land the right role.
I walk through the three parts of your search you can actually control: how many jobs you apply to, how tailored your resume is, and how intentional your networking outreach is. I also share why I want you to stop casting such a wide net, why LinkedIn Easy Apply can pull you off track, and how to build real name recognition with hiring managers and recruiters through thoughtful outreach.
🎯 What you'll learn:
→ Why applying to 8 quality jobs beats applying to 80 
→ How to use LinkedIn to get referrals (step-by-step) 
→ Why LinkedIn Easy Apply may be hurting your chances 
→ How to tailor your resume with job-specific keywords 
→ What makes a company the right fit — beyond the salary
Resources Mentioned
LinkedIn outreach scripts: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-my-networking-guide-now-p9qvc7eg 

My course with a job application tracker

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?
🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course
About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg
Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.
☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up
Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?
Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_
Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_