My Day Job

Vivian Man
  • 5.0 (3)
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  • Updated Monthly

The work and life podcast for Asian professionals navigating modern careers

  1. Sep 29

    Episode 26: A Life in Change

    Jay Kiew has helped more than 50,000 leaders navigate change, but he's been living it his whole life. Over lychee Hi-Chew, we talk about guiding his blind dad through Singapore, moving eight times before age 12, surviving eye cancer as a baby and betting on himself with a mortgage on the line. Jay also gets real about losing his confidence on stage, being one of the few Asian speakers in the room and raising daughters who know they can figure things out. Connect with Jay • Book: Change Fluency: A Playbook for Leading Through Disruption • Website: changefluency.com • Instagram: @changefluency • LinkedIn: Jay Kiew • YouTube: @ChangeFluency Mentioned in this episode • Shawn Kanungo, innovation strategist and keynote speaker • Jerry Won, speaker coach and founder of World Class Speakers

    Episode 26: A Life in Change

  2. Aug 31

    Episode 25: Startups at 9, Stand-up at night

    What happens when your day job is helping tech startups grow and your night job is making strangers laugh? Meet Bradley Fung, Education Program Manager at New Ventures BC and stand-up comedian who won Canada's Next Best Comic at the Sorry Comedy Festival. From growing up as a shy kid in East Van to performing at Just for Laughs Vancouver, Bradley shares how he balances two very different worlds, lessons he’s learned along the way, and the one flop that still haunts him today. I don’t think I’ve laughed so much interviewing a guest before. Hope you’ll get some chuckles listening to this episode! Bradley’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bjfung3/ Buds and Suds Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/budsandsudscomedy/

    Episode 25: Startups at 9, Stand-up at night

  3. Jul 31

    Episode 24: In-Between and Free

    This week's guest, Lisa Nakamura Durrell, has spent her career finding the human story hiding inside every industry – food, TV, brand work, you name it. In our conversation, she takes me back to her childhood in Calgary, split between Vietnamese, Japanese, and Canadian worlds, and walks through the unlikely chain of events that got her a spot on a national cooking show. We also talk honestly about ambition after motherhood, what she's still trying to figure out now, and why she'd rather measure her life day by day than chase one big legacy.

    Episode 24: In-Between and Free

  4. Jul 1

    Episode 23: Reclaiming Roots

    In this episode of My Day Job, I sit down with Vanny Whitchelo — host of Khmer Voices podcast, and co-founder and director of the Cambodian Cultural Centre in British Columbia. Vanny arrived in Canada from a refugee camp at just three years old. Her journey since then has been anything but linear. From navigating identity as a Cambodian-Canadian teenager, to a winding career through communications, nonprofit work, social media, and eventually finding her way back to her roots through cultural advocacy and storytelling.

    Episode 23: Reclaiming Roots

  5. May 31

    Episode 22: When Purpose Finds You First

    Nhu is the founder of Nhu Design Studio, where she helps mental health coaches, somatic healers, and wellness practitioners build brands rooted in real story. But before any of that made sense, she was a sixteen-year-old exchange student landing in California with a new American name, a fearless attitude, and zero plan beyond wanting to see a bigger world. Her path from there was anything but linear. From community college in San Jose with some twists and turns that made a pandemic-era logo challenge on Instagram into a business. In this episode, we talk about what it feels like when purpose arrives before you're ready for it, the loneliness of entrepreneurship nobody warns you about, why branding is really about listening, starting therapy as an Asian woman, and why she stopped going by Nina and reclaimed her Vietnamese name. We also get into what success actually means when you strip away the highlight reel. And for Nhu, it has nothing to do with designer bags.

    Episode 22: When Purpose Finds You First

  6. Apr 30

    Episode 21: Growth Through Life's Unexpected Transitions

    Kathryn Chao is a group benefits consultant with 16+ years in the industry and principal advisor at JM Group Benefits Consultants. In this episode, we're snacking on childhood crackers and getting into the stuff that doesn't make it onto a LinkedIn profile - growing up in Richmond with a strict mom, stumbling into insurance through a summer job, moving to LA during COVID as a self-described introvert, and ultimately coming back to Vancouver to build her own business. Kathryn also opens up about navigating divorce and the practices that helped her come back to herself through therapy, boundaries, solitude, and gratitude. This one's a reminder that your career path and your life path are the same path.

    Episode 21: Growth Through Life's Unexpected Transitions

  7. Mar 31

    Episode 20: Freedom to be - From the Philippines to Canada

    What does it actually mean to be free to be yourself? Alan Yuarata grew up in a rural village in the Philippines, lost his father when he was young, and won a national writing award at 17. In 2010, he moved to Canada and started over. Today, he helps run one of Canada’s busiest airports and he’s also a published children’s book author. In this episode, Alan shares how moving to Canada gave him the space to build a life, embrace his identity as a gay man, and write something he once thought he’d never share.

    Episode 20: Freedom to be - From the Philippines to Canada

  8. Mar 1

    Episode 19: From Corporate Life to Building Businesses

    What happens when the “stable” path starts to feel… unsustainable? In this episode, I sit down with Melissa Ng, a CPA-turned-entrepreneur who went from corporate finance (including mergers & acquisitions) to building multiple six- and seven-figure businesses. She eventually co-founded Amplify, where she helps creator-entrepreneurs scale with sustainable systems and virtual events. Over snacks and plenty of real talk, Melissa shares what actually pushed her to explore entrepreneurship, why she doesn’t recommend quitting your 9–5 too early, and how her upbringing in a traditional Asian household shaped her relationship with risk, success, and self-belief. If you’ve been quietly wondering if there’s another way to build a career and a life that actually fits, this one’s for you! 🎧 Listen now and share this episode with a friend who’s been thinking about starting “the thing.”

    Episode 19: From Corporate Life to Building Businesses
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

The work and life podcast for Asian professionals navigating modern careers

Information

  • Creator
    Vivian Man
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    27
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    My Day Job