My Career Journey

Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Careers

My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career journeys, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. In each episode, hosts Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari talk about their experiences switching careers, learn from others, and hopefully help you find happiness and success in your career journey. 🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms 📺 Subscribe on YouTube ✍️ Subscribe on Substack 📸 Follow on Instagram

  1. Deep dive: Networking (Part 1) | My Career Journey

    1d ago

    Deep dive: Networking (Part 1) | My Career Journey

    Curious about how to network and make new connections? Hosts Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari talk about what networking is, when to do it, who they connect with, their approaches to meeting and reaching out to new people, common mistakes and turnoffs, thought leadership, and more. ------ Highlights from this episode include: 0:00 - Intro 1:05 - Did you know - Interesting facts we found while researching 3:05 - Networking definition 3:34 - When we recommend networking 5:06 - Who we look to connect with and how 6:21 - Making new connections through groups and communities 7:33 - Making new connections though attending events 9:46 - How we define and do cold outreach, or messaging people without knowing them 11:23 - Framework for cold outreach 14:57 - Common mistakes and turnoffs while networking 18:42 - First impressions at events in person 20:01 - Thought leadership 25:42 - Final advice and closing ------ 🎙️My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career paths, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. Hosted by Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari. ------ 🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms 📺 Subscribe on YouTube ✍️ Subscribe on Substack 📸 Follow on Instagram

    27 min
  2. From music to tech to Hollywood actor | My Career Journey

    Jun 17

    From music to tech to Hollywood actor | My Career Journey

    Ever wondered what it’s like to be an actor in Hollywood? Guest Keisuke Hoashi has been in the business for over 30 years! He's done it all – commercials, films, TV shows, theatre, voiceovers, and much more. He’s also a writer and musician and co-founded a music camp where he was the musical theatre director and where he and My Career Journey co-host Emily Banzhaf met! In the episode, Keisuke shares how he broke into acting, how he built his network from scratch, how he learned how to act, the depth he goes to prep for an audition, tips on getting an agent, how he deals with nerves, and hilarious stories from set. He also talks about starting out in the arts, the importance of his father in his life and career, the jobs he worked until he was able to support himself as an actor, when he realized he loved acting, running the music camp, transferable skills, and much more. To check out his incredible body of work, go to www.hoashi.com or find him on all socials at Keisuke Hoashi: IMDB Wikipedia X (Twitter) Facebook Instagram LinkedIn ------ Highlights from the episode include: 0:00 - Episode intro 2:47 - Keisuke intro, background, and formative years in the arts 5:13 - Realization that he didn’t have what it took to be a professional trumpet player 5:55 - Parallel career as a performer 8:28 - Job at the NY State Government as a writer and graphic designer 9:31 - Setting low expectations 11:23 - The realization in 2nd grade that acting was something Keisuke loved to do 13:46 - Working in tech 19:43 - Moving to Hollywood to pursue acting 21:42 - Building a network in LA without knowing anyone 23:25 - Getting started acting in commercials 25:22 - Taking acting classes 27:37 - Types of training required for each type of acting 29:34 - What commercial acting is like 31:49 - Getting into film and TV 32:46 - Dealing with nerves and stage fright 38:09 - Being boxed into roles as an Asian American actor 40:26 - Sabrina the Teenage Witch 42:41 - Running into people when auditioning for roles and 2 chances Keisuke had to be the next Ken Jeong 44:44 - The importance of personal branding and Keisuke’s tagline #1 Asian Every-Man. 48:11 - Chair farting while playing Judge Lance Ito 48:54 - Favorite stories from set 53:51 - How Keisuke’s audition prep changes depending on what role he’s auditioning for. Talks through how he used his real life experience on his audition for Brooklyn Nine-Nine 58:27 - What Keisuke’s life looks like as an actor, balancing auditioning and working 1:00:52 - Getting creative with auditioning on the go and Keisuke’s experience generating work vs. going through an agent 1:02:09 - Tips for getting an agent and what not to do 1:07:00 - Advice for finding what fulfills you and what you really want to do 1:09:39 - Doing a 45-minute standup set at a camp concert that got delayed 1:11:36 - How Keisuke’s tech skills helped the camp he co-founded become successful 1:15:08 - Mentorship 1:20:18 - Closing

    1h 21m
  3. From retail to finance to education to Salesforce consultant | My Career Journey

    May 27

    From retail to finance to education to Salesforce consultant | My Career Journey

    Guest Nankya Senungi has been through multiple career shifts, layoffs, and other major changes, but her passion for helping people and positive outlook are two things that've stayed consistent throughout every transition. In the episode, Nankya talks about what it’s like to be a consultant and how she turned working with Salesforce into a career. She also talks about how faith influences her career, how she's navigated layoffs and turned them into opportunities, how she builds and nurtures relationships, her experience working with a career coach, and more. ------ Highlights from the episode include: 0:00 - Podcast and episode intro 2:00 - Nankya’s intro and career journey 4:47 - How faith influences Nankya’s career 6:41 - Navigating layoffs and what Nankya gained from it 12:29 - Advice for people going through layoffs 14:46 - Building and nurturing relationships 18:23 - What Salesforce is, training, 21:49 - What the Dreamforce event was like 24:04 - Salesforce training 26:26 - Motivation for starting a consulting business 29:25 - Working with a career coach 32:36 - Mindset in consulting vs. working for one client or company 35:34 - How Nankya learned the business side of consulting 37:47 - Advice on taking the next step in your career 38:54 - Closing out the episode ------ 🎙️My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career paths, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. Hosted by Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari. ------ 🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms 📺 Subscribe on YouTube ✍️ Subscribe on Substack 📸 Follow on Instagram

    40 min
  4. Deep dive: Personal branding | My Career Journey

    May 6

    Deep dive: Personal branding | My Career Journey

    Learn how hosts Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari approach personal branding. They talk about what it is, the biggest mistakes people make, how they define and how people know their personal brands, how they’ve navigated rebranding themselves in different points in their lives, and much more. ------ Highlights from this episode include: 0:00 - Intro 1:51 - Did you know - Facts we found while researching 2:54 - How we define personal branding 6:38 - Biggest mistakes people make with personal branding 13:01 - How we define our personal brands 14:50 - How people know our brands 20:15 - How we’ve navigated rebranding ourselves in different points in our lives 24:26 - Final advice and closing ------ 🎙️My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career paths, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. Hosted by Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari. ------ 🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms 📺 Subscribe on YouTube ✍️ Subscribe on Substack 📸 Follow on Instagram

    27 min
  5. Interview prep guide | Now on Substack! | My Career Journey

    Apr 15 ·  Bonus

    Interview prep guide | Now on Substack! | My Career Journey

    Check out our interview prep guide, now available on Substack! In the guide, you'll find: Our simple 4-step approach to interview prepHow to organize your interview prep informationWhat to research before the interviewWhere to find the informationQuestions to prepare forQuestions you can ask interviewersPrompts to help you write stories from your experienceA storytelling frameworkWays to practice interviewingAnd much more! ------ Here are the links to the deep dive episode this guide is based on: Podcast YouTube ------ 🎙️My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career paths, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. Hosted by Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari. ------ 🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms 📺 Subscribe on YouTube ✍️ Subscribe on Substack 📸 Follow on Instagram

    4 min
  6. Deep dive: Mentorship | My Career Journey

    Apr 1

    Deep dive: Mentorship | My Career Journey

    Learn how hosts Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari think about and approach mentorship. They cover what mentorship is, myths about mentorship, when to look for mentorship, what to look for in a mentor, how to find and reach out to mentors, signs a mentor may not be a good fit, what successful mentorship looks like, and much more. ------ Highlights from this episode include: 0:00 - Intro 1:02 - Did you know - interesting facts we found while researching 1:50 - What mentorship means to us 3:38 - Mentorship myths 5:56 - When we look for mentorship 7:39 - What we look for in a mentor 9:04 - How we’ve found mentors 10:21 - How we reach out to mentors 13:02 - How often we connect with mentors 14:38 - Who’s responsibility it is to drive the mentorship 15:20 - Signs a mentor may not be a good fit 16:27 - Bad mentorship experiences 19:26 - What a successful mentorship looks like 20:48 - Our mentorship experiences 23:47 - Learnings from being mentors 27:37 - Advice and closing ------ 🎙️My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career paths, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. Hosted by Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari. ------ 🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms 📺 Subscribe on YouTube ✍️ Subscribe on Substack 📸 Follow on Instagram

    30 min
  7. From nursing to conversation design | My Career Journey

    Mar 18

    From nursing to conversation design | My Career Journey

    Guest Marlinda Galapon has worked for some of the biggest companies in the world, including Yahoo, Salesforce, and Zendesk. However, the path to getting there wasn’t easy. She originally started in nursing and then realized that’s not what she wanted to do. So she dropped out and worked a mix of contract and odd jobs until she found a full-time job in tech as a conversation designer. It took her about 5 years to get where she wanted to go, but once she knew what she wanted to do, she never gave up. In the episode, Marlinda goes deep and talks about the impact of having an associate’s degree, navigating imposter syndrome, how she handles networking and putting herself out there as an introvert, what odd jobs she’s worked, the importance of mentorship and community, and much more. ------ Highlights from the episode include: 0:00 - Episode intro 2:06 - Marlinda’s career journey 5:29 - Self-consciousness about having an associate’s degree 7:15 - Paths into conversation design 8:57 - Motivation to keep pursuing conversation design 10:10 - Odd jobs in between contract jobs 14:47 - Navigating imposter syndrome 19:18 - Putting yourself out there as an introvert 22:08 - Navigating networking as an introvert 24:51 - Mentorship 27:25 - The feeling of not belonging in certain spaces and how to overcome that 29:53 - Finding community 31:25 - Keeping the joy alive in your career 32:12 - Advice for people considering a career change 34:27 - Closing out the episode ------ 🎙️My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career paths, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. Hosted by Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari. ------ 🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms 📺 Subscribe on YouTube 📸 Follow on Instagram

    35 min
  8. Deep dive: Giving and receiving feedback | My Career Journey

    Mar 4

    Deep dive: Giving and receiving feedback | My Career Journey

    Learn how hosts Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari approach giving and receiving feedback. They discuss the importance and impact of feedback, how to ask the right questions to get the feedback you need, practical frameworks for delivering constructive feedback, managing reactions after receiving feedback, and much more. ------ Highlights include: 0:00 - Introduction 1:27 - Did you know - Facts we found while researching 4:45 - Importance and impact of feedback in our careers 6:26 - Impact of feedback in our careers 9:20 - Culture of feedback in different spaces 13:58 - How we ask for feedback 16:18 - Asking the right questions to give you the feedback you need 18:25 - Mapping feedback to company goals 20:07 - Asking for feedback if you’re at an agency or freelancing 21:01 - Personal uses for feedback and collecting it as you go 22:06 - When to ask for feedback vs. when not to ask for it 24:12 - Reaction after receiving feedback 26:27 - Thanking people after receiving feedback 27:42 - Taking things personally 30:45 - Navigating conflicting feedback 34:00 - Framework for giving feedback 37:53 - Final thoughts and advice ------ 🎙️My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career journeys, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. Hosted by Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari. ------ 🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms 📺 Subscribe on YouTube 📸 Follow on Instagram

    40 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

My Career Journey is a podcast that highlights different career journeys, tackles tough topics, and shares actionable tips and insights. In each episode, hosts Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari talk about their experiences switching careers, learn from others, and hopefully help you find happiness and success in your career journey. 🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms 📺 Subscribe on YouTube ✍️ Subscribe on Substack 📸 Follow on Instagram

Information

  • Creator
    Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    17
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Emily Banzhaf and Allegra Montanari 2025
  • Show Website
    My Career Journey

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