100 episodes
Career Unicorns - Spark Your Joy Samorn Selim
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- Business
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5.0 • 76 Ratings
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I’m Samorn Selim. Welcome to the Career Unicorns - Spark Your Joy Podcast. I’m a lawyer turned career coach on a mission for us to take our careers from dread to joy. Growing up as the daughter of poor Lao refugees, I was the underdog. Against all odds, I made it to a top 10 law school and landed a job in Big Law. As an outsider, I was told that I was lucky to even be there and that I had to pay my dues. After coaching over 1,000 clients, I now realize that the idea that you have to pay your dues and work in a toxic place is a myth. We can face our challenges head on, do work we are passionate about, and work with good people to make a big impact. So even as we struggle, we can find a sense of belonging.
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How to put yourself out there and ask for the job you want even when it’s uncomfortable with Rupa Bhandari, VP of Legal Operations at Silicon Legal Strategy (Ep. 140)
Do you know that you’re supposed to ask your network to help you? But you don’t want to feel icky doing it? In this episode, we do a deep dive with Rupa on:
- How to share you're interested in a role even when it is uncomfortable.
- How informational interviews can lead you to your dream role.
- How to graciously ask your network to help you get introductions that can lead to job interviews.
- How to make an impact even when your department is under-resourced.
- How going to therapy can help you manage your new job and life changes.
Connect with Rupa at linkedin.com/in/rupabhandari.
Follow Samorn on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/samornselim.
Get a copy of Samorn’s book, “Belonging: Self Love Lessons From A Workaholic Depressed Insomniac Lawyer” at https://tinyurl.com/swpc578c.
Get weekly career tips by signing up for our advice column at www.careerunicorns.com. -
Fighting for marriage equality and having life unicorn adventures with Stuart Gaffney - marriage equality activist, filmmaker, and public health researcher (Ep. 139)
The Supreme Court rulings against the LGBTQAI2+ community is heartbreaking. During these dark times, it’s important to remind ourselves that we still have a voice and can fight for social justice.
In this episode with my lovely neighbor, Stuart Gaffney, we discuss:
- Creating life unicorn adventures by quitting your jobs and traveling with your partner for 365 days without social media.
- Growing up biracial and LGBTQ and the parallels between the movement for marriage equality for same-sex couples and that for interracial couples.
- How to navigate being a named plaintiff in a high profile case like the California Marriage Equality Act, and what you can do in the face of darkness when popular opinion is against who you are as a person.
- How vulnerable it feels to literally put your lives on the line, and how thinking “there are not enemies, only future allies” helped him maintain optimism.
- Why the recent Supreme Court rulings are wrong, and what you can do to continue to fight for justice and advocate for positive change.
- How to fight for justice while balancing having wonder and joy in life.
Learn more about Stuart at https://marriageequality.me/ and on social media.
Follow Samorn on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/samornselim.
Get a copy of Samorn’s book, “Belonging: Self Love Lessons From A Workaholic Depressed Insomniac Lawyer” at https://tinyurl.com/swpc578c.
Get weekly career tips by signing up for our advice column at www.careerunicorns.com.
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Managing the job search when you have been laid off, feel burnt out, or struggle with mental health with Samorn Selim, CEO of Career Unicorns - career coach for BIPOC, women, and first generation professionals (Ep. 138)
Have you been struggling with your job search? And you want to stop feeling stuck and frustrated, and land your dream job in the next 3 months?
In this episode, Samorn shares:
- Answers to the most commonly asked questions from working with over 1,000 clients.
- Why mental health is the most important thing to having a fulfilling life and career.
- What you can do to rebuild your life when it has been upended because of a mental illness like anxiety, depression, and bipolar.
- How you can manage your emotions and job search after a layoff.
- The number one strategy that makes the difference between a client who has a successful job search versus who isn’t.
- How you can stay consistent with your job search even when you’re dealing with fear, rejection, and burnout.
- Whether you should disclose your mental illness.
- How to network effectively to build a community.
Connect with Samorn at www.linkedin.com/in/samornselim.
Get a copy of Samorn’s book, “Belonging: Self Love Lessons From A Workaholic Depressed Insomniac Lawyer” at https://tinyurl.com/swpc578c.
To get weekly career tips, sign-up for our newsletter at www.careerunicorns.com.
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Happy Lao New year and connecting with our bodies to reduce anxiety and be more calm with Samorn Selim, Career Coach for BIPOC, women & first generation professionals (Ep. 137)
Sabai dee pii mai - Happy Lao New Year.
I've been hearing from friends and clients that they're feeling more stressed, anxious, and sometimes depressed.
Given what's going on in the world, it's not a surprise. So instead of the usual interview with guests, this episode is dedicated to reconnecting with our bodies and our breath.
- The meditation itself is less than 6 minutes (0.1 billable hours).
- If you want to skip straight to the meditation, it starts at 3:16.
- If you can't do the full meditation, then do 5 deep breaths (in through the nose, and out through the mouth) first thing in the morning, right before bed, and anytime you're feeling anxious.
I promise you'll start to notice a huge difference.
Connect with Samorn at www.linkedin.com/in/samornselim.
Get a copy of Samorn’s book, “Belonging: Self Love Lessons From A Workaholic Depressed Insomniac Lawyer” at https://tinyurl.com/swpc578c.
Get weekly career tips by signing up for our newsletter at www.careerunicorns.com. -
Being intentional with your career, making big career changes, and bouncing back from the techsession with Stephanie Kiman, Sr. Marketing Programs Manager at SAP (Ep. 136)
In this episode, we’re doing a deep dive with Stephanie Kiman (Sr. Marketing Programs Manager at SAP). We discuss:
- Why winging it in your career can work for a while, but ultimately will not lead to happiness or fulfillment.
- How the “techsession” led to unexpected layoffs and how to bounce back.
- Why making agreements with yourself ahead of time can help with making big career changes like moving to another city, changing to a different industry, and pivoting to a new specialization.
- How growing up with refugee parents from Cambodia created the pressure to make safe decisions.
- The importance of therapy in healing generational trauma and enjoying the luxury of taking calculated risks and going for your dreams.
- How to build an entirely new network when you move to a different city and industry.
- How working with a career coach can help you find your “why,” get clarity, and take action to achieve your dreams faster.
Follow Stephanie on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-kiman-1a90b17/.
Follow Samorn on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/samornselim/.
Get a copy of Samorn’s book, “Belonging: Self Love Lessons From A Workaholic Depressed Insomniac Lawyer” at https://tinyurl.com/swpc578c.
Get weekly career tips by signing up for our advice column at www.careerunicorns.com. -
Healing generational trauma as a Cambodian-American and finding courage to pursue your passion with Chhunny Chhean, Supervisory Attorney at Federal Aviation Administration (Ep. 135)
Do you want to be happy? But you’re afraid of making career changes? In this episode, we discuss:
- How to find happiness even in a career that is known to be soul sucking like law.
- What cooking can do to help us process generational trauma, including genocide by the Khmer Rouge.
- Discover the importance of embracing the complexities of your identities; Chhunny discusses the unique challenges and privileges faced by refugees and how to navigate them.
- How we come from refugee backgrounds but have different types of privileges.
- What we can do to process unexpected family deaths.
- How to take a leap of faith and make big career changes to pursue our passion and find happiness.
Mention this podcast and connect with Chhunny at www.linkedin.com/in/chhunny-chhean-a78473159.
Connect with Samorn at www.linkedin.com/in/samornselim.
Get a copy of Samorn’s book, “Belonging: Self Love Lessons From A Workaholic Depressed Insomniac Lawyer” at https://tinyurl.com/swpc578c.
Get weekly career tips by signing up for our newsletter at www.careerunicorns.com.
Customer Reviews
Great content!
I loved the episode featuring Jennifer Franklin! Great conversation and information.
A Must-Hear for Any Professional
Absolutely love this podcast! This podcast showcases fresh voices (especially from minorities) in the professional world that we've been long waiting to hear. It is loaded with insights on how to navigate being a professional when that world intersects with unspoken issues about mental health and being a minority. Samorn is unafraid to open up about her vulnerabilities and to ask her guests deep questions that many are too afraid to ask but need to hear. It is in this way that she shows her fierceness and strength, and that we can do the same. I highly recommend it!
Very applicable
Love this! Samorn is fiercely competent and is able to carve out a name for herself in her world. I love that she’s taking the time to share this knowledge