Propelling Careers

Lauren Celano
  • 4.8 (6)
  • Careers
  • Updated Weekly

Lauren Celano, CEO of Propel Careers and Jim Gould, the Director for Postdoctoral Affairs at Harvard Medical School, launched this podcast as a way for us to share our advice, insights, and reflections to help others navigate their careers. This podcast provides insights regarding career advice to help listeners navigate career choices and become more confident in their decisions. We look forward to busting myths and providing real life, timely, and accurate advice. Jim and Lauren work heavily with Ph.D. trained scientists, but the advice we provide can be applicable to other audiences.

  1. 5d ago

    Ep 108: Recharging and Reinvigorate your Career Exploration during the summer slowdown - Propelling Careers Podcast

    The start of summer marks a turning point in the year.  This can be a great time to reflect and refocus and recharge. In this episode, we focus on tips including these below, to help you leverage the summer time, especially if you are in a career search.  Often, the summer is less busy with work meetings, conferences, and other work obligations, therefore you may have more time to focus recharging andreflection. We hope you find this helpful and that you enjoylistening.  Reflect on what work gave you energy and joyReflect on what work consistently drained you  Reflect on when you felt most usefulReflect on what you procrastinated on even when you had time to do the work Disconnect/unplug with intentionPay attention to moments of curiosity especially during downtimeConnect with your network - outside of work activities and for funEngage in Informational interviews since people you want to connect with may have more time over the summer toconnectWork on your resume - does it truly reflect who you are and where you want to go?Work on your LinkedIn profile - does it truly reflect who you are and where you want to go? Post a few times on LinkedIn to let your network know what you are up toLearn something new Lauren Celano, CEO of Propel Careers and Jim Gould, the Director for Postdoctoral Affairs at Harvard Medical School,launched this podcast as a way for us to share our advice, insights, and reflections to help others navigate their careers.   As we develop new episodes, this podcast will provide insights regarding career advice to help listeners navigate career choices and become more confident in their decisions. We look forward to busting myths and providing real life, timely, and accurate advice. Jim and Lauren work heavily with Ph.D. trained scientists, but the advice we provide can be applicable to other audiences. We hope you enjoy listening!

    35 min

  2. May 29

    Ep 107: Building your Target List - Propelling Careers Podcast

    In many of Jim and Lauren’s coaching discussions, the topic of building a target list to identify organizations of interest comes up. This seems to happen regardless of the original focus of the coaching session. Since so many people are not sure how to build this. By developing a target list, you may increase your chances of identifying opportunities.  We have covered this topic as part of a few episodes, but we have not done one just on this topic, therefore we decided to dothis episode specifically on this topic.  We hope you find this helpful and that you enjoy listening.    Why are we doing this episode:  What do you mean by target list The target list advice can be used to build a list of organizations, as well as a list of titles and also a list of people to connect with  Why is this important Strategies to build your target list Once you have your target list, how can you use it    Lauren Celano, CEO of Propel Careers and Jim Gould, the Director for Postdoctoral Affairs at Harvard Medical School,launched this podcast as a way for us to share our advice, insights, and reflections to help others navigate their careers.   As we develop new episodes, this podcast will provide insights regarding career advice to help listeners navigate career choices and become more confident in their decisions. We look forward to busting myths and providing real life, timely, and accurate advice. Jim and Lauren work heavily with Ph.D. trained scientists, but the advice weprovide can be applicable to other audiences. We hope you enjoy listening!

    41 min

  3. May 21

    Ep 106: Fighting the overwhelm: how to get started - Propelling Careers Podcast

    Jim and Lauren have had many discussions recently where people we speak with just feel overwhelmed in their job search / career navigation.  Therefore, we thought we would do this episode to try to give advice for how to overcome the overwhelming feeling.  We cover points including these below. We hope you enjoy listening.    Set small goalsTake an inventory of what you have access to: Don’t do your search aloneTry to cross things off your listKeep track of progressFocus only on what you can control, keep it simpleBe intentionalProtect and replenish your energy  Lauren Celano, CEO of Propel Careers and Jim Gould, the Director for Postdoctoral Affairs at Harvard Medical School,launched this podcast as a way for us to share our advice, insights, and reflections to help others navigate their careers.   As we develop new episodes, this podcast will provide insights regarding career advice to help listeners navigate career choices and become more confident in their decisions. We look forward to busting myths and providing real life, timely, and accurate advice. Jim and Lauren work heavily with Ph.D. trained scientists, but the advice we provide can be applicable to other audiences. We hope you enjoy listening!

    38 min

  4. May 13

    Ep 105: Questions from Jim’s talks at MGH, AAI and Beth Israel - Propelling Careers Podcast

    In this episode, we will talk about a few more of Jim’s recent talks at MGH, AAI’s IMMUNOLOGY 2026 conference and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.  The talk at Beth Israel was Jim’s talk, “Self-work to Network”  and the talks at MGH and activities at AAI Immunology 2026 focused on resumes and CV’s.  We hope you enjoy listening.    Questions from Jim’s talk at BIDMC include: I feel my self-worth, but as a postdoc, it's one of the most underappreciated (especially financially) jobsthat we are a part of, Do you have insights?  What types of elevator pitches should we be preparing for different situations? How do you build connections that last and build without bothering/burdening them? How do you build your reputation and increasevisibility? How can we showcase ourselves to the non-scientific audiences?  I have a very broad network, but it's tough to stay in touch with everyone, do you have any advice? Resume advice   For how to make a strong first impression.To showcase YOU and your skills/experience.To tailoring your resume and CV to the jobFormatting advice    A few questions that came up from the MGH andAAI activities   How much effort do I put into LinkedIn?How to Networking efficiency?  Lauren Celano, CEO of Propel Careers and Jim Gould, the Director for Postdoctoral Affairs at Harvard Medical School,launched this podcast as a way for us to share our advice, insights, and reflections to help others navigate their careers.   As we develop new episodes, this podcast will provide insights regarding career advice to help listeners navigate career choices and become more confident in their decisions. We look forward to busting myths and providing real life, timely, and accurate advice. Jim and Lauren work heavily with Ph.D. trained scientists, but the advice weprovide can be applicable to other audiences. We hope you enjoy listening!

    42 min

  5. May 7

    Ep 104: Defining career and professional success - Propelling Careers Podcast

    In episode 102, the topic of defining success came up while we were discussing Jim’s recent talk at Wheaton College.Since this is such an important topic, and one that can be very personal and individualized, we decided to do a podcast focused on defining success. We hopeyou enjoy listening.    Why we feel this is important   How do you know where you’re going if you never define the destination? What is important to you personally? What is important to you professionally? Keep in mind, what Success looks like might change over time as your career and life develops Separate happiness from successSeparate self worth from successDefine what success looks like for you - what are your guiding principles  Build in accountability Celebrate success otherwise it feels like you’re constantly chasing  Lauren Celano, CEO of Propel Careers and Jim Gould, the Director for Postdoctoral Affairs at Harvard Medical School,launched this podcast as a way for us to share our advice, insights, and reflections to help others navigate their careers.   As we develop new episodes, this podcast will provide insights regarding career advice to help listenersnavigate career choices and become more confident in their decisions. We look forward to busting myths and providing real life, timely, and accurate advice. Jim and Lauren work heavily with Ph.D. trained scientists, but the advice weprovide can be applicable to other audiences. We hope you enjoy listening!

    32 min

  6. Apr 28

    Ep 103: Self-work to Network - Jim’s recent talk at the 3rd Annual New Mexico Postdoc Research Symposium - Propelling Careers Podcast

    In this episode, we will focus on a few more of  Jim’s recent talks. He has been busy over the last few weeks talking at places such as Wheaton College, the 3rd Annual New Mexico Postdoc Research Symposium and MGH. During this talk in New Mexico, Jim covered these points below.  We hope you enjoy listening.    What were you talking about at the 3rd Annual New Mexico Postdoc Research SymposiumWhat is the talk “From Self-work to Network: A Postdoc Adventure” aboutNormalizing difficulty and resolving conflictBuilding situational and self awareness Inventorying superpowers, subtle powers, and transferable skillsReframing your storyNetworking and outreach  Lauren Celano, CEO of Propel Careers and Jim Gould, the Director for Postdoctoral Affairs at Harvard Medical School,launched this podcast as a way for us to share our advice, insights, and reflections to help others navigate their careers.   As we develop new episodes, this podcast will provide insights regarding career advice to help listeners navigate career choices and become more confident in their decisions. We look forward to busting myths and providing real life, timely, and accurate advice. Jim and Lauren work heavily with Ph.D. trained scientists, but the advice weprovide can be applicable to other audiences. We hope you enjoy listening!

    35 min

  7. Apr 21

    Ep 102: Jim’s talk on Organizational Behavior - Propelling Careers Podcast

    In this episode, we will focus on one of Jim’s recent talks. He has been busy over the last few weeks talking at places such as Wheaton College, the 3rd Annual New Mexico Postdoc Research Symposium and MGH. We are looking forward to this discussion and we hope you enjoy listening.    Point Jim Covered during his talk at Wheaton College   Know Thyself: What leadership strategies help create a strong and collaborative culture in research teams?Leadership & Culture: privilege, diversity, leadership style, psychological safetyFostering/creating Culture and group dynamicsHandling pressure and uncertaintyMotivating and engaging employeesConflict resolution  Lessons learned Jim talked about Don’t ask anything of anyone without being willing/able to do it yourselfDon’t let perfect be the enemy of good Don’t do it alone if you don’t have to; Ask for help, share the load/accountabilityIt’s almost never about the work, it’s about the people doing the work…check in with themRemember, you have agency, power, and choices  Career Advice He Covered What advice can you share about navigating the grad school process after college?What are some challenges graduates face after completing their PhDs, and how can universities better support them?What advice would you give students about building careers that are both successful and personally meaningful?    Lauren Celano, CEO of Propel Careers and Jim Gould, the Director for Postdoctoral Affairs at Harvard Medical School,launched this podcast as a way for us to share our advice, insights, and reflections to help others navigate their careers.   As we develop new episodes, this podcast will provide insights regarding career advice to help listeners navigate career choices and become more confident in their decisions. We look forward to busting myths and providing real life, timely, and accurate advice. Jim and Lauren work heavily with Ph.D. trained scientists, but the advice weprovide can be applicable to other audiences. We hope you enjoy listening!

    29 min

  8. Apr 10

    Ep 101: Advice for building your personal brand on LinkedIn - Propelling Careers Podcast

    In this episode, Jim and Lauren focus on advice relating to building your personal brand on LinkedIn. In Feb 2026 Lauren gave two talks at the Transition to Industry Event organized by the Torrey Pines Training Consortium including one on building your brand on LinkedIn. This podcast covers questions that she received during this talk including onesbelow.  This event was developed for early career scientists who are thinking of transitioning to a career in industry. We hope you enjoy listening.    What should I do with my profile if I am not actively looking for a job at the moment For mid-career professionals who are quietly exploring industry roles, how do you balance visibility with discretion?Does it matter how many connections a person has on LinkedIn? Is the summary/about section absolutely necessary in LinkedIn?  I’ve noticed these LinkedIn research summaries highlight recent or most current roles. How would you incorporate skills learned in past experiences (undergraduate or prior) briefly in a personal summaryHow important is using a work banner or emojis in a profile? What is actually necessary for a personal brand? Could writing your hobbies into the LinkedIn profile sometimes also come off as unprofessional?Do you recommend listing certifications related to things you are interested in on LinkedIn? Will it give you a leg up? How often do recruiters contact grad students and postdocs? I've heard it's more common at higher levelsDoes the recruiter see our job score?  Do recruiters see How many jobs we applied forCan recruiters see how many responses we got back?  Lauren Celano, CEO of Propel Careers and Jim Gould, the Director for Postdoctoral Affairs at Harvard Medical School,launched this podcast as a way for us to share our advice, insights, and reflections to help others navigate their careers.  As we develop new episodes, this podcast will provide insights regarding career advice to help listeners navigate career choices and become more confident in their decisions. We look forward to busting myths and providing real life, timely, and accurate advice. Jim and Lauren work heavily with Ph.D. trained scientists, but the advice we provide can be applicable to other audiences. We hope you enjoy listening!

    40 min
See All (108)

Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Lauren Celano, CEO of Propel Careers and Jim Gould, the Director for Postdoctoral Affairs at Harvard Medical School, launched this podcast as a way for us to share our advice, insights, and reflections to help others navigate their careers. This podcast provides insights regarding career advice to help listeners navigate career choices and become more confident in their decisions. We look forward to busting myths and providing real life, timely, and accurate advice. Jim and Lauren work heavily with Ph.D. trained scientists, but the advice we provide can be applicable to other audiences.

Information

  • Creator
    Lauren Celano
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    108
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Lauren Celano
  • Show Website
    Propelling Careers

You Might Also Like