Taking Control of Your Career: A Conversation with Madeline Mann
What if you stopped searching for a job and started SHOPPING for one?
Sounds a little strange, right?
But Madeline Mann makes a very good case for it.
In this episode of Bluestock Talk, Allison Komiyama catches up with her longtime friend Madeline, founder of Self Made Millennial and author of Reverse the Search. They talk about career changes, getting noticed for the work you actually do, and why you should think about your next opportunity BEFORE you need one.
Allison has been hearing from FDA colleagues navigating layoffs and career transitions. Madeline has advice for them and for anyone else who has ever looked at a job posting and thought, "Iām not sure I fit the criteria.ā
Madeline calls her approach "job shopping."
Employers aren't sitting on thrones handing down yes-or-no decisions. They're looking for the right person, too. Your job is to know what you bring and find a good match.
Along the way they discuss:
- Why personal branding can act like career insurance.
- How to build "digital proximity" before you need help.
- Madeline's 2-2-2 method for testing what works on LinkedIn.
- What to do BEFORE asking someone for 15 minutes of mentorship.
- The Barney method for cover letters and networking. Yes, the purple dinosaur. There may be singing. š
- How to quantify accomplishments when your work has nothing to do with sales.
- Why you need a running list of your wins.
- Where AI can help, and where it can produce absolute slop.
One line worth remembering: "Building a personal brand is the closest thing to placing an insurance policy on your career."
Your experience counts, whether it came from FDA, academia, industry, volunteer work, or somewhere else. Don't talk yourself out of its value. And a strong network isn't something you build in a panic.
Stay visible, stay curious, and keep in touch when things are going well.
And because Allison can't let anyone leave Bluestock Talk without talking about medical devices, Madeline shares her appreciation for portable breast pumps. That leads to a chat about working, traveling, nursing, and a bedazzled breast pump.
Naturally. š
CHAPTERS
00:02 Meet Madeline Mann
02:22 From job searching to job shopping
06:12 Stop saying "I just"
07:48 Personal branding and career security
11:02 Networking and digital proximity
12:14 LinkedIn's 222 method
17:09 Mentorship: Do your homework
21:39 The Barney method
26:46 Quantifying your experience
30:23 Keeping track of your wins
34:27 Using AI without losing your judgment
37:06 The medical device that changed Madeline's life
ABOUT MADELINE
Madeline Mann is a career expert, founder of Self Made Millennial, and author of Reverse the Search. Learn more:https://madelinemann.com/
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