Angel Rush – The Pivot Paradox: Unraveling Career Transitions and Making Bank

Transcript

Welcome to the show, Angel.

It's so nice to have you here.

We were talking a little bit before we got started about the fact that you retired four years early from the Air Force.

That's pretty impressive.

So I'd like you to tell us all about what you're doing and you maybe want to start with.

So you retired four years early.

Pretty cool.

Well, thank you so much, Jill.

I'm really excited to be here with you today.

The four years early actually is just, you know, I feel blessed honestly, for that to even come into play.

So as you said, I was in the airport.

For 16 years and during that time I kind of was trying to find myself.

I I love being in the Air Force.

I had many jobs the first four years.

I was a command post controller and an emergency actions controller.

So like following all kinds of cool aircraft and all that good stuff.

But four years into it, actually two years into it, I decided to get married and start a family and all that.

And so I'm like, you know what, this job isn't really.

To do so, So what can I do to to switch it up a little bit?

So I retrained became a dental lab technician.

I did that for a number of.

Years and absolutely hated that job.

It was just like the worst job ever.

You're literally sitting behind a bench in a lab all day and just grinding on porcelain, waxing crowns and dentures.

You're changing people's lives, which is what I love to do, but I just didn't like the job.

So, Fast forward I was basically running from dental lab and was applying for any special duty that would have me and that's where I fell into recruiting and that is really where I found my love.

It literally like a just a light just switched on inside of me like this is what I'm supposed to be doing and what was special.

About what I was doing at that time, the age group that I was working with was about 17 to 27. So running into individuals same as me didn't really know what they wanted to do with their lives.

Some of it was financial.

They wanted to go to college, but they didn't have the the funds to do that and I was able to coach them into joining the Air Force and helping them to be successful.

Even after they joined, and that passion really stuck with me like it's some it's one of those things I just couldn't shake.

I didn't know what it was going to look like on the other.

Provide, but Fast forward got the opportunity to retire early under a temporary early retirement authority, which was awesome, and I took it and ran with it.

No backup plan, no money saved like my kids went to stay with my mom and my dad for a year.

I lived with my cousin.

I was like, I'm just gonna to take this leap of faith.

So got out, retired.

And really, what started what I'm doing now is me trying to find a job when I got out.

So when you get out of the Air Force.

They have this thing called Transition Assistance program and you know, and they're like, oh, my gosh, everyone loves veterans.

Everyone's gonna want to hire you because you're you.

You're a recruiter, and it's gonna be so easy.

And it was not easy.

I was applying for jobs.

It was like throwing spaghetti at a wall.

No one was calling me back.

And it was difficult and the way I was finally able to land a job was actually through networking.

I went to a networking event.

I met someone who knew someone who knew someone, and that's how I got a job.

My first job was a corporate recruiter, and once I got in the door, I learned all the, you know, the behind the scenes, INS and outs of what goes on in the hiring process.

This and as I learned that I was like, there's so much that the regular day-to-day person doesn't know.

And I committed my life to helping individuals land those jobs by creating customized strategies for them as well as kind of teaching them the behind the scenes of the hiring process.

Wow, that's a lot when you're talking about learning the behind the scenes for for the HR departments and getting high.

That's gotta be so fascinating.

What is like, what is?

The one big secret we all need to know.

Oh my gosh, there are so.

Many. Oh my God.

I can imagine I.

Mean we've, we've.

Gone from, you know, you looked in the.

Newspaper or through you?

Went to a headhunter or something back in the day and now it's everything.

'S online and it's.

I would say, well, I always kind of start with the resume as far as something tactical to take your address off, you know it seems so simple, but people are still putting their addresses on there and unfortunately there are hiring managers or even some recruiters that may make a decision for you.

They may say, oh, you live too far away from the office.

Not going to want to drive.

Or they'll actually look up your neighborhood.

Unfortunately, there's a lot.

Of it.

Shouldn't be that way, but the reality is it, it is happening.

So in order to prevent that from happening, that's one of the things that I tell India.

But even with knowing all of that, I would take it away.

I wouldn't even lean so much on the secret, but just the confidence in knowing who you are.

That's what you need to get through this process, because there are there's so much information out there, man.

I could go all day about that, but what you really need to do is be confident in your skills.

Be able to translate those skill.

And once you get in front of the hiring manager or recruiter, just being able to express those skills that would cause you could get caught up in.

And I talked to some of my clients about this.

Oh my gosh, they're discriminating against me or they're not gonna hire me.

I don't have these qualifications.

You gotta get all of that out of your head and be confident that you are the person for the job.

And what's for you is for you, and no one can take that away.

So that would probably be the biggest secret, if anything, is just to have that confidence within yourself.

And where would you say people need to go when it comes to finding jobs, I mean?

Do do they talk to you?

Do you help them to find a job or do you just help them package themselves?

For the interview.

Right.

So what I do is pretty comprehensive.

So what I start with honestly is just helping get clarity around what it is that you want because a lot of times individuals are doing what they think society wants them to do or they think what their mom wants them to do.

So before we talk about where to go find a job, let's really, really get clear about what it is that what's important to you.

Is being able to wake up in the morning and exercise and meditate, you know, and have a morning routine.

Is that important for you?

It's an important for you to be able to take your kids to school.

It's an important for you to be able to go on.

Really nice vacations.

Take care of your aging parents.

Like what's important to you?

And then we could figure out where to go.

You know?

Of course, there's LinkedIn.

Indeed, there's all of these great job boards out there, but until you get clarity about what you want to do and why you want to do it, then we can start, uh, working on a customized.

Strategy for you?

I think that's good advice, not only for people that are trying to find an employer, but for people that are hanging out their own shingle.

I mean, there are so many coaches out there that are they just want to help everybody do everything, but they lack the clarity on what exactly it is that they're providing for.

And that's why I was over on your website.

I was just like, man, this girl, she's got it nailed.

She knows exactly what she does.

She knows exactly how she helps people.

And you know, people know when they.

Need to that it's true.

But it's funny because.

They really do.

They're they feel like they're just throwing spaghetti at a wall.

They're trying all the things.

They're looking at the YouTube videos.

There's so much information out there, it's really hard to digest at all.

At the end of the day, I know individuals that are applying for hundreds of jobs.

I did.

It just not realizing that my resume wasn't where it needed to be #1, but just not really understanding how the system itself worked.

Applying for jobs or even getting to the interview process and not understanding why you're getting to us to the recruiter screen, but you're not making it to the panel interview.

But there's so much information out there you can Google how to write a resume.

I mean really ChatGPT can write something for you, but if you don't understand what's behind, why? What the hiring manager is looking for, you're just putting random props in there and that's where working with me comes into play is I really like get underneath. Like I'm gonna really dig to ask those questions.

I can look at a job description and understand what the hiring manager is looking for, and then again we'll come up with strategies.

We'll help you.

We'll help you tell your story.

We'll help you figure out your superpower.

All this Google and all this generic stuff against so much information out there.

But it doesn't help you get to your unique superpower.

And that's what I help individuals do.

And keywords people that think about keywords in terms of like blogging and getting found on search engines.

But more and more recruiters I think are looking at the keywords that you use in your resume and and matching it up with the things that they're asking for.

In in their job offer and being able to recognize those things, it it's not easy.

And having Someone Like You to just come alongside, I think is.

So crucial in today's job market, it's like if you're trying to get a job that's beyond, you know when you're just starting out, you really need somebody to teach you how to do these skills.

Because so how does how does your coaching look when you take on a client?

Yeah, so, So what I do, I've kind of talked about it just a little bit during our first session.

Well, let me back up a little bit.

I actually have a four month coaching program for individuals and so and it's broken down into three steps.

Step one is really that envisioning part.

That's where we get the clarity around what is it that you want to do, the why and all that.

Fun stuff.

And then we actually start to create the strategy in that that step one.

So again I'm asking really good questions.

You're taking a step to slow down and really think about what it is that that you want a Step 2 is really where we actually, you know, it's the meat of the program.

That's where we're rewriting your resume.

We are doing a lot of mock interviews.

I teach individuals how to network.

Again, you can Google a whole lot of templates, but you don't know it doesn't really help you understand the how.

So there again, there's a lot of information out there, but I really help individuals implement that and again they have access to my network as well.

I had one individual her goal.

Was actually to become a.

She was in higher education, so she was an admissions counselor, and she really wanted to move into the corporate world and become a learning and development specialist.

Which she had no experience doing whatsoever.

So again we took her through that, you know, getting clarity around what is it that you want to do?

She was actually on the fence between that and being a recruiter because she had known before or worked with me a little bit before we quickly decided recruiting is not for.

And then what I did, we created a network for her.

Of other individuals that were in that.

And that type of career field that she wanted.

But then what we did, I literally went through line by line.

Job descriptions.

Do you have these qualifications?

Do you have these skills, and if not, we came up with a plan for her to get these skills.

And I kid you not, within two months she had her first interview for a job that technically she had never done before.

That she was able to transform, transform and get that L&D job. Not only has she gotten that job, she kept interviewing because it wasn't quite what she wanted, and she finally got the dream job about two about a month and a.

Half ago and it hit the salary that she wanted as well.

And so that's step three is kind of where we bring step one and Step 2 together and that's executing.

So resume is good.

I'm walking you through how to apply what companies align with your vision, how to network with individuals that have previously worked at those companies.

So you can make sure that that company culture aligns to what you're looking for.

As well, and then at that point, we're just waiting on the on that final job offer.

I help with negotiation at the end and if there's time at the end of the four month program because some individuals, it doesn't take the whole 4 month.

I helped with the 1st 90 days and setting them up for success so that when it's time for performance review, annual reviews raises that they set themselves up properly for their career.

Wow, that's a lot.

Would you recommend that people start working with?

You before they jump.

Oh yes, absolutely, I.

But the ideal candidate should already be working in a job right now because it takes time.

A lot of times individuals will come to me, you know, after they've been laid off and it's like, don't wait until that happens.

Like you, you already feel that tug like I know I've been through this before. I worked for an organization and I was there for about 2 1/2 years and about the two year.

Mark something was telling me.

Angel, it's time to go.

But I love the company and I love the people.

And I'm like, no, they would never lay me off.

And I'm I'm Angel.

Like I'm irreplaceable.

And then I actually started, right, right.

I started interviewing for jobs and I actually got an offer from a company and I turned it down and literally a month after that I was laid off from that company.

So the good thing about it I was kind of putting my own practices in place by networking, keeping my resume up to date and all those things.

So literally I used my own coaching program and got a job in a month.

So that works for me, but I said all that to say, we typically can feel it like there's something that will pull.

So when you feel that that pull or that tug, something isn't quite right, that's when it's a good time to reach out to me and we can get started.

I would and then of course, if you have lost your job, we can accelerate it.

But I also like to tell individuals this is a marathon.

Anyone that's selling you on?

You can get a job.

And you know, three weeks or a month, it's possible anything is possible, but typically in this day and age and especially with the macro environment, the way it is right now, it takes time.

So you have to have that patience and you really have to be anchored in your values and the why, because that's going to carry you through those tough times.

So things move.

Fast right now.

That they moved so slow, yeah.

Hurry up.

And then we'll let you know.

Right.

And it could be like 20 days or it could be 3 months.

I've seen that in, in, in the market too.

And I think you're spot on when you talk about knowing what you want to do and where your where your superpower is because that just makes.

Everything so much.

Easier when you're working in.

Your zone of genius, as they say.

Yes, yes you are so right.

It really does.

Even for me when I'm coaching, it doesn't feel like work.

I do have a another nine to five job where I'm actually a recruiting manager for UM, a fintech company.

But what I'm doing coaching, it doesn't feel like work.

I can stay up all night.

I'm, you know, preparing, you know, presentations or workshops and all that.

It just, it feels good while I'm doing it and it's important because, you know, as a fairly new entrepreneur, it's tough.

You know I'm, you know, trying to hit the sales and all that.

So if I didn't genuinely care about people and really believe in what I'm doing.

I would have hung up my entrepreneur shoes like a long time ago, but that's really what keeps me going through these hard times.

It's what's your biggest.

Struggle when it comes to trying to transition from being an employee to being an entrepreneur because they're really different animals and I'd like your.

OK. And I'm.

Your thoughts on that?

I still struggle with this because I am a high.

And so I want to excel at my current job and you know, I'm so used to being that person.

The go to person whereas I'm trying to flip the switch like OK, this is what is financing your dream, you know?

And it causes me to operate a little differently at my current job, I do my job.

I do it well.

But I used to be one of those individual.

I'm staying online until, you know, 7-8 o'clock at night. I can't do that anymore. I have to shut it down at 5:00.

I have to set up those boundaries because it's my business is important.

If it's just as important, if not more than my corporate job.

To be honest, the dream is to be able to coach full time, you know.

And so that's the that's one of the biggest struggles for me because I I mentor at my corporate job, I give a lot of my stuff like, that's just who Angel Rush is.

Period outside of a corporate job or a company.

And so sometimes I'll find that I end up drained because I've given so much to the my corporate job versus and then my company gets the.

So I'm kind of working through that, just trying to set up really good boundaries like, hey, you're not, you're not, you know, cheating.

If you log off at 5 like your job is from, you know nine to five, log off at.

Five, it's OK so.

That is a.

Problem with overachievers?

Yeah, that's.

I feel like.

I have to give and give and give and then keep giving.

And maybe that wasn't enough.

Give some more.

It's never enough.

When really it was enough and you're just training your employer to expect you to do a lot more than what they're.

It rings.

Paying you for.

For and, it also makes the next person's job who comes along behind you exponentially more difficult.

Because there's expectations at a.

Certain level that most people aren't really willing to meet.

Right, I agree it it's something I would never tell my.

I literally coach people on how to set boundaries at work, which is crazy.

Because I've had.

Some of that with some of my clients.

But it's one of those things you can preach it all day, but when it's time for you to take the medicine, sometimes it's a little bit of a struggle.

But I am actively working on that.

Well, good for.

So you want to share some of your success stories?

Yes, absolutely.

So I spoke a little bit about 1:00 earlier.

Alana, there's actually on my Instagram and Facebook.

We did a whole interview, but basically that was the individual that went from an admissions counselor, and she's now a learning and development specialist making the money.

That's the most.

Well, not the most important thing, but that was a driving factor.

Really important.

For her?

Yeah, financial independence.

So she is thrilled.

She's one of my success stories.

But I had another one recently and it was an individual he did.

It was a.

It's a 2 hour intensive program that I have.

So my main offer is the four month coaching, but I also have a 2 hour package where we just it's intense.

We're going in, making sure your resume is good to go, interview prep and all that good stuff.

So he, I kid you not.

Redid his resume and I mean within two days he was getting calls and so he got an offer for a job.

More money than he's ever made before.

Got that job was shortly laid off.

That's how crazy the economy is.

Got the job, used the same resume.

The skills that I taught him his old job found out that he was back on the market and they've offered him more money.

So he has, like, doubled his salary just, but it's just little tweaks in how he was just accepting, just mediocre.

Mediocrity at the end of the day, I should say and it.

Was I'm like.

Why are you not asking for more money?

This is.

Crazy, but he's able to take care of his of his family.

He he walks different.

He talks different like he.

He's literally a different person, and what I like to to tell people it, this is just not about a career.

Like when you work with me, you're gonna find out some things about yourself that you didn't know.

Or maybe they were just really deeply hidden, like you are.

An amazing individual and I think people forget that they get so wrapped up in the day in and day out and taking care of family and kids and all that.

But you're amazing.

And when you feel that you're amazing, you show up different.

In an interview, you show up differently at work.

Now people that really wouldn't speak to him before they're asking him like, like, what's the change in you?

And he's referring, you know, his colleagues to me.

Yeah, it's, it's.

But that's how big the transformation was.

So I I recently had some clients, they made a little video just, you know, talking about their experience with me and they, like, nicknamed it the Angel Rush effect, it's like.

I love that.

Yes, but they really are just different people.

At the end of the day, they smile more it it.

That's the big thing for me.

I know it's, you know, I'm a career strategist and mindset coach and all that good stuff, but to see people feel so good about themselves, it that's what it's all about.

And then to be able to make a difference because it trickles down to their family, it trickles down to their friends and anyone that's in contact.

And so it's just an exponential, like exponential progress.

It's it's a beautiful thing.

It's what we're doing, you know.

As coaches so.

Change in the world one person at a time.

You just touch one person and that person has a ripple effect and it just keeps going out.

And that's what I love.

Why I love doing what I do is because I know.

That it's.

All these coaches are changing the world.

They're making the world a better place for everybody.

And as people will step into who they want to be and and and step into their superpowers and and make a difference in a way that makes.

Them feel good.

Then then they're gonna interact with people differently than if they're just stuck in a job that they.

8:00 but they have to stay there because you know they have to.

Make a certain amount.

Of money to continue living because of the way the world is set up right now.

So it's so.

So great that you're doing what you're doing.

I just.

I love that you're stepping out and you're helping people and making a huge difference in lives.

So how do people?

Well, let me ask you the the big question, what's the one thing you want people to take away from this conversation today?

I want them to take away that it's already in you.

You just need someone to kind of help.

Pull it out.

Resumes are easy.

Every everybody thinks that their resume is the problem.

Your resume is not the problem.

It's the easiest thing to fix.

But what you have is already in you, you just have to sit still, get quiet and really not let society or any external force.

Tell you what's right for you.

You have to understand what's right for you.

You have to identify.

Our values and then we can move forward with, you know, curating a strategy that will get you the career that you deserve.

But it really is about self-awareness and understanding what's right for you. So just take an inventory of of yourself.

That's really what I want individuals to get out of this and then of course I would love to help, you know, guide individuals.

As they go on this journey to get the career that they really, really desire.

That's awesome. And so.

How did they get ahold of you?

Sure. So hey, angel@angelscareerrehab.com, there's also my website, which is angels, careerrehab.com, Facebook.

Same tag Instagram is angels career and then under score rehab. And then I'm also on LinkedIn as angels careerrehab.com so I'm everywhere. But you know you can always just send aDM.

On any of those, on any of those social media platforms.

Perfect.

And we'll make sure that.

The links are in the episode notes below.

Thanks so much for joining us, Angel

It's been great chatting with you.

Thank you so much for having me.