Referrals Are a 20X Advantage: How Networking, AI, and Smart Strategy Create Luck in Today’s Brutal Job Market with Jeremy Schifeling

Referrals Are a 20X Advantage: How Networking, AI, and Smart Strategy Create Luck in Today’s Brutal Job Market with Jeremy Schifeling

Career expert Jeremy Schifeling says a referral used to give you a 10x edge in hiring. In today's AI-flooded job market, it's now 20x, because trust is the one thing a machine can't fake. In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Jeremy Schifeling, founder of The Job Insiders and best-selling author of the top LinkedIn and AI job-search books on Amazon, for a conversation about how to actually get hired when applying online has stopped working. Jeremy's story doesn't start with success. It starts with him, by his own admission, sucking at teaching. A kindergarten teacher in Bed-Stuy who once tried to win over a room of eighth graders with a Jeopardy game and got laughed out of the room, he learned the hard way that you have to understand people before you can lead them. That failure pushed him from the classroom to Teach For America, to Echoing Green and iMentor, to LinkedIn, and finally to building his own company helping the next generation find meaningful work. Ron and Jeremy compare notes from both sides of the table: what Jeremy hears from buried job seekers, and what Ron sees as a recruiter watching a thousand applications land in three days. They get into why referrals now matter more than ever, why introverts should reach out to geek out instead of network, and why social connection is as essential as a good diet. Tune in to hear Jeremy's challenge to treat 2026 the way the best of us treated 2006: go build your own luck. 🎙️ 00:39 Jeremy Schifeling on sucking at teaching and why that failure built his whole career 🧠 03:17 Why the people who pick the hard path tend to run everything later 🎒 10:18 The eighth-grade Jeopardy disaster that taught him to understand people before leading them 🛠️ 12:08 How running a school blog in Bed-Stuy quietly became a tech superpower 🚀 18:42 Leaving the safe path to bet on himself, ten years of mistakes and all 🪄 22:49 Turning workshops into a magic show instead of a lecture 📉 25:00 Two career experts compare notes on the toughest job market in years 🤝 32:44 Referrals jumped from a 10x to a 20x advantage, and AI is the reason 🌱 39:07 Why social connection is as essential to your life as a good diet 🧲 40:15 Reach out to geek out: networking advice for introverts who hate networking 💡 53:37 The Rondering: build your own luck and make the world a better place Links: Website: thejobinsiders.com [https://www.thejobinsiders.com/] LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/schifeling [https://www.linkedin.com/in/schifeling/] YouTube: youtube.com/@jobinsiders [https://www.youtube.com/@jobinsiders] Books: Jeremy's best-selling LinkedIn and AI job-search books on Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jeremy-Schifeling/author/B00AB7IEX2?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true] Reach out to Jeremy Schifeling, fellow LinkedIn nerd, to talk job searching, AI, and how to build your own luck. He would genuinely love to hear what you are seeing in the market, so connect with him on LinkedIn and keep the conversation going. Connect with Ron: www.linkedin.com/in/rapatalo [http://www.linkedin.com/in/rapatalo] Check Out Ron's Book: www.amazon.com/dp/1613431473 [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1613431473] Leverage Publishing Group: www.leveragepublishinggroup.com [http://www.leveragepublishinggroup.com/] Publish a Book That Matters: http://booksthatmatter.org [http://booksthatmatter.org/] Start a Podcast That Matters: http://podcastsmatter.com [http://podcastsmatter.com/] Go from Expert to Thought Leader: http://geniusdiscovery.org [http://geniusdiscovery.org/] For more great podcasts like this one, visit: https://podcaststhatmatter.org [https://podcaststhatmatter.org/]

Teamship Over Titles: Leading 150,000 People, Bringing the Human Back to HR, and Coming Full Circle with Dr. Patrick Fagan

Some leaders climb out of a system and never look back. Dr. Patrick Fagan climbed out of New York City Public Schools and came back to lead it. In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Dr. Patrick Fagan, Chief Talent and Human Resources Officer for New York City Public Schools, the largest school system in the nation, for a conversation about what it takes to lead people at a scale most of us will never touch. Born in London to Jamaican parents and raised in East Flatbush, Patrick is a K-12 product of the very schools he now serves. He walks Ron through the full arc: playing trumpet at JHS 285, learning a trade at William E. Grady, and the doctorate in industrial-organizational psychology that taught him to read workplace behavior like a scientist. Then he gets into the leadership. Why he traded "leadership" for "teamship" across his 10 executive directors. Why he refuses to be the bottleneck every decision runs through. Why he says you have to love people, not just like them, to last in HR. And how faith and a 5:30 AM gym routine keep him grounded while he oversees HR for 150,000 employees inside a $44 billion system. There is also the line he tries to live by: every day is an interview. Not for the next job, but for trust. Tune in to hear how Patrick brings the human back into human resources, and why he calls leading 150,000 people a privilege, not a burden. 🎙️ 00:16 Welcome to Ronderings, and a full-circle homecoming 📚 01:59 Want to publish a book that matters? Check out www.leveragepublishinggroup.com [http://www.leveragepublishinggroup.com] 🎺 06:38 From JHS 285 to a trade school, the path was never straight 🏢 17:19 The real scale: 150,000 employees and a $44 billion system 🛞 21:21 Teamship over titles, and why he refuses to be the bottleneck 🥧 30:12 The PIE framework, and bringing the human back to HR 💡 36:38 Got something worth saying? Talk to Dr. Kent at www.talktokent.com [http://www.talktokent.com] 🙏 37:18 Faith, wellness, and every day is an interview ❤️ 45:37 The Ronderings question: leave it stronger for the next generation 🎧 48:52 Podcasts That Matter, and a Stronger Podcast shout-out Links: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/patrick-d-fagan-ph-d-mba [https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-d-fagan-ph-d-mba-072a335/] Reach out to Dr. Patrick Fagan to talk teamship, building talent pipelines inside the nation's largest school system, and the many careers in New York City Public Schools that don't require a classroom. Connect with Ron: www.linkedin.com/in/rapatalo [http://www.linkedin.com/in/rapatalo] Check Out Ron's Book: www.amazon.com/dp/1613431473 [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1613431473] Leverage Publishing Group: www.leveragepublishinggroup.com [http://www.leveragepublishinggroup.com/] Publish a Book That Matters: http://booksthatmatter.org [http://booksthatmatter.org/] Start a Podcast That Matters: http://podcastsmatter.com [http://podcastsmatter.com/] Go from Expert to Thought Leader: http://geniusdiscovery.org [http://geniusdiscovery.org/] For more great podcasts like this one, visit: https://podcaststhatmatter.org [https://podcaststhatmatter.org/]

Living Your Legacy, Not Leaving It: Generational Thinking, Leadership, and the Art of the Handoff with Shawna Wells

Most people think legacy is about dying. Shawna Wells builds her whole life around the opposite idea: legacy is about living, and you are leaving one with every choice you make right now. In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Shawna Wells, CEO of 7Gen Legacy Group, executive coach, and self-described generationalist, for a conversation about leadership, generational thinking, and what it actually means to live a legacy instead of leaving one. Shawna traces it back to a moment at age 10. She fell off her bike in Northeast Philadelphia, two grown men drove past without stopping to ask if she was okay, and she walked home and told her mom that when she grew up, she would make sure the people coming behind her were alright.  That instinct became a career: teacher, school leader, and now a coach who helps CEOs, nonprofit leaders, and changemakers across the country align their daily decisions with the impact they say they want to make. The conversation moves from the running track, where Shawna anchored relays and learned never to drop the baton, to the grandmother who left Wetumpka, Alabama and opened her home to hundreds heading north. Ron and Shawna dig into why social impact leaders feel under siege right now, why collective legacy beats clawing for funding alone, and the Las Vegas fellowship turning rival nonprofits into partners. Tune in to hear Shawna's Rondering on generational health and the one question that cuts through everything: are you making it easier or harder for the people coming after you? 📚 01:38 Publish your book at www.leveragepublishinggroup.com [http://www.leveragepublishinggroup.com] 🪑 02:02 Meet Shawna Wells: educator, coach, and self-described generationalist 🚲 04:29 The bike fall at 10 and the promise that shaped a life 🏃🏽‍♀️ 09:36 Anchoring the relay and the grandmother who housed hundreds 🍎 12:14 Can you be a generationalist inside a system not built for it ✍️ 20:38 Find support for writing your impact-driven book at www.booksthatmatter.org [http://www.booksthatmatter.org] ⏳ 21:44 Legacy is about living, not dying: the question that changes everything 🚕 25:01 Hamilton, Whitney, and the Uber drivers who tell you their life story 🧭 28:34 How to shift an organization to think in generations ✊🏽 31:22 Leading social impact work when you fear you may not survive the year 🤝 36:06 Intertwining legacies: the Align Fellowship and turning rivals into partners 🌟 39:24 If you are a leader or changemaker looking for support, check out www.geniusdiscovery.org [http://www.geniusdiscovery.org] 🔁 44:18 Shawna's Rondering: generational health and not dropping the baton 🎧 50:00 Want a podcast just like this one? Check out www.podcastsmatter.com [http://www.podcastsmatter.com] Links: Website: https://7genlegacy.com [https://7genlegacy.com] Connect with Shawna Wells and the 7Gen Legacy Group team to explore executive coaching, leadership development, and the Living Your Legacy experience, and to find the new Legacy Switch program launching in January 2026. Connect with Ron: www.linkedin.com/in/rapatalo [http://www.linkedin.com/in/rapatalo] Check Out Ron's Book: www.amazon.com/dp/1613431473 [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1613431473] Leverage Publishing Group: www.leveragepublishinggroup.com [http://www.leveragepublishinggroup.com/] Publish a Book That Matters: http://booksthatmatter.org [http://booksthatmatter.org/] Start a Podcast That Matters: http://podcastsmatter.com [http://podcastsmatter.com/] Go from Expert to Thought Leader: http://geniusdiscovery.org [http://geniusdiscovery.org/] For more great podcasts like this one, visit: https://podcaststhatmatter.org [https://podcaststhatmatter.org/]

Trauma-Informed Hospitality: Why Survivors Get Re-Traumatized by the Systems Built to Help Them with Jessica Muñoz

Board-certified psychotherapist Jessica Muñoz calls herself a visible survivor of gender-based violence and an expert in re-traumatizing systems designed to help. She built The Business of Healing™ to train the rooms most likely to encounter a survivor first: hotels, gyms, courts, workplaces. In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Jessica, founder of The Business of Healing™ and a survivor leader with Sanctuary for Families, for a conversation about why early intervention blocks lethality and what trauma literacy actually looks like at a hotel front desk. Jessica grew up in Scotland with a Hispanic last name, moved to West Harlem just before 9/11, and went through domestic violence, sexual assault, criminal court, family court, and the New York City shelter system as a first-generation immigrant. She points to the Diddy and Cassie hotel video as a textbook case of what her training is designed to interrupt. A staff member took a $100,000 payment to keep quiet. That, she argues, is the second wave of harm survivors meet after the first. Ron and Jessica get into what trauma-informed hospitality looks like inside hotels, restaurants, and gyms, why the relationship is the vehicle to healing, and why the courts pay forensic evaluators rates so low that no trained professional will take the work. They also talk about Sanctuary for Families, The Bride's March, Kyra's Law, and why patriarchy is not about men versus women but about unearned power that hurts everyone, men included. Tune in to hear why Jessica believes your story is necessary, not just for healing, but because it is the cultural expertise the system keeps refusing to pay for.   Chapters: 📚 01:13 Ron's call for voices: Leadership in a Time of Chaos, a book about saying something real 🛡️ 02:10 Meet Jessica Muñoz: board-certified psychotherapist and founder of The Business of Healing 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 04:20 Visible survivor of gender-based violence and expert in re-traumatizing systems ⚖️ 09:06 Patriarchy on steroids in the courts: judges and attorneys not literate in trauma 📜 15:31 Kyra's Law and the fight still on Governor Hochul's desk 🏨 17:14 Trauma-informed hospitality: what the Diddy and Cassie hotel video should have stopped 🌹 18:12 The Bride's March: a grassroots movement run by families who lost women 💪 23:00 The barbell section is therapy: inviting the mind back to the body 🎤 24:57 Hit a referral-only mastermind for impact-driven leaders at speakersthatmatter.com [https://speakersthatmatter.com] 🤝 27:12 Why the relationship is the vehicle to healing, from front desk to gym floor 💡 40:03 Got an idea that needs to get out into the world? Check out talktokent.com [https://talktokent.com] 🗣️ 43:51 Jessica's Rondering: your story is necessary, not just for healing 👥 45:42 Patriarchy is about unearned power, not men versus women 🎧 52:36 Podcasts That Matter makes Ronderings happen, check them out at podcaststhatmatter.org [https://podcaststhatmatter.org] Links: Instagram: @jmunozpsychotherapy [https://www.instagram.com/jmunozpsychotherapy] Instagram (The Business of Healing): @businessofhealing [https://www.instagram.com/businessofhealing] Sanctuary for Families: sanctuaryforfamilies.org [https://sanctuaryforfamilies.org] The Bride's March: @bridesmarch [https://www.instagram.com/bridesmarch] Follow Jessica Muñoz and The Business of Healing™ to learn more about trauma-informed hospitality training and the clinical work behind early intervention in gender-based violence.  Connect with Ron: www.linkedin.com/in/rapatalo [http://www.linkedin.com/in/rapatalo] Check Out Ron's Book: www.amazon.com/dp/1613431473 [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1613431473] Leverage Publishing Group: www.leveragepublishinggroup.com [http://www.leveragepublishinggroup.com/] Publish a Book That Matters: http://booksthatmatter.org [http://booksthatmatter.org/] Start a Podcast That Matters: http://podcastsmatter.com [http://podcastsmatter.com/] Go from Expert to Thought Leader: http://geniusdiscovery.org [http://geniusdiscovery.org/] For more great podcasts like this one, visit: https://podcaststhatmatter.org [https://podcaststhatmatter.org/]

Community Is Medicine: Healing Schools Project, Trust, and the Three Questions That Change Everything with Wenimo Okoya

In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Wenimo Okoya, educator, public health scholar, and founder of Healing Schools Project, for a conversation about why community itself is medicine and why the adults carrying the most trauma are the ones being asked to deliver wellness frameworks for kids. Wenimo's path runs from a Newark classroom (where she lost her job in the Christie-era budget cuts that brought the Zuckerberg money in) to a Master's of Public Health and doctorate at Columbia, to the Children's Health Fund, to the JED Foundation, and now to leading Healing Schools Project, a nonprofit born out of pandemic-era healing circles for educators of color. She introduces herself the way her colleagues at GirlTREK do, by her matrilineal lineage. She is Wenimo, the daughter of Grace, the daughter of Estolita, the daughter of Maude. The thread of women, entrepreneurship, and Caribbean healing wisdom runs through everything she builds. The conversation lands on a simple frame Wenimo brings into every circle she holds: three questions. How are you arriving? What do you need? What do you have the capacity to give? Ron calls it the simplest leadership tool listeners will hear all year. The back half of the episode unpacks why connection has been overcomplicated and why trust is the metric organizations refuse to measure even though they could. Tune in to hear why connection doesn't require innovation and why community is the public health intervention we keep walking past. Chapters: 📚 01:23 Publish your book at www.leveragepublishinggroup.com [http://www.leveragepublishinggroup.com] 🌍 02:35 Meet Wenimo Okoya: Newark teacher, public health scholar, founder of Healing Schools Project 👵 03:32 Daughter of Grace, daughter of Estolita, daughter of Maude: introducing yourself by lineage 🏫 05:40 Teaching in Newark during the Christie cuts and the Zuckerberg money 🎓 08:11 Columbia, Carolyn Belell, and integrating public health and education when no one else was 🦠 13:00 Pandemic healing circles, the JED Foundation, and how Healing Schools Project was born ✍️ 15:14 Find support for writing your impact-driven book at www.booksthatmatter.org [http://www.booksthatmatter.org] 🧪 21:13 Peppermint in the backyard: Caribbean healing wisdom and what immigrants kept 🪑 23:11 The three questions that beat any icebreaker 🌟 32:03 If you are a leader or changemaker looking for support, check out www.geniusdiscovery.org [http://www.geniusdiscovery.org] 📊 36:55 Trust is the metric organizations refuse to measure 🏛️ 40:28 Why funders won't pay for what's in the middle 💊 43:23 Wenimo's Rondering: micro-shifts beat massive change 🎧 48:23 Want a podcast just like this one? Check out www.podcastsmatter.com [http://www.podcastsmatter.com] Links: Website: https://healingschoolsproject.com [https://healingschoolsproject.com] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/healing-schools-project [https://www.linkedin.com/company/healing-schools-project] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healingschools [https://www.instagram.com/healingschools] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/healingschoolsproject [https://www.facebook.com/healingschoolsproject] Connect with Dr. Wenimo Okoya and the Healing Schools Project team to learn more about their work bringing healing-centered practices and educator well-being into schools across the country. Connect with Ron: www.linkedin.com/in/rapatalo [http://www.linkedin.com/in/rapatalo] Check Out Ron's Book: www.amazon.com/dp/1613431473 [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1613431473] Leverage Publishing Group: www.leveragepublishinggroup.com [http://www.leveragepublishinggroup.com/] Publish a Book That Matters: http://booksthatmatter.org [http://booksthatmatter.org/] Start a Podcast That Matters: http://podcastsmatter.com [http://podcastsmatter.com/] Go from Expert to Thought Leader: http://geniusdiscovery.org [http://geniusdiscovery.org/] For more great podcasts like this one, visit: https://podcaststhatmatter.org [https://podcaststhatmatter.org/]