The Informational Interview

Ep 14 | Taking The Leap from Huge Companies to Emerging Brands | From Big -> Smaller Companies ft. Jamie A. Lee

Follow along as I interview Jamie Lee about her journey as an omni-channel e-commerce expert from working at massive companies like Nike, EA, and Sony, and her pivot to working with smaller, emerging brands like Everlane and Vital Proteins. Jamie's shift to smaller companies came as she realized she wanted to work in a faster paced environment, and to experience the challenged of making outsized impact with a smaller team. In this episode, we'll talk with Jamie about her shift from huge corporate giants into emerging brands, about her refreshing approach to work-life balance, and why talking to people who are already in the environment you are looking to get into is the best way to de-risk the switch. The Informational interview is the show about big career shifts and what they teach us about life. I'm your host, Lauren Fagan: a 30 something millennial, who does not have everything figured out. I believe the most wisdom comes from the people who have taken the biggest risks, and, in today's world, jumping into a brand new career feels like one of the biggest risks you can take. Join me each week as I interview guests who turn their world upside down by taking a sharp left turn in their career that led them down a completely different path.  Connect With Jamie [https://www.jamiealee.com/] Jamie's Maven Course [https://maven.com/jamie-a-lee/ecom] Lauren's Podcast Resources ⁠Descript [https://get.descript.com/3kxld89g3ojp]

Ep 13 | How To Create A Role That Doesn't Exist | From Art Director -> Creative Strategist ft. Michelle Villasenor

Follow along as I interview Michelle Villasenor about her journey creating an entirely new role for herself as a creative strategist. Michelle has always been what she calls 'left brained / right brained', where she's drawn to experiences and careers that live at the intersection of creative and data. So, when she was working as an Art Director at high-growth e-commerce startups and was receiving creative briefs that always seemed to be lacking the data and insights she felt she needed to do her best work, she decided to try to carve out a new role that historically didn't exist. Over several years, Michelle worked on proving the value of this new role and over time has successfully established herself as a valuable member bridging the gap between creative and growth teams. In this episode, we’ll talk about Michelle's journey building her role as a creative strategist, why empathy is crucial when you are trying to create your own job description, why you need just one person to believe in your idea, and that sometimes you need to just do it - AKA, throw the damn ball. *Correction* - I met Michelle in 2019... but it shows how good of friends we are that we thought we knew each other for an extra two years!! The Informational interview is the show about big career shifts and what they teach us about life. I'm your host, Lauren Fagan: a 30 something millennial, who does not have everything figured out. I believe the most wisdom comes from the people who have taken the biggest risks, and, in today's world, jumping into a brand new career feels like one of the biggest risks you can take. Join me each week as I interview guests who turn their world upside down by taking a sharp left turn in their career that led them down a completely different path.  Connect With Michelle Lauren's Podcast Resources ⁠Descript

Ep 12 | Why Passion Isn't Enough To Succeed At A Career | From Public Radio -> Wedding Photography ft. Andrew Morrell

Follow along as I interview Andrew Morrell about his journey from working in public radio for two decades to his successful career as a wedding photographer. When Andrew strted doing photography professionally, he made a promise to himself: never take pictures of anything with a pulse. Andrew loved music since an early age but considered himself too undisciplined to pursue it professionally. One day, he discovered his college's public radio station and immediately fell in love with the profession. Over the next 20 years, Andrew would work at a variety of public radio stations around the country, until he 'flamed out' after working his way up the seniority ladder into more managerial roles. He decided to leave public radio and become a real estate photographer, only to be asked by a friend to shoot photos at a wedding 'his way'. He showed up in June 2006 and for the second time in his career fell in love with wedding photography and has been doing it ever since. In this episode, we’ll talk about Andrew's journey into wedding photography, The Peter Principal, why you need both passion and discipline, and why you should trust the process and embrace the good and the bad. The Informational interview is the show about big career shifts and what they teach us about life. I'm your host, Lauren Fagan: a 30 something millennial, who does not have everything figured out. I believe the most wisdom comes from the people who have taken the biggest risks, and, in today's world, jumping into a brand new career feels like one of the biggest risks you can take. Join me each week as I interview guests who turn their world upside down by taking a sharp left turn in their career that led them down a completely different path.  Recommended Photography Resources * Fearlessphotographers.com [https://www.fearlessphotographers.com/] * J. La Plante Workshops [https://jlaplante.com/education/] Photographers Andrew Loves * Sam Hurd [https://www.samhurdphotography.com/] * J. La Plante [https://jlaplante.com/] * Henri Cartier-Bresson [https://www.magnumphotos.com/photographer/henri-cartier-bresson/] Connect With Andrew [https://andrewmorrell.com/] Lauren's Podcast Resources * Descript [https://get.descript.com/3kxld89g3ojp]

Ep 11 | Why You Should Test Out Your Idea As A Side Hustle | From Hedge Funds -> Health & Wellness ft. Jenn Trepeck

Follow along as I interview Jenn Trepeck about her journey from working in Hedge Funds and building her Wellness Practice as a side hustle for over a decade to launching her podcast Salad With a Side of Fries in 2019 and working on her wellness practice full time. Jenn saw entrepreneurship modeled for her by both her parents since a young age, but didn’t know what sort of business she’d want to create until she discovered the wellness curriculum that worked for her that she now bases her practice on. Jenn steadily built her wellness practice in the background as she navigated full-time jobs, until 2019 when she decided to take the leap and launch Launch Salad with a Side of Fries. And, five years in, Jenn is only loving the podcasting and wellness industry more each day. In this episode, we’ll talk about Jenn’s journey into the Wellness industry, why she’s such a big fan of side-hustles, how if you try to figure everything out on your own you're setting yourself up for failure, that nothing is permanent unless you decide it's permanent, and the distinction between jobs and careers. The Informational interview is the show about big career shifts and what they teach us about life. I'm your host, Lauren Fagan: a 30 something millennial, who does not have everything figured out. I believe the most wisdom comes from the people who have taken the biggest risks, and, in today's world, jumping into a brand new career feels like one of the biggest risks you can take. Join me each week as I interview guests who turn their world upside down by taking a sharp left turn in their career that led them down a completely different path.  Content Warning Please note that this episode briefly talks about Jenn’s personal experience and history with dieting and her relationship to her body. If this isn’t something you want to hear about, feel free to skip from minute 5:07  to 6:52. Show Links ⁠Book a FREE Business Discovery Call with Jenn⁠ [https://calendly.com/jenntrepeck/discovery-call-1-1-30min?month=2023-12] ⁠Six Months to Six Figures⁠ [https://www.amazon.com/6-Months-Figures-Peter-Voogd/dp/0990997308] Connect With Jenn ⁠Salad With A Side Of Fries IG ⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/saladwithasideoffriespod/] ⁠Jenn Trepeck IG⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/jenntrepeck/?hl=en] ⁠Salad With A Side Of Fries FB Group⁠ [https://www.facebook.com/Saladwithasideoffriespodcast] ⁠Find Jenn On LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifertrepeck/] ⁠Salad With A Side Of Fries Website [https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/ ]

Ep 10 | What To Do When You Don't Want To Pursue Your Passion Professionally | From Opera -> Real Estate ft. Mattia D'Affuso

Follow along as I interview Mattia D'Affuso about his journey into Real Estate after getting his Bachelors and Masters degrees in music. After graduation, Mattia realized that he wanted to build a life where he wasn't constantly on the move and determined that pursuing a career in Opera wouldn't allow him to live the life he wanted. After getting his foot in the door through a marketing position at a real estate agency, Mattia discovered a love for Real Estate and has become a successful realtor in the DC area. While there certainly is financial success in real estate, Mattia's love for this career stems from establishing trust with clients during one of the most important financial decisions of their lives, and seeing his clients happy when they work together as a team to achieve their goals. In this interview, we'll learn more about the realities of life as a realtor (hint: it's not like Selling Sunset), what to do when a career pursuing your passion doesn't line up with the life you want to live, and how to decide what to do next by figuring out where you want to end up. The Informational Interview is the podcast that helps you learn about different careers and what it takes to break into them from professionals who have done just that. Your host, Lauren Fagan, is on a mission to talk to people in all sorts of careers to learn more about what their jobs look like and how to break into them. Each week, I talked to professionals who have successfully pivoted into a career that they love - If you're not satisfied with your work life, if you're feeling unfulfilled or like there's got to be more to work than this, but don't know what you want to do next... you're in the right place! Show Notes Mattia's Email: mdaffuso@ttrsir.com BravO - Washington National Opera’s program for students and young professionals between the ages of 18 and 40