Andrew LaCivita knows careers. As the founder of MileWalk Academy, he has helped more than 100,000 people and 350 companies across nearly 200 countries improve their careers, leadership, and communication. He is also the bestselling author of Interview Intervention, The Hiring Prophecies, The Zebra Code, and his newest book, Signal Strength.

What makes Andrew especially interesting for “People in Transition” is his practical approach to navigating careers and finding opportunity. His Tips for Work and Life® platform and weekly Live Office Hours reach professionals around the world, helping them think differently about their careers, communication, and job searches.

In our conversation, Andrew and I explored:

• What is the most important soft skill you need in your job search?
• What is your “biography history” — and why do candidates spend too much time on it?
• What does “content and conviction” have to do with communication?
• What are the essential steps to good communication?
• Which communication skills matter, even more with AI all around us?
• Why is “boss hunting” better than simply applying online?

What a great discussion with Andrew. To learn more, connect with him on LinkedIn, visit MileWalk Academy, or check out his MileWalk blog.

Listen, learn, and share this episode with someone who could benefit from Andrew’s insights!

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The Informational Interview

Today we're talking about one of the most powerful (and most underused) tools in any career transition: the informational interview.

Joining me is Merry Korn, an expert in navigating career change and building meaningful professional relationships. Merry is the author of Fired to Inspired, the story of how she turned a humiliating firing into a new sense of purpose and went on to build a social enterprise that employed more than 1,300 people across 30 states, many of them people facing the greatest barriers to work.

Merry has joined us before on “People in Transition”, when we talked about resilience, overcoming fear, and turning setbacks into opportunities. This time, we're focusing on how informational interviews can help you figure out what's next and open doors you didn't know existed.

Here are some of the key questions we explored:

• Who should you talk to? Be intentional. Seek out people who can offer real insight into the kind of work, industry, or business that sparks your curiosity.
• Where do you start? Begin with your "warm" connections: friends, relatives, former colleagues, and others you already know who will give you honest, helpful perspective. From there, branch out to people you don't know yet who are doing work that intrigues you. When you reach out to someone new, do your homework and craft an opening that shows it. For example: "I just listened to your podcast about how you used AI to build relationships in the healthcare association industry, and I'd love to hear more about how you made that work."
• How do you make the conversation count? Preparation is everything. Learn as much as you can about the person, their work, and their company. Go beyond the résumé: where they went to school, what they do outside of work, and what you might have in common. Those connections turn a polite chat into a real conversation.
• How do you keep the momentum going? Before you wrap up, ask one simple question: "Who else should I talk to?" One conversation almost always leads to another. Afterward, send a thank-you, share what you took away from the conversation, and keep them posted on the conversations their introductions led to. People love knowing they made a difference.

Whether you're newly fired, quietly planning your exit, or simply wondering what else is out there, this conversation will give you a practical roadmap for turning curiosity into connection, and connection into opportunity.

For more information on Merry go to http://www.firedtoinspired.com/ or linkedin.com/in/merrykorn .

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Today, we’re joined by David Dean, a technology and AI leader with 20 years of experience helping organizations move from ambiguity to execution. David’s career has evolved from hands-on technology and infrastructure into enterprise architecture, intelligent automation, AI strategy, governance, and organizational transformation. He has led AI and automation initiatives in complex, regulated environments, including work that reduced processing times by more than 90%.

Today, David advises senior leaders on AI strategy, governance, automation, and responsible AI adoption. He is also an author and speaker whose work explores what AI reveals about how organizations - and the people inside them - actually work. That perspective is especially relevant for people in transition because AI isn't just changing jobs; it’s changing how candidates need to communicate the experience, judgment, accountability, and lessons they bring to their next opportunity.

In our conversation, David and I explored what that means for candidates as AI becomes part of both sides of the hiring process:

• From “what you did” to “how you did it”
  How will AI change the way candidates demonstrate the value of their experience?
• Your “how” as your competitive advantage
  When both companies and candidates use AI, how do you make your lived experience and judgment stand out?
• Building your “how” inventory – Dictate this to get the real flavor/feeling
  How can challenges, mistakes, and lessons learned help you uncover and articulate what you actually know how to do?
• Adversity, failure, and accountability
  How can overcoming adversity—and learning from failure—become powerful evidence of your value to a hiring manager?
• AI as a tool for self-realization
  How can you use AI to test whether your stories answer the “how” completely and compellingly?
• The new personal brand for candidates
  As AI makes keywords and polished résumés easier to produce, how will your judgment, accountability, and authentic experience define your next great opportunity?

As we close, this is a fascinating time to be watching the recruiting scene. AI will continue to change how companies identify talent and how candidates present themselves. Successful candidates will need to adapt their style, clarify the “how” behind their experience, and define their next great opportunity. For more questions and to learn more about David’s work, visit his LinkedIn profile and personal website davidchristopherdean.com

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