Most Self-Improved · Erin Jensen and Bhavana Chilukuri

How to pivot toward work you love with career coach Emily Lamia

·44 min·2 clips

Emily Lamia says a pivot needs a clear 'hook' and, in some cases, a 'double pivot.'

1. Most Self-Improved focuses on how to pivot toward work you love with career coach Emily Lamia. 2. Bamna Chilokori and Erin Jensen host Emily Lamia, who runs a career coaching practice and also does leadership and management coaching. 3. The episode asks how to change careers without treating work like a one-time identity decision. 4. Emily says her own path went from progressive politics and DNC work to nonprofits and then full-time coaching in January 2016. 5. She describes being the person people asked about raises, job offers, and career changes before she started her business. 6. Emily says the advice she would give her past self is to 'test out little pieces' before making a big leap. 7. She explains that her move into coaching was easier because her husband had stable benefits, the couple had savings, and they did not have kids at the time. 8. She uses Designing Your Life by Dave Evans and Bill Burnett to explain empathizing, defining, ideating, and prototyping. 9. Emily distinguishes between prototype conversations and prototype experiences, including informational interviews and short-term tests of work. 10. She gives the example of a furniture-design client who tracked hours and created an invoice to see how bookkeeping and admin work felt. 11. Emily says people who feel stuck often start by identifying 'bright spots' from the last 1, 10, or 15 years. 12. She recommends the Clifton Strengths Assessment from Gallup because it offers 34 categories rather than a simple introvert-extrovert split. 13. Emily also uses the Enneagram to surface unconscious motivators, such as wanting to be smart and knowledgeable as a type five. 14. She calls age and missing credentials 'gravity problems' that cannot be wished away, even if they can be reframed. 15. Emily cites Herminia Ibarra's Working Identity to describe the 'neutral zone' and the messy middle between old and new identities. 16. She says today's market, including AI, is forcing more people to reconsider what they do and who they are professionally. 17. Emily explains that a job search now has two parts: the role or function, and the industry or company type. 18. She warns that a 'double pivot' needs stronger proof, such as networks, subscriptions, events, and meetings in the target field. 19. The conversation stays interview-driven, practical, and advice-heavy, with examples from climate tech, podcasting, and managing up for more autonomy. 20. Listeners who want career-change tactics, not inspirational slogans, will get the most from it; listeners who want a short, purely motivational chat may skip it.

As heard by us

A practical guide to making a career pivot feel real enough to sell.

Most Self-Improved turns to careers, framing the challenge as moving toward a job one can stand, then like, then maybe love. The episode stays practical, leaning on transferable skills, hooks, and the harder double pivot when both the role and the industry change.

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Why you'd press play

Career pivot advice for anyone trying to turn vague interest into a story that holds up.

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