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Repost Series: Navigating Your Career Journey
10 Plays2 months ago
Introduction - 0:00 - 1:27
Shanara highlights her career journey and the wisdom she's gained over the years. She promises discussions on career development, leadership, and work-life balance, offering authenticity and actionable tips.
Exciting News: Interview for Director Role - 1:27 - 19:38
Shanara shares her excitement and nervousness about securing an interview for a director role at her company. She reflects on her career journey, including her special connection with Target, where she's had significant professional growth. She discusses her hopes, fears, and strategies for the upcoming interview, acknowledging the possibility of rejection but remaining optimistic about her qualifications and readiness for the role. Shanara expresses gratitude for the platform to share her inner thoughts and aspirations.
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Transcript
Introduction to The Good Guide Journey
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey there, welcome to The Good Guide, your ultimate career companion. I'm Shannara Good, and I've been on quite the career roller coaster. From the trenches of entry-level positions to the boardrooms as a now more seasoned professional.
Facing Career Challenges
00:00:15
Speaker
Believe me when I say i have been there and know that I've acquired some wisdom over the years that I cannot wait to share with you. Ever felt like you're on your career journey solo?
00:00:26
Speaker
Or maybe you're curious about conquering career plateaus, overcoming imposter syndrome, or leading with unwavering confidence. Well, I promise you are in the right place.
Weekly Career Insights
00:00:38
Speaker
Every week, my guests and I will share our own challenges and successes. We'll talk about everything from career development to leadership to even work-life balance. Expect a healthy dose of authenticity and of course, our tips and tricks that will have you navigating your career with a newfound confidence.
Subscribe for More Insights
00:00:58
Speaker
Don't miss out on the knowledge drop, y'all. Hit that like, subscribe, and follow button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Trust me, you won't want to miss an episode.
00:01:12
Speaker
Because this is the good guide, where we're not just chasing success, we're defining it. Are you ready to elevate your career game? Let's dive in.
Director Role Interview Excitement
00:01:27
Speaker
You guys, I have news. Well, news-ish, I have some news. I have a piece of information that i want to share.
00:01:41
Speaker
And I'm just feeling really giddy about it because, or I don't know, I'm feeling weird and giddy and like, oh, should I share this? Oh, should I not? i don't know, but I am excited to share that.
00:01:52
Speaker
I have got an interview for a director role at my company.
00:02:01
Speaker
And ah part of me kind of feels like it's news in the sense that like, it's a really big deal at this point in my career, this very pivotal moment that I feel like I've been working my way towards now for forever, it feels like.
00:02:19
Speaker
But I feel like I'm finally at this point where the fruits of my labor are are laid down.
00:02:30
Speaker
And what I feel like I am deserving of is coming to me, is within my reach.
00:02:40
Speaker
And I cannot express to y'all how big of a milestone this feels like I'm approaching. Now, I don't have the job.
00:02:53
Speaker
I have an interview for a director role. And so i also want to acknowledge that like there's still like work to be done. I still have to show up. I still have to crush my interview. And i still have to just give it all I got.
00:03:11
Speaker
But... When I found out that I got an interview just the other day, I reached out to a mentor of mine and i was just like, hey, I got this interview, like woohoo, you know, like so excited. And her response was, i think one that really gave me the permission to celebrate this milestone. You know, it is very hard at our company right now to find a director role that would allow me to stay remote, as I've talked about before. Find a director role that's really aligned with like what I want to focus on and this next phase of my career.
00:03:49
Speaker
Find a director role that allows me to really sit at the table with stakeholders and decision makers.
Interview Readiness and Anticipation
00:03:59
Speaker
And the fact that an extension of an interview is confirmation that all of the little pieces that I've put into place is coming to fruition or like is kind of resulting in this amazing opportunity to go for a higher level role. Like it just feels really ah affirming.
00:04:23
Speaker
and think that's the best word that I could use. It just feels like, whew, I am worthy of this next step in my career. I am the leader that I think that I am.
00:04:38
Speaker
i am the command, the respect that one would need to command as a director. So it just feels really f freaking good. And it feels weird sharing this at this point because this episode will probably come out in a couple weeks from now. And so by that point, I will know if I am being extended an offer or if I'm not chosen for the roles that I'm interviewing for. And while it feels really scary to kind of like share something
00:05:14
Speaker
news before it's really kind of played out, i want to acknowledge the fact that this is such a big milestone in anyone's career, let alone someone who I feel like I've been running and searching and digging and scratching and fighting for every role that I've gotten.
00:05:36
Speaker
And in particular, i think that the reason why this one feels so different is because for the first time in my career, I do feel genuinely fearful of what it might look like to get turned down from a role.
00:05:51
Speaker
Like I know that my, so my interviews are on Tuesday. I know that come Tuesday, I'm going to feel good about my interviews. I know that. like I literally just and came out with an episode about interviewing and how it's something that I actually thoroughly enjoy because I think it's just such a great opportunity to highlight like who you are and like what you would bring to a role. So I know that I'm going to be able to do that well because I really believe in the fact that I can bring what this role would need.
00:06:20
Speaker
like I have that within me. have no doubt about that. That being said, know for a fact that there are multiple individuals people applying. And every last one of those candidates who have also been extended a interview are also just as worthy of the role.
00:06:36
Speaker
Otherwise they wouldn't be interviewing. So I'm going toe to toe with equally qualified candidates. So like you know it's anyone's game really. And so I'm worried I would be lying. And this is for today. i I don't have any tips. I don't have any tricks. I'm just like fully being humble and sharing like this kind of big, oh gosh, I've got a pit in my stomach ah because I'm overjoyed, but also intimidated and then excited for the opportunity, scared that
Career Reflections at Target
00:07:11
Speaker
I don't get it. And what will that feel like?
00:07:14
Speaker
You know, I think one of the biggest fears that I have is, so I've been in my current role for it'll be two years in August or would have been, going to say would have been, because hopefully I'll be out of the role soon, but it would, out of the role before August, but it would have been two years in August that I've been in this role. And just a reminder in terms of kind of like where I've been throughout my career, like when I started my career at Target, I think there was always this kind of like, oh, what would it be like to like be a director at this really amazing company? and blah, blah, blah. And when I left, as much as i I, guess in time that I left, I really didn't foresee myself returning.
00:07:53
Speaker
Now that doesn't mean that I didn't have the hope or the desire to return. I just never thought that I would actually be coming back, mainly because I actually never really thought that there would ever be an opportunity to work remotely in or at Target, but remotely.
00:08:11
Speaker
So that was a big part of kind of why, like, I think some of those dreams of being in higher level management at a company that has been a weird center in my life.
00:08:25
Speaker
Actually, let me take a beat because I need to actually address. I was having a conversation with somebody the other day and I was telling them about my journey with Target. And something that I don't actually ever talk about in terms of kind of like why I have such a special place in my heart for Target is because it actually goes back to even being a kid.
00:08:46
Speaker
Like this is before I even had like a big girl job before I even worked at Target. But I have these very vivid memories of Target feeling like a hug. And I know that sounds very weird, but I promise there's a story behind it. So I was a mama's girl growing up. Like I could not be the away from my mom for a long time I would cry, I would kick and I would scream. like I always wanted to be with my mom.
00:09:08
Speaker
And obviously that's not always possible, but particularly in the summer or in the winter, i would take trips to see family or i would take trips to see my dad. And I was always so homesick because like I would be away from my mom for like weeks on end. And like for a kid that's like a mama's girl, like that was a really big deal to be away from her for so long. And so what I would do when I was really homesick was i would ask whoever I was staying with, whether it be my uncle or or whoever, if we could go to Target because every Target looked and felt the same.
00:09:45
Speaker
And it always felt like I was at home. you know Even when I was homesick, I would go to a Target, whether it be in Georgia, whether it was in Arizona, and I would feel like I was back at my Target in Orange County, California with my mom, with my brother, et cetera.
00:10:04
Speaker
So for me, Target always kind of had this like you know really sentimental place in my heart and not to sound dramatic, but there was also other little things like my mom for Mother's Day or for her birthday, she would give my brother and i her own money to go shopping for her gifts.
00:10:25
Speaker
And so she would sit outside in the Target parking lot. We also do this for Christmas too, but she would sit outside in the Target parking lot and let us go buy her gifts.
00:10:36
Speaker
And then would come out, we'd make sure like we double bagged the gifts so she couldn't see it. And yeah, so like, it's just weird because there's so many fond memories that I have of Target. And so fast forward, when I got my first job with Target, it really kind of felt like this like nice, you know, click this nice is kind of like, wow, I should have always been here. You know, my brother's first job was at a Target.
00:11:00
Speaker
My first job was at a Target. For a hot second, my mom even worked at Target. So needless to say, Target has always had a really special place in my life. So fast forward to actually working for Target and starting my career at Target and always feeling like Target was a place for me to flourish and provided a space for me to be my authentic self, but also really like be a go-getter and a trailblazer and like a leader. That was really the first four years of my career, of my professional career. Like those were really big. That was a really big kind of foundational building um couple of years because it really level set kind of my expectation that I would have for every company and every role and just everything going forward.
00:11:45
Speaker
So back to what I was talking about before I went on a ah random
Target Role Fulfillment
00:11:49
Speaker
tangent. So when I left Target, i just didn't ever, I was like, man, you know, even though Target meant so much to me, maybe like my career path isn't, maybe that's not kind of the end all be all.
00:12:01
Speaker
and that's okay like even as i sit here today i'm not saying that i'm gonna be spending the rest of my career at target i don't know i i can't i don't have a crystal ball you know and i'm never gonna say never in terms of like leaving again but at this point it just feels really cool to have been gone for five years come back and hit the ground running like genuinely i felt like i had not missed a beat Things had changed in terms of the ways of working and different teams looked different and there were different terms for things.
00:12:36
Speaker
There was reorganizations and all of that fun stuff that happens like in a corporate space. But I really felt like I came back in August of 2022 two landed in a sense back where I had finished off, but in a different role at a higher level and was able to take everything that I learned having left Target and bring it back and take what I did still know from Target and like put it together and make this really special recipe that is me today and how I navigate the corporate space.
00:13:13
Speaker
So now having had the chance to, or having been extended interview for a role or for a level and a role that I've been really hopeful would land on my lap.
00:13:31
Speaker
it just feels really damn good. It feels really rewarding, regardless of what, you know, the end result of the interview process brings. My sentiment will not change. It's not going to change the way that I feel in this moment right now, knowing that I secured an interview for something that I really, really wanted.
00:13:51
Speaker
So yeah, I don't know. and just feel really good and i feel really optimistic and I feel like my goal for Tuesday is to walk.
00:14:04
Speaker
I say walk as if there's going to be a physical room. It's going to be a Zoom room. But to walk into or log on to that Zoom room and just really let my passion and desire for change and leadership and team and connection like show through.
00:14:24
Speaker
And I'm going to hope that that's enough to secure the role to get it done. And then, not that I like to think negatively about the future, but I am a realist.
00:14:37
Speaker
I feel like I'm a dreamer, but I'm also at the end of the day, ah realist. And when I think about the reality of, okay, there is a reality in which I get this role, and there's also a reality in which I don't.
00:14:49
Speaker
How will I react in both scenarios? And gonna be honest, if I don't get this role, I'm gonna be real upset.
00:14:57
Speaker
Like I would be lying to myself if I said that I wasn't going to be upset if I didn't
Navigating Potential Rejection
00:15:03
Speaker
get the role. I would be bold-faced lying to myself. And I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to do that to myself.
00:15:08
Speaker
And I'm not going to do that to y'all. I would be pissed. And more so, i think, pissed from confusion, from kind of like, what could I have done? Like, what could I have done differently that would have helped showcase like my ability to be in that role? And Again, I don't think anyone who is on this panel of individuals or amongst a group of individuals who have been extended an interview is going to be turned down and be like, oh, I get it.
00:15:37
Speaker
I get it. No, I think we're all going to be freaking confused if we don't get the job, because if we didn't think that we were qualified for the job. Number one, we wouldn't have applied. And number two, like we wouldn't have applied or been able to apply because we wouldn't have put in all the work before applying to even allow us to be a viable candidate.
00:15:54
Speaker
So someone is going to be surprised at the end of this. And I know that I definitely will be and I'll be hurt and I will feel a little confused um on on where to go next. But something that I have to remind myself is no is not a forever answer.
00:16:08
Speaker
You know, no is not something that's like, all right, it's a no. And therefore you'll never get it. But I know that I'll have to be a little bit more strategic about like, what do I do next?
Reflecting on Career Journey to Director Role
00:16:19
Speaker
Because I do want to still stay at Target. But as I've talked about in previous episodes, like the ability to do so while staying remote, like the roles are just fewer and farther between.
00:16:28
Speaker
And now that I know that I'm capable of getting a director interview, it's almost kind of like going for anything less than that feels like not good enough. And not good enough in the sense of like my ego, but just more so like I'm like, I know, i know I'm ready for this this next level. I know I'm good enough for this next level. So it's almost like going for something less than that or getting something less than that is almost like discrediting myself.
00:16:54
Speaker
So these are all feelings that I'm trying to pre-report. kind of like pre-layout so that if I do have to fill them, I will almost be prepped and ready. But no matter what, it's going to feel like a blind side if I don't get it. So even though you guys won't be listening to this,
00:17:15
Speaker
While I'm going through the interview or prior to me going through the interview, I guess I just wanted to put it out there to remind myself of my qualifications, remind myself of the journey it's taken to get here.
00:17:31
Speaker
you know, you're talking about 11, 12 years of work that has gone into what's made me ready for this. So yeah, it's been a long journey and the journey is not up. Sometimes I get really sick and tired of myself saying journey. I say journey a lot, but whatever, it is what it is. It's been a long one.
00:17:47
Speaker
So no matter what, I think it's gonna be a really exciting, thrilling, scary next couple of days. And by the time this episode comes out, I hope that I'm able to add in a disclaimer of like,
00:17:59
Speaker
Bitch got the job. Excuse my French, but that's the hope. So wish me later luck since you guys are going to be listening to this after my interviews, but wish me later luck.
00:18:12
Speaker
I know i will be wishing myself luck. I will be crossing the toes, the eyes, the fingers. I have been writing down on, i manifest, I write down like a manifestation every morning.
00:18:25
Speaker
And the one that I've been mainly writing down recently is, i do a couple of versions. I say the job that is mine will be mine, or the role that is meant to be mine will be mine, something in that realm. And so I have to continue to believe that.
00:18:40
Speaker
That being said, I think this role is mine. I think it's mine So that's what I'm gonna go with. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this extremely, what do I wanna call
Gratitude and Encouragement
00:18:52
Speaker
it? Candid yeah revelation.
00:18:56
Speaker
It's funny, I feel like I share a lot, but I don't necessarily let a lot of my inner like worries come to the surface verbally. And so in a way, this was actually really therapeutic.
00:19:08
Speaker
So thank you guys for giving me the platform to Or going to thank myself. I'm going to pull a Niecy Nash and thank myself for giving myself this platform to share this moment in my career that will always be here. And I'll always be able to look back or listen to this episode and remember what it felt like to be in this position today.
00:19:28
Speaker
So that's all I got for y'all. Have a wonderful, wonderful day or night, whatever time a day that you're listening. Bye. Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of The Good Guide, the podcast dedicated to guiding you through every twist and turn in your career journey. If you loved this episode, make sure to leave those five-star reviews and share this podcast with a friend, loved one, or hey, even a colleague.
00:19:56
Speaker
If you have a topic that you'd like for me to tackle, check out this week's show notes for links to where you can submit your question. It might even be featured during the Q&A segment of the next episode.
00:20:07
Speaker
But first, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a beat. Take care, y'all.