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Self(ish) Confidence
Your confidence is your superpower… but what if you don’t have any? It can be hard to show up as your authentic self. When we go out, or even scrolling on the couch, it's easy to get trapped in the comparison game, making it even harder to be beautifully you. Self(ish) Confidence is about finding your confidence, shining your light and taking action toward your unconventional life. Every week, we'll chat through barriers that could hold you back. Follow along with me, Jess Clerke, as we learn to find our confidence together and begin to share our magic with the world.
Self(ish) Confidence
[INTERVIEW] Finding a career that fits, purposefully and financially w/ Jen Warrington
Imagine walking away from your childhood dream of becoming a lawyer or a backup dancer, only to find your true calling in the unexpected world of career recruitment. That's exactly what happened to my friend Jen Warrington. In our latest podcast episode, Jen shares her remarkable journey from law aspirations to recruitment consultancy, highlighting how her path evolved through a chance encounter with a recruitment agency. Together, we unravel how aligning your career with your passions can lead to growth and success, even if it means charting a non-traditional course.
Ever felt held back by the belief that you need to tick every box on a job description before applying? You're not alone, and we're here to challenge that mindset. Jen and I explore common barriers women face at work, particularly around confidence and self-worth. We discuss strategies to confidently claim your worth, negotiate salaries, and embrace your unique strengths, paving the way for bold career moves. Our conversation aims to empower, reminding you that perfection is a myth and encouraging you to seize opportunities that align with who you really are.
Tune in for an episode full of candid stories, practical advice, and a celebration of your magic.
Connect with Jen:
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Thank you for listening to Self(ish) Confidence! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend or on your social media and tag me @jess.clerke so I can personally thank you for helping spread some confidence + love!
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The Podcast Account ---> @selfishconfidence
Welcome to Selfish Confidence, a place where we can connect and be real about how hard it is to be your damn self. My name is Jess and my goal is to help you build confidence and belief in yourself to live any life path you want, even if it's unconventional. It's time to flip off societal pressures and connect with women who've also felt on the outside by their life choices. We're here to encourage you to grab the mic and speak your truth. I know it can be scary, but we're in this together. Let's get started. Hello, hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Selfish Confidence Podcast. It's Jess here, and it is a really fun week because I have my very good friend, Jen Warrington, here to talk about some really special things. So welcome, Jen. How are you doing, my friend?
Speaker 2:Good. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited. I love having conversations with you, so this is going to be fun.
Speaker 1:It's going to be so fun After we've just talked for about a half an hour about all things baby now it's time to get into the juice.
Speaker 2:We waited to hit record.
Speaker 1:Yeah, jen says it's going to be great, so it's going to be great.
Speaker 2:I can't wait. Pregnancy is the worst part. It's after that smooth sailing.
Speaker 1:Perfect Good, because that's what I'm hoping, but maybe I'm just crazy, so it's going to be good. Can you tell us a bit about you, Jen, and where your story and how you got into this world of career recruitment has?
Speaker 2:come from? Yeah, absolutely. So I'll start really at the beginning, in that I I didn't have a career plan. I didn't know what I want. I mean, when I was younger I wanted to be either a lawyer or a backup dancer for Janet Jackson, and neither one of those really materialized. So, but I did a lot of. I'm going to try this. I'm going to try that.
Speaker 2:Not a lot really stuck and I was living in Toronto and I moved back home in 2006 after about two years there, and I went and met with a recruitment agency to try to help me find a job and I was qualified for the job that I was applying for and the recruiter at that time said you know, I think you're overqualified and we could put you forward, but you're gonna be bored, you won't be there in six months. And I was like, well, but I need a job. Right at this point I was living on with my mom and sleeping on her couch and like I was 30. So it's like I want to do something, I need a job, and so ultimately, what happened through that conversation with that recruiter, identifying my strengths and my experience and all those things, was that we ended she ended up recommending me to her manager and they hired me at that recruitment firm to do business development. So I was selling the service and then that evolved to me selling the service but also finding the people. So I would go into an organization and they'd say we need an administrative assistant. And then I would go back and I would find the right person and make that match. Essentially and that is really how it started it was by fluke. It was never even a career path that I knew existed and I did that for two years and then went on maternity leave to have my son, who's now 16.
Speaker 2:And then when I was going back off maternity leave, there were some changes within that organization and I decided that for balance in my life I didn't want to work in an agency world because it can be a bit of a grind. So I went into corporate space. I worked for Eastlink here locally in Halifax for two years and then I went to Manulife for 10, did recruitment the whole time and then I was packaged out just before the beginning of the pandemic due to a global restructure not the pandemic itself and decided I was going to bet on myself and go all in and try this independent consultant route as a recruiter. And then the pandemic hit and at that point I started having people reaching out to me going like I don't love what I'm doing, I've been sent home, I've been laid off, I don't know.
Speaker 2:What do you recommend? Can you look at my resume? And really a business that was only going to be recruitment for other organizations became. We recruit for organizations, but we also support career seekers. And let's get your resume right. Let's get you on LinkedIn and make sure that you have a profile that's going to get you noticed, because recruiters use that platform to find talent. And then how do we stack all of that so that we are able to negotiate the right salary for you? And we're four and a half years in. I am growing a team I'm not just independent consultant, jen and we're looking at and entering markets at a North American level, and that's what we're doing.
Speaker 1:I love it and I love to like just visualizing like it's only been four and a half years, like that's not a long time to see and to watch what you've created.
Speaker 1:And it's been such a beautiful thing and I've only known you for a short period of time, but it's just been so cool to just even see the beauty of what you've created for so many people, especially for women, who have been looking for something more in their life, something different. And I know a lot of times people, especially podcast guests, who come on this podcast and do podcasts in general, are often focused around business. But not all women who are listening or who want this journey in their life of something more necessarily, are focused on business. I mean, it's just not for everybody, and that's why I love what you do, because it really helps give people purpose again without it being that focus of, like I have to start a whole business by myself, like, as you know, it's not all rainbows and butterflies and green grass all the time. So, like, how can you help women like you follow in your footsteps to create a career that they absolutely love and get paid what they're?
Speaker 2:worth? Yeah, and it's a great question, and I do want to say that for a lot of people, they assume that it is a very large mountain to climb and if you don't have the right tools and resources, it is a very large mountain to climb, but it's also a lot easier than you think that we do. Put ourselves second, third, fourth, regardless of whether we have humans that are relying on us from, you know, a parent perspective, or we just kind of like we're going to hang back at the back of the line and see what happens. I think that the biggest thing for me is that I I give women the opportunity to understand what their worth is through confidence and clarity. And yes, it's resume writing and cover letter and LinkedIn profiles and you know how do you prepare for an interview and all of those things which I absolutely love doing. But it's those things is it's really confidence and clarity like hidden inside of that are disguised in that, because you, once you start to see the lightbulb moment of like, oh, I can do this, or this is something that's really important that I just took for granted or I didn't realize was a sought after skill set, the wheels start turning and then you see that possibility and you know on paper it doesn't make sense that I'm sitting here four years into a business that started in the pandemic as well as, like all the other steps of my journey, making multiple six figures and helping other people do that.
Speaker 2:And you're right, not everyone wants to start a business. If you want to and that's part of your career path, yeah, we can help with that. But also the world wouldn't be sustainable if everyone went and started a business. So it's like let's find you a company that aligns with your own personal values, which I don't think a lot of us recognize what those are. And then it's going. What are the skills and experience you already have and how do we package that together to get you in front of organizations that will align with you? Because it is a career seekers world right now, like you get to drive the bus on. If this company doesn't align with me, I'm not interviewing. They're not. Please give me the job, thank you. And so I think once women specifically go oh okay, I have a lot that I can contribute and that value, because we've helped them identify that and see it like it, literally just it.
Speaker 1:It knocks down those walls very, very quickly right and how do you help someone to have more confidence in this career world, where it's confidence and clarity, like, what is it that helps a woman or helps a person in general? It's not just women we're talking to here. How's a person in general have confidence to step out? Because I've heard a lot too, about like well, we don't always apply for the jobs that we're qualified for, or we question our qualifications, whereas maybe someone from another gender, the males in the world, who are just like, oh whatevs, like I'll just apply and see what happens, or I'm overqualified, right? They don't have that same fear that we have.
Speaker 1:So how do you help someone have more confidence to actually apply for the jobs that they want to go for 50% of the qualifications and he'll apply anyway.
Speaker 2:And then the woman will look at it and if she doesn't meet every single solitary one of them, she won't apply. And the reality is that every single thing that a job description says you need to have, that's the unicorn wishlist. So even the company knows they're not going to get all that. And so we see it very, very often. Now, if you are applying for an accounting position, do the qualification of an accounting background. You got to have it. But when you look at all of the and they usually rank them most important and then kind of least important.
Speaker 2:But statistically it has shown that we lean much heavier into I need to have it all, no, you don't, whereas men and we'll look at it and be like, yeah, I can totally do this, and that's not even an overconfidence. It's just that the way that the male brain is processing it, from what I have seen, is I can figure this out and I can learn it, and really so can women. And so what I really try to do is say you know, when I've been working with people one-on-one, it is okay, like we're going to take inventory, we're going to go through what's important to you personally. We're going to look at what you've done professionally. We're going to really understand what you do have in this toolkit and because there's a lot of pieces inside of that that come naturally to someone, they don't realize it's actually an asset to them, right? Because you know we do this and we're very comfortable speaking like this or speaking on stage. Not everyone else is, so we assume that everybody loves doing this, whereas someone else is like sick as a dog for a week before they have to, you know, give a five minute presentation at work.
Speaker 2:So what we have to really do is start saying like we're going to gain the clarity of what are your strengths and I also will say to people you know that this is not everybody's strength, right Like this becomes your secret sauce and once we start to get that and there are those light bulb moments, then it's very easy to kind of keep that momentum building Because, at the end of the day, certain skills you can't be taught, but most of the things you know that come naturally to people. Like, if you're not a good communicator, it's going to take you a lot of work to really be a strong communicator. If it comes naturally to that and you can lean into it. It's easier for an organization to go I can teach you the software, but I can't teach you empathy, right and so it's really starting to give people the insight into.
Speaker 2:You have. 80% of what you need you already have. The other 20% is the plan. Sometimes it's education, sometimes it's just working with someone that can help you build out a plan and like, let you see what that path forward is and that's the work that we do, so that you know women are having seats at tables that they deserve to be at. And then they feel confident to say you know, I want the higher end of the salary range and we're doing that.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I love that, and I think we often forget that we don't have to like check every single box because I'm the same way. It's like I'll look at that list and I'm like I have to be perfect, a hundred percent at this, this, this, this and this and it's not the truth. No, it's not the truth, and we just got to find that secret sauce, so I like that.
Speaker 2:Well, and I think you know, one of the things that I really love about what you do, Jess, and then even being at your event was like, like, perfection is not a thing, like we're showing up as our best versions, right, but even then there's days that we don't, and to me, I often will say, to someone especially, cause there is a lot of like well, I don't, I don't check every single box, right, well, okay, but perfection, and then the opposite of that being failure, like neither one of those things really exist, right, like nobody's ever going to be perfect. And then like, like you think about, like all these athletes that are like really decorated or someone who's been very successful in their career, well, they haven't. That hasn't been that way. All the time there's been stumbles. So perfection isn't a thing, and neither is failure, because you ultimately end up learning from it and then you're able to like pivot or do something different.
Speaker 2:So I try to really speak to people and, again, not to pick on women, but we really lean into this perfection thing and I've got to be all the things for all the people and at the end of the day, it's just, it's just not realistic. So I try to say like perfection doesn't happen, failure doesn't happen, like those things don't exist. We're going to meet in the middle because everything is teaching us something and then I'm trying to apply that so that people can really again say I need to have a seat at that table, because I now understand that it's not about being perfect and checking all the boxes on the list.
Speaker 1:Right, and how do we get from this? Like again perfection or checking? All of the boxes to actually asking for the money that we're worth, because I think there's also that piece where it's like, well, I didn't hit all of those qualifications, or well, I'm just happy I got the job, and I also understand that we've only been really doing this for like maybe two generations.
Speaker 1:We're the only one generation before us. So this is all really new. For women to be able to have a seat at the table, to be able to ask for what they're worth, to be able to even access their own money, Like this is all very new for us, essentially. So, like how do we gain that confidence to be like I'm worth this? Give me more money please.
Speaker 2:Yeah, pay me all the things. Well, I think a couple of things like to your point. So I was born in 1975 and in 1975, it was the first year that a woman could apply for a credit card without her husband's permission yeah right, whereas today I'm like, are you effing, kidding me?
Speaker 2:right? Like that's our thing. But so it is still very new. Like 50, 49 years, 50 years it's not a long time, right.
Speaker 2:And so I think where specifically women need to get uncomfortable so they can be comfortable is looking at like we know what we're good at. Right, we might not say we're good at it or we might not share with anyone outside of maybe our closest friends, but it is like you need to take inventory of you know what you're good at, you know what comes naturally to you. You can start to flush out what you've done in your career and you can start to almost like itemize that of like I am good at this, didn't really love that. But when you take that inventory and then you have the ability to like articulate in an interview those skills and say like I worked on this and this is what I did, it is okay to brag, right, like we, especially in an interview. That's kind of the point of the interview.
Speaker 2:Right, that's uncomfortable for humans in general, but again, it's very uncomfortable for women. But once you are very clear on what you bring to the table by doing the inventory and leaning into where your strengths are. Not only is it easier for you to negotiate the higher end of the salary and usually a salary range that is provided to an organization is about a $10,000 spread Not only will it give you the confidence, but it's also going to be like hey, she's really good, we're going to go towards the higher end of the range because we don't want to lose her.
Speaker 1:So once you can articulate that both of you are moving in that direction and that $10,000 might only become a $5,000 range gap versus the wider one that they've presented, oh, yeah, yeah, Give me the money, give me the money and I do always remember going into interviews when I worked in the corporate space being very nervous of that conversation of money and knowing it's like, oh well, I'm new here or I'm just fresh, fresh blood, so I'll take the lowest whatever, just want the job. But I really do think if we can start to step into that power more and ask for more and get what we're worth, it's going to be a game changer for women because we are worth more and I think that it's time that we step into that and we start asking for what we're worth. So I love that you're helping people do that.
Speaker 2:It's just really, really special. What I was going to say is that I hope that this one piece will help anybody going in. Is that before? So if we go back 15, 20, 30 years? It was the organization. Thank God, they gave me a job, they picked me, they gave me a salary. Thankfully, I have a paycheck.
Speaker 2:That was the way of the world. That is not the way of the world today. The way of the world today is that organizations, yes, are looking for the best talent, but it is the career seeker, or the candidate, as we call them, with the recruitment hat that is really driving that. Do I want to work here? So the company then is like pick us, whereas before we were like pick me right, and so because of that, if anyone, if the only thing that's taken from this conversation is the shift of the organization wants me to pick them versus I want them to pick me, that should at least instill some of that confidence of I know what I'm bringing to the table. They would be lucky to have me because they're hoping you pick them.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, yeah, I like that shift.
Speaker 2:So I interrupted you for that no, you're good Cause.
Speaker 1:I really appreciate that. I can picture it even like in a housing market way, like the buyer's market versus seller's market, right? It's the same thing with recruitment and with business. So it's like I like that focus yeah, with recruitment and with business. So it's like I like that focus yeah. So if you're listening to this and you want more money, it's a good time to ask for it and to go for it because you're worth it Absolutely.
Speaker 1:They want to keep you, or this new company wants to acquire you. So I think that's really cool.
Speaker 2:And I think we're going to see more of that. I think because we also have the generation of like 16 to 25 coming up behind us. They you can say whatever you want about that age range, or like they're too involved in their phones or they're lazy, they don't want to work and whatever, but they will be the first generation that is like I am worth this and I'm not going to tolerate that, and that will be hard for those of us that have come before them to be like well, why don't they have to pay their dues? But you know what? They have more options now than we could ever have imagined and they will set a different tone and I hope that that's something that we take as inspiration from the younger generation that I don't think we're giving them credit for right now.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, 100%, and I know we talked about that at the event too, at Speak Up, because, yeah, there's way more opportunities now than there has ever been for you to do whatever you want it's like most kids. They say their dream is to be a youtuber.
Speaker 1:Right like that was obviously a thing when I was a kid, like no definitely wasn't a thing when you were a kid, like we just didn't have that, like what was the internet then right? So I think it's cool that we can also see that there's a variety of opportunities for people now that just didn't exist, and my hope is that parents, like our parents, picked our career paths for a lot of us Right, and so I think we live in a world now where parents have input but they don't have the stay that our parents would have, and I don't think that's a bad thing.
Speaker 2:I mean, obviously, with everything is moderation and balance. But I think we we have a generation of children like again, I'm going like 16 to 25 and raising a 16 year old. You definitely see some of that. But I think we're coming to a time where they know that they have more options. But they also know, because they have such access to information, that if it doesn't feel right to them and they're not happy, they're not going to stay somewhere, especially in a career, for 15, 20, 30 years and be miserable every day, Cause that's going to. They're going to give a big F you to that because they have so much information around them.
Speaker 2:And I just I would hope that, listen, I started this company when I was 45, right, To some people that's too late, that's too risky. Like you shouldn't have done that because you were 45, you have children and whatever. But I wouldn't be here with you today or at Speak Up when we were on the panel together and you had me and all of those things. Like I wouldn't be doing that if I had just followed what the only option that on paper looked like I should have been doing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I always admire seeing someone taking a risk at in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, whenever, whenever it is you want to take a risk because for me, I always think I'm past.
Speaker 1:I'm past my prime right, like I'm only having my first kid now at at 34, almost 35, and uh, you think it's too late because society has told you for so long it's too late. And I've always appreciated people who made big risks and did big changes later on. Because I'm like, oh wait, like obviously I still have time and and like it's true, we all have lots of time, like we, and I think we often forget that. But when I see someone like you who's taken a big risk, it's really inspiring to me because I'm like, oh wait, life doesn't end at 30, 35, 40. It doesn't end after I have a baby. Like it's really nice to see something can change and something can.
Speaker 2:I can do anything at any age, absolutely, and I, you know, I had Chase. I had I turned 33 in July and Chase was born the following month. Right, I had Chloe when I was just turning 40 and so in that regard, yeah, too late, we didn't get married till after we had Chase. So, again, like we didn't really follow any of those proper societal rules. But I also think that, again, like for me, yeah, I can do your resume and I can do your LinkedIn and I can give you the plan forward and all the things, but what I really want to do is inspire possibility and, like, allow you to create impact in whatever it is that you're doing, because the ripple effect it ends up in your home.
Speaker 2:And so my husband was previously a police officer for 20 years and you can really explain to your kids what daddy did for work right, and how daddy helped the community and all those things.
Speaker 2:But to then turn around and have to articulate your job as a recruiter was really really hard around doing that, and so one of the things that I finally got to a place, especially with Chase he was probably like seven was I help people do work that they like so that the money that they're making allows them to provide for their family, the same way that dad keeps the community safe. And it took a long time to figure that out, but at the end of the day, like that was what the impact of recruiting was and I could explain that to him. I of the day, like that was what the impact of recruiting was and I could explain that to him. It was like I give people jobs and jobs, give people money so they can travel or have a baby or whatever that is going to be. But again, if you don't look at it with like through the lens of what, what is possibility and how can you explain that? It would just be like my dad has a really cool job and my mom just works Right.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And this doesn't sound. It doesn't always look as glamorous sometimes, because they just see you on a computer or on a phone call or whatever.
Speaker 2:It is hard to articulate that, but to like that's life-changing money for a lot of families, especially in today's world. So you just again it's looking through things with a different lens and trying to learn again, like we all add so much value, we're not taught to share that value brightly or loudly or use that voice. But like that's really where I'm hoping to impact change is you don't have to be a jerk about it and be like, hey, look at me over here. But like you know you're worth because, like we all have it and companies will, they'll pay it. Like I had someone with a $63,000 a year salary increase that we negotiated for them Right, like, yeah, if someone can negotiate $63,000 more than what they were making you can negotiate 10.
Speaker 1:Yes, please, yeah, let's go. Yeah, today I love that yeah, right now Bring it on manifest that.
Speaker 1:The other thing I really wanted to chat with you about is also like building a solid network which you've done so well on LinkedIn, which you have built just an empire over there of people who can connect with you about, is also like building a solid network, which you've done so well on LinkedIn, which you have built just an empire over there of people who can connect with you. How can you help someone who's listening to this right now, who's?
Speaker 1:like I don't really know a lot of people, or I'm new to the city or I want to create a better network around me. How can they do that, whether that's virtually, on LinkedIn or in person like? What advice would you give to that person who is looking to create a better network in person or online?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, Start small, right, Because the consistency is going to be important, but start small. And so don't commit to 10 networking events in a new city in over a two month period, Like, let's be honest, right, over a two month period. Like let's be honest, right. And then even virtually. When it comes to LinkedIn, it's such an intimidating platform for people. But they're like start small.
Speaker 2:And when I say start small, you might not know a lot of people. Pick one event locally that you can go to. You know, for people that are really new to even the country. But specifically, even in the city of Halifax, the Halifax partnership has a connector program like start there, get that information, and I'm sure if you're in a larger city, they probably have something similar. It is does take a little bit of time to figure out what is where, but networking is never going to go away, right. Like when we talk about technology and AI and all of the things. There might be virtual networking that we didn't have before, but the in-person that's never going to go away, like that. That's just like we're always going to need that, and humans do crave other human interaction, Right. And so I would say start small and make a commitment to one you know, virtual, and then when or sorry in person. And then when you're doing the virtual piece, I think what becomes really important is the consistency with that.
Speaker 2:Linkedin is an absolute goldmine. Whether you are a business owner, whether you are a leader of a business, whether you are a career seeker, whether you're just trying to hone your skills within your industry, it is a goldmine of information and knowledge and opportunity. But if you go to my LinkedIn profile and think that you have to do what I'm doing every day on LinkedIn, just starting out, I didn't do that. When I first started out, I would like somebody's post, I would connect with one person, I might like make a comment, but I wasn't putting out the content or putting out even the amount of information that I do now. It is an evolution.
Speaker 2:So start small, be consistent. You know, find someone that you can have accountability with. Right, I have someone who's like I love how much you post on LinkedIn and you know, but I can't do it. But do two a week, right, Like, start with two a week. And then it became like, well, I'll check in and see like how's it going and did you get there?
Speaker 2:Because we are human and we have a million things that we're dealing with. You might not think about your LinkedIn post, but 10 minutes every two days just engaging on that platform, or one event a month is it will make all of the difference for you. And people again crave other human interaction. We might think we're all disconnected because of the world around us, but we do crave that human interaction that someone's going to be like oh my God, you came to this event, I'm going to another one. You should come to that and again, especially in Atlantic Canada, the ripple effect of everybody being welcoming and come with me and join my. You know, join my group and let's try this. Like that happens, but don't be intimidated by it. And if you are intimidated, just start small, let's start.
Speaker 1:What I've been trying to add more and more, especially in person networking events, to my year. And it's not even that I'm new here. I just feel like I haven't been in that especially business owner space or have been known in that business owner space. So can you give someone some advice on, like, what do you talk about when you meet someone? If you're like an introvert like me, you're a little scared. You go to an in-person networking event, do you go with business cards? Do you say hey, how are you, what do you do?
Speaker 1:Or is there like a better intro for like a networking event that you're just like. What do we even say yeah, Like your pants.
Speaker 2:They look good Nice butt Nice, butt, right, no, so I will. I don't take business cards. I use my LinkedIn, right. So if I'm like, hey, we need to connect, are you on LinkedIn here? And like you can get a QR code off your LinkedIn profile, but you can also just be like, let me look you up now and I'm going to connect with you, but before you get to that point of either handing out a business card or saying let's connect on LinkedIn, I, what I have encouraged people to do, is again like I'll ask what brought you here?
Speaker 2:Right, or are you by yourself? Or who did you come with? Or you know, like very again the organic and authentic conversation, like if you come up to, if you came up to me and were like hey, I'm Jess and I do this, this and this, and like, can we meet? I'm going to be like whoa, right, but we get nervous because we assume that people don't want to talk to us. But, like, the four people that you might be standing beside might not be talking because they're nervous as well. So I think, if we can start to eliminate, I shouldn't be in this room when everyone else has all their shit together. And if you have to beat me out. I'm sorry but, like if you think that you're making the wrong assumption, because we're all, we all have insecurities or we all feel like we shouldn't be in the room that we're in, I didn't think that I should apply to be on the panel. When I did, and it was Kate on my team that was like you need to make this video and apply for this and I was like she's going to want me there and she was like just do it Right.
Speaker 2:And one of the very first events I went to through a business group that I was in, I drove two hours to dig me for this like retreat for three days and I sat in the car for two hours and I was gonna turn around and go back home and that ultimately ended up to me the following year winning an award through that group and doing business with a ton of people that the year before I didn't even know when I was afraid to talk to. So I think we just tell ourselves stories, right, and our brain is our best friend or our worst enemy usually our worst enemy because it's trying to protect us and not push us outside of our comfort zone, because we're geared to survival. But you know, like everybody in that room has something to be afraid of, right? Even though it's not realistic, it's running through their minds. So I just always approach it.
Speaker 2:I was like what brought you here tonight, right, did you come by yourself? Do you know someone? And just like the small talk, because then they're like, oh, thank god, somebody spoke to me and then they'll start asking you the question and and the conversation will just flow very naturally. I just wouldn't lead with Hi, I'm Jen and I own the Warrington group and I have a podcast and this is what I help people do every day. I'm going to approach it from hey, who are you, right? And then in a just a really authentic way, like what brought you here tonight? You might have won a ticket to that event and you can be like, oh my god, I wanted a ticket to this event and so I came. I'm like, oh my god, that's so cool, right, like it doesn't have to be.
Speaker 1:I am Jess and this is what I do yeah, I'm not very good at that no, nobody tells me he's like Jess, you got to be a little more forward and I'm like I prefer my approach.
Speaker 2:Thank you but you're an introverted, extrovert, right like, and I feel like I'm the same way. I get very energized in those rooms, but then I also get tired. I could sit here and do this for hours.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, All day.
Speaker 2:But I think most of us are a balance of that right. But again it's like oh, if you're not extroverted, you shouldn't go to those events. Well, why not? Who's making these rules for us to follow those events? Well, why not?
Speaker 1:Like who's making these rules for us to?
Speaker 2:follow yeah.
Speaker 1:Right and I think like for me the one-on-one is like really, really special and I can focus on it a lot easier than in those bigger groups. But Speak Up was an event of, I would say, 75% introverts Like most people who went to it were introverts introverted and it was really interesting to see a space that was welcoming and loving for introverts because I know that's not the typical, but also very overwhelming for people too.
Speaker 1:So it's really interesting to see something like that created that can make people feel safe to be able to come, even if you're introverted and even if you're scared. But I love that approach of like hey, what brought you here? It's a very easy, opener than what. Are you new for work?
Speaker 1:Right, tell me about you and I was even thinking, as you were speaking, like had I not gone to a networking event, I wouldn't have met you. Jen, we met at a networking event that you were speaking at, so I think that's pretty cool too Earlier this year I can't even remember which one it was. Maybe it was like a BNI event or something like some kind of business event was it at the international women's day at workspace and 100% it was international women's day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, yeah, so like it wouldn't. You wouldn't have even connected or you wouldn't have even known about speak up, had I not gone, had you not gone to an in-person networking right and I think we need both right like.
Speaker 2:I think I think we need in person andperson networking event and I think we need both right Like. I think we need in-person and I think we need virtual. I think we need pieces of us being extroverted, I think we need pieces of us being introverted. I think we need pieces where we're confident and I think we need pieces where we're a little bit scared, like everything is like obviously a paradox and that kind of is frustrating. But I think we need all of those pieces Cause, like you said, like what, if we didn't know that Right, then we wouldn't have met at that event.
Speaker 2:And then again Kate was like you need to like put this video through. And I was like, yeah, you're right, okay, I'll do it. And then I like recorded it and erased it, recorded it and erased it probably a gazillion times and I was like skip it, like just leave, don't think about it again, to then again having the opportunity to be on the panel, which I absolutely loved, and it was incredible. And I left there energized, even though sometimes, after things like that, you're like okay, I'm just kind of tired, I don't want to be around people. I didn't feel that way and but there was still parts of me, up until being on the panel with the women that you had selected, which I thought everybody was really aligned, that I was like I shouldn't't be here, right, and like, at the end of the day, that sucks BS. We should all be in the. We should all be okay, taking up space.
Speaker 1:And I bet too, if you asked every person on the panel, they would have said the exact same thing Like I don't belong up here, I don't know what I'm doing, sitting with these women Like.
Speaker 2:I think we all said it at one point on the panel.
Speaker 1:Right, cause it, it's just. It's so interesting that we automatically think that and I know that that's like I can see the value in each and every person on that stage and each and every person in that room, but we don't always get to see it in ourselves, and so yeah that was really cool yeah, and I think I think, just in general, we're taught to play small right and we're taught to not take up space, and I don't think that's a gender thing, I just think that's a human thing.
Speaker 2:I think that certain people break out of that earlier than others. But I also like, as I'm watching my kids grow up and you'll see this and you'll be in all of these stages very, very quickly is like we almost have to empower them to play big so that when they get to our ages they they're not deflated by. I had to play small my whole life, like I was never taught to be confident or stand up for myself or have difficult conversations. And my kids are doing that and I would probably only have started doing that in my forties and maybe sometimes I would still avoid it now.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Take up space.
Speaker 1:Somebody has yeah, somebody has told me before too of of the discomfort, cause we do live in a smaller province east coast of Canada, that it can be an east coast thing too. But I feel like it is time for us to kind of break through that and to take up the space that we need and share the messages that we have to share and be big Like why not?
Speaker 2:What's the worst that's going to happen? Nothing, right, I hope not. Nothing. Nothing Right, right, no. But like again, think of all of it Again. I mean I'm sure I only know like maybe 2% of the things that you've done just in the short time that we've known each other, but like think of all of the things that you have done that might've gone well, not well. What have you? Like what's the worst that has happened? You start over, you try again. Someone says something that like you're kind of like bothered by, but like at the end of the day, who cares? Really?
Speaker 1:because it's not going to matter in five years.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the only thing I'm thinking is you get pregnant and you barf for nine months and then you have a baby right, and then you'll probably do it all over again, and then you'll all of a sudden blink and you'll have a 16 year old who's learning to drive because that's where I'm at. And then I have a 10 year old who thinks she's 30 and just wants to travel the world and could not be more opposite. Like it's, just, like that's. That's the world we live in. Right it is.
Speaker 1:It really is the cliche of like life's a journey, not the destination ever-changing so many exciting things coming yeah and it, yeah, really magical and really energizing to be in conversations like this, where we get to hang out and just see the magic. That's happening in this world. I think it's so cool. Can you tell our listeners where they can connect with you, where they can find you online? Yeah, all the things, all the things.
Speaker 2:And your podcast, oh, my podcast, okay. So the best place to find me is LinkedIn. Jen Warrington I wouldn't go look for the Warrington group. I mean, it's there and it's a ton of fun. I love it as the chatty Kathy growing up, but also someone that sat on the sidelines. To be able to be in front of that and have those conversations is really exciting. So there's the career field podcast. We are on Instagram under the Warrington group and then really, it's just I'm trying to be bigger and bolder and be at more events, especially in local areas, and then trying to get out more. But you know, I think the biggest thing for me is how do I have a presence on LinkedIn and Instagram that I can educate? And then, obviously, the Career Fuel podcast is a real big passion project of mine and I'm just going to keep talking.
Speaker 1:Yeah, podcasting is the coolest thing. Like it really is the coolest thing.
Speaker 2:I love it and we so we do ours through pod starter. So they like I just show up and get to like riff and be me. And some weeks we have guests and we tell really cool career stories about how they got there. Sometimes we have a guest who I've worked with and again the evolution of their career journey and where they're at. And then we've we do some solo episodes where I'm just talking about all the things that I wish, as a recruiter, people knew so that they can again find those careers that they want and be paid what they're worth. And it just I don't know like yeah, I could literally sit every day and just either talk to people or, I guess, talk to myself when I'm doing that too, because I just think everybody has such a really cool story.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 2:It's nice to be able to give women and people a platform to be able to use their voices. Yeah, and I would just encourage anyone to like just use your voice, like, we want to know each other's story, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I have a couple of questions that I ask every guest that comes on the podcast. You ready?
Speaker 2:I love rapid fire question.
Speaker 1:Okay, give it to me what's your favorite compliment to receive?
Speaker 2:That I'm a good mom oh yeah, you are a good mom. Thank you.
Speaker 1:Jen had to push this call by a few minutes because she had to help her son get into the house, who's injured right now. So I would say you're a great mom.
Speaker 2:Jen, thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you. What's your favorite thing to do to boost your mood when you're feeling grumpy?
Speaker 2:Oh, so people in my family might not agree with this. I don't feel I get grumpy very often I but I do feel that what boosts my mood when I'm not feeling myself is, um, I listened to podcasts or I'm listening to Taylor Swift because I'm in this whole thing with my daughter right now, and for me it's just sitting down and like writing out my thoughts and always a good piece of chocolate oh yeah yeah.
Speaker 1:I was just about to text my husband to be like bring home chocolate please. Yeah, I see you, I don't even ask anymore.
Speaker 2:I just go buy it a big bunch of it and I hide it in places in the house and like why are there all of these wrappers?
Speaker 1:I'm like yeah me because I've put it there yeah thanks, and you just went to go see Taylor Swift, didn't you?
Speaker 2:I did. I took Chloe to Toronto for night four of Taylor Swift oh yeah yeah, it was worth every hard-earned penny earlier in the year to put forward to do that like it was. Just it was the coolest thing. And I've seen really cool concerts like I my first concert was Tina Turner and I've seen Cher and Elton John and like really cool, like legendary people, and this was this was incredible next level next level oh so cool.
Speaker 1:Okay, one more. Do you have a song or quote that boosts your confidence?
Speaker 2:I do so. It's a Taylor Swift no shame, no shame.
Speaker 2:But a year ago I like I knew hardly any of her songs, right, so I don't like. So I have a tattoo here. It says daylight. And so in the Taylor Swift song daylight and my family has made fun of me for doing this. But there's a part at the end where she's speaking, she's not saying, and it says I want to be defined by the things that I love, not the things I hate, not the things I'm afraid of or the things that scare me in the middle of the night. I believe that you are what you love and like. That has been my go-to since then.
Speaker 1:I love it so good, so good. Well, thank you, jen, for being here, for sharing your truth and your light, and we are just so grateful to have you here and to have your story and for you to be inspiring so many people to go after something big and to chase the careers they love and to make more money.
Speaker 2:Let's go Chase your greatness. Thank you for having me. Thanks so much, Jen.
Speaker 1:Thank you. What's up, sis? I am so glad we could hang out today. If you love this episode, send it to a friend or share it on your social media and tag me so I can personally thank you for helping me sprinkle some confidence in the world. And don't forget you are magic. Let's show the world your shine.
