In this rapid‑fire "6 questions in 7 minutes" interview, Professor Pete Alexander talks with career coach Kyle Elliott, who helps Silicon Valley job seekers land positions at top tech firms. Elliott explains his unique approach of helping clients "own their fabulousness"—reimagining their careers and showcasing what makes them stand out. He shares the joy he gets from clients’ success stories, emphasizes the need for companies to create irreplaceable experiences (like Disneyland or Apple’s customer service), and advises leaders to discover and communicate their unique value through peer feedback, reviews, and simple customer‑feedback questions. Elliott acknowledges mentors Jill Katz and Wendy Weiner, recounts his first job at a diner at age 14 that sparked his lifelong passion for work, and provides his contact details (caffeinatedkyle.com and LinkedIn). The episode blends personal anecdotes with actionable advice for both job seekers and business leaders.
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This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
Yeah. So in a nutshell, I help people find jobs they love. I'm a career coach, but a lot of people do career coaching. So what sets me apart is job seekers come to me when they're looking to rethink, recreate, reimagine their careers. So I help them connect the dots between what they're doing now and what they want to do. And a lot of those people are in Silicon Valley, high tech. So I help them go find jobs at Facebook, Amazon, Google, you name it. And I really get to help them get unstuck. Own their fabulousness and really achieve what feels impossible for a lot of them, which is landing those jobs in Silicon Valley. So it's fun. I love my work.
Kyle, it's great to have you on the show, and I can hear the passion in your voice. It's so great. What, uh, question number 2: what is something that makes you smile and/or laugh about working in your industry?
I would say the success stories. I get text messages, emails almost every day from clients who land their dream jobs. And it's amazing just getting those text messages because it's not just the job that my clients land, but those jobs are allowing them to pay their mortgage, their rent, to send their kids to college. It's these dreams that a lot of my clients have had for a long time, and then they're able to achieve it. So it's so exciting to know that my clients, as a result of working with me, are able to go live out those dreams that they have. And then the second piece is knowing that my clients, as a result of working with me, are able to own their fabulousness. A lot of them are really amazing people, but they come to me and they just really haven't stepped into their fabulousness. So it's exciting. As a result of working together, they actually own it and then they share it with the world and other people get to experience how amazing they are.
I really like how, how you phrase that as, uh, step into your fabulousness. It's, it's just, it's so compelling. I love it. Question number 3. I have a fictitious book with all the answers for What chapter would you think most companies should read?
Hmm, I would say building upon kind of the previous point, it would be Own Your Fabulousness. Before, you and I were talking about Disneyland, and I think a lot of companies are afraid to say, here's what makes us different and unique. You and I were talking about Disneyland and how there's really nowhere on earth like Disneyland. You go to Disneyland, it has this unique experience that you can't find anywhere else. And I wish more companies were like that. You go to Apple, for example, their customer service is like nowhere else. The experience is like nowhere else. Else. And I wish more companies created experiences that were irreplaceable, and that's what helps you stand out in the market. Mm-hmm.
Very wise. I completely agree with you. Question number 4, other than the generic work harder, have a great attitude, and care for customers, what advice or insight would you give to other business leaders?
Yeah, you have to find out what makes you different. You have to figure out what's unique about you, and a lot of people struggle with that. So I work with job seekers. I help them find jobs, and one of the questions I ask I write their resume, their LinkedIn profiles, what sets you apart from the other 250,000, 10,000 people applying for a job at Amazon? And people go, um, I don't know, I have no idea. So what I encourage people to do is text a friend, a few friends, what makes me fabulous? And then look at those responses and see what are those common themes that people say about you. And a lot of people just struggle communicating what sets them apart. So I encourage you to text a few people and get some feedback, and that can be really helpful. And also look back at past performance evaluations. If you're a business, look at reviews. What are people saying on Yelp or Google or Facebook about you? And see what sets you apart from all of the other competition out there, because a lot of people struggle to communicate what makes them different, but that's why people choose you. There's so much competition out there and you have to figure out what sets you apart and then continue to share that with other people. It's just one of the biggest mistakes I see people out there making.
It's very wise. I, you know, what is it, you know, asking your customers, what is it that, why, why did you buy from me? That it's so insightful for that because there might be reasons that you had no idea, I assume, or am I right?
Yes. So, so many people forget to ask for feedback and it's super simple to ask for feedback yet it's also super simple to forget that. So asking your customers for feedback is such a valuable tool that so many people skip over it. It can be as simple as what you said. Why did you choose us over the competition?
Mm-hmm. That's great. I love it. Question number 5: What other business leader like yourself would you like to acknowledge and invite to be on my podcast?
I would recommend two of my mentors. One is Jill Katz. So she spent over 20 years in corporate HR, and then she left that a few years ago to run her own HR consulting firm, Assemble HR Consulting. And then the other one would be Wendy Weiner. She also left a successful career— she was an attorney— to run a resume writing business. Working with executives. So either of them would be amazing. They're huge mentors for me. Um, I left my own career to run my resume writing business full-time.
Great. Well, thank you for that. I'll reach out to them. And our final question, question number 6, please tell me about your first job.
Yes. So I started at 14 working. I went to a local diner. I went in and said, hey, are you hiring? And on the spot, they hired me. Um, the waitress at the front turned around and said, hey, Al, This kid wants a job, and then they hired me on the spot. I washed dishes, bussed tables, I ended up cooking at 14, and it was just an amazing experience. And really, I've just not stopped working since then, and now I help other people find jobs. I mean, it was just ever since then has fueled this passion for working and helping other people.
And I love the fact, and kudos to you, that you just walked up and asked for the job there because that took to be able to do that, because that's a scary—
yeah, it was. I just can't believe how it worked out, and I think that's just the power sometimes of going for it.
Absolutely. So Kyle, thank you so much for being on the show. How can people find you?
Yes, so my website, caffeinatedkyle.com, you can check out, or I spend a lot of time on LinkedIn, so Kyle Elliott, and that's with two L's and two T's.
Perfect. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
