In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews career coach and author Jen Swanson. Jen shares a formative childhood story of frequent moves that taught her resilience, resourcefulness, and the habit of welcoming newcomers—a skill she now applies in professional settings. She emphasizes that the career landscape is constantly evolving, noting shifts in resume standards, interview formats (including video, group, and multiple rounds) and the need for continual learning. Her core business advice is to be patient and persistent, likening perseverance to Dory’s “just keep swimming.” For her younger self, she would have started earlier and taken marketing training. When asked about happiness, Jen argues that contentment and present‑moment gratitude are more realistic goals than chasing a singular notion of happiness. She describes a simple mindfulness check‑in: asking oneself how one feels in the moment and staying aware of breathing and wellbeing. Jen recommends the book Embers by Richard Wagamese for its reflective, bite‑size prose that reminds readers of larger perspectives beyond personal problems. Her favorite quote, “What other people think of you is none of your business,” underscores the importance of authenticity over external validation. Finally, she directs listeners to her website careersbyjen.com and her social media handles (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) for further connection.
Chapters
Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode. All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Jen Swanson with us. She is a career coach, author, online teacher, and host of the Careers by Jen podcast. She helps you get the job, love your work, and advance your career. So welcome to the show.
Thank you.
Of course, grateful to have you here, Jen. Um, we'll jump into the first one. The first question I have for you is What is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Well, I learned how to be resilient and how to make friends easily because as a child, we moved around all the time. We were in new houses and new schools and new cities across the country, and in some cases, new languages in the school. So I was often the new kid partway through a school year or, you know, in a new place or a new neighborhood. So it taught me to be resourceful and flexible and friendly. And now I pay attention to the new person in a group. If I'm in a workplace or in a situation where the group's been together for a while, I make sure to say hello and try to be as helpful as I can because I have a sense that I know a little bit about how that person might be feeling.
Hmm. And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Well, that the career space is always changing. What was a great resume the last time you applied for a job is not necessarily so this time. Interview techniques change. There's lots of pre-interviews and screening calls and video interviews and Skype sessions now, and sometimes multiple interviews in person for the same person, the same job. And a lot of these are now group interviews. So it's not something you learn how to do once and leave it. You need to be as up to date as you can in the job search process, or it will show.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
I would say be patient and persistent. It's not easy to be in business for yourself. And for most of us, success doesn't happen overnight. There's struggle and challenge and mistake-making that needs to happen on the road to where you want to be. So I would say be patient with yourself and with others and the whole process. And when it feels like it's not working, as Dory said in Finding Nemo, "Just keep swimming." Ah, I like that.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Start earlier and take marketing training.
Mm. And in your— so kind of going a little bit of a different path. In your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
I don't think there is one. I think that the idea is overrated. I think contentment is a better goal, and gratitude for what you have is important. We have moments of happiness and joy, but the idea that you just need X or you just need to be X or whatever, it's seductive and misleading. So, I would say be in the now and be grateful.
So, just to dive a little deeper into that because I'm always curious with this. So, a little background, I got into meditation probably 5 years ago and I felt like after I did that, I first started to notice or experience the actual present moment. But, it's very like in for me, at least difficult to like teach or show someone how to be in the now. So like my question to you is like, how do you like get into the now? Or like, how does that work for you?
It's a, it's reminding yourself. It's having a way to remember that everything could be okay right this moment. It might not be in 10 minutes. It might not have been 10 minutes ago, but, you know, ask yourself, how are you right now in this very moment? You know, are you, are you alive? Are you breathing? Are you surviving? Is everything okay? And just to remind yourself every time you think of it, that, that to be in the now, not, not to be missing the moment that you're in, because we do that a lot, don't we?
So kind of, so you kind of do like a check-in in a sense.
Yeah.
Got it. So the next one I have for you is what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
You know, this is an impossible question, Tyler.
I know, that's why I love it.
There are too many books. My most recent favorite is a book by a recently deceased writer and poet, Richard Wagamese. It's called Embers, and it's the kind of book you can pick up and put down over and over again. It's short one-page writings that are inspirational and reflective and just beautifully written. And the book helps me to remember that there are more important things to consider than my own problems. So I highly recommend it. It's a beautifully done book.
And maybe another very impossible question, or maybe not, but what is your favorite quote and why?
What other people think of you is none of your business.
I love that.
You know, it's been attributed to all sorts of people, so I can't really find the original author. I've seen it attributed to Jack Canfield, Deepak Chopra, Paul Coelho, but Whoever said it, I think it's true. If you spend a whole ton of time worrying about what other people think of you, trying to please everybody or be what other people expect you to be rather than just being yourself, then you're gonna lose you. So I would say be your best self and get on with it. That would be your business.
Agreed. Thank you so much for coming on. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find and/or connect with you online?
That would be careersbyjen, it's J-E-N-N,.com is the best place. And you can find me on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter at careersbyjen as well.
Perfect. Thanks again for hopping on.
Thanks so much. The podcast you just heard was published with Anchor. Got something you want to say to the creator of this show? Send them a voice message using the Anchor app, free for iOS and Android.
