Whether you just got laid off or terminated…or just find yourself feeling weighed down by the job search, Ashley Cheretes, Marketing Director of Digital Strategy and Business Development for Prudential Advisors, has some great advice for you.

I met Ashley in 2013, when she attended a conference presentation I gave (along with Diana Oreck who was the VP of the Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center at the time) on the use of storytelling in attracting, retaining, and engaging employees.

I can still picture where she was in the room because she’s one of those people who stands out in a crowd because they’re such a bright light. She also stood out because she was clearly super sharp and eager to learn.

Because of this, I reached out to her a few years later to see how she was using storytelling in her work and what she was up to on her career journey.

Her observations and insights into key moments of truth that affect a person’s work experience were incredibly interesting, and have contributed to my work over the years with managers on how the importance of mindfulness and intentionality in all interactions with employees.

When I decided to launch a career journey podcast, I asked Ashley if I could interview her both because is crushing it in her career (you’ll see when you look at her LinkedIn profile). Our interview was so information-rich I asked Ashley if she could do a Part II.

This excerpt is from the beginning of the our Part II.

In it, she talks about how she bounced back from being laid off in the early part of her career.

In this excerpt we discuss:

  • Professional Heartbreak
  • Tactics For Recognizing Your Value (and getting material for your resume)
  • Reframing Rejection
  • Challenging the Negative Stories You Tell Yourself About What Happened and About Setbacks During Your Job Search
  • How to Showcase Your Value in a Compelling Way That Doesn’t Come Across as Self-Promotional
  • The Importance of Taking Your Foot of The Gas to Recharge

BTW…you are going to LOVE the complete Ashley Cheretes interview.

She shared some invaluable insights into how to be a rock star employee and grow your career.

She talked about a bunch of topics that I’m incredibly passionate about, so it ended up being a combo interview and conversation.

I’ll be posting the full interview on the website in the coming months and it will be on the podcast when that comes out.

Related Links

The concept of Small Wins

Dr. Teresa Amabile on the Power of Small Wins

Brendon Burchard on Using Small Wins – Brendon is one of my favorites

I also encourage you to just type in “small wins” and watch a number of presentations and interviews on it, including Tony Robbins and Robin Sharma

Recognizing Your Value

How to Identify Your Transferable Skills and Strengths

Challenging the Stories You Tell Yourself

If you want to delve more into how to challenge counterproductive stories, here’s a post I wrote titled The Story I’m Telling Myself (About You)

Movement and “The Hope Molecule”

Here’s the video I referenced where Jane McGonigal (a super star in the video game and now futurism fields) interviews her sister Kelly McGonigal (a super star in the Positive Psychology field) on her book The Joy of Movement: How exercise helps us find happiness, hope, connection, and courage. Kelly shares some incredibly fascinating research on the emotional impact of exercise FAR beyond the typical “runner’s high” stuff you already know, including research on The Hope Molecule.