Work Stew Podcast

Listen to the interview by clicking the arrow on the audio player below.

Much has been written about the “long-term unemployed”—job seekers who have been out of work for at least 27 weeks. In this interview, I talk to Chris—a Seattle area resident with a B.A., a decade of work experience, and a graduate degree—who has been job hunting since June 2011.

Since he’s still interviewing for new roles as they crop up, and since despair doesn’t sell well, Chris asked that I use only his first name.  

About Chris: According to his blog, Chris has “a Master’s degree in the social sciences from a large, prestigious state college” and a Bachelor’s degree “in a different social science from a small and not-so-prestigious state college.” He also explains: “In between the two degrees, I worked mostly in public education, most of it in typical inner-city schools, often with severely abused and disturbed youth.” In addition to his job experience in schools, he has also volunteered as a community organizer and campaign staffer.

Podcast: Download

Listen to the interview by clicking the arrow on the audio player below.

Very few of us make a living doing something that we started at age four. That’s when Jennifer DeVore began playing the cello. In the interview, I learned how her path has unfolded since then and what it takes to make it as a freelance musician in New York.

About Jennifer DeVore: DeVore received a B.A. in Art History from Harvard University before earning her Masters degree from the New England Conservatory. She is half of Zentripetal Duo, a violin/cello combo that performs frequently around New York City. She is also a member of the Harrisburg Symphony and a teacher affiliated with the Packer Institute in Brooklyn.

Over the years, DeVore has appeared at Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, Zankel Hall, and Weill Hall, as well as concerts in Europe, Asia, Israel, and Costa Rica. A champion of contemporary music, she has worked closely with composers John Cage, Ornette Coleman, and John Zorn, and her diverse interests have led to recordings and performances with artists such as Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Josh Groban, Suzanne Vega, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Podcast: Download

Listen to the interview by clicking the arrow on the audio player below.

A few weeks ago, when so much of the conversation about work (here and elsewhere) was being dominated by talk of Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In, I was introduced to Justine Musk. I was told that her blog tackled similar questions—about ambition and power—but from a very different perspective.

By the time we connected for the interview, we had both decided to set aside the Lean In debate, at least for now. Instead, we discussed the specifics of Musk’s own career path: how she came to be a writer, what she writes, how she’s using Pinterest to map out her next book, and what her intentions are for her blog.

About Justine Musk: Justine Musk is a Canadian-born, California-based novelist and blogger. Her first book, an urban fantasy titled Blood Angel, was published in 2005, and the sequel, Lord of Bones, came out in 2008. Musk has also written short stories and a YA (young adult) novel, Uninvited.

On her blog, justinemusk.com, she writes about creativity and other topics. In 2010, she told her (completely fascinating) personal story in this essay for the magazine Marie Claire.

Podcast: Download

Listen to the interview by clicking the arrow on the audio player below.

Grindr is an award-winning, location-based app that helps gay men to connect with one other. Launched in 2009, Grindr now has more than 4.5 million users in 192 countries around the world.

When I asked Grindr’s Founder and CEO, Joel Simkhai, what he had in mind when he started the company, he said that he didn’t even set out to build a business; he just wanted to make it easier to meet other gay men. “The main problem,” he said, “is that you don’t know who else is gay.” Grindr employs the GPS or Wi-fi technology on a user’s mobile device to determine their exact location; the app then displays the profiles of other Grindr users in the area who might want to chat and meet.

About Joel Simkhai: Born in Tel Aviv, Simkhai moved to New York with his family at the age of three. He attended Tufts University, where he majored in International Relations and Economics. Before founding Grindr,  Simkhai started his own Internet marketing firm. Prior to that, he worked in several different roles, first in the finance industry, then at an Internet start-up, and also at NBC News. He currently resides in Los Angeles.

Podcast: Download

Listen to the interview by clicking the arrow on the audio player below.

One of the ongoing discussions at Work Stew concerns the question: when it comes to choosing a career path, what’s the best approach? Should you follow your heart, do the math, or something in between?

Lailah Morid is following her heart—and the hearts of singles looking for love. At this stage, Morid is working multiple jobs but in time she hopes to make a living helping people to find the relationships they want. Her newly-founded company, FastFirstDates, organizes social events for professionals who prefer to meet offline.

About Lailah Morid: Lailah Morid is the founder of FastFirstDates, a newly-launched speed-dating business based in Los Angeles. Morid’s plan is for many of the company’s events to be charity-focused, with part of the participants’ fees going to support select non-profit organizations. In addition to the dating industry, Morid has also worked in a variety of other fields including journalism, alternative medicine, and video production.

Podcast: Download

Listen to the interview by clicking the arrow on the audio player below.

In this episode, I speak with environmental consultant Randy Austin. If you have an interest in environmental matters, but are not inclined to go in search of gigantic snakes in the middle of the night (as my last interviewee, python hunter Ruben Ramirez, does on a regular basis), Randy’s career path might be one to consider.

About Randy Austin: Based just outside Orlando in Kissimmee, Florida, Austin is the principal of Austin Environmental Consultants, a firm he founded in 2002. Austin has been working as an environmental consultant since receiving a Masters in Science from the University of South Alabama over 25 years ago. Writing under the name R.L. Austin, he is also the author of several books including Wizard’s Refrain, winner of the 2010 Royal Palm Literary Award.

Podcast: Download

Listen to the interview by clicking the arrow on the audio player below.

You may have seen the headlines: Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission just held a month-long python-catching contest.

Anyone over the age of 18 who had completed an online (online!) training course could participate, and nearly 1,600 people signed up. Most were amateurs, but those who prevailed were pros.

Ruben Ramirez, who has been hunting snakes for more than 27 years and considers the Everglades his backyard, won for “most harvested.” He turned in 18 pythons over the course of the competition.

About Ruben Ramirez: Ruben Ramirez is the founder of a small group of outdoorsmen called the Florida Python Hunters. Licensed to remove Burmese pythons and other non-native reptiles, the group works closely with state officials focused on protecting the ecosystem of South Florida from invasive species.

Podcast: Download

Listen to the interview by clicking the arrow on the audio player below.

Ever since this post posing the question, “Follow Your Heart, Do the Math, or Something In Between?,” I’ve kept an eye out for people whose work paths would suggest that they’ve come up with some answers, at least for themselves.

Carolyn Edgar is just such a person. Somehow, she juggles a challenging job in corporate law, a lifelong passion for writing, and life as a single mom. In the interview, Edgar reflects on her work choices; she also shares the advice she plans to give when the time comes for her kids to find their own career paths.

About Carolyn Edgar: Carolyn Edgar is a New York City attorney and writer who blogs about social issues and relationships at carolynedgar.com. She has contributed to publications including CNN.com and Huffington Post, and has appeared on NPR’s Tell Me More with Tony Cox, The Michael Baisden Show (syndicated), and The Al Butler Show (Philadelphia, PA).

Podcast: Download

Listen to the interview by clicking the arrow on the audio player below.

After reading about the explosive growth of the tattoo industry over the last 15 years, I got to wondering: how does one become a tattoo artist? What’s the path? How would you go from doodling on your arm with a ballpoint pen (the only kind of tattoo I’ve ever had or drawn) to, oh say, rendering a large multicolored dragon on someone else’s torso?

Researching the topic, I discovered Bob Baxter and his jam-packed website, Tattoo Road Trip. As the former editor of the international tattoo magazine Skin & Ink, and as the father of no fewer than three professional tattoo artists, Baxter knows the culture and industry of tattoo as well as anyone I might have called. I spoke to him earlier this week from his home in Hood River, Oregon—about an hour from Portland, the fifth-most-tattooed city in the nation.

Image credit: drawing of Bob Baxter by Bob Tyrrell. Used with permission from Bob Baxter.

About Bob Baxter: Baxter is the editor-in-chief of Tattoo Road Trip, a website for tattoo enthusiasts that includes reviews of tattoo artists and tattoo shops. The site also features picture galleries, drawing tips, business tips, and extensive commentary on the history, culture, and industry of tattoo. Previously, Baxter was the longtime (14 years) editor-in-chief of Skin & Ink, an award-winning tattoo magazine that was owned by Larry Flynt at the time.

Podcast: Download

Listen to the interview by clicking the arrow on the audio player below.

By day I help manage a small business, and for my job I attended an industry conference in Las Vegas last year. At one point during the conference, the Chariots of Fire theme music was played as a group of top-ranked managers took to the stage. In my view, the Chariots of Fire theme music should only be played if it’s 1924, and a group of strapping young men in white athletic gear are actually running along a beach. In other words, I don’t react well to events that are explicitly ‘motivational.’

So, when Oliver Burkeman’s new book, The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking, was released, I devoured it in one sitting. It struck me as a book that would be of particular interest to Work Stew’s readers and listeners, so I requested an interview. I spoke with Burkeman just a day before the start of his multi-city book tour that will include stops in Seattle, San Francisco, Portland, Denver and Boston.

About Oliver Burkeman: Burkeman is a writer for The Guardian based in Brooklyn, New York. His new book The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking explores the upsides of negativity, uncertainty, failure, and imperfection. Each week in This Column Will Change Your Life he writes about social psychology, self-help culture, productivity, and the science of happiness. He also blogs for Guardian US and writes a monthly column for Psychologies magazine.

Podcast: Download