Career Spotlight

Independence Lab's Brianne Rush: Navigating Your Career

Episode Summary

In this episode of Career Spotlight, Michael Bernzweig interviews Brianne Rush, founder of Independence Lab. They discuss Brianne's journey from magazine journalism to establishing a platform focused on emotional intelligence for young professionals. The conversation covers the importance of adaptability in career paths, the impact of AI on job opportunities, and practical tips for job interviews. Brianne emphasizes the value of curiosity, self-learning, and building relationships in both remote and in-office settings. The episode concludes with insights on choosing the right organization size and culture for personal growth.

Episode Notes

In this episode of Career Spotlight, Michael Bernzweig interviews Brianne Rush, founder of Independence Lab. They discuss Brianne's journey from magazine journalism to establishing a platform focused on emotional intelligence for young professionals. The conversation covers the importance of adaptability in career paths, the impact of AI on job opportunities, and practical tips for job interviews. Brianne emphasizes the value of curiosity, self-learning, and building relationships in both remote and in-office settings. The episode concludes with insights on choosing the right organization size and culture for personal growth.

Takeaways

Sound Bites

Chapters

Episode Transcription

Michael Bernzweig (00:02.369)

Are you ready to transform your career and break into the tech industry, even without traditional experience or degrees? Looking for an affordable, practical path to launch your professional journey?

 

Welcome to Career Spotlight, your weekly guide to career transformation and success. Your host is Michael Bernzweig, who in 1998 launched Software Oasis as one of the first platforms enabling businesses to download, license, and deploy software instantly across their networks with a single click. Today, Software Oasis has evolved into one of the leading communities helping career changers and ambitious professionals launch successful careers in tech.

 

Each week, Michael sits down with industry experts, successful career changers, and hiring managers to bring you real-world insights and practical strategies. From entry-level tech positions to business roles, Career Spotlight delivers actionable advice and insider knowledge to help you navigate your career transition successfully.

 

Join our growing community of career changers and ambitious professionals. Subscribe now on your favorite podcast platform and visit softwareoasis.com/subscribe to get our bi-weekly newsletter packed with job opportunities and career resources straight to your inbox.

 

Get ready for weekly insights, success stories, practical tips, and expert interviews that will guide you step-by-step toward your dream career in tech.

 

Subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter https://softwareoasis.com/subscribe/ to stay updated with more insights from technology leaders and transformation experts.

Connect with an exclusive audience of consulting organizations, B2B SaaS founders, and tech leaders through Software Oasis. For over two decades, we've been the trusted platform for professionals seeking smart solutions. Now, leverage our highly engaged community with targeted advertising options designed to maximize your brand's impact and drive real results. View advertising options https://experts.softwareoasis.com/ads

I'd like to welcome everyone to this week's edition of the Career Spotlight. I'm Michael Bernzweig, the founder of Software Oasis. And this week we're being joined by Brianne Rush, founder of Independence Lab. And with that, Brianne, welcome to the podcast.

 

Brianne Rush (00:21.944)

Thank you so much for having me, Michael. I'm very excited to be here.

 

Michael Bernzweig (00:25.757)

Absolutely, and I have to say you're wearing my favorite color purple today, so I think we're on the same page. for a lot of our listeners that may or may not be familiar with either yourself or Independence Lab, can you share a little bit of your personal journey kind of getting to where you are now and a little bit of what's going on over there at Independence Lab?

 

Brianne Rush (00:53.058)

Yeah, so I will start at what I'm referring to as the beginning, but it's really graduating college, which so many people find themselves in this transition and there's so much opportunity, but very little guidance. And that's what I felt when I moved to New York City. I actually landed my dream internship right out of college at a magazine. career, my actual degree was in magazine journalism and I thought that was gonna be my career forever.

 

So I headed to New York and within three weeks of this internship, I was offered a full-time job. And then from there, a couple of promotions and I was not the best writer. I was not the best at really anything, but you know, looking back at those promotions, I'm thinking, okay, I think I know why I'm getting these promotions, but.

 

As my career went on, I decided to leave the city and ended up in content marketing. And from there kind of grew with the company that I'm at now, this digital marketing agency, and I'm in a full-time operations role, which was another promotion.

 

And over those years, I just keep looking back and saying, well, if I'm not the best at anything, why am I getting these promotions? And I've been able to connect the dots to emotional intelligence. And so that is really what the Independence Lab is all about. It's teaching these college graduates and early career young women to apply that, to learn it, to improve it within themselves.

 

so they too can land their dream jobs, they can get promotions, they can improve their salaries and live an independent life. I think it all boils down to that and so that's what I'm excited to talk about.

 

Michael Bernzweig (02:44.501)

I love it. Well, and it's so interesting what you said at the top that, you know, sometimes you in your mind, and this is probably important for everyone in the audience listening, that maybe somewhere in that career journey, you know, to understand that sometimes what you graduate with for a degree or maybe even that first internship or what it is that you think may be your North Star may very quickly change as you

 

you know, get into that career path and, you know, start to explore some of the different opportunities. So that is really, really interesting.

 

Brianne Rush (03:24.462)

Yeah, it's so true. And I think for college graduates, you don't have to feel that it's going to be a forever thing, right? It's, know, if you told me then that I'd be helping to run a company, helping to grow a company, getting excited about the business side, I would have told you you were lying because I was very passionate about magazine journalism, but I don't think they even have that degree anymore. So things change and it's okay to change with that, with the timing and what you're passionate about.

 

Michael Bernzweig (03:52.755)

So maybe if you could cover a little bit more of the day-to-day of how you're helping individuals in their career journey. What are some of the types of scenarios that you see every day?

 

Brianne Rush (04:08.95)

Yeah, and I think looking back, one of the biggest things that people are struggling with right now are job interviews or getting job offers. And so I like to tell this story of how I thought I completely bombed my very first job interview. I was on the phone and this is again my dream job in the city and I completely blanked.

 

The woman asked me a question I really should have prepared for, but it was my first one. I didn't really know what I was doing and I just did not know how to answer. So instead of panicking, I took a deep breath, which is called self-regulation. I took that deep breath and I just asked her, said, can we come back to that question?

 

So we went through the interview and I quickly Googled this answer, because it was a phone interview, got my answer, kind of studied myself. And then at the end of the interview, I came back to her and I said, I'm ready to answer your question now. And so I did. And really,

 

Michael Bernzweig (04:53.421)

Sure.

 

Michael Bernzweig (05:00.823)

Yeah.

 

Brianne Rush (05:13.174)

Honestly getting off that phone. I thought I completely blew it and was not getting this internship But what ended up happening is the woman her name is Hannah. She said I Actually thought you handled yourself so well that I've created an internship for you. All the other ones are filled Yeah, but I'm creating this for you. So she was so impressed by you know, this I didn't know it at the time is called self-regulation But this idea of handling yourself under pressure

 

Michael Bernzweig (05:29.916)

isn't that neat?

 

Brianne Rush (05:42.818)

when your nerves are high, when you're not really sure what you should do next. She was so impressed by that. She created that role for me. And then that really helped me get in. And like I said, I got a job offer three weeks later and a promotion, another promotion after that. And so that is really what I'm helping people with is interviews, how to handle the workplace once you're there and understanding how to empathize what your boss needs, what your colleagues need, what your clients needs.

 

And then also your communication skills, the things that are gonna get you in the door for your career, the things that are help you grow your career. And then the last part of that that I will mention is something that's also important is building that financial foundation. You're just starting to get your first paychecks, you're starting to understand your health benefits or your 401k or whatever it is that you need to start doing. It's very overwhelming.

 

So we do talk about building that financial foundation as well. And those are kind of the three core areas that we focus on.

 

Michael Bernzweig (06:47.619)

Very nice. So are you typically working with students right as they're coming to the end of their college years or a little bit before that or after that or where are you seeing most of your clients?

 

Brianne Rush (07:02.7)

Yeah, I think it's mostly people are coming in during their senior year and prepping, but a lot of times it's almost like they're at that precipice where they're maybe not getting the interviews they want or they're not landing the job offers that they need even though they've interviewed a handful of times. So it's mostly going to be the people that are set up to get into the workforce.

 

Michael Bernzweig (07:26.253)

Fantastic, you know, it's an interesting time in the whole, you know, evolution of everything going on in the career space. You know, we see a lot of big shifts, you know, some because of AI, some because of, you know, our space in the global economy and all of that, but where are you seeing the opportunities?

 

you know, individuals that are just at the beginning of their career.

 

Brianne Rush (08:00.514)

I'm so glad that you said AI, you know, it's everywhere and people are thinking, my gosh, they're going to take the jobs that I'm applying for. They're going to take my job because I'm entry level. If you are.

 

Applying yourself and improving your emotional intelligence. That is something that AI will never likely be able to do. It will never be able to empathize in a way that humans can empathize and communicate in a way and tell stories in a way that humans can. So while it may be able to code, it may be able to do your marketing plan, it may be able to do all of these different strategies. It will never be the human, the emotional and intelligent human.

 

that you are. And so that I think is where the biggest opportunities are going to be. It's figure out what only humans can do and apply yourself that way through these skill sets. And that is where you're going to be able to excel. AI is never going to be able to quote unquote lead people, right? So I know that Gen Z isn't super excited about management, but there is a way to lead people.

 

in a way that's going to be conducive for the lifestyle that you want and something that AI cannot do. So it's a wonderful way to start building those skill sets and build the career that you are proud of, that you want, that doesn't have to have those negative connotations of burnout and hustle culture. It's something where only humans can do it. And I think that's where you're gonna see so much opportunity right now.

 

Michael Bernzweig (09:38.623)

Interesting. you know, it's, it's, it's crazy because, know, aside from the career spotlight, I also host the software spotlight. And, you know, so we have a lot of conversations on software spotlight about AI as you might imagine. And one of the higher level themes that I see in a lot of the guests say, you know, with AI, even though there are a lot of different areas that the technology touches.

 

at a high level, it's really just augmenting or providing a...

 

different tool to individuals to accomplish more in less time. So absolutely a lot of the positions will require knowledge of AI and all of that. And at the end of the day, it's making the individuals that are working in positions way more effective and able to accomplish quite a bit more than one individual was able to accomplish previously. But at the end of the day, I don't think it replaces individuals.

 

I think it brings individuals up to a higher level of functioning and takes out a lot of the foundational grunt work or whatever you might want to call it that is not the fun stuff anyways. So I think that's neat, but really interesting on that end of it. And at the same time, I think as a research tool, think just...

 

Brianne Rush (11:06.254)

Yeah.

 

Michael Bernzweig (11:14.189)

the volume of data that AI can sift and sort through in unbelievably split seconds or moments of time is unbelievable. Things that, you know, for someone who's working in a marketing role, for example, to be able to pour through all kinds of open-ended questions and draw our insight, not really possible at a high scale, you know, without tons of effort.

 

hours, but with AI it's something you can really feed in all kinds of data from customers or whatever it is and draw our insight and be able to come to some really unique conclusions. So I would agree with you.

 

Brianne Rush (11:57.71)

Yeah.

 

Yeah, I think you're exactly right. The word that I like to use with AI is it amplifies what you do. It's not gonna just 100 % do what you can do. It's gonna amplify it though. And it takes those tasks, like you're saying, like at the agency where I work, people are doing these customer interviews and it used to take hours upon hours upon hours to dig through these customer interviews that have been recorded and to pull out those insights. Now you feed that into chat GPT or whichever tool

 

and it will pull those out for you within seconds or minutes and it just saves so much time. But it doesn't necessarily know what to do with those insights. Now that's back on you, know, taking that strategy, that creativity that humans have. But what I love, love, love is this also gives an opportunity for these people coming out of college or early in their career.

 

to showcase their curiosity and their willingness to learn and to be self learners and start learning these AI tools. If you haven't already, this is a huge opportunity. Get in there, learn it, start messing around with it, start building things. I am not a, you know, any well versed than anybody else, but I went in and built a custom GPT.

 

for pricing at our agency. And so there's a lot of opportunities to showcase the skills that somebody is gonna wanna see in an interview, which is curiosity, which is self-learning and wanting to be that lifelong learner. So AI is a huge way. It's good step in the door for that.

 

Michael Bernzweig (13:34.487)

Yeah, and I think, you know, going back to a point you made earlier, it is absolutely, you know, not as important the immediate answers that you provide, but that you, you know, go back, research, take the time to follow up and, and, you know, show that you're thoughtful and, you know, definitely interested in whatever it is that, you know, the person that you're sitting across the table from is, is looking to find out. No one expects you to be a rock star on day one

 

before you've even started a job, but I think it's more the intangible qualities of are you someone that is confident? Are you someone that has a go-get-it attitude and someone that's willing to put in the hard work? I think the finer details of what you do day to day, I think all of that you can learn over time.

 

but I think there are certain characteristics of individuals that employers are looking at that can't be made up or replaced. You either are that person or you're not.

 

Brianne Rush (14:39.158)

Yeah, I do hiring and interviewing in my day job. And I can tell you that I'm more willing to hire somebody that has 60%, 80 % of the skill sets in the job posting if they are.

 

really excited and willing to learn and want to dig in and get their hands dirty and that comes through during interviews versus somebody who has 100 % of the skill sets on the page but maybe showcases an attitude of, I already know everything. I'm the best I'm going to be or I'm going to stick in my lane and that's it. I'd rather that first person than the second person.

 

Michael Bernzweig (15:17.067)

love it, love it. And you know, it's so interesting because I think everything that you have as an individual that's brought you to where you are offers you a lot of the insight to be able to advise, you know. So I guess it's mostly Gen Z, right? At this point is that, yeah.

 

Brianne Rush (15:36.01)

Yeah, that's where I'm focusing. think they have a lot of, know, things in the workplace are kind of against them right now. So that's, you know, where they can use the most guidance. And so that's where I'm focusing.

 

Michael Bernzweig (15:45.76)

Yeah.

 

Michael Bernzweig (15:51.011)

So as you're obviously every individual is unique and different and you want to look at the skills and the background and everything that someone has after they've, you know, got to that point where they're ready to get into the workforce. But what are the other certain positions or industries or areas that you see as really hot at this point in time?

 

Brianne Rush (16:17.9)

Hmm hot at this. I think you can be whatever you need like health care. Obviously is not going away AI prompt engineers is very hot right now But you know what? I don't think there's anything that's necessarily going to be wiped out right now. I

 

Michael Bernzweig (16:29.419)

Yeah.

 

Brianne Rush (16:38.118)

would encourage people to do something they're going to enjoy, or at least feel that their skill set is being utilized in the proper way. But yeah, think it's, know, the hot ones are AI and social and that kind of stuff, more digital side, but absolutely there is well, you know, a ton of jobs that if you are in the healthcare space or something like that, that is well versed for this as well.

 

Michael Bernzweig (16:42.083)

Yeah.

 

Michael Bernzweig (17:06.177)

Well, I'll share with you. I I've obviously been on the internet for some time and know a lot about the internet, but not a whole heck of a lot about social. And it's never too late to start learning. We just launched our software Oasis TikTok channel literally a few weeks ago and have been working with a few individuals here to really get up to speed and learn the details and

 

Brianne Rush (17:19.681)

Yeah.

 

Brianne Rush (17:23.894)

Ooh. Okay.

 

Michael Bernzweig (17:35.683)

pretty exciting. know, we've reached out to a lot of others that really understand the area. And I think that's the interesting thing is that you're never at a point where you can't learn about something new. It's really just a matter of learning how to learn and really just applying that to any area that you want to add another notch in your belt to be able to become a more well-rounded individual.

 

Brianne Rush (17:47.586)

Mm-mm.

 

Michael Bernzweig (18:03.885)

you know, wherever you find yourself in life. So as a career journey, is it okay to pick a path and change or is it really important to just kind of pick a path and stick with it no matter what? What do you say?

 

Brianne Rush (18:21.516)

No, I'm an advocate for growing and adapting, right? So for me, like if I was, I'm just gonna stay in magazine journalism, I'd be out of a job because I think hardly any are in print anymore. They are all digital if they have survived. So you have to adapt. And I think your skillset changes, your passions change, so it's okay.

 

But what I love most is that really your strengths are a combination of all of your experiences. So every job that you've had, every event, every gallery you've been to, every certification that you've taken, every book that you've read.

 

All of those things are going to combine to make your contribution in whichever job that you have uniquely yours. And so you are the only one that can deliver those things. And I think it's great to have a wide breadth of things to share with the world. So I absolutely think it's okay to adapt and change.

 

Michael Bernzweig (19:23.555)

So for individuals that are just getting started, is it really, is a career made up of possibly even multiple positions at different companies, maybe within a specific field or obviously different careers in different fields, but one career that could be made up of a bunch of different experiences?

 

Brianne Rush (19:48.94)

Yeah, I think.

 

For example, where I work, have a team called the RevOps teams. It's revenue operations. That word did not really exist a couple years ago. So, you know, I think the people who are coming into that field, they are coming from a lot of different places. They are coming from CRM management, like a Salesforce or HubSpot background to get into that. But also who's really good at that are people who have a sales background. And so, you know, that might be coming from within the same company or

 

you might be changing companies, but I really do think that the people that are bringing these different backgrounds to the team are

 

creating a team that has so many different viewpoints and so much value that they bring that it's wonderful. So, you know, if I'm saying to a Gen Z person, it's really about finding a company that's great for you. And I do have like a blog post on that I had to choose and it's really comes down to finding a company that you believe in. And then it is that becomes a little bit easier to move within whether lateral moves or promotions within there. But you shouldn't also feel like you're stuck

 

somewhere. You want to do what's right for your career.

 

Michael Bernzweig (21:03.053)

So I want to talk a little bit about the work environment today. So prior to pandemic, most individuals worked in an office. Anyone that's just graduating from college now, more than likely, they may be working remotely or they may be working in an office. And a first job having never worked physically in an office to start a position working

 

remotely is very different. how do you see the dynamics and what do you think is important for someone who is considering, I take a job in an office or remote or a little bit of both?

 

Brianne Rush (21:47.35)

Yeah, I mean, you'll never get that experience of working in an office just simply being remote. I'm not saying that you have to work in an office, but if you can in your 20s, it's amazing. I just interviewed my best friend from my post-college days. She's an amazing influencer, podcaster now, but we had that time to just absolutely bond when we were working in New York and I wouldn't trade that for anything.

 

Now I'm a mom and I love working from home because I can get my kids on and off the bus. So if I guess what that means is if you can and you want to, you're a social person, try to find a little bit of time in the office or maybe it's hybrid. But you can also make the most of it if you are finding yourself in a remote setting because that's the job that you want. That's the that's you know what it is. And

 

If you find yourself in that position, which also has tons of benefits, you can travel and do those things. What I would recommend is quote unquote tapping people on the shoulder, meaning get on their calendar, meet them, even if they are not on your team, talk to them, just have a conversation and get to know people, even if it is over that Zoom call, because that's how you're gonna learn about opportunities that are coming up at work.

 

for those positions that are being created that you can internally apply for that maybe aren't posted on LinkedIn or Indeed. I would definitely raise your hand, get on people's calendars, meet them. And then when you are having those conversations, feel free to share about yourself and in return, be, I don't know who the original person is, but I saw Hill Bloom just talked about this in his book, be a loud listener.

 

So when somebody is talking to you, let them know you're listening, know, nod and give them the mm-hmm and follow up with really thoughtful questions so that you can build those relationships even if it's just digital.

 

Michael Bernzweig (23:48.321)

I love it. being the individual in the room that says to your boss, what else can I do? What else can I help with? How can I be involved? You know, that type of proactive attitude is something that helps you expand within the organization. And I think, you know, it's so frequently that individuals

 

Brianne Rush (23:54.092)

Yes.

 

Michael Bernzweig (24:08.375)

Don't explore all of the paths within the organization that they're in and feel like they need to explore elsewhere. And I think, you know, maybe you can share with us some of the advantages to staying within a single organization and kind of working your way up versus jumping from organization to organization. What do you see there?

 

Brianne Rush (24:31.18)

Yes. So when I joined the digital marketing agency, I was a content manager. I was the first one. There was no content team, but I came in and I built this department of a handful of people who were writers for marketing. And I got a promotion to content director, which just meant I was doing more stuff there. But what ended up happening is I'm seeing, there's nobody really doing sales very well.

 

nobody doing this very well. And this thing over here is nobody's job. So I started to do it. I started taking sales calls, even though I was really scared to do sales that that was not that was not me at all. My sister's a great salesperson. I was not. But I started taking those sales calls. And when I realized the sales tools like presentations and playbooks were missing, I built those. And then I would do this thing over here. And so what that

 

showed my boss, the CEO, is that I was capable of taking on more than just this one content department. I was able to move into an operations role. And that's what I do now. I'm overseeing the whole agency. You know, people come to me with their issues and challenges and I help them solve it. They look to me, they trust me, and I'm helping to make the big decisions for the company.

 

which is something that I love. Maybe that's not for everybody, but that's something that I loved. And so I was able to put myself in that position and do the work before I ever asked for that promotion to VP of Operations. And so that's what I would definitely recommend is if you like the company that you're at, which I did and I do, I would say, see what kind of work you can take on for a couple months and then raise your hand and say, look what I've been doing.

 

I think I'm actually a better fit for this elevated roll.

 

Michael Bernzweig (26:26.263)

Makes a lot of sense. you know, obviously staying within an organization, you start to build up a lot of opportunities and just like that, if you work your way through different opportunities within that company, you you can really build a career and move up pretty quickly. So that is quite amazing. The interview process, always...

 

Brianne Rush (26:41.464)

Mm-hmm.

 

Brianne Rush (26:45.869)

Yeah.

 

Michael Bernzweig (26:52.003)

something that's a little bit fun, a little bit scary depending upon where you sit. Do you have some tips, maybe some bullet points for listeners as to how to be successful as you take that journey? Because I'm sure that's a big portion of how you're helping individuals out.

 

Brianne Rush (27:11.468)

Yes.

 

So the first thing is you want to get yourself into a state you're likely nervous. You want to get yourself into a state of being as calm as possible. You you're never probably going to be baseline, but getting yourself there. before you, whether it's phone call, zoom, or even going into the room, you want to just do a little bit of box breathing. And that's, you've probably heard of it. It's just breathing in for four, hold it for four, breathe out for four, hold it for four. That's going to regulate your body and it's going to help you not act emotionally.

 

emotionally when you're on that call. So that would be number one. Before you even get to that point though, what you should be doing is preparing stories. And I understand that you're a graduate and you might be saying, well, I don't have any work stories. That's actually okay. You can look to, did you do...

 

Michael Bernzweig (27:44.931)

trip.

 

Brianne Rush (28:01.91)

class projects where you led? Did you do volunteer work? What clubs were you part of? What was your part-time job? What was your internship? Any of those things you can actually pull stories from.

 

that are going to showcase the skillset that are listed on that job listing. So prepare stories for each one of those bullets because when they are going through their job rubrics and they're asking you these questions, what they're expecting you to say is, well, I'm organized. But if you tell a story about how your class project was off the rails and you got it back on the rails and you got everybody organized and that's going to stick

 

in their brain a lot better than just saying, I'm organized, I'm a team leader, I'm a team player. Those things are going to one ear out the other, but stories are what people remember. And if they remember their stories, they will remember you.

 

So I would definitely, definitely, definitely prepare some stories, write them down. Pretend you're writing a blog, that's what I did, but it doesn't even have to be that, just jotting down in your journal or on a piece of paper, that's going to make you feel so much better as you go in there. The last... Yeah. Yeah.

 

Michael Bernzweig (29:16.373)

And the more you do, the more you can do as well, right? Once you've done a few of these.

 

Brianne Rush (29:22.612)

Exactly. The last point that I would make is to use your empathy muscle. So do your research in finding out what is the company doing? How are they changing? What are they in the news for? What are some challenges if that's available to you? And then even a little bit deeper, the person you're interviewing with, what are they expecting? What are they? What are the challenges that they have? And how can you maybe tweak your answers to a

 

apply to those things. They have some sort of pain. And so that is something that you can go in there and help them solve, or at least set yourself up to be the person to solve those things. And if you talk that way, man, are you gonna stand out?

 

Michael Bernzweig (30:09.859)

I love it, I love it. the other thing that came to mind as you were talking about different organizations and all of that, as someone is going through that journey and trying to figure out where they fit in, the size of the organization, I mean, I don't know if you've been there, but I've been to Google's campus in this area and it's just unbelievable. So there are large organizations like that that have tremendous benefits.

 

smaller organizations that have very different benefits to that type of environment. How does someone, are there a few details or bullet points that people should be thinking about as they're trying to figure out the type of organization in terms of size and location and where they want to be and the role of the jobs? How do they tie that all together?

 

Brianne Rush (31:04.169)

yourself where you feel most comfortable and I'm not actually asking that in a way of like do you feel more comfortable at Google or a startup? What I'm asking is do you want to be in an environment that is more structured so you know exactly what your job role is going to be, you know exactly what you're going to do on a daily basis, you know exactly when you're getting your job review, you know exactly when you're getting your two to three percent increase in pay. That's one way and that's how most

 

bigger enterprises work. They have everything structured and there's not too much variable from there. Yes, where a smaller company might actually be, well, we need your input. We need you to help us figure out what you're going to be doing day to day.

 

Michael Bernzweig (31:42.147)

black and white.

 

Brianne Rush (31:54.488)

think that you can make a bigger impact here. And guess what? We might forget to do your job review at six months, or instead of getting your two to 3 % increase in one year, in two years, you're gonna get a 15 % increase because that's just the way things go. So if you feel comfortable having somebody telling you what you should do, and then you're gonna do that very well, you could probably fit in very well at a big enterprise. If you're the type of person that feels safe and okay with

 

change and adapting and not necessarily being super secure with exactly what's going to happen every day, then you can fit into a smaller company. And to me, that's where I've kind of lived and breathed because I feel like I can make a bigger impact there. But I can certainly see different personalities fitting into both and I can see the benefits of both.

 

Michael Bernzweig (32:47.541)

Yeah. And I think, I think it's interesting to, to explore different, sized organizations. mean, I think exactly what you just mentioned at one end of the scale, you have very large structured organizations. At the other end of the scale, have organizations that are growing and kind of figuring it out along the way. And at the very left end of the scale, you have entrepreneurship where, you know, individuals may say the heck with it. I don't want to work for anybody. I'm just going to get out there and do my own thing, but it's obviously.

 

important to gain a skill set before jumping off a cliff or out of an airplane without a parachute on. So very, very important to.

 

Brianne Rush (33:25.998)

Mm.

 

Michael Bernzweig (33:29.143)

get the right foundation in place. So for any of our listeners that, and I really appreciate you taking the time and a deep dive into everything going on over there. And I think if we've touched one individual today to help them kind of sort it all out, that's huge. But we're gonna leave a link in the show notes, but for anybody that wanted to reach out to you, what would be the best way to connect?

 

Brianne Rush (33:55.052)

Well, first of all, thank you for having me, Michael. I really appreciate it and I hope the audience found it valuable today. If you want daily updates, I do quick tips. I am on Instagram and TikTok at Briann, which is B-R-I-A-N-N-E.

 

Independence Lab. That's where you can see those daily updates. But really, this idea of emotional intelligence is a little bit abstract. So I've created a playbook that is available. I usually charge $19 for that, but for your audience, because I really think that this conversation was so valuable, and they would want to hopefully check that out, I would gift it to your audience for free. So if you Yeah, so if you are

 

Michael Bernzweig (34:35.281)

that's fantastic. And we can leave a link to that in the show notes as well.

 

Brianne Rush (34:39.39)

Yeah, it's theindependencelab.com/playbook. So yes, please go to the show notes to get that.

 

Michael Bernzweig (34:44.001)

Okay.

 

Fantastic, well, I really appreciate your joining us on the Career Spotlight today. Today we've had Brianne Rush, founder of Independence Lab, and thank you so much for taking the time. On our end, for anybody that is listening to Career Spotlight for the first time, there are two sister podcasts. We also have Software Spotlight.

 

and we have the consulting spotlight, both on Spotify, Apple, and all of your favorite podcast players. And if you just want to keep up to date on everything going on here at Software Oasis, go to softwareoasis.com backslash subscribe, and you can join our email list. We send out a jam packed newsletter every week with all kinds of data and tips and research and podcasts.

 

All kinds of fun stuff in there. So thank you so much for your time today.

 

Brianne Rush (35:42.53)

Thank you.

Software Oasis social media channels include: