In this episode of Career Sessions, JR Lowry sits down with coach, speaker, and bestselling author Mary Olson Menzel to explore a question many professionals wrestle with: What does it really mean to build a career that lights you up and is it realistic to do so?

Mary challenges the conventional wisdom that playing it safe is the responsible path. Drawing from both personal experience and her work with clients, she argues that ignoring what energizes you can come at a much higher cost over time.

They discuss:

• What Mary calls your “light” and why it’s a real competitive advantage
• Why employers often choose energy and authenticity over credentials
• How to balance passion with financial responsibility using the concept of Ikigai
• Practical strategies for navigating job searches in a difficult market
• How to know when it’s time to pivot and how to do it thoughtfully
• The role of storytelling and networking in standing out

Mary also shares actionable tools from building a targeted job search strategy to tracking your own “light” through daily reflection.

If you’re feeling stuck, burned out, or unsure what’s next, this conversation offers a practical and grounded path forward – one that doesn’t force you to choose between purpose and stability.

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Check out the full series of “Career Sessions, Career Lessons” podcasts here or visit pathwise.io/podcast/. A full written transcript of this episode is also available at https://pathwise.io/podcasts/mary-olson-menzel/.

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Watch the episode here

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What Actually Gets You Hired And Promoted, With Mary Olson Menzel

The Concept Of “Light” As Your Career Advantage

We hear so often that we should be practical about our career choices, pay the bills, be responsible, and take the safe path. In What Lights You Up, my guest Mary Olson-Menzel argues something both inspiring and unsettling, which is that playing it safe might cost us more than we realize. She shares a deeply personal story of watching her parents’ lights go out when they both gave up work that they loved to take on the responsibility of running a family business, something that was more an obligation for them than a choice.

For Mary, the realization that her parents were working out of a sense of duty more than out of a sense of passion became the defining moment that shaped her career journey. In her work and in her book, Mary challenges a belief that many of us carry, which is that credentials and resumes are what get us higher.

She makes the surprising case that employers will often choose someone with fewer qualifications, but more light, more energy, authenticity, and purpose. In this episode, we’re going to explore the tension between the sense of responsibility and our sense of fulfillment, and what it takes to build a career that doesn’t just pay the bill, but lights you up. Again, my guest is Mary Olson-Menzel, a coach, speaker, facilitator, and bestselling author.

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Mary, thank you for joining me.

Great to be here.

Let’s dive right in. In your book, What Lights You Up, you talk about light as someone’s secret sauce. How do you define that in practical terms, and how does it help you?

In my mind, and the way I describe it in the book, is that your light is the essence of who you are. It’s the spark that people see in your eyes when they’re speaking to you. It’s all of your natural gifts that you’re bringing to the table. That’s why it’s the secret sauce. You notice a person who walks into a room who is lit up from within. Those are the people who tend to get hired faster, promoted more, and have more success and happiness in their lives.

Ikigai: Finding The Intersection Of Passion, Skill, And Pay

You told a story at the beginning of the book, a pretty powerful one, about watching your parents’ lights dim. As you described it, your dad decided to take over a family business, and then your mother joined him in running that family business. It was out of a sense of duty, not what either one of them wanted to do. You were a kid, but when did you realize that that’s what had happened to your parents? More generally, what are the signs that someone’s light is dimming?

I was very young. I’m pretty perceptive and intuitive. There was a slight shift in the energy in our house. It was later, probably looking back as a young adult, when my parents ended up getting divorced that I realized that some of this stemmed from those early decisions and those decisions made out of responsibility instead of following what lights them up. That threw me into this trajectory of wanting to help people create success, joy, and happiness in their careers.

You make the point as well that you can be successful financially, but not be lit up. How do you distinguish between the two of those?

If you talk to people and they talk about those Sunday scaries or that little depression that comes in on Sundays before work, those are the people who probably are not as lit up in their work. There’s also a concept that I talk about a lot in the book and a lot in my speaking engagements, which is called Ikigai. Ikigai is a Japanese word that, translated to English, is your reason for being. It’s this wonderful, sweet spot in a Venn diagram of what you love to do, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what you can get paid for.

When you’re in that sweet spot of Ikigai, you tend to be more lit up from within. You’re also bringing that to the workplace, whatever that is. Whether it’s a screen, an office, a hospital, or whatever it might be, you’re bringing that enthusiasm and that deeper sense of purpose to your work. Those are the people who you can tell are lit up.

Ikigai is a framework that’s one of my favorites. Anybody who tunes in to my show or reads my newsletter will know that I talk about it relatively regularly. It’s something that so perfectly captures the essence of it beyond this idea of following your passions or whatever your purpose is. There is more to it than that. You’ve got to have something that people want to buy and are willing to pay you for. When I first heard it, I was reading another friend’s book, and it completely clicked for me. It was fresh in my mind when I was reading yours.

Think about it. We all have to work. We have to work to keep the lights on in our house so that we can pay the bills. When you do discover that sweet spot, and you can love what you do and get paid for it, then you’re winning.

Let’s talk a little bit about this idea of light in the recruiting process. The job market is pretty soft. A lot of people are facing job searches that are stretching into months, sometimes six months or more. In these kinds of job markets, my experience is that a lot of recruiters play it safe. They hire for credentials because that’s what’s least likely to get them fired. You think there’s a way that you can counter that with light. Tell us how that is.

Using Energy And Authenticity To Stand Out In Interviews

When you’re coming to an interview, first of all, recruiters are busy. You may be the eighth person they’ve talked to. They’re tired. They’re burnt out. They’ve got a lot on their plates as well. The more that you can bring in that exuberance, light, and enthusiasm into the interview, the more it is going to wake up a tired recruiter. The story about Ken in the book is one of my favorite stories because he was this scrappy guy who came from the other end of town, the competitive newspaper that wasn’t quite as prestigious as the one for which he was interviewing.

What was beautiful about it was that my hiring manager, who was the CEO of the publishing division for our organization, was looking at lots of people who looked like him. Big pedigrees, great goals, resumes, and great skillsets. What happened was when Ken walked into a room, he lit up the room. You could feel the energy shift when Ken walked in. He was this big guy with this big, bright smile.

Ken is the perfect example of that Ikigai. He had the skills. He didn’t necessarily have all of the pedigree that some of the other candidates did, but he had that energy. In the book, I talk about how it was one of the best decisions that my hiring manager ever made because he was able to revitalize the entire department after the person that he replaced had retired. It was beautiful to watch.

When I was reading about him, I was thinking about situations I’ve been in when I’ve been hiring. You want to make sure, as a hiring manager, that you get the best person. Often, it’s easy to resort to looking at credentials and skills. Every now and then, you do get a person who walks in and has this aura, light, or whatever you want to call it around them.

You think, “There’s something about this person.” I always worry, though. When I’m in one of those conversations if this person going to bring the goods when the job comes, or wowing me with their charisma. How do you tell the difference between somebody who’s charismatic and somebody who’s charismatic and has the goods?

Also has the skills. You have to ask the right questions. You and I have done enough hiring in our days. You know that even if you’re blown away by somebody’s personality, you’ve got to do your due diligence. You’ve got to make sure that you’re checking the references. You’ve got to make sure that you’re asking the right questions. I have a lot of behavioral interview questions in the book as well.

Those always tend to get to the meat because they’re talking about situations, and people are getting real-life scenarios. I would not say that just because you love this person, they’re very charismatic, and they shift the energy in the room, that you should hire them. They have to have the skills, too. That’s that beautiful combination. It is when you can be intentional about making sure that they have what it takes to get the job done, but also that they’re going to bring that brightness of energy to the job, too.

Those behavioral questions are important. I’ve been using them for a long time as well. They do force people to bring their experience. If you ask them in the right way, prompt them, and ask follow-up questions. You’ll get into some of those things that highlight whether they are going to be able to bring the skills and not just the personality to the job.

Sometimes too giving them a case study to work on. With things like that, you can see how their brain works in real time.

I was a McKinsey guy, so I’ve given a lot of case studies. I’m not sure I ever want to do another case study interview of my life on either side.

I hear you, for sure.

How do you get the idea of light across on paper? When they’re looking at your resume, they’re not hearing or seeing you. You’re only getting a few seconds’ glance. How do you get it across in a way that gets you into the interview stage?

That’s why you look at people’s professional social media or professional media. A resume tells me what your skill sets are, but then when I look at you on LinkedIn or when I Google you to see what you’re doing, that’s going to give me some of a fuller picture. It’s also about how you tell the story. I say a resume tells me, but a story sells me on who you are. Being able to articulate your own special, unique story of your career path and your journey is what’s going to draw an interviewer in.

What Gets You Hired: A resume tells me what your skill sets are, but then when I look at you on LinkedIn or when I Google you to see what you’re doing, that’s going to give me some of a fuller picture. It’s also about how you tell the story. I say a resume tells me, but a story sells me on who you are.

Still, I worry for people who maybe have a non-traditional background and are applying for a role, who might not even get the benefit of that Google search or LinkedIn profile review because the recruiters are going through hundreds of resumes over 6 to 8 seconds each, or whatever the depressing statistic is.

It is depressing. It’s that short. They look at you and say yes or no, and then that’s it. That’s where referrals come in. This is a perfect segue into the intentional target list that I talk about in the book called the three Ps. What that is, is getting very intentional. People can apply to thousands of jobs in a black hole. You put your resume in a database, and you don’t know if a human being is even going to see it with AI and everything else.

You can put together a target list of companies that fall into the three categories of the Ps. That’s your usual Prospects, which is something similar to where you are. Your Pivots, which would be, for you, going from McKinsey into corporate or from corporate into consulting, and your Passions. A list of all of the organizations that you would aspire to work at, like companies or organizations that are intriguing to you in those three categories.

You can then start to back into it in a different way. It’s almost like flipping your job search upside down. You’re not waiting for the jobs to come to you. You’re starting to reach out to the people that you know at these companies or people who might have a loose connection at these companies to see if you can get an introduction.

I did my first job search many years ago. At that point, I didn’t feel like I had a lot of job search advice to draw on. This is before the era of social media and everything that has happened since then. I tell people when they ask for job search advice to have a list of ten companies. You’re always working that list of ten companies. You’re working people you know at those ten companies.

You’re working with people who know at ten companies. You’re always working on a short list. If you try to play this massive throwing-out-resumes and hoping for the best, it’s not going to work. There will be times in one of the companies, you decide, “I don’t want to work at this place. It doesn’t sound as good as I thought it was going to be.”

If there’s some other reason that it’s not going to work out for you, bounce them off the list. Put somebody else on the list. It has always worked very well for me. It forces and brings focus and discipline to the networking activities that you also talk about in the book. When you’re doing a job search, you’re going to be scattered if you don’t have that degree of focus.

A job search is almost like a full-time job in itself. If you don’t have a strategy around it and you’re not intentional about it, you’re going to be frustrating yourself. It will feel like you’re banging your head against a wall because you’re not doing it with intention and strategy around there. To your point, I read a statistic that for the average executive will take them 9 months to 1 year to find a new job in this economy. Not to depress people out there, but to give realistic numbers.

I was reading statistics as well about how the job searches are lengthening, and it’s daunting. It’s daunting because a lot of people can’t afford that financially. It’s daunting because you get up every day, and you’re like, “I’ve got to do a job search again today.” It’s emotionally exhausting.

Rejection is exhausting. You talk to a lot of people in order to get that one yes.

I describe it like a game of baseball, except you only have to get one hit. You don’t have to get a lot of at-bats. You have to get one hit. For somebody who’s thinking about this idea of following their passion, how do you suggest this idea of balancing prospects like the safe bets, with this idea of passions and dream roles?

That goes into the concept of Ikigai again because we all need to make money. To me, the ideal scenario is if you’re working in an industry or working at a company you’re passionate about. I can give you an example of a woman who worked in New York in the media industry. She went through my ten-step pivot program.

What she confessed to me at one point was that her passion was horses. She was like, “There’s never anything I could do with that and my skillset.” I said, “Why not? Let’s explore it.” She ended up getting a job at a race course as their head of media and entertainment. It can happen. You can hit that sweet spot. I have so many stories like that in the book. It’s so beautiful to see. When you see somebody falling in love with what they do, you know that they’re making the world a better place and creating a ripple effect for all of us.

Let’s talk a little bit more about pivots. All of us are going to go through pivots. Especially as lives get longer, careers get longer, and career tenures with any one firm or any one job get shorter. As an individual, how do you know when it’s time to pivot versus when it’s a bit of tough sledding?

Recognizing When It’s Time To Pivot In Your Career

It’s such a personal thing, but I think it’s when you start to feel like you don’t want to go to work anymore. That is almost the point where you maybe should have started seeing a little bit of that earlier. When you’re starting to get resentful about the things that you’re having to do, when you’re starting to get those Sunday scaries, or when you’re driving to work and you don’t feel great about it anymore. Those are the things that you need to pay attention to.

For many, you come to that realization, and then it’s like, “I’m at this realization. I want a new job tomorrow.” You have to also be patient with yourself and with the process, especially in this economy. It is about having that strategic plan. Let’s say you want to do a pivot. You’re at McKinsey, but you love photography.

That’s a long-planning pivot because you’ve got to start to build up what that looks like in photography and everything else. Maybe we can even build up a side hustle to start doing some photography on the weekends so that you can eventually pivot into it. All of it is so much planning and strategy. If you can give yourself little micro goals every week, then you can break them down, and it won’t feel so daunting and overwhelming.

I would imagine for somebody whose initial answer is, “I’ve been doing this my whole life. I don’t know what else I can do.” Some of those suggestions also apply. The idea of dipping your toe in the water and trying it as a side thing, or finding other ways to experiment with it before you take the full-on plunge.

I did it, which is why I can talk about it so easily. My background was in executive recruiting. What I realized was that, as a recruiter, I was a career coach every single day. That led to more leadership coaching, which led to more and more helping people have success in the workplace. That led me to where I am.

Everybody’s going to go through pivots. I was a Military officer when I started my career. I did my pivot by going to business schools. I left consulting, and I went into the corporate world. I left the corporate world, and I’m doing some different things like this. We’re all going to go through these things. You just have to get comfortable with the fact that there’s some freedom that comes with not doing one thing your entire life. You do have to prepare for it, and you have to be thinking about it. That’s what a lot of people struggle with because so many people are passive with their careers until they find themselves in a desperate situation.

This is why you and I do what we do. We don’t want to see people who get complacent. We want to see people who are successful and who are enjoying what they do and who are good at what they do.

I want to go back to this idea of storytelling. You said a resume tells, and a story sells. Talk a little bit more about the importance and the linkage between your light and conveying your personal brand telling your story.

The Power Of Storytelling In Showcasing Your Value

I would love to share another story that people love from the book. It’s about a guy named Pat. Pat was in finance on Wall Street. He knew that he wanted to make a pivot. He knew that he wanted to step out of Wall Street, so he worked with us, and we went through the whole program. I happened to know Pat lived one town away from me.

I happened to know that he had delivered his baby in a snowstorm on the side of 95 on his way to the hospital. We were talking about his story and how he could help people see how reliable he was and how he comes through in a clutch. I said, “Pat, you’ve got to tell the story about the baby.” He said, “No way. On Wall Street, we don’t talk about personal things like that.”

I said, “You delivering a baby on the side of the road tells me that you can come through and deliver anything for me in a pinch. You have grace under pressure. This is what companies want and need right now.” He was able to tell the story in a way that was comfortable to him, but also portrayed to the company all of these great attributes that he would bring to them. He was able to pivot into a great job that he’s still in.

Not everybody is going to have that crazy story that conveys something valuable for them. We certainly don’t need people running out and trying to deliver their baby on the side of the road to have a story to tell. If you don’t have that kind of story, how can you otherwise make the stories that you do have compelling?

Everybody has a unique story. If we’ve lived long enough, or even if we’re young, we’ve all had adversity in our lives in one way or another. It’s how you overcame that. We’ve all had things that have pushed us and caused us to grow. Those stories matter. Sometimes, people think, “My story is boring. This is what I did.” You might think it’s boring to you, but to an employer, it may be fascinating. You don’t know what’s going to resonate with somebody until you start engaging in a meaningful conversation with an interviewer.

Sometimes, it takes practice. Some people are natural storytellers. I can think of one of my friends who will have a whole room riveted with whatever story he’s telling. He can make the most mundane seem interesting. Other people struggle with that, the idea of time, place, and everything else that goes into good storytelling. How do you help people sharpen their stories so that they are as compelling for the recipient as possible?

First of all, I like them to start and go from beginning to end, so there is a story. Chronological order is important. The brain is wired to understand that. Also, it is practice. You’re right. Practice in the mirror, practice with friends, or practice in front of your dog. This starts to flow more easily off your tongue, because nobody likes to talk about them. Some people like to talk about themselves, but a lot of people don’t.

Also, bullet-pointing every experience you’ve had. Start by laying it onto a computer screen or a sheet of paper and building, “What were the biggest learnings at this job? What were the biggest wins at this job? What’s something I overcame?” Start to think of it in terms of those behavioral interview questions as well, so that you’re capturing those key learning moments and the key transition moments when you move from one job to the next and so on.

I do think testing stories. You’re writing them down as a way of testing them. You read them back and think, “I could embellish this point or highlight this a little bit more. I could bring this nuance into the story or this bit of context,” and then share it with people and get feedback. They will get better with practice. You can have a phenomenal story told badly that will not have the impact that you want it to have. My one friend that I think of can turn the mundane into the fascinating. You want to convince people that there’s something there about you. With storytelling, practicing that skill, getting good at telling your own story, and getting comfortable with a self-promotion piece of it is important.

If you’re going to apply to a specific job or a specific company, or better yet, somebody refers you to a specific company. It is making sure that you know everything about that company. Make sure you know what their values are, what their mission is, and all of that. If it’s a specific job, it is studying that job description, and then looking and saying, “Where does my skillset match here? How do I relate those stories?”

You talk about networking in the book, this idea of, “How can I help?” How do you happen to the natural generosity that people have and get over the discomfort that a lot of people have with networking so that this isn’t something you have to do by yourself?

Building Strategic Networks Through Genuine Relationships

I spoke at Kellogg, which is where I went to graduate school. One young woman raised her hand and asked a very similar question. She said, “I have been taught here at Kellogg that it’s about reciprocal relationships.” I said, “This is exactly what it is.” That’s why in the book, I talk about, “How can I help you?” You don’t want to always approach it with, “How can you help me?” It is, how can we help each other?

For the introverts out there, it’s not always easy to put yourself out there. It’s those daily micro goals of, “Can I reach out to 1, 2, or 3 people per day? Can I have five meaningful conversations?” It is always asking at the very end of the conversation, “Thank you so much. How can I return the favor? How can I help you? Is there anyone else that you think I should meet?” That’s going to expand your network exponentially, too.

That last part is important, expanding the network and asking them who else they think you should talk to or who else might be able to help them. It takes some of the pressure off them in terms of feeling like they have to necessarily do something directly for you. A lot of people aren’t going to be in an immediate position to do that for you, but they may know somebody who they think could help you. That expands your network.

Going back to my first job search, some of the people that I didn’t know at the beginning of that I’ve had lifelong relationships with since then, because somebody introduced us. This is the way that you expand the likelihood of always having help when you do need it. Whether it be when you’re in the middle of a job search or otherwise.

That abundance attitude and having the generosity of spirit is the reciprocal relationship. It is remembering these people and staying in touch with them. To your point, developing a relationship so that it’s not just you’re calling them because you need something. It’s calling in to check in and having a two-sided conversation. It unfolds a little bit more organically as well.

You’ve pulled all of this together into an equation of sorts.

It’s a ten-step program. The first thing that we do is we go very deep into who you are as a human being, not who you are as an executive or who you are as a professional. You have to look at who you are as a human being. What are all the factors? Such as family factors, relocation factors, and money factors. Then, we start to talk through what your LinkedIn profile looks like. What does your resume look like? All those things that will set you up to then create that target list of the three Ps and then reach out to your network to start having meaningful conversations.

When I think about networking for people, I tell them to say yes to every conversation. Even if that conversation doesn’t lead to a job at that moment, it can lead to a new relationship or industry research. You’re doing market research while you’re having these conversations as well, so that you can speak more intelligently to the next conversation and the next one. There’s a formula. Also, it is about remembering that you’re interviewing people as much as they’re interviewing you. Make sure that you’re being intentional about where you’re going. You’re not running away from something, but running to something that you want.

Stepping back for somebody who’s feeling stuck or overwhelmed, what’s the first step you would recommend that they take tomorrow?

Finding Clarity By Reflecting On What Truly Lights You Up

If you are feeling stuck, understand that you’re not alone out there. There are so many people who are feeling this way. The first thing to do is take a good look at where you are and then start to think about where you want to go. You don’t have to see all of it immediately. If you say, “I’m so stuck that I don’t even know where I want to go,” start to pay attention on a daily basis to the times when you feel in the flow.

Pay attention to the times when you feel happy doing whatever you’re doing, and keep logging that. I call it creating a daily light log. Look at the patterns of when you’re in the moment or when you’re in the flow, so that you can start to create more of that. That will help you decide what’s the next step, and also, where you want to go.

I had a lawyer who was working with me. His favorite thing about his day was using his French press to make coffee in the morning. We started looking at companies like Starbucks for him and places that were off-the-grid from where he was. Expand your horizons and be open to almost any conversation, and then you’ll start to get clarity. It will crystallize as you continue to have more conversations.

The journaling part of what you talked about, however you choose to do it, is important. For a lot of us, there is some time needed. You have to immerse yourself in this experience of figuring out what you want to do next, whether it’s a big pivot or maybe not even a pivot at all. Getting the ability to let things sit with you and see how they feel. Journaling helps with that because it forces you to articulate your thinking. You can come back, look at it, and say, “I’m not sure that that’s still how I feel or I feel even more strongly.” It helps you triangulate in on the kinds of things that are going to light you up and are going to get you paid. The other elements of Ikigai as well.

Also, thinking about, “Why do I do what I do?” Simon Sinek and your why. “Why am I doing what I’m doing? Is this still serving me? Is this still good for me at this juncture in my life, or do I need to be doing something different?” Also, I love asking people this question. “What did you want to be when you were little?” Go back to that. I wanted to be a professional figure skater but that ship sailed a long time ago. A lot of times, people can go back to that and still feel that resonance with what they wanted to do when they were little. It’s always fun to ask yourself that question, too.

I don’t know that I ever had a realistic thought of what I wanted to be when I was a kid until I was probably contemplating college. I know a lot of people did when they were little, and some of them stuck with it. One of my kids knew she wanted to be an architect from the time she was ten years old.

Some people do have that clear direction. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t. Let it unfold with some of the exercises that we’ve talked about.

Thank you for doing this. It was a great conversation. I love hearing more about your book and having you bring some of the stories that were in the book to life for our audience. I appreciate your time and your being here.

Thank you. Great conversation.

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Lots to unpack from my conversation with Mary. First is this idea of light. It’s not fluff. It can be a competitive advantage. Hiring and promotion decisions are often influenced not just by credentials alone, but by energy and the authenticity that you bring to the interview process. It’s your mindset. All of that is embodied in what Mary calls light. Employers will repeatedly choose people whose presence, passion, and humanity stand out. Don’t forget that, even in a world where skills still do matter.

Ignoring your light can have real consequences. One of the most powerful themes in the book comes from Mary witnessing how her parents gave up work that they loved out of a sense of responsibility, and then realizing that their lights had gone out. Career mismanagement doesn’t affect your job satisfaction. It affects your health, your relationships, your sense of long-term fulfillment, and your identity. Third, the world of work has changed, and so have expectations. Work is not just about technical competence. Human qualities like emotional intelligence, adaptability, creativity, and presence matter more than ever. They’re not soft skills. They’re critical ones.

Fourth is the idea that clarity comes from reflection and not just reaction. Mary pushes this idea about intentional self-discovery through exercises, journaling, and pattern recognition to uncover what energizes you. This is important because so often, our career decisions are made passively or made reactively. They’re driven by inertia, fear, urgency, external pressure, or whatever the case may be. If you’re going to have success, it’s sustainable. It requires stepping back to understand what you want.

Finally, the idea that purpose and practicality don’t have to be mutually exclusive goals. A major misconception that Mary tackles in both her book and her work is that following your passion is like abandoning your bank account or your financial responsibility. You can, with creativity, find something that does light you up that also pays the bills. You don’t have to sacrifice one for the other.

Thanks for joining. I invite you to subscribe to Career Sessions, Career Lessons on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you found this discussion enlightening, sign up for my membership community, which is called Pathwise.io. You can get to that at Community.PathWise.io. Thanks.

Important Links

• Mary Olson-Menzel on LinkedIn
• Mary Olson-Menzel on Instagram
• MVP Exec
• What Lights You Up?: Illuminate Your Path and Take the Next Big Step in Your Career
• PathWise on LinkedIn
• PathWise on Facebook
• PathWise on YouTube
• PathWise on Instagram
• PathWise on TikTok
• Career Sessions, Career Lessons on Apple Podcasts
• Career Sessions, Career Lessons on Spotify

About Mary Olson-Menzel

Mary Olson-Menzel is a renowned expert in career and workplace success. She has over 30 years of leadership experience across various industries, including media, tech, healthcare, and sports, and has worked with many global organizations. She is the Founder and CEO of MVP Executive Development, a national leadership, coaching, and organizational management consultancy with offices in New York, Connecticut, and Illinois. Her clients range from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups with a broad reach of industries, from FinTech to Football (the NFL). As a seasoned executive leadership coach, Mary works with both companies and individuals to unlock their potential, improving business performance and catalyzing growth. Her coaching methods bring a fresh lens to business and a perspective that nurtures teamwork, helping drive results through grace, empathy, and Humane Leadership.

Before starting her company in 2012, Mary was a partner at two leading global executive search firms. She also spent a decade at Tribune Company in Chicago, serving as National Managing Director of Talent, where she led a team of recruiting professionals. This is where her understanding and expertise in recruiting and coaching were honed. She worked closely with hundreds of media assets nationwide to attract and retain the best and brightest.

In her early years, Mary worked in both the tech sector and the media and entertainment industry, where she began her career as a television reporter. Her innate curiosity and ability to connect with people paved the way for her life’s work: helping leaders at all levels channel what “lights them up” and inspire them to follow more fulfilling and successful personal and professional journeys. Mary earned her MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business and a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and Public Relations from Illinois State University.

Mary currently lives in Westchester, NY, with her husband and family. She is a part of Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches, which brings together the world’s leading executive coaches, consultants, speakers, authors, iconic leaders, and entrepreneurs. Mary is a regular Guest Lecturer on career development, internships, and workplace success at the NYU School of Professional Studies, Division of Programs in Business. She also volunteers for various local charities. What Lights You Up? Illuminate Your Path and Take the Next Big Step in Your Career is her first book and is a USA Today National Bestseller. For more information, visit www.mvpexec.com and www.maryolsonmenzel.com.