Corporate Survivor with Mei Phing : Career Growth In The Corporate World - Ep228: Why FREE advice don't (always) work.

Episode Date: September 27, 2024

✅ Get FREE GUIDE, newsletter, work with me ⮕ http://www.meiphing.com ✅ Corporate Survivor™ is the ultimate career course for 9-to-5 working professionals, just like *you*, who want to enhance corporate world mindset, skillset and strategy so you can NAVIGATE + GROW your career with clarity, confidence & opportunities... 🚀 ⚡ 📌 ABOUT THIS PODCAST: Welcome to Corporate Survivor with Mei Phing — ex-Corporate Leader turned Career Coach & Founder of The Corporate Survivor™. On this podcast, Mei Phing shares her corporate world insights, experiences and wisdom so you can grow your 9-5 career with clarity, confidence and opportunities. ✅ WEBSITE ⮕ https://www.meiphing.com ✅ FREE GUIDE ⮕ https://www.thecorporatesurvivor.co/freeguide ✅ NEWSLETTER ⮕ https://www.thecorporatesurvivor.co/mondays ✅ CAREER COURSE ⮕ https://www.thecorporatesurvivor.co ⚡

Welcome to the Corporate Survivor Podcast, where we talk about how to grow your career confidence, build your skills and value, increase your salary, and the many lessons we learn in the corporate world. For more career support, click on over to www.mayping.com. This is Mayping, your corporate leader turned career coach. I hope you enjoy, like and subscribe. So someone asked me these two questions over the weekend and I want to share them with you today. So the first question is, Mei Ping, what is the difference

between what you're talking about in the Corporate Survival Podcast versus what is taught in your paid program, the Corporate Survival Career Course? And the second question is, why should I join your paid program when I can just get everything that I need in the podcast itself? Now, I think these are actually two very, very good questions and it's a normal curious question that you might have given that there's like tons of like free career tips that you find online whether it's like podcast you know youtube chat gpt google blog or whatever so i think these are like i said natural questions and i really want to share with you my perspective around the difference between

you know free sort of like podcast episodes versus like what you get in like a paid program so So the first things first is that for those of you who think that, you know, my podcast equals my paid program, no, no, no, no. The Corporate Survivor Podcast is probably only 2% of like what you can expect in the Corporate Survivor career course. So there's actually a very, very, very big difference. But let me start with like talking about podcasts and maybe not just podcasts, but I think like free content that you can just find online. Now, the reality is that as much as we want to think that everything that you can gain through, you know, podcasts or YouTube as like 100% education, most of the time, actually, it is not. I say it's a little bit of education, a lot of entertainment, a lot of inspiration, and a lot of like wanting to feel good and a lot of like the mindset stuff. And I'll explain to you why. Like think about when you feel like you are looking for an answer,

you feel, you know, that you really, really need help. You feel quite frustrated. You feel, you know, a little bit lost in your career. So the natural thing to do is more like, okay, let me go and find a solution online. So you dig out a podcast and you listen to a podcast or you watch a YouTube video with the tips. Now, I want to ask

you how do you feel as you are listening to this episode or you're watching a youtube video probably you feel very inspired but okay i feel good oh okay that makes a lot of sense okay i'm so inspired i'm so inspired i'm so inspired now that's the feeling that you feel as you are kind of like consuming the free content right but the question the question I have for you is like, okay, but what do you do after that? And for most people, what they do after that is that they go hunt for even more podcast episodes. So the next step is that they go and look for more free content. They go and consume even more YouTube videos to feel better. Because like I said, it's a little bit of education, but a lot of it is inspiration. A lot of it is also entertainment as well, right? But what I see in many of my corporate survivor students, and I can tell you that there are many of my corporate survivor career course members, they initially found me

through the podcast. They love the podcast and they're like, Mei Ping, I really love your perspective. I like the way that you are teaching about the corporate world. I like the way that you are explaining things. I like your style. And they choose to invest in the program. They come in initially gaining from the podcast episodes, but knowing that they are ready to commit to their own self-development, to their own career development in a step-by-step program where they can work more closely with me,

be able to get my perspectives and guidance on their exact career situation. So that's a really, really big difference because the point I want to make to you here is that the step that you have taken after getting that inspiration, after getting that empowerment, I am 100% supportive of free content. And I share a lot of my thoughts and reflection exercises,

strategies and like skill set and stuff like that on this corporate survivor podcast and through other platforms right social media and stuff like that but that does not replace right the kind of like commitment that you make to yourself to join a paid program it doesn't replace the step-by-step framework that I can only teach in my career program, right? The step-by-step modules, the lessons, as well as the monthly mentoring sessions where you get guidance, advice, and you can also learn from more than 100 case studies of actually how to deal with your career problems, right? It doesn't replace the guidance, the feedback, right? Mostly, you know, the practical advice that you can get on your career situation and more importantly the monthly accountability and the commitment to yourself to want to get

results because the difference i want to make here is that it's actually the action because someone who is you know look you know like um consuming podcasts or like consuming you know videos and like free content they are still in the mindset of like let me go and get inspired i want to feel better about myself but i'm not ready me go and get inspired. I want to feel better about myself, but I'm not ready to take action yet, but I just want to feel better, right? And, you know, that's why that's like free content. And like I said, it's not just like education.

A lot of times it's also entertainment, right? But the difference between someone who actually takes action and get results is actually someone who is willing to commit to themselves and then willing to follow the step-by-step lessons. Now, you may ask me a question right now, Mipin, then willing to follow these step-by-step lessons. Now, you may ask me a question right now, Mipin, can't you teach the step-by-step lessons in your podcast? I can, and I do from time to time,

but I can tell you that there is actually a very big difference because at the end of the day, you know, the corporate world is a jigsaw puzzle. And in the career program itself, right, it's pretty comprehensive, which is why you don't just learn different pieces of the puzzle in detail but you also learn the connection between the jigsaw puzzle like you see the full picture and that's something that i can outline it step by step through you know the program outline

and then through the way that i teach as well as the way that i support in the monthly group mentoring sessions or the bonus one-on-one call that comes in the program the reason why this cannot be taught in the podcast is because when you are listening to the podcast, you are distracted. You are looking for a little bit of education, a lot of entertainment, a lot of inspiration. And I say that it's more like the kind of like mentality

and mindset of someone who is listening to the podcast versus someone who's actually invested in the program and they are ready to learn. And the next thing is that, you know, when you listen to podcast episodes, let me ask you, do you listen to everything in sequence or are you jumping around based on the interested topic that you are thinking about? And I can say 99% of people actually jumps around. So this is a problem in itself because if you're jumping around, then you're not following the exact steps. You're not following the exact framework. And I totally understand that because I do that too. I'm easily distracted online.

So when you don't follow the step-by-step, then you are getting bits and pieces and the things may not even tie in together. And the magic is in the connection. The magic is not about this fancy lesson and this magic hack or whatever. It's the connection between understanding the entire corporate world, jigsaw puzzle, everything everything how it's actually connected together that is the magic that is the thing that gives you career clarity confidence competence opportunity that is the connection right and only in that you are able to only in the paid program i can outline it and then i also tell a lot of my students that please make sure that you follow the sequence and i can tell you that it is very normal for someone who initially joined the program right and i can say this about my corporate supplier members as well like when they first

join the program there's a natural tendency of them wanting to jump the lesson they're like oh i don't like this lesson i'm gonna jump to this lesson that lesson and that's why i make it very clear to every student that the three-step framework that i teach right the three-step career growth framework they get clear get confident get visible as well as the job search bonus lessons week one two three four it in sequence. When you follow the strategy step by step, taught in sequence, you get real results. When you jump around, then you are displaying the kind of habit of someone who has not yet committed to a strategy. And that is the kind of behavior that most people behave online when they look at like social media

stuff like that. So I'm going to give you one simple example. And this is actually a student that joined the program about one and a half months ago now when before she joined the program she's been following my social media content and she's also been listening to the podcast as well so she will sometimes text me on instagram telling me that she really enjoyed this episode she feel like she could relate if this episode this and that this and that right but the same time she's still feeling extremely lost in her career. And at that time, she has also hired a separate coach. And let's just leave it at that. So she felt that she hasn't gotten the answers that she needed

from the other coach that she was working with. But at the same time, she discovered me and she really, really enjoyed the podcast episodes. So she's been feeling very inspired. And she texts me all the time telling me that maybe I'm so inspired. This episode, this episode, I really love this episode. But at the same time, right, her work condition work condition you know her career condition actually is not improving so around about one and a half months ago she actually took the leap and she joined the corporate survivor

and like i said when she first joined the program right it was very new to her because it was actually extremely structured and the first thing she told me was like maybe i don't really know where to find these things you know what about this what about this i want to jump to this and that you know again as i was saying earlier you know displaying the kind of like behavior of someone who's like just very used to like this kind of like ad hoc stuff so she was displaying a bit a bit of that and i told her that like no you need to look through your welcome email and then you know since you are looking for opportunities right now i want you to go through the job search bonus course and there's a you know i've actually segregated it you know week one two three four we start with clarity and then

we'll start then we kind of go into like the steps and strategies right so i actually made it very very clear to her that you need to follow you need to go through the bonus course and actually follow the step-by-steps that's taught in there because that is the exact steps and framework and method that's actually gotten results for many many students and initially she was a bit uncomfortable she said oh i'm just like not used to it because i'm so used to like just doing the thing that i want to do and you know i just jump to whichever lesson that i want and i said okay i completely understand but it's actually really really important that you follow the steps because that's actually the things that get you results so she's okay so after that right she actually just went she went through the lessons and um in between that, like, one and a half months, we actually had a monthly group mentoring call.

So she submitted questions as well. So just by the kind of questions that she submit for, like, additional guidance. So normally in my monthly group mentoring calls, I actually do provide, like, additional guidance as well as feedback on your latest career situation, whether it's your career, workplace, or job search. So she submitted questions that gave me a very clear view that like oh actually she is making progress because from someone who had like very low confidence zero interviews before joining to corporate survivor by just going through the lessons itself she actually started getting interviews and she started passing the first round of interview which has actually never happened to her before so in the monthly group mentor assessors just based on the questions that she's submitting because i'm like okay actually this this member is actually making progress so

i shared the guidance you, through the monthly mentoring calls where, you know, not just this student can benefit, but everyone else as well. And a few weeks after that, she booked a one-on-one call with me. So when you join a corporate server, you know,

you get one bonus call with me, but you can also top up the other calls. So in the one-on-one call that she had with me, she told me that she managed to get a job offer in her dream role, her dream industry, and it was an overseas position that she managed to get a job offer in her dream role her dream industry in it was a an overseas position that she's been eyeing for a very very long time and she was

really really excited and in a one-on-one call we actually talked about the specific salary negotiation strategies because she was already going to get the offer and she's hoping to kind of like make a little bit more and we also talk about whether um in terms of like her career direction whether it's something that she would want to take on and like you know kind of like make a little bit more and we also talk about whether um in terms of like her career direction whether it's something that she would want to take on and like you know kind of like planning to make sure that she would be a success and it would be a success for her in this new role so all this happened in a period of less than one and a half months of joining the corporate survivor versus this is someone who has been following me online and listening to the podcast for a very very long time so my question then is, okay, actually, what is the difference, right?

The difference is she has moved from feeling inspired, right? Just gaining inspiration to actually taking action, to actually following the step-by-step that gets her results. The step-by-step, which actually came from like my many, many years of my corporate insights, you know, experiences, you know, wisdom, everything from being a corporate leader, you know, experiences, you know, wisdom, everything from being a corporate leader, you know, head of department, former hiring manager,

all of that taught in the lessons. And the fact that she invested in herself, she decided that, you know what, I already invested in myself. So I'm just going to follow MAPING's framework. I'm going to follow MAPING's strategy. I'm going to follow MAPING's steps. And she utilized the way that,

you know, the corporate survivor is designed in which you go through the lessons first, you go apply then if you have additional questions you want additional support you can then ask questions in the monthly mentoring session and there's also more than 100 case studies in the mentoring portal itself of other students have who may have encountered similar situations as you and you can just directly access the guidance that i've also given to them at that point in time and when the time is right and she feels that like okay you know this is something really critical something essential i really want to discuss with you then she used the bonus one-on-one call that actually came to corporate survival program so my point is that like she's able to achieve all of this in less than one and a half months

of actually joining the corporate survivor it's a paid program yes but again as i said what is the difference the difference is she moved from just feeling inspiration, trying to look for inspiration to actually taking action, to actually getting results because she is taking the step-by-step. And she's also actually absorbing all the strategies that I taught her in the lessons. And she's also leveraging the additional Q&A, whether it's in the mentoring library or actually asking me during the monthly mentoring calls to be able to get the guidance that she wants. So she is committed to get results.

She is committed to get results because she is in a program that gives her the guidance and support that she needs to get results and to be able to get the career goals that she has set out for herself. So I just want to show you this really, really tangible example over here because I know that you may be someone who is thinking that, okay, I can find a lot of the stuff online, so what is the point? But the point is not so much on the fact that you can get everything online. The fact is more around your mindset

and the kind of commitment that you can have as well as the support system that you get access to when you join a paid program. So when you work with me, I make sure that like you are properly supported. So you get the step-by-step lessons with the strategies, the methods,

the step-by-step on what you need to do to either improve your work performance. And that is taught in the three-step curriculum framework, get clear, get confident, get visible. Or if you're looking for opportunities, then it's taught in the job search bonus course which is week one two three four actually walks you step by step from getting clarity all the way to selling your value for the next career opportunity and you have additional like questions you need guidance you know practical feedback then

you can ask in the monthly mentoring calls or there's really more like more than 100 case studies in the mentoring portal that you can get as well as the bonus one-on-one call if you really need to speak to me directly you know to strategize or to overcome a specific challenge you can do that as well so that is really really really the big difference and you know it's not just content it's also about learning from a community it's also you know getting support getting coaching and knowing that you are consistent and you remain accountable to yourself because you are learning the lesson you're learning the strategy and steps, and then you're going out there to implement. It's not just inspiration.

You're actually taking the steps and then seeing yourself progress. And the more that you can see yourself making progress, becoming more courageous, feeling more clarity, feeling like, hey, I can do it. It's totally possible for me. That's where the real motivation comes in. That's where you are inspiring yourself. You're not looking for inspiration externally.

You are inspiring yourself. And what I always tell my students is that, like, you know, me, ping, right, me, the Corporate Survivor Career Program, the lessons, everything, that is just a bridge for you to get to what you want. But ultimately, you need to be able to commit to the career goal that you've set up for yourself or the career challenge that you really want to overcome, then me, I can help you with my lessons, right? With my advice, my guidance, and other students can also help you as well, right?

In our monthly mentor calls or even like the one-on-one coaching calls. But ultimately, it starts with the kind of like mindset that you have. And more importantly, it's the kind of like commitment towards your own self-development and your own career development i think that kind of like makes the biggest difference so with that i'll leave you to kind of like think about whether you know you want to continue to you know diy and go through your a lot of the free content you can but if you feel like you're ready to commit to yourself you're ready to kind of like get the kind of consistency that you want you also want to learn strategies you want the step-by-step you want it supported you know by my guidance advice and like practical feedback if a community of like 95 professors just like you then definitely

check out the corporate survivor so for any other info or links or details that you want you can just go to my website at www.mapin.com you should be able to find it somewhere in the description below so with that i'll see you in the next episode bye