Your Career Journey Podcast
Welcome to ‘Your Career Journey,’ the podcast designed to be your compass through the twists and turns of career development.
Whether you're a seasoned professional navigating a career transition, climbing the corporate ladder, looking to return to work after some time away, or just taking your first steps, this show is for you.
Each episode dives into real stories from people who have made their mark. We cover career challenges, triumphs, and everything in between, offering practical insights, inspiration and giving you valuable takeaways for your journey.
Expect candid conversations with industry experts and thought leaders who've embraced the highs, weathered the lows and emerged with wisdom worth sharing.
Join me and let’s explore the multifaceted landscapes of career development, leadership, and growth together.
You can listen to and watch the episodes below ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️
Or find them on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
New episodes are released fortnightly.
How to Become a Fractional CMO (Career Path, Skills & Lessons) with Laura Zahariou
What does it really take to grow from a solo marketer into a strategic leader and eventually step out on your own?
In this episode, Laura Zahariou shares her career journey from being the only marketer in mid-sized businesses to building a career as a fractional marketing leader.
Early in her career, Laura found herself as a solo marketer reporting directly to CEOs and founders, sitting in conversations about revenue, cash flow, margins, and operations. It gave her strong commercial awareness but also required her to be proactive in developing her marketing skills outside her role.
We discuss how mentoring and executive coaching played a huge role in her continued professional development, and the advice she would give others in the same situation.
We also talk about what prompted her to leave her corporate career and start her own business. Laura talks us through her thought process and what she's learnt that has surprised her.
We explore:
• The transition from solo marketer to strategic leader
• What a Fractional CMO actually does
• The importance of proactive learning and development
• Why marketers need to treat networking as a priority (and even set KPIs around it)
• The impact of remote work on learning, confidence, and soft skill development
• Learning to “panic slowly”
This episode is full of practical insight for marketers looking to grow, step into leadership, or explore more flexible career paths.
To connect with Laura:
Website: https://www.growthlanemarketing.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-zahariou-2680696b/
Marketing Me: Personal Branding, Visibility, and Authenticity with Nina Christian
How do you position and promote the most important brand you’ll ever work on, yourself?
In this episode, I’m joined by Nina Christian to explore the realities of personal branding, visibility, and building a professional reputation that actually feels authentic.
After more than 20 years of building an award-winning marketing agency and working closely with both organisations and individuals, Nina has distilled her experience into her Marketing Me framework and book. Designed to help people communicate their value clearly and confidently.
We start by unpacking why the term personal branding can feel uncomfortable for so many people, and where the concept actually comes from. As Nina points out, whether we like the term or not, our personal brand already exists, so we may as well be intentional about shaping it.
From there, we dive into the topic everyone seems to be talking about right now: authenticity. What does it actually mean in the context of personal branding? Do you really have to share your whole life online to be visible?
Nina also shares why many marketers struggle to market themselves, despite doing excellent work for their clients/employers. And how getting clear on your differentiators, messaging, and the right channels (from podcasts to other platforms) can help build both confidence and consistency.
We also discuss Nina’s latest insights on key market shifts for 2026, and finish with a simple but powerful reminder: you don’t need everything figured out, you just need to take the next step. I
If you’ve ever felt uncomfortable with the idea of personal branding, struggled with visibility, or wondered how to talk about your value more clearly, this conversation is full of practical insights.
Insights report: https://www.ninachristian.com/insights
Website: https://www.ninachristian.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ninachristian
Migrating to Australia in Your 30s: Career Change, Loneliness & Job Market Truths with Ana Asanovic
Moving countries in your 30s is often portrayed as exciting and full of opportunity, but what does the reality actually look like?
In this episode, Ana Asanovic joins Emma to share her journey from Serbia to Australia as a mature age student, to further her education in Communications and take her career in a new direction
Driven by her award-winning travel blog, passion for storytelling, and desire to create meaningful impact, Ana explains why she chose Australia over other destinations and what it really takes to start again professionally and personally later in life.
We explore the often unspoken realities of migration, from loneliness and building friendships as an adult, to navigating the Australian job market and overcoming barriers like the “local experience” requirement, accent bias, and explaining transferable skills.
Ana shares her honest experience of rebuilding her career from the ground up, including completing unpaid internships, working part-time roles on a student visa, and leveraging networking to progress into senior communications positions.
The conversation also highlights the accessibility challenges within professional networking spaces, and Ana’s advocacy work around connection and belonging, including contributing to published works, and creating a marketing and communications co-working day designed to foster genuine community for remote and hybrid professionals.
This episode is a great reminder that career paths are rarely linear, and that finding the right advice, aligned values, and supportive community can shape not just your career but your overall experience of life in a new country.
If you’re considering migrating, changing careers, or rebuilding your professional identity, this conversation offers both practical insight and reassurance that you’re not alone.
To connect with Ana:
In this episode, I sit down with digital marketer and SEO consultant Briony Cullin to explore how trusting her intuition led her through a series of bold career and life changes, and ultimately helped her build a business and lifestyle she genuinely loves.
Briony shares her journey from studying and practising law to realising it wasn’t the right fit, a chance trip to Japan that unexpectedly changed the course of her life, and her move to Scotland for love. From navigating a new country and culture to transferring her skills into digital marketing at Yelp, Briony talks about the challenges and turning points that shaped her path.
The conversation also delves into freelancing, managing chronic illness alongside career ambitions, the evolution of SEO, and the freedom that comes with designing work around your life, not the other way around.
This episode is a thoughtful and honest discussion about career reinvention, trusting your instincts, balancing health and ambition, and creating a business that supports the life you want to live.
Perfect for anyone considering a career pivot, freelancing, or building a more intentional relationship with work.
To connect with Briony:
https://www.brionycullin.com/