Career Unicorns - Spark Your Joy

I’m Samorn Selim.

I’m a lawyer turned career coach on a mission for us to take our careers from dread to joy. As the daughter of poor Lao refugees, I was told to pay my dues.

After coaching over 1,000 clients, I now realize that the idea that you have to pay your dues and work in a toxic place is a myth.

We can face our challenges head on, do work we are passionate about, and work with good people with kind hearts to make a big impact. So even as we struggle, we can find a sense of belonging.

Ep. 58: Beating the odds and finding alternative paths to success with Michael Cheng (Chief Legal Officer at Aalyria Technologies)

Dec 27, 2022

Do you feel like the odds are stacked against you? And you’re struggling to figure out a path forward? In this episode, we discuss:

- How to build belief in yourself when you’re told at birth that you will never amount to anything because of a rare congenital birth defect.

- What you can do to get into a top...

Ep. 57: Making career pivots and what it means to have Asian American representation with Richard Guo (Principal Counsel at The Walt Disney Company)

Dec 20, 2022

Are you wondering how you can make a change in your career? And you’re wondering how to get started? Richard shares:

- What helped him to make big career changes from being an engineer to being a lawyer and then working in-house with Pixar, Lucasfilms, and Disney.

- How he managed life as a working dad with two...

Ep. 56: Rebuilding your confidence after rejection and having grit to find opportunities with Tyler Garvey (Vice President & Counsel at BNP Paribas)

Dec 13, 2022

Have you experienced failure in your career? And you’re struggling with how to pick yourself up? Tyler shares:

- How he navigated corporate America as a Black man growing up with Caribbean culture in Brooklyn.

- What he did as a father during the pandemic to support his wife and children.

- How he overcame the...

Ep. 55: Navigating uncertainty and creating your own career path with Martha Hernandez (Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Bank of the West)

Dec 6, 2022

Are you feeling uncertain about the world? And you’re trying to figure out how to ground yourself? Martha shares:

- How she navigated the uncertainty of the DACA process to renew her work permit every 2 years.

- What she learned from being undocumented and how she leverages it to create more inclusion...

Ep. 54: Letting go of the mom martyr complex and building a business during the pandemic (Founder of Winter Wheeler Mediation and Arbitration)

Nov 29, 2022

Are you a mom who is running your own business? And you’re struggling to balance work and life? Winter shares:

- How she started her business during the pandemic.

- What she did to get through the tough times.

- What snapping at her son made her realize about managing her work and life.

- The importance of...