Career Change Maker | Career Clarity, Career Opportunities, Career Pivots, Burnout, Corporate Job, Portfolio Career
***Top 1.5% Global Careers Podcast For Corporate Women***
Are you navigating a mid-career transition and wondering what’s next?
Have you built a successful corporate career but realised you don’t want your boss’s job?
Do you feel the tension between wanting more freedom and not wanting to sacrifice security?
If you’re ambitious but no longer willing to burn out for another promotion, you’re in the right place. I’m glad you’re here.
This podcast helps high-achieving mid-career women gain career clarity and confidently design their next chapter, whether that means evolving inside corporate, exploring a portfolio career, or building a hybrid path.
If you’re ready to stop default climbing and start making strategic, aligned decisions about your future, this podcast will give you the insight and tools to move forward with confidence.
Hey 👋 , I’m Janine Esbrand, corporate lawyer turned career strategist and executive coach.
For years, I had my eye on the corporate partner title. I kept my head down, worked the long hours, and chased the next big deal because that’s what success was supposed to look like.
Then I became a mother. And I realised I didn’t want to build a life around my career, I wanted to build a career around my life. So, I stepped off the default corporate path and designed a portfolio career that allows me to work on my terms, create meaningful impact, and show up fully, both professionally and personally.
Now, I help ambitious mid-career women do the same: gain clarity, challenge the default ladder, and design aligned, sustainable careers that reflect who they are now, not who they used to be.
This podcast will give you the strategy, mindset and tools to make it happen.
So grab your notebook, pour your hot drink of choice and lets design what’s next.
Next Steps:
🎙️ Explore for 1:1 Coaching: www.careerchangemakers.com/claritycall
🌐 Visit the Website: www.careerchangemakers.com
📩 Contact Us: hello@careerchangemakers.com
Career Change Maker | Career Clarity, Career Opportunities, Career Pivots, Burnout, Corporate Job, Portfolio Career
301 I When Your Career Looks Good on Paper but Feels Wrong in Real Life
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In this episode of the Career Change Maker Podcast, I explore what happens when your career looks successful on the outside, but feels misaligned on the inside.
So many high-achieving women reach a point in mid-career where everything appears to be going well - the title, the experience, the trajectory...yet there’s a quiet sense of dissatisfaction that won’t go away. Not because they’ve failed, but because they’ve grown.
I talk about why this tension is so common, why it often shows up after years of building momentum, and how staying in roles that no longer fit the season of life you’re in can slowly drain your energy. I also share reflections from my own journey of moving away from private practice as a corporate lawyer, and why permission, not urgency was the turning point for me.
If you’ve been asking yourself “Is this it?” or going back and forth about whether you should make a change, this episode will help you pause, listen to the information your body and mind are giving you, and think more intentionally about what alignment looks like now.
✅ What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- Why feeling dissatisfied in a “good on paper” career is more common than you think
- How misalignment often shows up in mid-career for high-achieving women
- The hidden energy cost of staying in roles that no longer fit your season of life
- Why clarity matters more than urgency when considering a career pivot
- How to move out of mental looping and into intentional decision-making
💡 Action Steps
1. Look Ahead, Not Just Around
Ask yourself how you would feel if nothing changed in your career by December 2026.
2. Identify What’s Draining You
Get specific about which parts of your work take the most energy — and why.
3. Notice What You’re Tolerating
Reflect on what you’re putting up with now that you wouldn’t have accepted in the past.
Use these reflection questions:
- If nothing changed over the next year, how would I feel?
- What aspects of my role drain me the most — and why?
- What am I tolerating now that’s contributing to this misalignment?
If you’re at a career crossroads and want support gaining clarity, I offer Career Pivot Clarity Calls - one-to-one conversations to help you understand where you are, what’s no longer working, and what your next best move could be. You can book yours using the link in the show notes.
Invest in Yourself and Your Career:
- Community — Join our Network for mid-career women redesigning what's next in their careers
- Coaching — Apply for The Portfolio Career Academy. Turn Your Expertise Into Multiple Streams of Income & Impact Through Building A Portfolio Career.
Connect with me!
Website: careerchangemakers.com
Email: podcast@careerchangemakers.com
LinkedIn: Janine Esbrand
Instagram: @careerchangemakerspodcast
Career Change Makers on Apple Podcasts