Advertise on podcast: Career Boosters: An MBA Podcast

Picture sitting in a room while a group of near strangers describes who you are, and you can't say a word. This week, we're joined by Élise Machado, a combined MBA and OT student, who did exactly that in class. She was sure the things she shared would come across as random. Instead, her group kept coming back to the word creative, a word she had never used for herself. She left with a clearer sense of how she comes across, and a reminder that once we know our brand, we can use it on purpose.

This week, we're joined by Alpha Sow, the first student from our 2026 MBA cohort. Alpha spent 16 years in telecom in Guinea, most recently leading quality and performance for one of the biggest companies in Africa, and he walked away from it to start over here in Canada. He admits that, like most people, beginnings make him nervous. The MBA has been an extra big beginning, and following fast-talking instructors in his second language was hard, so he built his own system and read ahead. What helped settle some of his nerves was looking around at orientation and realizing that if everyone else could do this, he could too. As he puts it, the hardest part is getting the admission. After that, it comes down to staying positive and getting organized.

This week, we're joined by two MBA alumni, Monisha Vinod (MBA 23’) and Kathryn Byron (MBA 25’), who came into the program looking for a clearer path forward and found something more useful instead. Neither of them got what they expected from the MBA. They got something better. Kathryn walked away from a fifteen-year career to figure out what actually motivated her. Monisha discovered that you can't plan for serendipity, but you can put yourself in rooms where it's more likely to find you. Between the two of them, they offer an honest picture of what the MBA actually gives you, and it has very little to do with the formula most people come in hoping to find.

This week, we're joined by Andras Morosi and Robb Sombach, professors at the Alberta School of Business who co-teach a course designed to prepare undergrad students for the parts of work that technical courses don't cover. While they come from different backgrounds, they both have a passion for setting students up for success in a way that is so much more than just technical skills. And in doing that work, they've also learned more about their own strengths, how they complement each other, and what it actually looks like to widen the definition of success, for students and for themselves

This week, we're joined by Heather Braid, Manager of Teaching and Learning at the Alberta School of Business, who took an unlikely path from civil engineering to leading a team focused on student experience and program quality. Heather talks about what empathetic leadership actually looks like in practice by building it into your structure, your schedule, and your habits. She also pushes back on the idea that empathy is just being nice, makes you soft, and means you don’t know how to have a hard conversation. She also shares honestly about where it gets hard leading with empathy, because it does sometimes. Her reminder is a simple one: the people you work with are whole people, not just their job titles, and your work as a leader starts there.

This week, we're joined by Veronica Alfred, a global talent acquisition specialist who introduces us to something she calls ‘talentless recruitment’: a growing reality where anywhere from 50 to 70% of candidates in a pipeline are fraudulent, AI-generated, or simply not who they say they are. She shares what recruiters are now having to do to catch it, and what it costs legitimate candidates in the process. Her advice: standing out is no longer about being polished on paper. It's about being visible, verifiable, and human. And most importantly, communicating that before someone ever opens your resume. Connect with Veronica on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/veronicaalfred/

This week, we're joined by Varsha Govindarajan, a part-time MBA student and energy professional, who came on to talk about something she calls the quarter-life crisis: that stretch between 25 and 35 where the path you were expecting turns out to be different than your reality. She talks honestly about growing up with strong expectations, learning to make peace with the gray, and what happens when perfectionism meets real life. And in sharing her realization that between work and school, the first ball she dropped was herself, she offers some strong advice: let's be important to ourselves.

This week, we're joined by Brea Elfer, Marketing and Communications Partner at the Alberta School of Business, who opened up about her own difficult undergraduate experience and how it shaped why she does this work. The conversation kept circling around a central idea: the best brands (personal or organizational) aren't built on a polished, curated version of yourself. They're built on presence. Brea makes the case that our quirks, our failures, and our real personalities are the actual assets, and that's as true for the school's brand as it is for a student figuring out how to show up in an interview.

This week, we're joined by Harkirat Malhi, first-year MBA student and varsity soccer player for the U of A Golden Bears. He is doing the MBA while training five days a week, playing games on weekends, volunteering, and adding a summer internship to the mix. His surprising realization is that thriving isn't about having less on your plate. It's about building the habits and mindset that make a full plate feel manageable.

This week, we're joined by Rachel Lachman, the Employer and Community Partner Outreach Specialist on the CWIL team at the Alberta School of Business, whose job is building relationships between employers and students. Her take on networking is straightforward: it's just a conversation, and the only real mistake is standing next to the appetizers all night. She also shares her own recent embarrassing moment networking, and proves that we’re all human and that networking doesn't require a perfect performance. It just requires showing up and showing out.

This week, we’re joined by Danyelle Bernier, MBA/MAg student, to talk about what the MBA has reflected back to her.She came into the program with a solid sense of who she was, but still found herself surprised by what started to surface through the classes, the coaching, and the conversations along the way. What comes through in this episode is not a total reinvention. It’s a clearer view of her own strengths, her leadership, and the parts of herself that were already there but easier to miss when you’re in the middle of living them. It’s also a good reminder that sometimes growth looks less like becoming someone new and more like finally seeing yourself clearly.

This week we talk with Andriy Tovstiuk (MBA 19‘) about networking, curiosity, and what actually makes someone interesting to talk to. From serving in the military to teaching around the world and now working in AI, Andriy shares how saying yes to experiences creates better conversations and stronger professional relationships. We also talk about a surprising benchmark from Stanford MBA students, who aim to have five to ten informational conversations every week. And we’re reminded that networking is not about collecting contacts. It’s about being curious, participating in things, and becoming someone others genuinely want to talk with.

This week we walk through the AI career management simulation Tiffany ran in class, with Paul as the guinea pig. We load real context into AI, ask it to build a “perfect” job posting for Paul, draft resume profile lines, create a cover letter hook, generate interview questions, and practice a story-based answer. And we show that the value in partnering with AI in career management isn’t in the first output. It’s in how you challenge it, refine it, and stay in control of the thinking. Here is the link to the Career Management AI Simulation document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1apbnlBVtovq1_5RLQ6By9dLwTnVPZvFgW_-qXrL8S0Y/edit?usp=sharing

Part-time MBA student Jason Kaban is doing what many assume is unsustainable. A demanding leadership role, family life, and an MBA layered on top. Instead of describing his life as overwhelming, he talks about it as intentional. Jason shares how shifting from “I have to” to “I choose to” reshaped how he spends his time, how he leads, and how he listens, even when the calendar stays full.

Kalie Van Ree (MBA ’16), Senior Manager at KPMG, joins us to talk about interviews from the hiring side of the table. We get into what strong candidates do early, the story mistakes that quietly hurt otherwise solid interviews, and why trying to “impress” is often the wrong strategy. And we even admit something students don’t always believe: interviewers get nervous too. Got an interview coming up? You’ll want to give this a listen.