We were lucky to catch up with Alice Yeh recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Alice, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
I think my resilience is a byproduct of my core values. Curiosity, learning, and growth are some of the core values that really drive who I am and my sense of adventure and exploration. When I look back on my career and key milestones in my life, learning and growth were the key drivers behind those big decisions. Because I am always looking for new things to learn and experience, I find the courage to take risks. And as a result of taking risks, I have encountered setbacks and failures. Despite these challenges, I always find a way to overcome them through perseverance and resourcefulness. For every success, many failures came before that. Having the tenacity to keep going is where my resilience comes from.
I’ve always seen setbacks as opportunities to explore a new path, even if it’s daunting. I experienced my first layoff when I was working at Google. At the time, I had the option to find another team or role within the company or take the severance and leave. Rather than jump into a desperate job search whether within Google or externally at a new company, I decided to take some time off for a sabbatical and pursue some personal passion projects. Everyone thought I was crazy to not only leave Google but also take time off without having another job offer lined up. Everyone warned me that I shouldn’t have a gap on my resume.
And you know what? That turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. During my yearlong sabbatical, I traveled, did yoga teacher training, and even started a travel blog. And when I decided to return to work, I was still able to find a job despite that resume gap. It was not the end of the world!
That experience taught me to look beyond the “no” and find my own path forward. And that mindset has been invaluable when I faced two more layoffs later in my career as well as any other challenges. The most recent layoff took place last year in 2023. But this allowed me to pivot into my current role as a solopreneur and Certified Career Clarity Coach. I have used each layoff and setback as an opportunity to grow, leaning into my core values of curiosity and learning as I found a new direction. Whether it’s adapting or staying open to possibilities, resilience is about believing there’s always another way.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
As a Certified Career Clarity Coach, I help high-achieving mid-career professionals transition from feeling stuck in unsatisfying careers dreading Mondays to finding the excitement and freedom they desire by no longer settling and playing it safe.
Life is too short to feel anxious and depressed at the thought of going to work every morning. It’s too precious to live just for the weekends. And if you’re spending your time and money numbing yourself by binge-watching Netflix, eating your feelings, drinking too many glasses of wine because you had another hard day, or doomscrolling on Instagram… You’re wasting not only a precious gift – you’re wasting YOUR gifts.
There, I’ve just saved you about 16 years of grinding it out because it took me that long to reach my own epiphany that something had to change! I went from Wall Street (J.P. Morgan) to Silicon Valley (Google) to early and late-stage startups to starting my own coaching business as an entrepreneur so I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to feel stuck and unsure about what to do next but still find the courage to make career pivots in order to find success and fulfillment.
It’s time to break free from being stuck in the: hamster wheel of the same old boring routine, unmotivated and directionless funk, stressed state of exhaustion and burnout, uncertainty of what to do next, and expectations of what you’re supposed to do.
By working with me, I help you uncover the career insights you need, act as your sounding board for new ideas, and push you beyond familiar limits. I encourage you to tackle any fears about stepping out of your comfort zone while providing you with the nudge and support you need to explore new career possibilities. I refine and challenge your thoughts and beliefs, creating a coaching experience that’s custom-fit to foster your growth and clarity. One of the best parts of my job? Seeing my clients’ lives transform during our time together!
If you’re wondering whether you’re on the right career path, I have a complimentary Career Check-Up Guide for those who are interested in doing a health check on whether your current career is right for you and aligned with your priorities. You can download it for FREE at https://bit.ly/careercheckupguide.
Life is too short to spend YOUR time working in an unsatisfying career, stuck in the same old boring routine, feeling lost, and unsure what to do next. So I am excited to help others get unstuck, get confident, and get clear about their career and future!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Reflecting on my journey, the three qualities that were the most impactful are resilience, adaptability, and an entrepreneurial mindset. Each of these qualities has helped me navigate change and stay grounded, even during the toughest times.
First, resilience helped me navigate setbacks like layoffs and transitions across industries and even geographies. Resilience allowed me to take risks and not be afraid to fail. In the early part of my career, I raised my hand to move abroad and live in Hong Kong and London, where I didn’t know anyone. I left the easy established life I had in the US and moved someplace new to start over from scratch. And I did this multiple times too!
Resilience means looking at challenges as opportunities to reinvent oneself, which kept me moving forward in the face of adversity. I learned early on to treat setbacks as redirection rather than failure. Whether it was missing out on a promotion or getting laid off, resilience allowed me to pivot and find new paths forward.
For those early in their journey, my advice would be to embrace challenges as a chance to learn and grow. Rejection or setbacks can be the very experiences that refine your path. Raise your hand and take those risks because even if you do fail, that’s how you learn and grow. Build up your resilience!
Second, life is unpredictable and change is inevitable so adaptability is essential. Moving from Wall Street to Silicon Valley and then starting my own business as a career coach and self-employed entrepreneur required not just learning new skills but embracing new mindsets and continuously adjusting to different environments. I had to become comfortable with uncertainty, and that flexibility has been invaluable. My career has taken me across continents and industries. Each change required flexibility and an open mind. The ability to pivot and evolve has been essential to keeping my journey fresh and fulfilling.
To develop this, don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone. Explore different roles, try new projects, and be open to change. Adapting to new situations builds both confidence and the skills needed to thrive in any environment. Always try new things because that’s how you’ll discover and understand better what you like and don’t like as well as what you can become good at. And it’s ok to outgrow your current career path and want change.
Lastly, an entrepreneurial mindset allowed me to take ownership of my career. And by entrepreneurial, I don’t necessarily mean that you have to start your own business. By having an entrepreneurial mindset, I made strategic career decisions from proactively seeking roles to networking and treating every role as if I were building something of my own even if I was working in a large organization.
Finding work that aligns with my values has also been a key part of that mindset. I spent years in high-powered roles but found the most fulfillment when I shifted my focus to helping others, especially high-achievers find career clarity. I’d encourage those starting out to take time to reflect on your strengths and what genuinely excites and fulfills you. The clearer you are about what drives you, the easier it is to make choices that lead to long-term satisfaction.
I tell everyone you are the CEO of your career. You are the one in control so stop being a passenger and letting things happen to you. You should be the one in the driver’s seat and make intentional career choices that align with your values, priorities, interests, and strengths. You are the product that you’re selling. You’re in control of the narrative so channel that main character energy. Understand yourself and your story because that’s how you can position yourself for any opportunities you want.
For those starting out, my advice would be to focus on building resilience by embracing challenges, staying curious and open to new experiences to develop adaptability, and practicing an ownership mindset to drive personal growth and impact in any role. Nurturing these qualities can help you navigate uncertainty and carve a meaningful career path.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
Even though my parents always taught me that hard work and being the best is how you’ll find success, they also gave me the space to fail and explore. This was the most impactful thing my parents did for me.
Growing up, I was used to being at the top of the class because school and classes were easy. It was easy to get A’s, which made my Asian immigrant parents happy, of course. But when I started my undergrad at Princeton, I quickly realized school was no longer easy. I was no longer at the top of the class.
I remember getting my very first C and I thought it was going to be the end of the world. My parents were going to be so mad… I was going to fail out of school… I wouldn’t get a good job… All the dramatic doomsday scenarios ran through my mind.
But when I called to tell them the news, I was surprised by their reaction. Rather than scold or lecture me about not studying enough, they were shockingly very understanding. And that’s when I learned about my dad’s grades in college. My parents are Taiwanese and in Taiwan, you have to take a national exam that dictates which school you get into. Your score is the only thing schools look at. So obviously there’s a lot of pressure to do very well on those exams. My dad scored very high on the exam and based on that ranking, he entered college at the top of his class. BUT he graduated at the bottom of his class! He emphasized that while grades are important, they’re not the only things that matter. Despite graduating last, he was still able to find a great job and success!
So this story and lesson have allowed me to give myself grace when I didn’t get A’s while at Princeton and that happened a lot! It allowed me to spend time on extracurriculars and gave me the space and time to explore other interests. This sense of exploration and resilience has stayed with me throughout my career and prepared me for any failures and setbacks I encountered later on in my career.
My parents have allowed me to be my own person and while they don’t always agree with my choices, they have given me the space to make them, whether it was taking a yearlong sabbatical after getting laid off from Google or starting my own business as a career coach. Of course, they still provide their recommendations and sometimes even unwanted advice! But I am truly grateful to my parents for giving me the space to explore and fail as well as instilling the importance of resilience. I definitely would not be where I am today without it!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://aliceyehcoaching.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyaliceyeh/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aliceyeh724
- Linkedin: ttps://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceyeh/
- Other: FREE Career Check-Up Guide: https://bit.ly/careercheckupguide
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