this show is called guidance counselor 2.0, because we had guidance counselors in middle school, high school and college, but now as adults we don't have access to that kind of resource, or we at least we didn't until now. this is the 'soft skills' podcast of the software engineering industry, focused on hiring and job search tips. host taylor desseyn and his guests fill in that guidance counselor role, and give job searchers the advice they need to find their next position.

today’s guest is kelly vaughn, engineering leader at zapier, founder of the taproom, and co-founder of govalo. she taught herself to code at 11, started freelancing at 14, and turned that hustle into a 7-figure shopify agency before stepping back to build new products and lead teams. kelly’s path is a case study in doing the work, showing up, and compounding relationships. she built and scaled the taproom to 20 people, then co-founded govalo to fix gift cards on shopify. after that, she shifted into engineering leadership, most recently at zapier, while teaching and writing about modern management and burnout. along the way she co-hosted ladybug (and commerce tea), spoke on stages, and kept building in public.

looking to earn a promotion at your current job? tune in to hear kelly's advice on how to land it.