Ep 36 Theo Coaching Session (finished editing)
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Microphone (Yeti Stereo Microphone) & Lumina Camera - Raw: [00:00:00] Welcome back to Career Clarity Unlocked. Today, I'm giving you something really special. A behind the scenes look at an actual coaching session. Yep, you heard that right. You are about to step into a real Career Clarity conversation between me and my client Theo. And if you've ever found yourself stuck at a crossroad wondering, what's next?
This episode is for you. Theo came in the session looking for new possibilities in his career, ones he might not have even considered before. And throughout our conversation, we uncovered some pretty powerful insights about what truly lights him up. aha moments, a few unexpected twists, and a whole lot of inspiration.
Let's dive in!
Theresa: Hi Theo!
Theo: Hi, Sparketype.
Theresa: Really [00:01:00] looking forward to talking to you today.
Theo Vora_ Coaching Session - Feb 6 2025: Likewise. Likewise.
Theresa: What is the most important thing to get for you to get out of this session?
Theo: , yeah. I'd love to explore, some things I haven't hadn't thought about when it comes to like career choices.
Theo Vora_ Coaching Session - Feb 6 2025: Yeah.
Theo: You know, what am I not seeing? You know, what are some career possibilities?
Yeah, that's really that's really it. Yeah.
Theresa: Perfect. We'll make sure to cover that today. I will send you a follow up email because this call I gather a lot of information from you about how you feel about your work and certain aspects and then. I, after that, I really listened to our conversation and do a ton of research on my end and send you a follow up email.
That includes one, a recap from the conversation, but also job titles that might be worth looking into for you that are realistic, given your skillset and experience. But also that involve more of what makes you come alive, what excites you to do. Does that sound okay?
Theo: Yeah, that sounds perfect.
Yes.
Theresa: [00:02:00] Perfect. Before we talk more about the Sparketype, give me just a snapshot of your professional journey.
Theo: From a very early age, I was just good with computers.
Theresa: And then after college, you were like, computers, that's my thing.
Theo: Yeah I guess I was, yeah, resigned to the fact that I was a computer guy. I took an IT job immediately out of college, working for the training department at, a pretty big corporation and, that's where I got my career start was I quickly found that training was cool but at the same time I knew I had a knack for programming because, they figured out very quickly. Oh, hey, he's smart. He can build stuff.
So we should get him to do some stuff for us. So I did and I wrote a web app and it was a lot of fun. I almost got a patent. My dad was super proud. His exact words were, Hey, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Yeah, he was proud.
Theresa: That's awesome.
Theo: [00:03:00] Yeah.
Theresa: Love it.
Theo: I couldn't show that work. Unfortunately, that's something that was internal to the company. So that was an internal tool. And I,
Theo Vora_ Coaching Session - Feb 6 2025: yeah.
Theo: But, yeah, I did write it and did work and it helped a lot of people and then I kind of used that as a guidepost to like, do after, , 18 years in it.
So I continue to do the network stuff. I continue to do and just grow that into you know, email support and as well as desktop support for my dad's engineering company who worked there for almost a little over 10 years.
Theresa: Oh, wow.
Theo: Yeah, you know, basically something happened, , it was a catalyst to kind of kick start, kick me out the door and I realized, yeah, I don't want to continue doing it.
That's not doesn't excite me.
Theo Vora_ Coaching Session - Feb 6 2025: And then I
Theo: used that web app that I'd created a long time ago to kind of, oh, yeah, I think I do like programming. I want to get, I want to make a career out of it. So, from 2020 to. Till now I've been hopping from contract to contract making iPhone apps or [00:04:00] working on iPhone apps for, , various companies.
Theresa: Cool. Okay.
Theo: Yeah. I guess I want to loop back on to the whole performer thing again. I was listening to your 12 Days seminar and, a memory came to me and I kind of knew like I was a performer I mean, I didn't have that insight before until I listened to 12 Days.
And then I had this memory of when I was a kid I remember my mom had gotten me like the Disney sing along cassette tape. And I would listen to that and then 1 day, I just found myself sort of acting it out.
I was just like, oh, what, why am I remembering this? This is strange. And then sure enough assessment said, oh, you're a performer. I'm like, what the heck? That kind of makes sense. It kind of explains a lot of, I guess, the way I behave and like why I'm not like a typical developer where they just , turn off the camera.
, but I'm not afraid to, , show my face and , even though it's taken me a lot of work to, have some decent, , [00:05:00] presentation it's, I dropped, I remember in college I dropped my first speech class I.
I was so nervous, like I was just a terrible,
Theresa: it is nerve wracking.
Yeah.
Theo: So, much, much more training later. Like I've been able to kind of like cross that hurdle
Theresa: I can imagine you're good at it. But that's amazing.
So did the, did you feel when you took the Sparketype assessment that resonated with you?
Theo: Oh, yeah, very much. So, yeah, I think that maybe explains why I'm a little more, , inclined to share things. Yeah, 1 of the adjectives that describes performers is inspiring. I was invited back to a school to give a commencement speech.
It's not a university. It's a, it's like a boot camp school for, , learning programming languages. They invited me to give a speech and twice.
Theresa: Wow.
Theo: Yeah. I got compliments. Like it was great. Thank you for that. You know, we really need to hear that. And, it was really inspiring.
So I'm like, okay, I guess I can do this. I can perform. Yeah. [00:06:00]
Theresa: And , well, one thing that's the Sparketype assessment, it's not about what we're like really good or really bad at. It's more that how we feel inside our body when we do that.
Theo: Yes.
It's not so much like that being on stage and performing. It is more about what you just mentioned, that inspiring or enlightening moments or animating or energizing an experience or an interaction. Is that how it landed for you or did you interpret it differently?
Yeah, that kind of came up and I'm like, Oh, it's not just acting and like performing on stage. Like you said it's more than, yeah, the adjectives, right. You know, the way you make people feel.
Theresa: Yes.
Theo: Yeah. Yeah.
Theresa: Yeah. It's bringing like energy or emotions or connection,, into engagements.
Theo: Totally, yeah.
Theresa: The speech is a perfect example. Let's actually talk about that for a second. When you gave that the speech at, it was at the Programming Institute?
Yes, correct. ,
What was enjoyable about that?[00:07:00]
Theo: I think after the initial nervousness, I think the most fun about it really honestly was just, sharing my story and kind of being a little vulnerable. And then at the end, coming out the other side you know, a lot of people just coming up to me and saying, man, thank you.
, that was wonderful. Thank you for speaking at our commencement.
Theresa: Wow. So it was the impact that you made on the others.
Theo: Yes, that was nice. Yeah, that was, that made all the preparation worth it.
Theresa: Yeah. Have you had other times in your life where you got that feeling of enjoyment when you were, Enlivening , energizing, inspiring others.
Theo: Yeah. Again, another sort of programming related speech, this was for like a monthly meetup meeting. I was invited to, to speak
yeah. I was given like maybe.
Five to eight minutes to share my story and I remember like people messaging me like saying, man, I cried during your story. I'm like, man, I think I'm sorry that made you feel that way. But yeah, [00:08:00] that's yeah, it was a sad story for sure. But yeah, yeah, I can make women cry.
Yeah.
Theresa: Wow, that's a very special gift. It's not easy to evoke emotions in others.
Theo: Yeah I guess not. Yeah, I guess you're right. No. Yeah. . Yeah.
Theresa: I'm wondering, I mean, those are beautiful examples. I'm wondering when you think back about the games, was there, you tell me if I'm right or wrong, but if there was an element of through those computer games when you brought your friends over that was also a way to energize or enlighten the group or your friends, and it was like about animating and lightening through the means of the game.
Theo: Oh, yeah, hadn't thought of it that way before.
At that time, all I wanted to do was just play games with my friends, group off and not think about school. Let's just, you know, shoot rockets at each other until we're all just laughing on the floor.
Theo: You know, I
think that is your personality, right? You're good at making others laugh.
[00:09:00] Yeah, I guess I guess you're right. I'm going to let me say yes to that. Yes
Theresa: In general you have the ability to share your unique experiences in a way that provokes emotions and others
Theo: I've never had anybody say that to me before that's That resonates, yeah.
Theresa: It does? And that can be like the really funny ones, and it can be sometimes someone crying, right? And when you do that, no matter what type of emotion, but is there a sense of feeling really in the flow or fulfilled, or it's a good feeling for you when you get to do that type of activity?
Theo: Yeah, for sure. I think that's why the natural next step for me, I guess, in programming, , at least outside of, , a job is to speak at a conference. And I guess I got, , disappointed because, my ideas were not, , accepted or not accept, not that they were just, they just found better, you know, speakers to speak [00:10:00] at their conferences.
So I don't know. I guess I got, I guess I put that on the back burner.
Theresa: With the performer it really goes beyond on stage.
Some performers, they are really drawn to the stage and that's beautiful, but it can also be in day to day interactions. To give you a completely different example, I just recently worked with a client, also primary Sparketype of format, which by the way is the least common Sparketype.
Theo: Really?
Theresa: Yes. Public speaking is the biggest fear of humans after dying.
Theo: Yeah, that's right. That's right.
Theresa: It's only 3 percent of people have the primary sparkotype performer. And if you go into performer maker, which is your combination, 1. 1 percent of people.
Theo: So
Theresa: it's very unique.
Wow.
And yeah, as I said, like some performers, they love being on stage. And that's beautiful, but others, they prefer, like when I was saying, I was just working with a client who was performer primary actually two, one was a spokesperson, which. [00:11:00] comes very naturally for a company. And the other one, she loved being at trade shows, and being at the booth, and enlightening that experience when people would visit the booth.
That gave her that feeling of fulfillment. So it wasn't for her, it wasn't being on stage, but it was like, okay, I'm creating this experience here at my booth. But I can make this more of an experience than just people coming up and talking to me. I want this to be an experience for them. So that is just an example of stage isn't the only way where performers can get that feeling of, wow, this is this feels good.
This feels energizing.
Theo: Yeah, that reminds me of a time when I was involved in recruiting at a university. The director of recruiting,, asked me if I would go with her on a road trip , we just met with students like, for oh, my gosh, it must have felt like 6 hours or something.
I was on my feet all day. I mean, just talking to a gigantic line of students and all, you know, [00:12:00] eager with resumes, you know, waiting to hand to me. And,
yeah, that was nice. That was nice. I remember I was less tired than I thought I'd be. But yeah. Again, it was connecting emotionally. Yeah. Right.
Theresa: In , this is a great example of, you might be at the end of the day, you are probably physically very tired. If you're at a job fair, my background is in recruiting. So I've done lots of them where I'm on my feet talking to people for eight days. It's physically tiring, but you might at the same time have that feeling , like internally it was motivating and energizing and I worked hard, but I feel good after that day.
Theo: Right.
Yeah. Huh. Wow. Okay. Neat.
Theresa: Are there other moments at work that come to mind when you're feeling like, oh, that was Maybe it wasn't something you were paid to do, but something you just did that EFIA sends off. But this was really fun. That was a really fun day at [00:13:00] work.
Theo: One thing that comes to mind was a training course that I had taken we were supposed to give a 2 minute video pitch for a business idea. And oh, my gosh, I must have rehearsed it so many times I remember the comments coming back and being surprised. I just thought my idea was very, it was personal for sure.
But I didn't expect it to have the impact that it did on people. So, that was. That kind of surprised me. I'm just, yeah. And I didn't, and while I didn't execute on the idea, like my sister was gung ho about it. So she's taking it off and running with it. Wow. I'm really happy about that. Yeah.
Theresa: That's amazing.
So that's again, you are really that impact that you have on people evoking emotions and you made someone actually like your sister actually took action on it. That is incredible.
Theo Vora_ Coaching Session - Feb 6 2025: Right.
Theresa: [00:14:00] Yeah. That's so amazing. I want to shift to the maker, your shadow Sparketype, which I think you probably have done a lot of worked off.
It's making ideas manifest, creating something that is so I would imagine when you were making iPhone apps. In your last time, and probably throughout your career that is something you got to tap in. Do you feel like that?
Theo: Yes, 100%. And I still enjoy it. I'm working on my third app right now.
That's going to go into the app store. And yeah, it's, I mean, technically it was challenging for me. So I think it hit the right, , amount of difficulty for me. So that way I could, grow from it. But but yeah, it works pretty well, I would say. And yeah, I was showing it to my sister over the weekend and , Hey, does this?
, it's more of a utility. I'm trying to find ways to make it more inspiring and more, , joyful to use. But I feel as. A first draft. It's it's good enough to [00:15:00] get out there and get feedback. Yeah,
Theresa: you said something just so that is just such a Perfect way to think about the maker and the performer.
A lot of times we enjoy doing the shadow sparket type most than it is in service of the primary sparket type. So you're building this app all the way done yet. But you're building this app and your goal is to make it more inspiring and joyful for people to use.
Theo: So
Theresa: using the skills of the maker of building the app, but creating something that's inspiring and joyful, which are attributes that a performer comes in.
Theo: Holy cow. Wow. These threads were so clear, but I didn't know how to interpret them or explain why, that yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And on top of that, , my developer account,
there was a technical problem when I signed up and I had to create a new [00:16:00] account, I came up with Joy Bending. It's a play on, if you've ever seen Avatar, The Last Airbender, it's a kid's show
, the magic that they do in that show is called bending. So they got like firebending, like elements bending, like firebending, waterbending, airbending.
So then, I love that show. And I was like, I want to just bend to joy. I want to spread joy through my apps. That was always the goal, I feel like, you know. To make, you know, experiences that were frustration free, that, made you think in a different way and , hopefully made your life a little easier.
Yeah.
Theresa: That's so cool. That's so cool. Joy Bender. And creating apps that spread joy.
Theo Vora_ Coaching Session - Feb 6 2025: Yeah.
Theresa: Wow. So when you think about the maker, obviously creating apps is a great example, where are the other things that you digitally, physically in any form where you took an idea and created something out of this?
Theo: An idea, created [00:17:00] something out of the, took
an idea and created something.
Theresa: One thing that you already said is the network. When you were still really young for your dad, there was an idea of we need these two computers to talk to each other.
Theo Vora_ Coaching Session - Feb 6 2025: Yeah,
Theresa: and you made that happen.
Theo Vora_ Coaching Session - Feb 6 2025: That's right. That's right. Yeah, that was kind of, kind of wild. Yeah, honestly. Man, and
Theresa: you wrote a web app.
Oh, that was like, yeah, that's when you went back to that. So I would imagine that was part of that too.
Theo: Yeah.
Earlier when we were talking, I remember, yeah, I had this memory of, playing with puppets. Yeah, I guess that's why I follow the Muppets on Instagram is because, you know, they bring a lot of joy.
Theresa: Yeah,
Theo: work. And it's just, of course, hilarious because the puppeteers are just naturally funny.
And, you know, the jokes are just great. . Yeah, I remember some time ago I had this memory of oh, there's this little puppet dog and I just made the dog talk and tried to make him funny and yeah, if it made me laugh, , I was happy.
Theresa: And that's such a perfect example [00:18:00] again, where the maker, you're making an idea manifest plus the performer of it brings joy and it makes people laugh.
It evokes emotions.
Theo: And the performer thing may explain, , my sudden interest in voice acting. , I signed up for a class, , online, , and it's been great so far. Holy cow. I can't believe I, this is kind of a special moment. So I'm very excited about that. Like people kept telling me you have a good voice.
You have a great voice. You should use your voice. I'm like, yeah, I know. I always keep thinking about a podcast, but never bothered to start one. And then but yeah, I was, I do. Yeah. I do performing. Yeah. I think that's in me and I want to like, see where that goes.
Theresa: Absolutely. And that might be, I wonder if that is to this point where you're like, what's next in my career?
What are the possibilities of filling the maker might've been quite fulfilled creating apps, but something is missing because the performer. There's not enough of that evoking emotions [00:19:00] or sharing your story or aspect of performing. And that missing piece is the thing that's been missing from being like, yes, I feel like I love my work.
Theo: Yeah. And I think that's what kind of , drove me away from my last position because it just felt very. Ooh, not much room for creativity or , new ways of doing things like it was like the lanes were very well set. And, it just felt like I was kind of suffocated.
Yeah it was so hard to operate in that space. I'm just like, I, it's as great as this pays. I can't. I can't sacrifice my happiness for this. This is not it's not worth it.
Theresa: Yeah.
Theo: And I guess the, I mean, it's a competitive market for sure. I think the bar is really high for, you know, an iOS developer in the United States, you know, with X number of years of experience. And, I'll be honest, [00:20:00] like I don't want to I don't want to do what it takes to become a corporate iOS developer.
I think really my goal when I started this was to really be on my own and like making my own apps and. Self publish, if you will, and, just make a, you know, a decent living off of that.
Theo Vora_ Coaching Session - Feb 6 2025: Yeah.
Theo: But yeah, meanwhile, yeah, that feels right to me. Yeah. I want iOS to be.
Kind of in the background now, instead of taking front seat and then find out what my new front seat thing is. Yeah,
Theresa: love that.
Theo: Yeah.
Theresa: And if we, and it can be a gradual, right? Because you're with the contracts, you're flexible. It doesn't have to be like you quit that today and then do something completely different.
It's it can be like, I'll do less of iOS developing and I'll do more of something else.
And for creating your own apps, you could also think about what are the apps that spread joy?
What are the apps that evoke [00:21:00] emotions? Do you feel like the voice acting is going to be I mean, It sounds like it really fills that performer part in you. And it sounds like you're really excited. Can you see yourself doing it?
Theo: Yeah, that I mean, I think it's going to be a slow ramp up to be honest, , because I may have to make it make my way through the course.
I have to give demos, have to get out there. , maybe mid year, we'll have an update and, , there'll be something worth telling. But until then yeah I'm definitely open to other, possibilities I do, I guess, want to like, make this next thing a little more intentional and a lot less oh, I've got to take this because I need a paycheck.
Theresa: Right,
Theo: because then I'm back to where I started again. You know, it's I want this work to be meaningful and I not take. Energy out of the tank.
Theresa: Yeah, and that could be a beautiful combination of if you state as the example of voice acting, [00:22:00] building things that supports the that community or that professional, and then maybe also a part of the speaking, because that you've gotten a phenomenal feedback of sharing your stories at.
Schools especially because the tech can be quite dry, right? And you probably stand out because you're not that typical, very dry tech person who hides behind the computer. So having that unique skillset of like you're, you know, everything about the developing side, but you can also speak and evoke those emotions in others.
That's. Something really special that might be worth thinking about more of where can you bring that gift to I think a lot of, well, I would be probably kind of bored listening to a lot of developers speak, but I wouldn't be bored listening to you.
If you feel like drawn to the stage, but it doesn't even have to be like right on a big platform. It could be in smaller groups of students who are getting [00:23:00] into I. T. They seem to like really benefit from hearing your story.
Theo: Interesting. I hadn't thought of that.
Yeah I probably need to explore more of, the available meetups in my city to see if, yeah, maybe there are opportunities to speak up. Oh, yeah, there was 1. yeah, I forgot to share this 1 thing with you. Last year, I was really gung ho about my startup idea and I went to a startup meeting.
And they were allowing anybody to come up on stage and give a pitch, and there was one guy who basically said that the problem with a lot of startup ideas is that it's, you know, , you got to start with the problem. What is the problem? You have to, if you don't start with the problem first, and you just propose a solution before there's a problem nobody wants that.
Yeah. So he went up and kind of ruined it for me. And then I was [00:24:00] like, I got to go because I want people I really want to get feedback on my idea. And I mean, I brought you tell me it sucks. And then, you know, I just give it up and I move on with my life. So I use that. I use his idea to start with a problem and the problem I gave was that, you know, you go to a country, , maybe you're you get lost and you don't speak the language.
Okay. You know, it wouldn't have been nice if you had learned some survival phrases. So, you know, you can find your way back. So that was my start up idea , , and I remember I had everybody's eyeballs because the mic broke on me and I couldn't use the mic. So I had to shout. And you know, the kids on the side of the room, you know, who were like, like this no, they were like,
Theo Vora_ Coaching Session - Feb 6 2025: wow,
Theo: looking at me.
I was like, oh, okay. I got your attention. Cool. So, that was, and I had a couple of, you know, maybe 6 people come up to me after the pitch and then. It's wow, that's a great idea. Let's connect on LinkedIn.
Theresa: That is a huge [00:25:00] gift.
Theo: Yeah. There's no one in
Theresa: the IT space who can get up on a stage and get everyone's attention.
Theo: Yeah. Maybe I should have been in technical sales or I don't know. Yeah, maybe I should start. Maybe I should look into technical sales again or recruiting
Theresa: and it's, yeah. As your next step, you want it to be very intentional. Do you want to be employed or do you want to be on your own?
Or is that both a question for you?
Theo: I do want to be employed. Yeah. Yeah, I do. I do need to work. , I think my primary goal is really to get, a really, , interesting job and something that, you know, I feel like I can be good at.
Yeah, wouldn't feel draining.
Theo Vora_ Coaching Session - Feb 6 2025: Yeah,
Theo: I can do my apps on the side and then, you know, slowly take that pathway to some income and then, you know. Voice acting thing so I can also have my primary needs felt. Yeah.
Theresa: So we're thinking about employment. I think one is the theme [00:26:00] that's really important to you is that bringing joy to people and evoking emotions.
So that could be a way to think from a company perspective. What are the companies who offer products that evoke it? Maybe it's the Muppets. Maybe they need an app developer. So, and it doesn't have to be the Muppets, right? But, that idea of what do you feel like, what are some of the things that you already consume that bring you joy, or that you see bringing joy to others, or evoking emotions?
It would be probably a lot more fun to develop something for those companies.
Theo: Right.
I could be wrong, but like Sesame Street, I think has an app, but no, I think you're, I think the idea is very it's very appealing. I hadn't done that before. Yeah I'll look into that. So
Theresa: that could be one direction. It's probably, it probably is going to [00:27:00] make the making that creating more enjoyable.
It might not fulfill the entire performer of that wanting to, it might fulfill some more of it. Or the other way I could see it going is to be in a role where you are. Tapping more into the performer, so where you're utilizing your IT knowledge and your developer knowledge by bringing it to others, bringing that knowledge to others sharing that with others in one way or the other.
So, I mean, sales is one way to do that. I think you could actually be really good at that. But taking that really dry knowledge and making it engaging and engaging. Interesting for people, either people that are new to the field or who don't know much about it and it's not accessible, right? Like I'm not an IT or a developer.
It's this, that language is [00:28:00] not accessible to me. But if you talk about it, you have that ability to make it accessible to the non tech people. Right.
Theo: Interesting.
That kind of gave me the idea. I don't know if this is a role you've come across like developer evangelists.
Yeah, they're less like salespeople. They're kind of like spreading the gospel of, I guess, their software. So, they're more like presentational as opposed to oh, you know. I'm making the stuff, they're more like they're giving talks, they're giving they're going to conferences there, , get fielding questions from developers.
Yeah, I, that's something I shied away from before, but now it feels well, why not? I mean, it seems to like, kind of tie nicely to like the experience that I've had so far. And, yeah, it gives me a way to kind of, yeah, perform.
Theresa: Yeah, and [00:29:00] you'd be great at that. So that could be really something to think about.
The
Theo: wheels are turning.
Theresa: Good. The last thing I want to make sure we touch on the anti showed up as the warrior. And again, our anti sparkotype is nothing we're bad at. It is that draining. And we can be really good at something, but still feel drained. There's a lot of things I do that I'm good at, but feel really exhausted when I do it after.
And the war here is that gathering and leading people towards a common goal. Have you experienced that as draining in the past?
Theo: Yes, indeed. Indeed. I thought I wanted to manage a team, and I did. And, there were actually two points in mind. past where I was sort of like a, yeah, like a manager, if you will.
And, that's not me. That's not me. I like the performative aspect now looking back and now that I have this [00:30:00] vocabulary. Yeah. I like the performative aspect of it, but yeah, the day to day was, yeah, quite, quite a challenge for me. Yeah.
Theresa: And there's nothing wrong with it. We all have things that drain us.
Also being anti warrior doesn't mean you could never be a manager. But it is insightful that there was a lot of draining aspect. And from people with anti warrior, I often hear that it kind of feels like herding cats. I'm like, herding cats and trying to get them to do something. And it's just so exhausting.
Is that a feeling that you get?
Theo: Definitely.
Theresa: And that can just, that's just good for you to know. It's not saying you can never do it or you should never do it, but when you're looking at roles, it's knowing okay, if there's a managerial aspect to it, that's going to be an energy drain for me. So in what capacity is that okay for me to do or not to do?
The Sparketype never says you can never be a manager. Most definitely not. It just says, be aware that those activities. [00:31:00] Could be really draining and how much do you want to do it? And you might even have to do it in some other capacities, right? Where you have to get people together to do something.
And then when you have to do that, you can just be aware of okay, this is going to be draining.
And then afterwards, I'm just gonna take a nap or take a 10 minute walk or get a coffee or whatever it is for you. Right.
Theo Vora_ Coaching Session - Feb 6 2025: Right.
Theresa: It's just part of being human, right? That there's things that are going to drain us.
Theo: Indeed. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I could see myself like, , teaching, an improv class someday, but I don't see myself as like a leader in a business. Yeah, not anymore. At least thought I would have had in the cards, but no, it's. Yeah, I yeah, I do the performative aspect of
Theo Vora_ Coaching Session - Feb 6 2025: it.
Theresa: And there are fantastic careers for individual contributor. Manager is definitely not the only way to move up in your career, especially and it's getting more and more, and especially in the tech on a tech side. There are just so [00:32:00] many more ways to move up as individual contributor. So that doesn't have to be a.
Block in the career at all. It's just yeah. How do you feel?
Theo: Yeah, there's a lot more clarity yeah, that was super helpful
Theresa: What were some of your biggest takeaways?
Theo: Yeah, I think the biggest takeaway was not thinking of this spark type as very fixed like you said it can be You know, you can take a little aspect of, , the primary or the shadow and then go with that. Yeah. And, yeah. And then, suddenly, Developer Evangelist sounds like right up my alley.
I don't know why. Before it didn't feel, I didn't feel like I was qualified for it. But now I'm well, you know, it kind of makes sense. I'm very technical already, so. But I can get up in front of people. I'm not afraid to talk in front of the camera. Yeah. And [00:33:00] yeah, I can definitely talk with developers and, , see what's bugging them and maybe get them to, Hey, why don't you, , subscribe to our platform?
Theresa: Right.
Theo: Yeah,
Theresa: that's awesome. And you would be really good at that. Cause not a lot of people can speak both languages, right? The tech knowledge plus. Having that, the way to bring that to other people in a way that's interesting or inspiring
Theo Vora_ Coaching Session - Feb 6 2025: in
Theresa: that also, when you approach your job search, that can be also your personal brand or your superpower, and you want to find your own words, but you have a pattern of success in bringing technical knowledge to others in an inspiring and joyful way, for example, and then think about all the times where you did that. Where you translated something technical and brought that to someone in an inspiring or joyful way or whatever words resonate with you.
And you can do that through storytelling by sharing your unique [00:34:00] experiences. That's a part of it. And that evokes emotions in others.
Taking that piece of tech or that piece of code that is so dry and translating that into something that can evoke emotions. That's a beautiful ability. And if that is your, what you're known for your personal brand, that way you talk about your work, people will be able to see that you would be a great candidate for the evangelist positions where that skillset is so needed.
Theo: Yeah, I could almost. I can almost see a career in making YouTube videos as well.
Theresa: 100%. I've been thinking about that since we got on the call. Really? Okay,
Theo Vora_ Coaching Session - Feb 6 2025: i,
Theresa: oh my God. Can you just make a YouTube channel where you bring this dry coat to life and in a fun way? Oh my God, you'd be an amazing creator.
Theo: Yeah. Yeah, like I guess the gaunt has been thrown, I think. You know, I wanted to [00:35:00] actually get into streaming, , cause they're like programmers who stream their live coding experience and explain okay, here's why I'm doing this. I can't do it. I can't go this way. I have to go this way, , to make this happen.
Theresa: And you would be even better than most of them because you're not just, you would make it fun or not even necessarily. It's not so much fun, but it would be entertaining, engaging, evoking emotion. It's like that ability to, I wouldn't just get from your video of okay, how do I do E, B and C, but I would really enjoy.
Theo: Right.
Theresa: The way you talk about it. And then you tie in a story about your experience and oh my god, you would have people hooked.
Theo: I could almost see that as like my gateway or my backdoor into the company that I want to hire me. You know, if they're hiring a developer evangelist, that's like how I would do it.
I would make YouTube videos for their.
Theo Vora_ Coaching Session - Feb 6 2025: Yes.
Theo: Software oh, hey, did you know you could do this? [00:36:00] And, you know,
Theresa: oh, my God, I mean,
if you are in the app, if there's a role if it's an evangelist role and you really want it. Go at it with videos.
After you apply, you have to be determined. You like, you do what it takes to talk to someone there.
Theo: Thank you so much, Sparketype. You're welcome. I'm so grateful for the time you've spent with me.
Theresa: I'm cheering for you. And I know some one company is going to be really lucky to bring you on board.
Theo: Thank you so much, Sparketype. It's an honor to spend this time with you.
And, uh, yeah, I wish you all the best and I'll definitely keep you updated.
Theresa: Oh, thank you so much, Theo. Okay. We'll be in touch.
Microphone (Yeti Stereo Microphone) & Lumina Camera - Raw-2: Wow, what a session. Theo walked in with questions about his next career move. And by the end, we had uncovered some incredible insights about his unique talents and how he can lean into them even more. It is clear that the process of [00:37:00] creating something either digital or experiential that allows him to inject personality and joy, inspire, enliven, and evoke emotions.
makes him come alive. In my follow up email, I recommended for him to research roles that leverage his strengths in storytelling, capturing attention, evoking emotions, inspiring, enlivening interactions, and creating something joyful, innovative that has a meaningful impact on people.
Some of the job titles I recommended for him to research include technology evangelist, technology content creator, developer advocate, experiential designer. I'm possibly iOS developer for apps that inspire and bring joy. I hope that listening to this coaching session gave you some inspiration for your own career journey.
And if you're craving this kind of clarity for yourself. Let's talk. [00:38:00] I offer free career clarity calls to help you unlock what's next in your career. And I'd love to guide you through your own clarity breakthrough. Just head to the link in the show notes to book your call. Thanks for tuning in, everyone.
And I will see you next time.
