In this episode of Promoted, Robert Johnson, a career coach at Merit America, talks with his former learner, April, about how using LinkedIn and building confidence in networking helped her land a job at Industrial Light & Magic, the visual effects company behind Star Wars. Listen in to hear how April, a career changer, overcame challenges and how one conversation led to her dream job in production.
Key Takeaways
April Tillery’s journey to success wasn’t overnight—it was a gradual process of building confidence and learning to connect her experiences in a meaningful way.
As a high school dropout, neurodivergent, and with no previous experience, April initially believed her chances for a sustainable career, especially in tech, were limited by her circumstances. However, during her time at Merit America, she realized there were small steps she could take beyond technical training to land a job quickly—starting with a well-crafted LinkedIn profile that she could use for professional growth, not just as a job board.
One of April’s most valuable lessons was understanding the power of a simple conversation. By staying genuine and curious, she managed to strike up a conversation with a professional at Industrial Light & Magic—an interaction that ultimately led to her current role. April’s story highlights the importance of networking with patience, persistence, and authenticity, showing that sometimes the best opportunities come from casual, organic exchanges.
Tune in to learn:
- How building meaningful relationships can open doors to new opportunities.
- Why LinkedIn is more than just a job board—it’s a platform for long-term career growth.
- How to overcome the fear of rejection when reaching out to professionals.
Listen To The Full Episode!
Tune in to Robert and April’s full conversation for insights and practical advice on networking, building a LinkedIn presence, and confidently moving forward in your career!
Podcast Transcript
April: Hi, I’m April, and I’m here to talk a little bit about my Merit America experience and how I used networking and how I made that networking work for me and gave myself the right chances with the advice and the help of Merit America, specifically my coach Robert. Before Merit, I was working three jobs. I was making less than $40,000 a year. And through all the networking and advice they gave me, my current job, I’m working 40 hours. I’m bringing in $55,000 a year as my base. There are so many great things that the company does on top of that, that brings that value higher than I’ve ever made in my entire life.
Robert: You just heard the voice of April, an alum of Merit America’s Data Analytics Program. I want to welcome you all to another episode of Promoted, a podcast about leaving low-wage jobs for good. I’m Robert Johnson, today’s host and a Merit America coach. In this episode, we’ll be discussing the importance of networking as part of your career journey. You get a chance to meet April and hear a little bit more about her story and her success and how she used networking to help land herself a fulfilling career. So, April, welcome to the show.
April: Thank you. I’m so excited to be here. I love giving back to Merit America because they gave me so much. It changed my entire life and my family’s life.
Robert: I personally love that, too, being your coach, to hear that you’ve made such a big change. And it also helps, you know, keep me going in my job to know that I can push people towards a better change for themselves. And then come back and talk again and hear that.
Robert: Honestly, I guess just talking a little bit more, you’d already shared a bit of your background with us. And could you talk a little bit more about what were your goals prior to Merit America? You know, people as children get asked, what do you want to be when you grow up? So what are some of the aspirations you had prior?
April: So I honestly had very, very low aspirations. I try to be very upfront with everybody. And so as a child, I was undiagnosed with ADHD and autism, anxiety, and depression. I went through my entire childhood and a majority of my teen years, I wasn’t diagnosed with those things. And I didn’t receive the help I needed until I was well into my 30s. So I honestly didn’t have aspirations to go very far. And having those things happen, you know, I dropped out of high school, I became a teen mom, I immediately worked just string after string of really low-end, no movement jobs. There wasn’t much going on there for me. So I didn’t dream big.
Robert: And I can understand that. But you talked a little bit about some of the more mental health-related issues you ran into, and then the neurodiversity you had. When choosing Merit America, did you feel that we would be able to also accommodate those kinds of things? Or what made you feel comfortable applying to Merit?
April: I felt super comfortable applying to Merit because I saw other people through TikTok, of all places, who were already in the program, who were just like me. And I was like, that’s a mirror of who I am. I had also received that diagnosis and had started receiving the help and care I needed. So that spurred me to start this journey.
Robert: I love to hear that you felt support in us. We do try to help everyone that we can. We even have a lot of projects and pushed out people who are neurodiverse because we want to reach everyone. Did you ever feel that those kinds of setbacks were things that would hinder you from getting a role? Did you feel like that was going to be a big problem, obstacle for you?
April: We think differently. And there are drawbacks to that. But there are also incredible benefits to it. So it’s a double-edged sword. And when you’re undiagnosed and you’re not receiving help, all you can see is the bad. So yeah, I was like, I’m never going to get the really cool, neat jobs. I’m not going to have a career career. I’m going to work retail, not saying anything’s wrong with retail, but when you’re at that base sales associate job, it’s supposed to be a springboard job. You don’t want to work that base one forever.
Robert: Here at Merit, we try to help push people into being more inspired to, if they feel that what they’re doing isn’t fulfilling, that they can go into a different aspect or move along into something else. And obviously, you can do that through applying to other roles, but sometimes you apply just to the beginning roles. And then sometimes you can almost talk your way to a role. And so kind of a quick little segue into today’s topic. We want to really talk to all of you listeners today about networking, the importance of networking, and how it actually could benefit and help you.
Robert: Networking can be kind of daunting. It can be a little bit of a challenge, but it can be a little bit of a challenge for the job search because many individuals find it intimidating to reach out to strangers or even create a LinkedIn profile. And April, I remember you shared early on that networking wasn’t something that you were super good at, or maybe something that you really wanted to push for when we first met. But thinking about your initial experiences with networking, what were some specific challenges that you faced?
April: Believe it or not, I’m a very introverted person. Even with networking, that is the hurdle that an introvert will face is, oh gosh, I have to talk to somebody new and I don’t know them. And if I say the wrong thing, they’re not going to like me and everybody wants to be liked. And it’s very scary.
Robert: Yeah. And I’m glad you bring up being scary because, you know, it’s not something super easy. And I think in today’s age, kind of creating your network seems easier through social media, but it’s also a little more disconnected because it’s so many people, such small conversations. How did you motivate yourself to kind of overcome that intimidation or hesitation?
April: Your classmates, your pod group, they were the best people that we could practice on. And I know it’s cliché, but practice makes perfect. And that safe environment that Merit fostered within our class group, you slowly got more comfortable. And then a realization just, I was like, you know what? This is remote. That person, why am I scared of them? They can’t reach through that screen at me. And so I was like, well, okay, go for it. I’ll send a million messages and I’m going to get a million no’s, but is that hurting me physically? Mentally, you have to overcome the, you’re going to get a lot of rejections, but I just needed one yes.
Robert: And I love that you bring up that. And I love hearing how you were able to overcome this feeling of tension through the fact that we’re behind a screen. A big common conversation right now, it’s about controversial conversation is how much time we spend behind a screen. And I love that you bring up that. And I love hearing how much time we spend looking at information from other people or just talking to people online versus in person, but a benefit you can pull out of that is what, like you said, they don’t have any power over you. They can’t actually physically be involved with you. You can just mute, you can deafen, you can hang up, you can do whatever you’d like and separate any kind of poor situation you have. And so I absolutely love to hear that. And I actually really want to go into, you know, a big reason why you’re here is that you have a really, really inspiring networking journey that even as me as a coach, I haven’t had repeated by another learner.
Robert: And I would love to hear a bit of your breakthrough through LinkedIn that kind of led you in your role.
April: I got on LinkedIn. This is like post-COVID where people were still pretty much remote. And I did every event I could get my hands on. I did kind of narrow my focus towards something with diversity and inclusion. Mainly because I’m neurodiverse. I am not the typical career change person. I’m not young. So I was like, these meetings with diversity and inclusion and women are where I need to be. And I’m going to meet these wonderful people that are hosting and talking about their companies and all of that great stuff. And then we had that really cool class on networking. And you guys motivated us. You said, pick three people and send them a message that you are not connected to. And you’re going to get no response maybe that first time. But, you know, you might. And let’s see where it leads and let’s see where it goes.
April: And so I took that lesson to heart. And after each of the LinkedIn events that I would go to, I would send a message to the presenters and just thank them for their time. Some would get back to me. We’d connect on LinkedIn. I would see more events. I would talk to more people. And then I went to an amazing event called Women in Leadership. And it was about how to advocate for yourself. And it was put on by LinkedIn and ModelExpand. And I met somebody from Slack. And they had another person from ILM. And they had a person from Google. And they had the ModelExpand. And they had a person from Humane. And it was such a great experience. And I think that’s why I’m so excited to be here. Great series. And after this event, I reached out to the speakers who were there and said, thank you so much for your time. I learned so much. And Jessica Teach from ILM, she was a VP, she responded and she said, I’d be happy to talk with you. And so I was like, oh, my gosh. Okay. Yes, please. And I got on the call with her and we talked about diversity and inclusion and ILM’s programs, and she connected me with three other people at ILM. And so while I was still going through the Merit program, I had a job offer.
Robert: That’s incredible. That’s awesome. I love that you shared that story with us. And that’s exactly what networking can do when you put yourself out there and start to build those connections. I’m so proud of you. Your success is a testament to the power of networking and the value of persistence. I want to thank you for joining us today, April, and sharing your inspiring journey with us.
April: Thank you for having me, Robert. I’m so grateful for the chance to give back and hopefully help others on their journey as well.
Robert: Absolutely. And for everyone listening, we hope April’s story motivates you to take charge of your own networking efforts. Remember, every connection you make is a step toward your next opportunity. Until next time, this has been Promoted with Robert Johnson.