"Promoted" Podcast By Merit America
Explore "Promoted," the podcast by Merit America that guides you from low-wage jobs to fulfilling careers, featuring real stories and expert advice from career coaches and alumni.
What You Need to Know About “Promoted”
Promoted is a podcast about how to leave low-wage work for good, produced by Merit America, a national nonprofit organization that creates fast, flexible pathways to well-paying careers for Americans stuck in low-wage jobs.
In this series, we join Merit America’s career coaches to chat with their former learners about their career journeys and key challenges they overcame in moving from low-wage work to careers they love–and show how you can, too.
Season 3
Season 3
Episode 1: From Ghosting to Getting the Offer:
How Welen Landed His Next Role
Release Date: September 21, 2026
In this episode of Promoted, Welen Wang shares his journey from 10 years in Supply Chain Logistics to starting a new career. Welen opens up about the challenges of navigating hundreds of job applications, facing rejection, and rebuilding his confidence after years away from interviews. He discusses how using AI, hands-on projects, and company-specific research helped him stand out and prepare for the opportunity that finally came his way. Welen also reflects on the impact of his career change on his family, his vision of the American Dream, and what he hopes to achieve next.
Episode 2: How To Build Your Personal Brand
Release Date: September 28, 2026
In this episode of Promoted, Merit America coach Rob Kairuz shares an easier way to prepare for interviews: the BAR method. He breaks down the BAR method (Background, Action, Result) and shares some examples so that you can tell your real stories clearly instead of reciting a memorized script (because interviewers don’t remember perfect answers – they remember honest ones).
The Promoted archive
Every episode from the first two seasons. Real stories from Merit America alumni, paired with practical guides from the career coaches who work with them.
Season 2
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How Authenticity Helped Nathan Land His Dream Job
In this episode, Nathan Parris Alford talks with coach Coreea Allen about going from low-wage work to his company's first HR and staffing coordinator.
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How To Build Your Personal Brand
In this episode, coach Coreea Allen breaks down what a personal brand is, why it matters, and how to present it on LinkedIn, your resume and in interviews.
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How Kenie Reinvented Her Career While Navigating Parenting and Perfectionism
In this episode, Kenie Griggs talks with coach Damisi Fawole about moving into UX design while raising a family, and how perfectionism kept slowing her down.
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How to Overcome Perfectionism
In this episode, coach Damisi Fawole explains how perfectionism undermines progress, how to spot the habits, and what to do about them.
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How Marion Landed a Promotion After Transitioning Careers
In this episode, Marion Abernathy talks with coach Tanesha Washington about moving from years in retail to a mental health nonprofit, and earning a promotion there.
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How to Tell Your Story in the Age of AI
In this episode, coach Tanesha Washington explains how to use AI to sharpen your resume and interview prep without letting it flatten your own voice.
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How Pamellah Rebuilt Her Career After Starting Over
In this episode, Pamellah Mirembe talks with coach Bekah Thompson about navigating a new country and language, building confidence, and advocating for herself.
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How to Advocate for Yourself in Your Job Search
In this episode, coach Bekah Thompson explains how to recognize your worth and communicate it in interviews, networking and salary conversations.
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How Toneise Built a Career Outside the Traditional 9 to 5
In this episode, Toneise Holmes talks with coach Joey Ratcliff about going from senior store manager to user tester, program advisor and boutique owner.
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How to Build Your Career Confidence
In this episode, coach Joey Ratcliff explains why confidence is not faking it: connecting with your story, practicing your skills, and celebrating wins.
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How Sadie Used Creativity and Passion to Fuel Her Career Transition
In this episode, Sadie Cassidy talks with coach Anne-Marcelle Kouame about finding strengths she had not recognized, and how everyday experience becomes in-demand skills.
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How to Answer the ‘Tell Me About Yourself’ Question
In this episode, coach Anne-Marcelle Kouame breaks down how to answer “Tell me about yourself”, and how to build a present-past-future response.
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How to Create a Career Plan
In this episode, coach Maria Villalobos explains what a career plan is, how to define what you want, research the path, and map out the steps.
Season 1
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How Ray Won the Battle Against Imposter Syndrome
In this episode, Ray Ramos talks with coach Bridget Johnson about moving from a dead-end job into tech support, and getting past the self-doubt that came with it.
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How To Overcome Imposter Syndrome
In this episode, coach Bridget Johnson explains what imposter syndrome really is, why skilled people still feel like frauds, and how to tackle it.
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How a Strong Network Led April Tillery to Her Dream Job
In this episode, April Tillery talks with coach Robert Johnson about how a network built on LinkedIn led to a production assistant role at Industrial Light & Magic.
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How To Build a Strong Network
In this episode, coach Robert Johnson covers the dos and don'ts of networking, how to get better at making connections, and why it matters.
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How Daniel Didn’t Let Rejection Keep Him Down
In this episode, Daniel Sanchez talks with coach Patrick Reynolds about losing his job, the sense of failure that followed, and how he rebuilt his confidence and moved into tech.
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How Can We Deal with Rejection?
In this episode, coach Patrick Reynolds talks about navigating rejection without losing hope, focusing on your strengths and pushing through setbacks.
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How Andrea Hopson Changed Careers to Find the Perfect Work-Life Balance
In this episode, Andrea Hopson talks with coach Maurice Davis about why work-life balance drove her move from insurance into data analytics.
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How Do We Find the Best Work-Life Balance?
In this episode, coach Maurice Davis explains how to define what work-life balance means to you, understand your priorities, and recognize your limits.
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How Haley Jones Transformed Their Experience to a Thriving Tech Career
In this episode, Haley Jones talks with coach Masha Finn about turning experience in childcare and project management into a better-paying tech role.
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Why Is It Important to Focus on Transferable Skills?
In this episode, coach Masha Finn explains how to identify skills from a past career that apply elsewhere, adapt them, and show them to employers.
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How Briana Overcame Barriers While Transitioning Careers
In this episode, Briana Coleman talks with coach Maisy Adams about navigating imposter syndrome, rejection, the pandemic and homelessness across several career moves.
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How Can We Overcome Barriers While Transitioning Careers?
In this episode, coach Maisy Adams covers the barriers people hit moving between careers, and how outlook, support and clear goals get you past them.
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How Luiz Transformed a Passion for Tech Into a Career
In this episode, Luiz Mattos talks with coach Masha Finn about turning a personal interest in technology into a career, one small step at a time.
Our alums work for the world’s top companies
