What Leaving Corporate Life Really Teaches You

From Business Legacy · 32:59

Show by Legacy Planner For Serial Entrepreneurs | Strategic Advisor

What happens when a successful corporate career collides with everything else life demands? In this episode of the Business Legacy Podcast, Paul Dio sits down with Zeynep Tolan, a former technology executive who left corporate life and now works as a career counselor at Carnegie Mellon. This conversation is the first in a series exploring what life looks like after corporate careers and what goes through a leader's mind during a major transition. Zeynep came to the United States from Turkey to study computer science at Duke, then spent six years at Microsoft working on Internet Explorer and early mobile email syncing. After earning her MBA at Carnegie Mellon, she consulted at McKinsey, spent more than a decade at IBM in roles spanning sales, marketing, and cloud customer operations, and later joined Wayfair. Then, during COVID, with two kids at home and her parents' health declining in Istanbul, she reached her breaking point and stepped away from it all. After time to regroup and care for her family, a conversation with former Carnegie Mellon contacts led to a role in the university's career center, where she has now spent four years helping students refine their stories, prepare for interviews, and launch their careers. Zeynep shares why she remains optimistic about AI and the job market, while warning that offloading all of our thinking to AI is a slippery slope. She also reflects on the one thing she would do differently, building more connection into her off ramp instead of navigating the transition alone. Paul and Zeynep connect over life in the sandwich generation, the urgency of making the most of the healthy years ahead, and the motto she keeps close: if not now, when? Zeynep also pressure tests her next venture live on the show, a consulting offer that helps companies modernize their hiring and support new graduates through their difficult first year. Her legacy, she says, is helping people navigate the transitions that once made her feel like she was failing. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and introduction to Zeynep Tolan 01:00 From Turkey to Duke and Microsoft 02:00 Carnegie Mellon MBA, McKinsey, and IBM 03:00 Joining Wayfair 03:30 COVID, caregiving, and the breaking point 05:00 Saving and the luxury of stepping away 06:00 What Zeynep loved most about corporate life 07:30 The sandwich generation 09:00 Going home to Istanbul and regrouping 09:30 The path into career counseling 11:00 Helping students tell their stories 12:00 Why Zeynep is optimistic about AI 14:00 The danger of offloading your thinking 15:00 Teaching case interviews at home 16:30 The loneliness of the transition 17:30 The power of connection 19:00 Being in the middle and the reframe that helps 20:30 The memory dividend and making the most of experiences 23:00 If not now, when 24:30 What legacy means to Paul 26:30 The work you would not trade for anything else 28:00 Pressure testing Zeynep's new consulting idea 30:00 Hiring for attitude, not aptitude 31:00 Where to connect with Zeynep Episode Resources Follow Zeynep as she helps job seekers and companies navigate career transitions, smarter hiring, and that challenging first year on the job. Leave a Review: If you enjoyed the episode, leave a review and rating on your preferred podcast platform. For more information: Visit https://businesslegacypodcast.com to access the show notes and additional resources on the episode.

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