"Side Quest Queen": Unemployment Gave Her Freedom She Never Had | Tia Wynn

Описание: Tia Wynn joins Drew for Episode 13. After 3+ years as a Client Onboarding Specialist in supply chain and logistics, Tia has been job searching for seven months and counting.

She opens up about the brutal reality: getting let go from her last job the day before her birthday. Finding unexpected freedom on a solo trip to Japan while unemployed, four rounds of interviews and an 8-hour assessment project only to get ghosted on feedback.

This episode covers the mental toll of job searching, why she went from grading her job searching performance a C to an A, her three wishes for fixing the hiring process, and why she finally reached out to a stranger on LinkedIn this morning ... and why it worked.

📌 Connect with Tia on LinkedIn and show her some love. -   / tianawynn  
🎙️ Know someone who should be on the show? DM Drew Stiling on LinkedIn.

0:00 Intro & Tia's supply chain background
2:36 Working her way up from picker/packer to corporate
4:08 How she ended up job searching
5:42 Seven months unemployed, how she's holding up
7:03 "Job searching is a job in itself"
8:16 The most discouraging interview experience (4 rounds, ghosted)
10:00 Willing to relocate anywhere for the right role
13:08 Blue collar to white collar: would she go back?
15:06 Social support during unemployment
16:15 What gets her through the worst days
17:51 Sleep schedules are "absolutely bonkers"
19:55 Let go the day before her birthday
21:05 "Side Quest Queen": solo trip to Japan while unemployed
23:13 Finding freedom alone in Osaka
24:10 The Deer Park (and getting nipped)
25:54 Hardest part: not even getting rejections
29:26 Giving a company a second chance
32:21 Grading herself: from a C to a straight-up A
33:52 The unexpected relief after losing her job
36:51 What she misses most about working
38:25 The hardest thing: talking to strangers
40:17 She reached out to a stranger this morning and why it worked
42:05 Considering independent consulting
44:36 Learning new skills: Shopify, NetSuite, SAP
45:03 Three wishes for fixing the hiring process
47:25 "I'm the most organized person you'll ever meet"
48:35 Final question: what she does better than 90%

HASHTAGS:
#JobSearch #Unemployment #CareerAdvice #JobSearchTips #SupplyChain #Logistics #LinkedInNetworking #CareerChange #JobHunting #MentalHealth #Unemployment2026 #AdventuresInJobSearching #SoloTravel #Japan #Podcast