Your Worthy Career

Hosted by Melissa Lawrence

Business Management Science

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Episodes

236

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Welcome to Your Worthy Career, a podcast with Melissa Lawrence, a Career & Leadership Coach and former Talent & Development leader inside Pharma that helps women in Pharma and Biotech design their unique career path and build the skills to get a new job, get promotion, and advance their career.

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60 recent

October 21, 2026Episode 23224 min

Smile More: Navigating the Boys Club in Pharma

Let’s talk about what it can be like to be a woman working in government, pharma, and biotech. Things like the idea was only recognized when a man repeated it. The comment in a team meeting that made you freeze. The 1-1 where you were told to smile more. These micro-moments can leave you doubting yourself, stressed about how to handle it, and derail your career. In this episode, I’m sharing some of my own experiences and advice for what you can do to navigate these experiences in a way that is professional, advocate for yourself, and keep your career on track. In this episode, you’ll learn: Experiences that won’t show up in an HR video but impact a woman’s experience at work The science behind stressing with this issue in silence Simple phrases to advocate for yourself when something is said that makes you uncomfortable or you’re just not sure if it was meant how it came off The difference between allies and advocates, and what to avoid sharing with them Get the Book: Your Worthy Career: A Science-Backed Method to Build a Meaningful Career in Pharma and Biotech here. Work with Me: Learn more and apply to work with me here. Love the podcast? Share your feedback by leaving us a review. Thank you! Connect on Socials LinkedIn Instagram

October 7, 2026Episode 23118 min

Don’t Let AI Take Your Voice

Most of the women I coach in pharma and biotech are worried AI will eventually take their jobs. AI is risking your opportunities, but not in the way you think. When you use AI for cover letters and resumes, the data show it lessens your chances of getting an interview or an offer. New labor economics research shows what that is costing you, and the opportunity. When you use your own words, this can be your competitive edge and increase your chances of getting an interview and offer. In this episode, we are talking about how AI takes your voice and how now is the time to be more authentic and lean into the words only you can say. In this episode, you'll learn: Where AI is taking opportunities from you (and it's not your job) What the research says happens to AI-written cover letters Why sounding perfect doesn’t get you more interviews How to use AI as a tool without letting it take your voice Why now is your biggest opportunity to stand out by being you Get the Book: Your Worthy Career: A Science-Backed Method to Build a Meaningful Career in Pharma and Biotech here. Work with Me: Learn more and apply to work with me here. Love the podcast? Share your feedback by leaving us a review. Thank you! Connect on Socials LinkedIn Instagram

September 16, 2026Episode 23029 min

Stay or Go: How to Decide

Should You Stay or Should You Go? In this episode, I walk through the signs that something has to change, and then the actual decision logic I use with clients who are weighing an internal move against a full exit. In this episode, you'll learn: The 7 signs it is time for a change Why feeling valued and being valued are not the same thing The two questions I ask before anyone decides to leave What it usually means when you are still asking the question The first step when you do not know what you want yet Mentioned in this episode: Register for the training September 22nd: The Exception: Be the Leader Pharma and Biotech Can’t Overlook Enrollment for The Right Move Protocol is opening Sept 21-28. Learn more and join the waitlist. Get the Book: Your Worthy Career: A Science-Backed Method to Build a Meaningful Career in Pharma and Biotech here. Work with Me: Learn more and apply to work with me here. Love the podcast? Share your feedback by leaving us a review. Thank you! Connect on Socials LinkedIn Instagram

September 2, 2026Episode 22948 min

Overlooked to Promoted in One Month with Jennifer Jenkins

My client, Jennifer, spent four plus years as a clinical trial manager. Her leadership praised her, handed her work well above her level, and yet, her promotion didn't come. She had become too useful exactly where she was. Jen came into The Right Move Protocol with a one year goal. In just one month she had a promotion she was not expecting. A short time later she identified her ideal role with her dream company. By using the skills she learned and applying her growth mindset she negotiated and accepted an Associate Director position in a therapeutic area she had been trying to get into for years. She did it while her family had more going on than she ever could have anticipated. In this episode, you'll learn: What "developed in place" really means, and why the praise is not progress Jen's 90% rule for deciding before you feel ready Why the part of the program she dreaded is the part that got her results the quickest What she says to anyone who thinks her results were luck or timing The negotiation truth that follows you from job to job Connect with Jennifer on LinkedIn here. Get the Book: Your Worthy Career: A Science-Backed Method to Build a Meaningful Career in Pharma and Biotech here. Work with Me: Learn more and apply to work with me here. Love the podcast? Share your feedback by leaving us a review. Thank you! Connect on Socials LinkedIn Instagram

August 19, 2026Episode 22829 min

When No One Has Your Back

You put together the strategy your VP loves, then your own manager tears it apart, and you're left standing in the middle with no one publicly on your side. Or your name isn't in the meeting where decisions about your own project get made, and you find out after the fact what everyone else already agreed to. In pharma and biotech, matrix teams and shifting priorities make this common, not personal, and most women read it as proof there's nothing they can do. That belief is the actual problem. This episode breaks down exactly what to do about it, so you stop waiting for the room to change and start leading it. In this episode, you'll learn: Why conflicting feedback from your stakeholders isn't a dead end The real reasons you get left out of decision-making meetings How to get buy-in from a stakeholder who doesn't think like you do What radical responsibility looks like when no one seems to have your back The three-step shift I coach inside The Right Move Protocol every week Get the Book: Your Worthy Career: A Science-Backed Method to Build a Meaningful Career in Pharma and Biotech here. Work with Me: Learn more and apply to work with me here. Love the podcast? Share your feedback by leaving us a review. Thank you! Connect on Socials LinkedIn Instagram

August 5, 2026Episode 22738 min

A Healthcare Executive's Real Advice on Getting Promoted

In this episode, I sit down with Christine Hummel, a healthcare executive with 25 years across the pharmacy benefit manager side, retail and specialty pharmacy, distribution, and pharma manufacturing, including running US Trade and Channel for a major pharma company. Christine has hired teams, rebuilt teams, and decided who gets advocated for the next role many times over, and in this conversation she breaks down exactly what she looks for, and why so many high performers stay stuck chasing a title instead of doing what actually gets them promoted. In this episode, you'll learn: Why chasing the next title can actually slow you down What Christine actually looks for before she puts someone's name up for a promotion The one question to ask yourself before you consider leaving your company for a title How to build a network that gets you noticed without waiting to be chosen Why AI belongs in your career strategy starting now, not later Connect with Christine: Connect with Christine on LinkedIn here. Listen to the Root to Rising podcast here. Tune in to my interview on the Root to Rising podcast in the episode, How to Build a Career You Don't Need to Escape From , here. Get the Book: Your Worthy Career: A Science-Backed Method to Build a Meaningful Career in Pharma and Biotech here. Work with Me: Learn more and apply to work with me here. Love the podcast? Share your feedback by leaving us a review. Thank you! Connect on Socials LinkedIn Instagram

July 15, 2026Episode 22646 min

Creating the Career You Always Wanted with Brena Williams (MVP)

This week I'm bringing back an episode that I think speaks to what you might be going through right now. Brena is a Principal Scientist and member of my group coaching program, The Right Move Protocol® (formerly Beyond the Ceiling) . She is sharing why she joined the group, what it's like on the inside, and the results she experienced that blew her mind. Tune in for this candid conversation about what it's like to work in the industry and the unexpected results she experienced when she invested in herself. Brena’s views on this episode do not reflect the company she works for. These are her personal insights based on her experience and expertise in the Pharma/Biotech space and in her experience as my Coaching client. What you'll learn: Why Brena chose to invest in her career even when she had reasons not to The power of having a community of like minded women to support you in your career growth How Brena landed her ideal job, built her confidence, and created more time with her family than she thought was possible The advice she wish she had earlier in her career and a message for anyone who thinks that the results she achieved aren't possible for them Mentioned in this episode: Connect with Brena Williams on LinkedIn Enrollment for The Right Move Protocol® is open until July 16th. Learn more and schedule your consultation to join: www.yourworthycareer.com/protocol Get the Book: Your Worthy Career: A Science-Backed Method to Build a Meaningful Career in Pharma and Biotech here. Work with Me: Learn more and apply to work with me here. Love the podcast? Share your feedback by leaving us a review. Thank you! Connect on Socials LinkedIn Instagram

July 1, 2026Episode 22513 min

Coming in Second

You did everything right, made it to the final round, and still got the call: number two. In a competitive Pharma and Biotech search, coming in second rarely means you failed. Often it means you are in the right arena, against strong people, with a process that is finally working. In this episode, you'll learn: What coming in second really means in a Pharma search The 5 things to do to rebound after you come in close but do not get it The one question to ask next time so you do not get surprised again Why your brain fixates on the offer instead of the progress How a "loss" can set up the role you actually want If you are sitting in the waiting and the second-guessing right now, this one is for you. Get the Book: Your Worthy Career: A Science-Backed Method to Build a Meaningful Career in Pharma and Biotech here. Work with Me: Learn more and apply to work with me here. Love the podcast? Share your feedback by leaving us a review. Thank you! Connect on Socials LinkedIn Instagram

June 17, 2026Episode 22425 min

I Took My Own Advice: How I Prepped to Interview After 12 Years

I coach women through interviews all the time. So when I had to sit in one myself, for the first time in over 12 years, I learned something I want you to hear. Even though interviewing is something I teach regularly, doing it myself, under pressure, with the outcome out of my hands, was a different experience. So I recorded a raw voice memo the moment I walked out, before I knew if I got in. In this episode I play you that unedited memo, then break down exactly what I did so you can do it too. In this episode, you'll learn: Why I prepared with bullets instead of a script, and what I put on that list before I had my panel interview The kinds of questions I asked that took the interrogation feeling out of the room and got me real answers What I watched for across everyone I talked to, and what that one pattern told me about the culture The question almost nobody asks at the end of an interview, and why one interviewer lit up when I asked it Why the confidence I felt walking out had nothing to do with whether I got the spot I received the outcome two months later. I'll tell you how it went, and why the answer matters less than you think. REGISTER: The next Strategy Hour for Women in Pharma and Biotech is July 9th. Secure your spot here. Get the Book: Your Worthy Career: A Science-Backed Method to Build a Meaningful Career in Pharma and Biotech here. Work with Me: Learn more and apply to work with me here. Love the podcast? Share your feedback by leaving us a review. Thank you! Connect on Socials LinkedIn Instagram

June 3, 2026Episode 22318 min

Sitting on the Fence

Sitting on the fence feels like the smart move. You weigh the pros and cons, you do the research, you tell yourself now isn't the right time. But indecision is still a decision, and in a pharma career it has a cost. The promotion you're not sure you're ready for. The role you can't decide is right. The difficult stakeholder you don't know how to handle. Every time you stay on the fence to avoid the discomfort of the unknown, you make less progress and you quietly hand the opportunity to someone who decided faster. This episode is about why we do it, and how to get down. In this episode, you'll learn: What sitting on the fence really means The questions that expose the real reason you're not making a decision How to calculate the actual cost of indecision before it costs you in your career Where certainty about a decision actually comes from Get the Book: Your Worthy Career: A Science-Backed Method to Build a Meaningful Career in Pharma and Biotech here. Work with Me: Learn more and apply to work with me here. Love the podcast? Share your feedback by leaving us a review. Thank you! Connect on Socials LinkedIn Instagram