Tyler Nicholls for Lynne Levy Coaching Video Testimonials

Speaker: Tyler Nicholls

Tyler Nicholls: Hey, before I joined the program, I was in kind of a tough spot. I uh was looking for a job for about eight months, a good long time and it was painful and I was worried because I have a wife and I have Children and I have expenses and I was really worried and I kept applying to jobs and I wasn't finding anything. So I decided I needed some help. I needed to, you know, bounce ideas off of someone else. Um And that really is what introduced me to, to Lynne's program. Um before looking for a job, I, I was a product manager but uh wasn't seeing a whole lot of growth and I was uh kind of stuck and felt like I didn't know how to proceed and how to move forward. So I was feeling really stressed out and, and honestly, as I was looking for work, I was uh really considering jobs that did not pay very well just to get a job again and just to uh move forward to try to move forward in, in my product management uh career. Um But I wasn't very confident with my ability to do that. Um And again, just happy I found Lynne uh to help me guide me uh from that step one.

Tyler Nicholls: There were a lot of aha moments through Lynne's program. Honestly, one of the biggest was I was able just to ask Lynne, what do you think that I'm worth? Look at my resume, look at where I've been. What do you think that I should be asking for? And that was incredibly, incredibly valuable to me. Um Obviously, when you're working for someone, especially for a long time, it's, it's easy to fall into that category of being viewed as an expense, right? Your liability like paying for electricity or something. You know, I didn't want that anymore. I wanted someone to pay me more and pay me what I was worth. And who could see that I could bring way more value if you paid me more money. And so uh talking to an employer or something like that doesn't, won't always get you there, right. And so being able to talk to uh a a total third party, right, Lynne asking her about, what do you think that I'm worth huge light bulb moment? Um And what was really cool was the number she gave me was much higher than the number that I had in my own head. So that was a really big shift for me and really, uh, allowed me to get a job that, uh, paid much more than I was thinking it could. Uh, originally the other really big, aha moment I had was that I was in a, in a position where, uh, I, in my past I, I began my career as a school teacher. I was 1/7 grade math teacher. And in the years since converting from uh education into the tech space, I had seen, I started to see that as a negative thing. I felt like people were putting me into a bucket that I was a teacher that I wasn't a tech person. And so, uh that was a part of my life that I tried to hype because I, I kind of was a little bit ashamed of it honestly. And I thought that that would be an anchor for me and would hold me back from what I could do in the future. And what I realized as, you know, talking through with Lynne and her team is that no, no, like that, that is not an anchor, but instead it is a huge value add. And instead of trying to shy away from that idea, I really leaned into it and that made all the difference. The I, I believe the number one reason why I have the job that I have today, which I love by the way is because I leaned into that because they were looking for someone exactly like me that had a background in education and it was not shameful at all. It's actually an incredibly valuable thing and I get to apply every single day that I go to work today. Um, and I love that and it was just a wonderful thing to have that aha moment and really have my eyes opened that, hey, don't be ashamed of that anymore. That's really cool. What you, what you used to do?

Tyler Nicholls: Yeah, going into the program. I was nervous. Right. I was nervous that, uh, I wouldn't find the right person. I, I figured that I, I needed help that it would be valuable to find someone who thinks about products, uh, the way that I do. But I was just thinking about, you know, helping lots and lots of people, uh, find jobs and up level the, their jobs in product. And so, um, II, I knew that was a, I, I should talk to someone because I was stuck, uh, but trying to figure out who, uh, became a little scary. Right. Uh, whenever you're talking about a program, uh, like this, uh, you know, there's real dollars on, on the line. Um, but what I realized is if I could make, uh, more money than I paid, uh, because of the program, then it would be a total no brainer for me. And so that was one of the things that helped me overcome, that fear was realizing. Oh, I, I bet that I can ask for even more than that, uh, in a salary, um, bump, uh, conversation as a new job. Um, because I've had this sort of experience. And so, uh that, that was helpful to me as well. Um The other, the other thing I think that I was, was scared of is um I don't really like uh kind of group, sort of uh support uh in just like a full just video library, sort of a thing where it's like there's not one on one interaction sometimes, right? Um And so I was a little bit nerve about that. But again, luckily, uh Lynne's program uh is pretty individual and there are group activities which I found to be really helpful. Um And there are also other meetings that are kind of one on one. There's not too many of those, but there were, I think enough that it was valuable. Uh And then also everyone is very accessible via slack if there are these kind of questions that come up along the way. Um So those were kind of my, my big things. I didn't want to spend too much money. I didn't want to go with the wrong person and I didn't want to just basically spend a lot of money and just sit in front of a video library uh because that's not particularly effective and I knew that it wasn't going to move the needle for me. Um And luckily Len's program is, is not like that.

Tyler Nicholls: Today, I'm a senior product manager uh over a product that I absolutely love. I am tapped every single day to do strategy work and try to figure out what should we build and why should we build it and looking at the market influences and all of that work very closely with the high level management to try to figure out where do we go from here? And I absolutely love it in every way. I am so fortunate. I feel like what I do today is a complete dream job. Uh And that is exactly what I was looking for. Uh 100%. I love it and I am so grateful to be here.

Tyler Nicholls: I think more than anything, the program helps me figure out what I really wanted going into it. I thought I knew what I wanted, but I really didn't. And it was, uh, quite fascinating to do all the little exercises that, that the program has to really identify. What is it that I wanted specifically. Uh, and you know, what things do I not want? Um, I, I knew again some things and I felt like I had a pretty good idea, but as going through those exercises, it becomes clear pretty fast that, uh, it's rare for a person to kind of think meta enough to really kind of nail all of those things. And so, um, by really, uh pinpointing exactly what I wanted, um, and pinpointing who I am as a person, my own strengths, my own weaknesses, uh, I was able to align in a way that, uh, has really, uh, just made me stand out incredibly from uh the competition, other people applying for similar jobs. Um, and now other people are my company, right? Because I'm not just playing the part of some random PM, but I am a very specific type of product manager and product leader that, um, I could see going very, very far, um, in lots of different places. And, um, it has already been noticed by lots of people at, at my current company, uh, where I shine and, and I'm just able to lean into that, which means what I do becomes even more enjoyable. Uh, it, it makes people notice me more and, uh, it, it just is, is really, uh, um exploded kind of the, my, my potential and where I, where I can go, right? And, and I think like the, the program itself is not necessarily magical, but what it did do was it, it really made me uh identify what that point B is and what my point is and then figure out how do I get there, right? And uh how can I actively do things to, to move in that way and what are kind of your non negotiables that are kind of distracting from getting to the, the point B? Uh And, and it was incredibly, incredibly valuable. And uh um I, I imagine that that uh what I've learned and, and what this program has done for me uh will impact the rest of my career. Um It really has put me on a really great trajectory because it caused me to think about things that I would not have thought about on my own. Uh And for that, I'm very, very grateful.

Tyler Nicholls: This is a great question. I can honestly say right now, um I have no stress or burnout. I love what I'm doing. Uh, so much so that I recently went on vacation and I like, wanted to work while I was on vacation, which is a mind blowing thing because I have never, ever in my life felt like I even wanted to think about work for a second while I was gone. But what is amazing is, um, once you find that perfect role, um, at least for me, I found that I just love it. It's like doing something fun because it is fun. And, uh as I did that, um it becomes much more sustainable and the stress and all of that sort of thing is just kind of like, I don't know, play a sport, right? Like when you, when you're having lots of fun and, you know, there's hard things you push through the hard things, but you just are doing it because you're having fun. Um, and I feel like I, I get to experience that every day now and, um, and I'm just really excited about that and I feel it breaks and, and, yeah, I feel a little weird but I, I, my stress level is pretty much zero and I have no burnout right now and life's pretty good.

Tyler Nicholls: My favorite parts of the program were when it really got specific. So at the beginning, I really loved how specifically they helped us try to figure out who we are and what we want. I think that is incredibly valuable because it helps you be one of a kind as opposed to just, you know, run into a sea of product managers. Uh You're a very unique individual and picking out what uh is different about you and different about where you want to go is important. The other thing that I really, really loved um was the specificity around uh linkedin and resumes. Uh I think there is a whole game there that is a very complicated uh knowing how to optimize for those things. So having uh support there to uh make sure that that is uh as awesome as it can be and to see tons and tons of examples of, of people who are winning there, losing their kind of somewhere in the middle uh was, was because again, most of us don't think about how to optimize for this thing, but it is so optimising, have people that know what they're doing. So I loved that. I love the hyper specificity around, you know, what should be included, uh what uh terms could should be used or, you know, what information to include, where I think very invaluable information. Uh Similarly, with the resumes, I mean, they also gave uh resume templates that uh I took a template and made it my own and, and it just was significantly better than it was before um which I just absolutely loved. And then we also did some interview prep as well, which was incredibly valuable, right? So uh all of those like hard things at the end there, linkedin resume uh interview skills, like all those hard skills uh were very, very valuable and uh a huge, huge thing for me. Uh Definitely those were my favorite parts.

Tyler Nicholls: Yeah, I would say if you're thinking about joining the program, remember that no one can solve your problems for you. What the program is is a guidance to help you get from where you are to where you want to go. But it will require a lot of work from you to make that happen. So if you go into this program thinking that uh they can solve all your problems, they can give you a magical template, they can uh you know, give you all the answers for interviews or whatnot. Uh Then this is not going to work for you. It's just it, this is not a passive experience um in order to find success in this program. And obviously anywhere in, in life, it requires a ton of effort, which means that while you're going to these uh classes that are part of the, the course and while you're doing the coursework, that's part of the course. There is also a ton of other things that you should be doing to understand better who you are, what you actually want and what you actually don't want. Um There will be a ton of iterations, there will be a ton of stuff going on. When I went through the program, I also was looking at other materials from other people all at the same time trying to figure out how do I move forward? Uh And how do I get to where I'm going? So my biggest piece of advice would have to be just be willing to put in a lot of work because it is the effort that makes you stand out and other people will be able to see the effort and effort is universally respected. So you put in the effort, you'll get the outcome. And Lynne in this program helps guide you. It gives you a lot of tools. So that way when you put in the effort, you go further than you could otherwise, and you're putting an effort in the right areas, right? Because you also don't want to put an effort in the wrong things because you're wasting time. So Lynne's group helps you put effort in the right thing. So you, you know, work hard, but you get to where you're going because they help direct you and then you pump in the gas and that's how you get to where you need to go.