Teachers in Transition – Episode 253: The Secret to Your Success: What an 80s Movie Can Teach You About Job Hunting

In this episode of Teachers in Transition, Vanessa Jackson takes a fun dive into the 1987 movie The Secret of My Success, starring Michael J. Fox. Although it’s an 80s classic with some retro charm, the movie holds valuable lessons on networking, standing out, and navigating the grind of job hunting—lessons that can resonate deeply with teachers transitioning into new careers. Listen in as Vanessa breaks down key themes from the movie and offers insights on how they can help you as you move forward in your career transition. Get ready for a combination of movie magic and practical career advice!

• The Grind of Job Hunting: Frustration and persistence in applying for jobs, even when it feels like you’re not quite there yet.
• Standing Out in the Job Market: The importance of doing something simple but memorable to stand out, like Brantley Foster’s Xeroxed face business card.
• Networking: The power of networking, and how Brantley Foster's success is tied to his aunt’s connections. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and make those connections!
• Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: Why women tend to hesitate when applying for jobs and how to overcome that fear, using transferable skills that you’ve already developed as a teacher.
• Confidence in Transferable Skills: The skills you’ve developed in education—communication, leadership, problem-solving—are highly valued in other industries.

Resources & Links:

• Teachers in Transition – Your resource for career transition support.
• Watch Brantley get turned down at interviews
• The 5Ps Framework – Not sure whether it’s time to leave teaching? Check out the framework at the top of the Teachers in Transition homepage to get clarity.
• Amazon Rental – The Secret of My Success – If you haven’t seen the movie yet or want to revisit it, you can find it available for rental for under $4 on Amazon.

Connect with Vanessa

Vanessa@TeachersinTransition.com

Leave a voicemail or text at 512-640-9099

Connect with Vanessa on LinkedIn!

Schedule a free Discovery Session with Vanessa here

Follow Vanessa on Bluesky @beyondteaching.bsky.social

Visit the homepage at TeachersinTransition.com to learn more!

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Transcript

Are you a teacher who is feeling stressed out and overwhelmed? Do you worry that you're feeling symptoms of burnout - or are you sure you've already gotten there? Have you started to dream of doing something different or a new job or perhaps pursuing an entirely different career - but you don't know what else you're qualified to do? You don't know how to start a job search, and you just feel stuck. If that sounds like you, I promise you are not alone. My name is Vanessa Jackson; and I am a career transition and job search coach, and I specialize in helping burnt out teachers just like you deal with the overwhelmingly stressful nature of your day-to-day job and to consider what other careers might be out there waiting for you. You might ask yourself, What tools do I need to find a new career?  Are my skills valuable outside the classroom?  How and where do I even get started?  These are all questions you deserve answers to, and I can help you find them.  I’m Vanessa Jackson. Come and join me for Teachers in Transition.  

Hi!  And Welcome Back to the Teachers in Transition podcast. I’m your host, Vanessa Jackson, and if you’re a teacher feeling burned out, overwhelmed, or just trying to recuperate from the past school year, you’re in the right place.  One of my favorite things about summer as a teacher has always been to watch movies.  In today’s episode, we’re going to dive into some 80s movie magic with The Secret of My Success and explore how its themes can relate to your career transition and job search

The Secret of My Success is this 1987 classic starring Michael J. Fox and Helen Slater and surprisingly given how problematic many 80s movies are when viewed through a 2025 lens, it has a lot to offer when it comes to lessons on networking, standing out, and the grind of job hunting.  This was right before the banking disasters and recession on the late 80s, and an era where another movie proclaimed “greed is good,” and EVERYONE was interested in movies about money  and jobs. THIS one follows Brantley Foster, a young man who moves to New York City to chase his dreams of corporate success - despite not having the qualifications for the high-level job he wants. Or rather – even when he HAS the qualifications, he still can’t land a position.  The movie is filled with 80s charm, the requisite 80s montage, a little bit of corporate mischief, and some memorable moments.  This movie is not a cinematic masterpiece, but it’s light and fun. It has a 46% splat on Rotten tomatoes an audience score of 56%, although it does have a 4.8 score on Amazon.  I have to confess that when I was contemplating the title for this episode, I almost titled it:  Brantley’s Guide to Career Success - but I worried that might be confusing to people just perusing titles.  Who is this Brantley guy?  As a fun Easter Egg, People with a good ear will recognize that Brantley’s secretary has the voice of  the never-seen mother of Howard Wolowitz from The Big Bang Theory.  You can finally see the face that goes with the voice! 

Let’s dig into some of the job-hunting themes that wind their way through this movie. 

One of the most relatable aspects of The Secret of My Success is the frustration that Brantley feels with constantly applying for jobs and climbing the corporate ladder, only to hit roadblocks. We’ve all been there - putting in effort, sending out applications, and still not quite getting to where we want to be.
 
 There’s the conundrum between knowing that you can do the job but not meeting some key aspect.  There’s this exchange between an unnamed potential employer and Brantley. I’ll re-enact it for you!
 
Unnamed employer: I'm sorry, Mister...

Brantley Foster: Foster.

Unnamed employer: I'm sorry, Mr. Foster. We need someone with experience.

Brantley Foster: But how can I get any experience until I get a job that GIVES me experience?

Unnamed employer: If we gave you a job just to give you experience, you'd take that experience and get a better job. Then that experience would benefit someone else.

Brantley Foster: Yeah, but I was trained in college to handle a job like this, so in a sense I already have experience.

Unnamed employer: What you've got is college experience, not the practical, hard-nosed business experience we're looking for. If you'd joined our training program out of high-school, you'd be qualified for this job now.

Brantley Foster: Then why did I go to college?

Unnamed employer: Had fun, didn't you? [insert evil laugh here]

Or the one where he fakes his resume to have experience only to be told he has too much experience. There’s one where he tells the hiring manager he can be anything she needs him to be wherein she asks: “Can you be a minority woman?.”   That speaks to the feeling of being overlooked or underappreciated despite your qualifications. In today’s job market, this rings especially true for people who have many years of teaching and valuable experience that is just sometimes described with different, education-specific words. 

Brantley finally calls home and his mom tells him to call his uncle.  They’re not really close.  I believe the exact thread of the relationship is:  mother’s father’s sister’s hamster’s gerbils’ something or other, but as his mom says “kin is kin.”
 
 Brantley’s last chance takes him to a receptionist who takes pity on him and gets him a couple of minutes with his uncle – who grudgingly gives Brantley his break in the mailroom. 
 
 In the movie, it’s a hilarious scene early on when Brantley is trying t get past the receptionist to get to his Uncle where he copies his face in a  copy machine (do NOT try this at home, people or in your office workplace) to create a (here come the air quotes)  “business card” that really stands out. And while it’s played for laughs, it’s a clever metaphor on how we can make ourselves memorable. I talk about this a lot with my clients - you don’t have to do something wild like copying your face, but standing out is key in a crowded job market. I like to think of it as the "pink socks" strategy – the story where a hiring manager picked the candidate out of a group of several highly qualified candidates because they were wearing pink socks and she remembered them.  Do something simple, but memorable, that shows your personality and sets you apart from the rest of the applicants.  Other things that make Brantley memorable in this movie is his unfailing optimism and belief in himself.  He knows that if he can just get in the door, that he can prove his worth (spoiler alert, he does that and more).  I know you feel the same way – that if you can JUST get your foot in the door, you can prove just how valuable you are. 
 
 Brantley Foster’s rise to the top isn’t just because of his good looks and quick thinking. It’s his ability to network - no matter how unconventionally. And it’s when he allows his Aunt – the REAL networking whiz – to start introducing him to people that can help him, he is able to make the connections he needs to go where he wants to go.   
 
 There’s an important nugget there that we can’t overlook – he allowed his aunt to make the introductions.  At first, he pushes back saying he wants to make it on his own, but his Aunt laughs that off saying that no one makes it on their own. She knows he has amazing ideas that just have to land in front of the right people.  And she is positioned to make those introductions.  
 
 And absolutely she would have done the same thing if he’d asked. He was just never going to ask.  Thank goodness for the sake of the plot that he let his pride go so quickly and saw the opportunity.  Do not let pride or shame stop you from asking someone to make an introduction for you.  Networking is THE most effective path to a new job in your new career.  I stress this in my coaching practice. Talk to people who know you and believe in you. Take a moment and pause here to think about all the people who think you’re pretty nifty – and then realize it is a much longer list than you are giving yourself credit for. You probably left a lot of people off.  Go back and think about that again. 
 
 

Here’s the thing—when it comes to job hunting and career transitions, especially for women, we often find ourselves holding back. We look at job descriptions and tell ourselves, “I can’t apply because I don’t meet ALL the requirements listed here.” And I get it - this mindset is deeply rooted in our culture and the way women are often socialized to be perfect before stepping up. But here’s where Brantley’s story in The Secret of My Success can really inspire us. Even though he didn’t have the qualifications, he still had the confidence to take risks and figure things out along the way.  And you can do this too.  I’d bet that you already do this all the time in your classroom -  outside the classroom isn’t all that different when it comes to pop up problems needing creative solutions. 

One of the biggest hurdles I see my clients face is imposter syndrome. It’s that nagging voice in your head that tells you, "You're not enough," or "You don't have the right skills." My favorite depiction of this is a cartoon of an elephant sitting at a piano in a concert hall full of people.  Clearly, he has a performance starting any second.  And the thought bubble says, “What Am I Doing here?  I can’t play this thing!  I’m a FLUTIST for crying out loud!!” It's the belief that unless you meet every single qualification on a job description, you're somehow not qualified for the role. And, believe me, it can be paralyzing.  This is doubly true when the job description is written in a language outside of what you are comfortable with while you’re in the world of Education.  I don’t mean a completely different language like from another country, I mean Education is practically its own language with its own acronyms and designations.  I used to think that was to build a barrier between education staff and families, but now I think it was more subtle – it’s to isolate educators from everyone – families, jobs outside of education, etc.  That’s why I think it’s an abuse tactic. 

But back to Brantley - Brantley Foster is just a character with no corporate experience who can apply for a corporate job, bluff his way through the interviews, and eventually rise to the top of a major company because the plot demanded it -and he gets the girl!  But it isn’t outside the realm of possibility for real people. Brantley took that leap of faith with a very solid belief in himself. YOU are a real person.  You have experience AND a world of transferable skills you can bring into your new career. These are skills that you’ve been honing for years as a teacher.  If you don’t think you have transferable skills beyond curriculum design and training, this is an excellent reason to work with a coach who can help you see more and translate your skills.

I know it can definitely feel intimidating to apply for a job that’s outside of your field. You might be thinking, “What do I really have to offer outside of teaching?” And that's where the power of those transferable skills comes in. You’ve been training for this moment every time you’ve had to pivot in your classroom. You've learned how to prioritize, how to work with diverse groups of people, how to lead, and how to communicate clearly - all of which are highly sought-after traits in almost every industry.

You also have this magic power to, as my dad used to say “Put the big pot into the little one.”   Which is code for ‘accomplish the impossible.’  You do this daily. 

Focus on what you do bring to the table. Your ability to communicate effectively, lead others, manage complex tasks and projects, and stay resilient in the face of challenges are the qualities that make you stand out.  

When you trust in those skills - skills you’ve built over years of teaching - you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish. You have the ability to make a significant impact, no matter what industry you're transitioning into. You just have to be willing to take the leap and trust in the value you bring.

So -  just how can we move beyond the fear of not being qualified enough and start landing the jobs we really want?

One of the things I work on with my clients is breaking down a job description to see what it is looking for and how their skills probably already apply. I help them match those skills to stories from their classroom of how they’ve already displayed that skill in action! 
 
 As I mentioned earlier, we often hear that women tend to apply for jobs only when they meet all the qualifications, while men are more likely to throw their hat in the ring, even if they only meet about half the requirements. And while I do think the current job market is skewing this behavior- what with the ease of applying through LinkedIn  & Indeed and mass-clicking on the Apply button. remember this:

If you’re waiting until you meet every single requirement, you may be waiting forever. Instead, focus on your transferable skills. Have you led teams? Created successful projects? Solved complex problems? Dealt with difficult people? Ummm-hmmm. These are all things that will serve you in many different fields. 

On your resume and LinkedIn profile You need to be able to showcase those skills in a way that resonates with the companies you’re applying to. I recommend (well, EVERYBODY recommends) customizing your resume for each position you apply for, emphasizing the skills that are most relevant to the role. And don’t forget LinkedIn - make sure your profile reflects the skills you bring to the table, as well as your desire to transition into a new career and what things you’ve done that concretely show off the skills that the job needs.

And finally, remember the Brantley Foster approach – networking, networking, networking. Just like in the movie, making those connections can open doors you didn’t even know existed. Reach out to people in industries you’re interested in, start building relationships and tapping into the relationships you already have! You never know where a single, simple conversation might lead!

So, there you have it. The journey from the classroom to a new career isn’t always a straight line, but confidence, creativity, and the willingness to take risks - just like Brantley Foster – are the Secret to Your Success.   They can help you break through those barriers and find your next big opportunity.

If you’re ready to start your career transition and need some support, head over to TeachersInTransition.com to learn more about how I can help you land the job you’ve been dreaming of.  If you aren’t sure whether it’s time to stay, shift or leave, you can find the 5Ps Framework right at the top of the home page!  Be careful when you are selecting a coach because you want someone that understands the world of Education and the world OUTSIDE of education.  As someone who taught for 25 years and then worked in the staffing industry, I have sat on both sides of the table AND I understand the hiring process from practical experience.  My mission is to help as many educators as possible to have the life they want. 

My last recommendation of the day is to start your summer with a fun movie – maybe even this one (currently not streaming, but it’s less than a $4 rental on Amazon).  I still have it in my DVD library so maybe check with a GenX friend to see if they still have it in theirs.  The only thing better than a summer movie is a summer movie with a friend. 

That’s the podcast for today! If you liked this podcast, tell a friend, and don’t forget to rate and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. Tune in weekly to Teachers in Transition where we discuss Job Search strategies as well as stress management techniques.  And I want to hear from you!  Please reach out and leave me a message at Vanessa@Teachersintransition.com  You can also leave a voicemail or text at 512-640-9099. 

I’ll see you here again next week and remember – YOU are amazing!