Sparks Blog

Before founding IQ Catalyst in 2024, I served as the Technology Vertical Chief at Academic Partnerships (now Risepoint ), a leading higher education consulting firm. My charge was to build a new business segment by helping colleges and universities launch fully online master’s degree programs in fast-growing fields like cybersecurity, data science, and healthcare informatics.   It was some of the most future-focused, intellectually exciting work of my career— and it taught m

College students often master the content contained within “courses” while employers are looking for people with “skills.” To bridge the two worlds, students need to become great translators. Last week, I sat in on a simulated networking conversation between a client, Cole, and a friend of mine, Douglas—a former colleague who generously offered to help us run a practice session. I often encourage clients to “burn a few pancakes”  before the real thing. Interviews and high-st

Your Job Applications Shouldn’t Be Getting Sucked Into A Black Hole. Many of my clients come to IQ Catalyst with the same story: “I’ve applied to more than 100 jobs… and heard nothing back.” No useful feedback. No guidance on how to improve. This pattern is not the fault of job candidates. It’s the result of a broken system—one I know well. Back in my days leading product and content teams globally for careers platform Monster.com (think of it as LinkedIn before there was a

There’s a lot of bad career advice floating around. One of the worst?  “Find your passion, and the rest will follow.” Sounds nice, but...