Podcast 9: Penelope Trunk from Brazen Careerist and Leo Babauta from Zen Habits

Penelope Trunk and Leo Babauta are today’s guests on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast. Penelope Trunk is the author of Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success and founder of the career advancement website Brazen Careerist. Tom Dziubek and I speak with Penelope about maintaining careers in today’s recession and she presents a number of tips for finding jobs right now.

Our discussion with Leo Babauta, author of The Power of Less and creator of Zen Habits, centers around the concept of minimalism and how this philosophy can improve your personal financial situation.

To listen, use the player above (Adobe Flash required), download the podcast here, subscribe to the podcast RSS feed, or use the iTunes link. Note: open links in a new window (Ctrl-click or Command-click) to avoid interrupting the podcast.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:48] Interview with Penelope Trunk
[01:35] — The economy’s effect on the job market
[02:45] — Generation X versus Generation Y
[05:52] — Applying for jobs online is not enough, hire a resume writer
[08:14] — Standing out among a large pool of applicants
[09:30] — Cover letters
[11:15] — Personalizing the job search with social media
[14:15] — What Brazen Careerist offers career seekers
[16:50] Interview with Leo Babauta
[17:35] — The definition of minimalism
[18:48] — How minimalism is related to personal finance
[19:40] — Minimalism versus frugality
[21:49] — Applying minimalism to buying a house and car
[24:51] — Small changes to spending in line with minimalism
[26:48] — Gradually shifting to minimalism
[28:27] — Minimalism helps you lose weight
[30:15] — Applying ten healthy dieting principles to debt elimination
[35:05] End