Curt Sassak

Teaching Mid-Career Leaders how to navigate life & career transitions using my Proven Recipe / Improve the quality of your life / Create your next chapter by design, not default / Former Chef

Live workshop on July 28th:  Land your next 6-figure role faster. Stop getting ghosted. Start getting noticed. See my featured section for details

𝙎𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙃𝙖𝙨 𝘼 𝘾𝙧𝙪𝙚𝙡 𝙎𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙤𝙧

Imagine eating your favorite dish every day for 20+ years, until one day it doesn’t taste good anymore.

Worse, is you don’t know why, and have no idea of what you want. 

That was me at 39.

Award-winning chef. Five-star kitchens. I had everything I wanted on paper. But inside? Empty. 

I had climbed every mountain only to find myself thinking,  “Is this it? What’s next”

I couldn't figure out why I felt like this, and it frustrated the f*ck out of me. 
I pushed through thinking it would pass. Wrong.

Eventually, it all caught up.
I was 60 lbs overweight, drinking to cope, lost $250K in potential earnings, and in a miserable career that no longer fit. 

So, at 40, I took a bold step: I reinvented myself in every way.

I left the only career I knew with no idea and not job; just the gut instinct that I had more to offer.

So I used what I knew:
Recipes.

A recipe is a process. It’s clarity + execution.
That’s how I reinvented myself. 

The result?
I’m in the best physical and mental shape of my life. And, I'm helping change lives for the better. 

I help high-functioning, high-achieving professionals (35+) who want freedom from a toxic job. Freedom to build something with meaning, and leave a legacy. 

You don’t need another “mindset guru” with motivational memes.
As one client put it: “Curt cuts through the noise fast. No fluff. Just results.”

That’s me.

A few wins:

→ Reena beat 457 applicants to land her dream hospital job.

→ Jordan pivoted to a new career he loves, with better pay and family time.

→ Matt said: “Curt didn’t just help my career. He helped me take back my life.”

Enter: The Career Recipe Boot Camp

Step 1: Gather Your Ingredients
 ✓ Get clear on your values, skills & goals
 ✓ Ditch the limiting beliefs holding you back

Step 2: Start Cooking
 ✓ Build a roadmap tailored to your life
 → So you move with purpose—not by default

This isn’t a pep talk. It’s a tactical reinvention plan.

You don’t need to burn it all down.
We build upon what you've already built.

You just need a better recipe.

Ready to cook something that feeds your soul?

Curt

DM me the word "Recipe," and let's write your next chapter. 

Common keywords:
Career coach. Personal development coach. Executive coach. Midlife career change. Career clarity. Personal reinvention. Transition coach.

Founder

So, you’re career driven, have had success, and now you feel like there are no more mountains to climb.

You got to the top of the “mountain,” and achieving your goals only to find you don’t feel fulfilled or happy. It’s like, WTF?

Your life/career no longer serves you. All you know is that you feel stuck and see no way out. You need to make a change. But doing what?

Then fear creeps in. You have questions.  “What do I do now?”  “I don’t know what else to do” 

“If I change careers how will I make enough to pay my bills?” and so on

These are the same questions (and more) I asked myself when I did a career change after 27 years as a chef and started over at 41 from zero.

Did you know a New York Times study found that 75% of Americans don’t have a clear sense of purpose?

And, there are serious health risks associated with a lack of purpose

A lack of purpose affects your self-worth, self-confidence, and self-esteem.
Which, in turn, can lead to depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and other health issues.
I experienced all of those.

The good news is this: You’re only 5 steps away from finding the purpose, fulfillment, and new career you so desperately want.

They are the same 5 steps I used to go from feeling lost/stuck and finding a purpose and fulfillment

All it requires from you is self-honesty and a commitment to change

I coach people through one-to-one sessions

You think asking for help is equivalent to failure? Yep, I used to think the same, but that’s your ego talking

Consider: If you’ve been stuck, and the steps you’ve taken have not yielded results, what makes you think anything will change by repeating what you’ve done?

What got you here will not get you THERE.

Just like a car needs realignment from time to time, our personal and professional vision needs realignment from time to time

So, you can remain stuck and lost, or you can send me a DM

ADHD Career Coach | Founder of Momentum — the 8-week coaching program built to get ADHD brains off the overthinking line and into a rhythm of task execution (even on low-energy days)

If you're like most senior leaders I work with, you're not stuck because you lack experience, but because locking into your next move feels impossibly heavy.

I know that feeling well.

For years, I could lead teams, close deals, and make high-stakes decisions without blinking.

But when it came to my own next step?

– Everything blurred.
– The options multiplied.
– The second-guessing crept in.

And the longer I sat with it, the harder it got to move at all.

You can probably relate:

– You can see multiple lanes.
– You can imagine yourself in all of them.
– You can talk yourself into each one if you're not careful.

But eventually, the weight of all those possibilities starts to work against you.

➝ Your story doesn't point anywhere.
➝ Your positioning feels scattered.
➝ Your confidence nosedives.

And you start asking the real question:

"𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄?"

Most people assume it's a motivation problem.

It's not.

𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺.

Because when you're keeping too many options open, nothing really lands.

Once you stop hedging and lock into one clear lane, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀:

➝ Your direction locks in. 
➝ Your positioning becomes clear. 
➝ Your visibility grows in the right spaces. 
➝ Your authority increases with the people who matter.

Small wins start stacking again.

Movement feels normal.

Confidence comes back online.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗜 𝗱𝗼.

Through 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺 — my 8-week 1:1 career accelerator — I help leaders in transition stop hedging, lock into one clear path, and build visibility and authority where it actually matters.

Here's what you get:

– A structure for clarity, positioning, visibility, and authority
– The accountability and scaffolding that keep you steady
– 1:1 support to reduce friction instead of adding pressure
– A 2nd brain to guide the work between calls (Persona™)

By the time the conversations start, people already understand who you are, what you bring, and where you fit.

And once you lock in?

Momentum becomes the norm.

📩 𝗗𝗠 𝗺𝗲 "𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺" 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗵𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱.

David Hannan

Most people don't realize how easy it is to find recruiters on LinkedIn.

I shared this in a comment a while back and people found it useful, so I'm putting it here properly.

4 ways to find recruiters:

1. People + Industry search.

Run a blank search from your home page, then filter by 'People'. Inside 'All filters', scroll down to 'Industry' and add 'Staffing and recruiting'. You can also filter by 'Location' if you're looking for someone local.

2. Company pages.

Visit a company's LinkedIn page and click on the 'People' tab. Add ("talent" or "recruit") in the search field and hit run. Results will show everyone in talent or recruiting at that company (remove parentheses).

3. Jobs posted in public feed.

From your homepage, search for ("hiring" AND "JOB YOU WANT"), and filter by Posts. Add "staffing and recruiting" again under 'Industry' in 'All filters'. Now you have a list of jobs posted in the personal feeds of recruiters/employers vs doom-scrolling LinkedIn's job boards. Note: "JOB YOU WANT" is the actual job title you're searching for, like "VP of Operations" or "Marketing Director."

4. Recruiters attached to reqs.

When browsing job search results, recruiters' profiles are usually attached to LinkedIn job descriptions. Check them for profile/contact details.

Please reach out like a normal human. 

Be clear. 
Be respectful. 
Be easy to work with.

And recruiters will bend over backwards for you. 

I know I used to.

P.S. ♻️ Repost to help someone else in your network.

Helping senior leaders stop hedging and lock into one clear path | Founder of Momentum | Former $4M full-desk recruiter

10 harsh truths I learned switching careers at 50.

Thinking about a pivot? Read this twice:

1️⃣ You're not too old to change.
But you are too old to keep pretending you're fine

2️⃣ Purpose doesn't just appear.
You create it through messy action and alignment

3️⃣ Confidence won't lead the way.
But it will follow consistency.

4️⃣ Long careers makes choosing difficult.
Each option looks like the right and the wrong one.

5️⃣ Your old career isn't wasted.
It's raw material for your next chapter.

6️⃣ Focus won't magically show up.
You have to build systems that hold you together.

7️⃣ Motivation lies.
You need momentum, even tiny steps count.

8️⃣ You won't feel clear before you start.
Clarity comes after commitment, not before.

9️⃣ Reinventing yourself takes guts.
Especially when it’s easier to stay put than moving. 

1️⃣0️⃣ Progress will feel invisible.
Until one day, you realize how far you've come.

I learned these the hard way by breaking patterns I didn't even know I had. 

If I knew them sooner?

I would've spent less time overthinking and more time trusting the process.

Which one feels the most true for you?

Share below in the comments—let's compare notes.

There are only two ways to show up on LinkedIn:

1. You turn up and think.
2. You throw in the towel.

For longer than I should have, I went along with the second one.

I replied to comments that were clearly AI-generated and engaged with copy-paste slop from people I’ve known for years, telling myself it was just part of staying visible.

But it never really felt right. 

Maybe it’s my ADHD, but I’m bad at faking. 

Responding to zero-effort comments just to keep the numbers up always felt off to me.

“But Dave, you use ChatGPT.” 

Yeah, I do. Every day.

I want to be clear about something though. I make the calls. I don’t drop a prompt in and paste whatever comes out. I use it like an assistant, to help me think, shape ideas, and get unstuck.

It doesn’t replace the work.

That’s where it breaks for me. It feels like throwing in the towel. Like deciding you don’t care enough to show up anymore.

And I do care. I’m not playing along anymore.

I’m blocking people who leave obvious AI comments on my posts, the flat, generic filler that could land anywhere without changing a word. 

I’m also stepping away from the beige content cycle, even if it’s coming from people with much bigger audiences or people I’ve known since the beginning.

If my metrics take a hit or my follower count drops, I’m fine with that.

I’ve spent years building a reputation I’m proud of, and I’m not willing to water that down to inflate vanity metrics. 

I show up here because I care about the people I’m trying to help, especially those navigating real career pivots, and I’m not compromising that.

If it means a smaller room with real conversations, I’ll take it.

10 surprising job search truths I know at 53.

(that I wish I knew at 33)

1. Networking is essential.

Realize that building authentic relationships can open more doors than just handing out business cards.

2. Building a personal brand is crucial.

How you present yourself online and offline can make or break opportunities in your industry.

3. The myth of job security. 

Recognize that the concept of lifetime employment is largely outdated. Diversifying your skill set and being adaptable are your best insurance policies.

4. Self-care is a priority. 

Prioritizing self-care can enhance both your job satisfaction and performance. Ignoring this can lead to burnout and reduced productivity.

5. The value of cultural fit. 

While high salaries or brand-name companies may seem attractive, finding a workplace where you fit in culturally can be equally, if not more, important.

6. Facing ageism. 

Discrimination based on age is a real challenge; staying relevant and adaptable are keys to overcoming it.

7. The importance of time management. 

Understand that being busy isn't the same as being productive. Effective time management is a crucial skill for a fulfilling career.

8. The power of negotiation. 

Whether it's your salary, role, or benefits, strong negotiation skills can significantly impact your path.

9. More than just job titles. 

There's more to job satisfaction than just your title. It's about work-life balance, company culture, and a sense of purpose.

10. Financial planning is a necessity. 

Planning for financial stability is essential, whether for retirement or navigating potential job losses.

The only thing I'd change? 

Start believing them sooner.

PS. What would your #11 be?

10 Job Search Truths I Learned the Hard Way

I turned down $3k and a new client in January. 

Zero regrets.

A Head of Comms DM’d me about working with me. 

Before I responded, I checked their comment history.

Three scrolls in, I found him going off on a recruiter I know. 

Not pushing back or disagreeing respectfully. 

Just mean.

The kind of mean that tells you exactly how someone shows up when things get hard.

Guess what? Coaching’s hard, too. 

On paper, he was solid. But I’m not working with him.

It’s the reason I read beyond someone’s headline. 

Your comments are the realest thing on your profile. 

They show me how you treat people who disagree with you, what you sound like when you’re tired, the version of you nobody’s edited.

I’ve left frustrated comments too, but there’s a difference between saying something’s broken and being rude about the people who don’t see it your way. 

Here’s what I notice with people stuck in their search.

They’re pointing outward. 

All recruiters are idiots. 
Hiring managers are clueless. 
Their last boss was a scumbag.

And that outward pointing keeps them stuck.

Because it’s not about any of those people, it’s about misplaced anger. 

If you’ve been unloading in the comments, do something this weekend. Go through your activity and look at what you wrote.

Ask yourself if that’s someone you’d want to hire. If the answer is no, clean it up.

Not because I’m watching, and many won’t notice. 

But you will.

The person who shows up Monday with a cleaner feed moves differently. 

That person gets callbacks.

You can tell the truth and be smart about it. You can be frustrated and also be someone you’d hire.

I get it, a job search is hard.

Just don’t be a dick about it.

Your reputation’s tied to every single comment.

And it’s why I check them every single time.

PS. Got you thinking about that comment, didn’t I?

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The biggest networking mistake senior leaders make on LinkedIn.

Ever sent a cold DM asking to pick someone's brain?

Of course you have. Who hasn't?

Here's what's happening on the other end: You're asking a stranger for help. For time. For attention. 

And they don't know you yet, so it feels icky.

What actually works is totally different.

Instead of reaching out to that person directly, show up in the rooms where they're already hanging out. 

And I'm not talking about sliding into their DMs. 

I'm talking about finding content that connects:

Could be from a recruiter. 
Could be from a company posting. 
Could be from a thought leader in your space. 

Something that actually resonates with you.

Then you engage in the comment thread. 

Real engagement. 

Not "love this" or some anemic platitude.

You add something to the conversation. Show up where others are already discussing the same stuff.

Do that over and over. Ten, twenty times. 

In the spaces where the people you want to know are already present.

Here's what happens: You become visible. People start recognizing your name. And then—this is the key part—you start becoming familiar. 

That familiarity builds trust. 

And once you've got trust, that's when you can actually reach out and have a real conversation.

It's the relationship rule of three:

Comments boost visibility. 
Visibility leads to familiarity.
Familiarity is the key to trust.

And trust is when you can start picking brains.

P.S. ♻️ Repost to help someone else in your network.

Everything possible makes you impossible to place.

I was on a call the other day with a VP of Engineering.

As he walked me through his background, I remember thinking everything made perfect sense. 

But I also couldn’t follow where he was going with it.

He talked through his roles, the scope, and the kinds of problems he’d been brought in to solve. 

Every part of it added up, but at the same time, each answer opened into another direction he could also see himself taking. 

Deeper technical lanes, operations, and CTO roles.

It all stayed a little too open.

At some point, I asked what he was aiming at next.

He started answering, then stopped. Changed the title. Backed into it, adjusting the wording as he went.

You could hear him trying to say something specific without closing any other doors at the same time.

Nothing was broken, but it’s the part people miss. 

Recruiters were still taking his calls, and yet the whole thing felt heavier than it should have.

What was getting in the way wasn’t experience or credibility, but carrying too many possible futures at once and trying to keep them all alive in the story.

And when everything stays possible, it’s impossible for anyone listening to know where you’re heading.

Honestly, including yourself.

Last week a client said, "I could do any of these five things."

That's where most people get stuck.

I've been sitting with a lot of people whose background just makes sense. 

They've got the experience, and they've done some pretty cool things, but then you ask them what they want next, and there's this shift.

They can talk for twenty minutes about what they've done. 

But when you ask, "So what's the next move?" something happens. It's like they suddenly realize they're choosing which version of themselves to lead with. 

Not which job, but which identity.

One version is the operations person. The systems builder. Another is the people leader. Hired well and trained people up. And then there's the strategist. The one in the room where decisions got made.

They're all real, and they've all got proof.

But when they try to hold onto all of them, their voice changes. There's this hesitation. 

I'll hear it when they talk about what they want next. They'll start clear and then it softens. "Or I could also..." shows up mid-sentence.

It's not a confidence thing because they know they're capable. It's just that their story doesn't actually point anywhere. It sits there in all directions at once.

A hiring manager can hear that. 

They hear the capability, the experience, but they don't hear where the person is actually trying to go.

It's not that any one version is weak, they just haven't decided which version is actually driving the ship yet.

So everything stays flexible, and everything stays technically true.

And why they're stuck between all five.

PS. The first in your list is usually the one.

Defending my team didn’t rattle me, the train ride home did.

This was 2018, back when I was still recruiting.

I had to push back on senior leadership about something that would have landed badly on my team. 

In the room, I kept it together. I listened, took notes, tried not to react. They said I handled it well.

But on the Metro-North ride home, I felt completely detached, just staring out the window. 

I got home and shut down, and the next couple of days took more out of me than I thought.

When you’re the one carrying the weight in the room, you don’t really get to fall apart.

You regulate yourself, you absorb what’s coming at you, and you try to make it usable for everyone else.

That’s how you end up in bigger rooms.

It also takes something out of you.

Before that meeting, I’d already rehearsed what I was going to say and run the objections in my head. 

While I was sitting there, I wanted out, but I kept it together because that was the job.

None of that shows up on a resume or in a performance review.

When I talk to senior leaders now who are between roles or thinking about their next move, this is usually the part that doesn’t come up.

They’ve been carrying that weight for years, and it just feels normal.

The calm exterior, and underneath it, a steady internal burn rate.

You don’t really notice it while you’re still in it.

Sometimes in a career transition, the exhaustion’s been building long before the search even starts.

P.S. What other parts of leadership don’t get airtime?

This is some of the best news I’ve heard on automated/AI generated comment moderation come out of LinkedIn in ages. 

This will have a direct impact on all the big name accounts who’ve relied on engagement pods to boost reach through automated comments. 

Christmas came early. 

LIAM DARMODY — LFG!

Back with a Friday update - today, it's about a comments and the steps we are taking to keep the conversations in the comments authentic and helpful. 

tldr: Automated comments - comments submitted to LinkedIn via a browser extension, script, or third party tool, without human action involved in clicking the “comment" button - are not allowed on LinkedIn. Instead, we want to focus on the comments that are authentic and spark genuine conversations.

taplio

The Battle

Curt Sassak

David Hannan

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taplio

The Battle

Curt Sassak

David Hannan

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}David Hannan's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreDavid Hannan's LinkedIn Performance