Yang bombed his dream job interview. Walked in wearing Chucks and a polo, asked about the pay in the first five minutes, and sat across from five people in suits in a boardroom.

He didn't get the job. But he used it.

In the first episode of a four-part Hiring and Development series, Ashley flips the mic and interviews Yang about what it actually takes to become a strong interviewer — from the candidate side. Yang went on 30 practice interviews after that video game company debacle, practiced answers in front of a mirror, and built a skill he eventually used to cold-call his way into his first corporate job.

They get into how to handle nerves (Yang's hyperhidrosis story is its own thing), why interviewing is closer to a first date than a test, the 50-50 rule for conversation balance, and what to do when you get a curveball question you've never heard before. Plus — how to use AI to match your resume to a job description, why you should almost never turn down a practice interview, and why taking rejection personally is the fastest way to tank your next one.

The toolkit Yang mentions is linked in the episode description below.

Season One is going out with everything we've got.

Yang and Ashley are spending the month of July releasing a four-part series on the thing that shapes every team, every culture, and every company outcome — hiring and developing your people.

Here's what's dropping, one episode a week:

Part 1 — Master the Interview (Candidate Side)
Ashley flips the mic and interviews Yang on how candidates can show up at their absolute best. The prep, the mindset, the mistakes, and what actually gets offers.

Part 2 — Hire Smart (Hiring Manager Side)
Yang interviews Ashley on how to run a smarter hiring process — structured interviews, legal landmines, candidate experience, and how to stop making expensive hiring mistakes.

Part 3 — Lead and Develop
They're in the door. Now what? How to lead, coach, and develop your team into something worth keeping.

Part 4 — Retain
Including what to do when bonus season hits and your best people start looking around.

And yes — they've built playbooks to go with each episode. Tools, not just theory.

After the series wraps, the show is going on summer break and coming back in October with Season Two — new episodes, guests, and more in the works.

Subscribe now so you don't miss the series or the comeback.

You had questions. Yang and Ashley have answers.

In this special listener Q&A episode, they tackle four real questions submitted by listeners — and get surprisingly real about their own experiences along the way.

First up, what do you do when your manager is too checked out or introverted to plan any team building while every other team in the company is out having a good time? Then they get into the big one — what are your options when you're being sexually harassed and you don't trust HR to handle it? Spoiler: there are more options than you think, and some of them exist outside the company entirely.

From there it's ageism in the interview room, the struggle of breaking into the job market with a so-so GPA and zero experience, and finally — the high performer who's also kind of a nightmare to work with. Can you performance manage attitude? And what happens when a leader just refuses to deal with it?

Real talk, real advice, and yeah — they went on a few tangents. But honestly those are some of the best parts.