Home » Blog » Tagged: career transition

How to make a rewarding career change: where to start

If you are considering making a career change you might be feeling overwhelmed or confused about where to start. Change can feel crazy making. A friend once told me “sometimes we let go one finger at a time” when I called her for advice about a situation that I was having difficulty walking away from.

Change is process. There is a beginning, middle, and an end. In the beginning you may be unclear about what your options are. You may wonder whether your experience is relevant. Or you may have concerns about things over which you have no control such as your age or race. This is just your Inner Gremlin or Fearful Voice talking.  The fact you are reading this blog already tells me  you ARE employable.

Once you make the decision to explore a career transition you might be tempted to jump in and reply to postings that you find interesting. Hold off, there are some steps you need to take before you can start looking at opportunities.

You might make an appointment with a career coach expecting him or her to tell you what you would be good at. A reputable career coach will NOT tell you that instead they will give you the tools and the feedback to reach an informed decision.

A satisfying transition starts with a thorough exploration of career history, interests, and values. Make a date with yourself to go to visit a place that is relaxing. Some of my favorite places include the beach, park, or down under the Brooklyn Bridge. Bring along a pen, notebook and print out of this posting. WARNING: you may find it difficult to answer these questions, so you bring along some Kleenex, too. While you might find it painful, answering the following the questions is the first step towards a better road.

  1. What is causing you to make a change? Has there been a significant change in your industry or the culture of your organization? Are you frequently passed over from promotions? Are you unable to find work in your field?
  2. How long have you been feeling this way or thinking about making a change? Days, weeks, months, years? How often do you think about making a change?
  3. How has this affected your life? Do you feel irrelavent? alone? Do you lose sleep? Have headaches? Frequent disagreements with friends and family?
  4. What will it cost you financially, emotionally, spiritually… if things remain the same?
  5. How do you envision your life will be different once you have completed your change?

In MyCareerCoach’s next blog post I will share more tips for making a rewarding career transition

Sign up to receive  MyCareerCoach’s blog
Sign up to  receive MyCareerCoach’s monthly newsletter

» Read more...

How finding Mr. Right can be like finding the right career

Last night, my best friend Susan and I met for dinner. Given that she still lives in Brooklyn and I am in Westchester, we don’t see each other as much as we’d like to. The last time we got together was around the holidays. Yikes!  Had it been that long? None the less, she looked radiant.

Susan was divorced several years ago. Up until about a year agao she had been looking for Mr. Right. However, the men she dated were more like Mr. “More of the Same”; needy, immature and self-centered. Did I mention that Susan was a social worker?

The problem was Susan had been attracted to the wrong men.  Over the years, I encouraged her to be open to men who did not immediately appear to be her type. It took awhile but eventually she started to do things differently.

About 14 months ago, Susan met Mike, who was also divorced. Initially Susan thought Mike was a nice man even if she didn’t feel that spark of excitement. It wasn’t until the fifth date that she realized how special Mike really was. Over the past year, they have laughed together, overcame a crisis’ together, and more recently set up home together.

Career paths can sometimes be like dating. Over the years, I have known really smart talented people who keep going back to “More of the Same” industries and companies that keep giving them headaches and disappointments.  Let’s face it, if nothing changes then nothing changes.

If you frequently find yourself in this position it might be time for a change.

For learn more about making a  career transition or to to receive information about our new Change Your Career, Change Your Life Coaching group, email us at amditta@mycareercoach.net.

» Read more...

How your inner voice can guide you to a new career

Last Tuesday, the Wall Street Journa ran an article about John Putnam, a corporate attorney turned cheese maker. The events that led to his decision were not earth shattering. He had not been laid off, his industry was thriving. On the outside he had every reason to continue his legal career. However, his transition was based on something much simpler – his inner voice.

Getting in touch with your inner voice or gut feelings can be confusing? For Mr. Putnam his inner voice nudged him while he was conducting a deposition in New York “Everyone there was very senior and making serious bucks. That’s when I looked around and [realized] I didn’t want to spend the best part of my life getting to where they are.”

Strong emotions can be a a signal that your personal goals need to change. This was the case with a teacher who I coached about a year ago. She was so unhappy with her job that she would wake up in a state of anxiety in the middle of the night.

As we started to examine her strengths, experience, and values she discovered a significant discrepancy between her responsibilities and what she enjoyed doing. The intention of finding joy in her work allowed her to collaborate with her new boss to balance her strengths with the needs of the organizaiton.

Over the past year I have met a lot of people whom, after losing a job, found themselves confused about where they fit in professionally. If you are one of these people, your confusion may be your inner voice’s way of expressing your need for a change.

Over the years I have found the people who trust their instincts, intuition or inner voice to be some of the happiest and most positive people I know. If you ever followed a hunch and had it work out, you probably understand how great it feels to be in sync with your inner voice, the universe, or whatever you attribute it to.

The willingness to trust yourself is key to living the life you want and deserve. If something does not work out as planned, try viewing it as a learning experience and move on.

The simple meditation will help you to get in touch with your inner voice:

Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor and your back straight. You may place your hands on your belly or in your lap. Now close your eyes and take a deep breath. Feel the rise and fall of your breath against your fingers. Next, relax your scull, your brow, your eyes, your facial muscles. Release your jaw and gently moisten your lips.

Move down to your throat, let it relax, release all tension from your shoulders. Notice how good this process of letting go feels. Relax your chest, your belly, your thighs, the muscles of your calves, your ankles and feet.

Next picture yourself someplace very beastuful and relaxing like a Caribbean island, forest, mountain top. It does matter, this is your place. It is where you go to relax. Do not worry if an image comes to mind. It is okay to feel it, think it, or just have a sense of someplace enjoyable.

You might want some shelter at your special place. It can be a lean to, tent, large crevice or whatever pleases you. Picture a golden shimmer illuminating your special place. Take in the view.As you become more relaxed you might want to ask your inner self a question about your career. Some things you might want to ask are:

  1. What would I like to be paid to do?
  2. What is my next career move?
  3. What am I most passionate about?
  4. What can I do that would be rewarding to the universe as well as my self?
  5. What is my purpose or passion in life?

If the answer doesn’t come immediately, that’s okay. The question has been asked and shall be answered in due time. Take a look around as you get ready to leave your special place. Know that you can visit it anytime you need to.

Become aware of your breathing and gently rub the tips of your fingers. Wiggle your toes. Feel the energy come back into your body and slowly open your eyes. You have taken the first step to your new and fulfilling career.

» Read more...

“Eyes closed, see your inner being in detail. Thus see your true nature.“

– Vigyan Bhairava, Ancient Hindu Text

It has been a while since my last posting. Which was due, in part, to some major changes my husband and  I made over the past year. The biggest change was the sale of my house.  However, the move has favorably  effected every area  of my life. Each step I took was surprisingly similar to the process of making a career transition or job change. Therefore, I offer up so both what I learned and what was reinforced along the way.

  • Square Pegs Are Not Made to Fit Into Round Holes: While I loved my physical home, it was a poor fit in terms of both my husband’s and my values, wants, needs, and desires. Much like someone who is unhappy with their employer or career, no matter how hard we tried to work to resolve things the same issues kept coming up.
  • Face the Problem: It took both the passing of time and outside support for my husband and I to take a realistic look at our living situation. With the assistance of Robin Vaccai Yess, CFP , an independent, fee only financial adviser who objectively yet passionately confirmed the source of our trouble.  Almost 7 years to the day we moved in, we surrendered and put the house on the market.
  • Prepare for Change: Aside from getting our house ready to go on the market, we had to create a criteria to find a new home that we would be happy in. While we were clear on what  didn’t work for us, we had to create a vision of what would work. I applied the same principles that I use with someone who wants to make a career transition to my own life. We visited  neighborhoods at  different times during the day and night, questioned local residents about the area, and clocked how long it would take to travel to and from New York before we narrowed down our options.
  • Expect the Unexpected: If you have ever been in a job search you know things can quickly change. Early on in our search, I fell in love with a house. While I thought it was a perfect fit, the seller had a different opinion and accepted another offer. Shortly after that, a personal situation arose, which took priority. We took the house off the market for a few months.
  • Find the Opportunity in the Challenge Once our situation was resolved, we were ready to make the move. We got an offer the first day we put our house back on the market. While it wasn’t while it wasn’t our ideal number, it was good given the market conditions. We accepted the offer and ramped up our search. With less then 3 months to pick our new home we explored our options. I thought I wanted another house yet we could not find anything we liked. As time ticked by, we considered other options and eventually found a wonderful co-op that would accept us and our 2 dogs. Within less then a month I was on the gardening committee and had made 2 new friends.  I never would have imagined that we could be so happy living in an apartment again.

What isn’t working in your life? What is one thing you can to change it?

» Read more...

Announcement: Free Career Coaching

Learn how to win on the battlefield for employment.

You Are Invited to Attend
“THE NEW JOB WARRIORS”
A FREE WEEKLY PROGRAM FOR PEOPLE IN A CAREER TRANSITION
Starting Tuesday, March 24, 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
@ Starbucks
1 Depot Square, Tuckahoe, NY
Coffee and Danish Compliments of Starbucks
Seating is limited.
Call now to reserve your space
914-961-0579

Starbucks rocks! Thanks to Miryah, manager of Starbucks in Tuckahoe for her support.

» Read more...

Salary versus Passion

Recently, I met several smart, high achieving professionals who made a career transition. In each case, they had the potential to be or already were high income earners. However, they were miserable.

With the cost of living reaching epic proportions is it better to be employed in a job that pays well but isn’t rewarding or to take the risk and do what you are passionate about?

Read the following poem asnd ask yourself which verse best describes how you feel about your current position? How does this compare to your above answer? You are welcome to share your comments.

» Read more...